If you’re looking for interim contractor talent to provide additional skills or capacity in your business, recruitment agencies can help you to source, onboard and manage your contingent workforce.
With access to an established pool of contractor talent and the experience to expertly match contractors to employers, recruitment agencies are invaluable for businesses hiring and working with contractors both on a short and long-term basis.
Of course, this service comes at a cost but with a reliable recruitment partner, this expense is easily justified. Plus, engaging a recruitment agency that can deliver a full contractor management service can often lead to greater savings in the long term.
In this article, we at The Curve Group explain recruitment agency fees for contractors and why for many businesses, this charge is well worth the investment.
How Much Do Recruitment Agencies Charge For Contractors?
Typically, recruitment agencies charge a percentage of the contractor’s hourly or daily rate as their fee. This can range from 10 – 30% or more, depending on the agency.
When it comes to recruitment agency fees for contractors, some agencies only charge for matching contractors to your requirements. Others may offer extra services such as background checks and screening processes for an additional fee.
At The Curve Group, we offer different contractor fees depending on whether we source the contractor directly, or whether you refer the contractor to us for vetting, screening and onboarding. We also offer preferential fees if there is a commitment from your business to hire all contractors through The Curve Group, or if there are significant volumes to be sourced and managed.
The Role Of Recruitment Agencies When Working With Contractors
When considering the fees that recruitment agencies charge and weighing up whether the investment is worth it for your business, it’s useful first to understand what exactly it is that you’re paying for. At The Curve Group, we offer a broad range of flexible and bespoke contractor workforce solutions. These can be 100% tailored to meet your business needs and your budget.
Our contractor recruitment and management services can include:
- Contractor recruitment – finding and hiring the right contractors for your needs
- Contractor sourcing, vetting & onboarding – performing background checks and onboarding new and existing contractors engaged directly with your business or provided by other agencies and umbrella companies
- Contractor timesheeting & payroll – streamlining and automating electronic timesheets, billing and payroll processes to ensure compliant contractor usage, including monthly utilisation reports and invoices
- Contractor management – full service including sourcing, onboarding, contract management, compliance checks and payroll
- Contractor audits – identifying any areas of risk or gaps in checks as well as opportunities for contractor utilisation efficiencies
The Benefits Of Contractor Recruitment & Management
So, are recruitment agency fees for contractors worth it? If your business has a need for specialised skills or additional capacity for short-term projects, then contractor recruitment and management has many benefits.
It Ensures Compliance
Utilising contractors isn’t always straightforward. When not managed correctly, a business can fall into the trap of not complying with certain laws, regulations and policies. Whether it’s navigating The Criminal Finances Act (Sept 2017), GDPR or IR35, it’s important to have experts in your corner to manage this important part of working with contractors. Check out our employer’s guide to IR35 rules in the private sector to find out more.
It Controls Your Costs
Of course, there is a cost involved with working with recruitment agencies. But compared to the costs you could be faced with if things went wrong or contractors were mismanaged, the cost is justifiable. Contractors can be expensive so it is vital that their time is used efficiently and effectively. This is what contractor management can help ensure, with monitoring of schedules of work and invoices to avoid costly overruns.
You Save Time
Taking contractor recruitment and management in-house can be a real time-drain. Your team can save time creating and posting job adverts, interviewing, vetting and conducting background checks and onboarding contractors. Your contractor recruitment agency will do all the hard work for you. Not only that, but you can relax in the knowledge that everything will be handled professionally and thoroughly.
You’re Protected From Risks
Working with contractors can expose you to risks around legal liabilities, reputational damage and financial losses. Recruitment agencies can protect you from these risks as much as possible. They have the foresight to safeguard your business and also understand the legislative requirements which come with utilising contractors. When partnering with experts, these risks are one less thing you’ll have to worry about.
If your business is looking to save time and money when using contractors, let The Curve Group manage your contractor workforce effectively and efficiently. From auditing your business to ensure your contractor utilisation is compliant, to a full contractor recruitment and management service, we’re available to help you in whatever capacity you require.
Get in touch with us today to find out more. Call 01295 811 486 or drop us an email on [email protected] and let’s start a conversation.
