2023 - The Year of The Rise of The Contractor?

The past few years have been a turbulent and uncertain time for contractors.

-       They’ve been faced with the implementation of new IR35 rules, then given a very brief glimmer of hope that they would be repealed only to find that door slammed almost as soon as it was opened.

-       Ineligible for furlough and in most cases any support from the government during Covid and now they are faced with what can only be described as an uncertain economic landscape.

It would be understandable to think that all these challenges meant that the end of the contractor was nigh… however the past few months tell a very different story.

In fact, we have seen a huge spike in demand for talented contractors to lead and be part of specialist short to medium term projects and transformation.

Why is this?

There are a number of reasons behind the increase in contractor opportunities, here’s the ones that we are finding.

Working with IR35 Regulations

Firms now have a better understanding and familiarity with IR35 rules.   Whereas previously they were put off by the perceived complications and risk of hiring contractors, they now know how to determine effectively and whilst the requirements are still stringent, they are no longer seen as a barrier. 

The impact has been a more confident and less risk-averse approach to bringing in contractors, utilising their subject-matter expertise to upskill existing project teams.

The Year of the Counter-Offer

2022 was the year of the counter-offer. Firms were offering bumper pay and benefits to either secure the best candidates or to retain talent who were looking to move on.

 Either way, even the firms with the most proactive and long-term recruitment strategies were finding themselves caught short, leaving gaps that needed to be filled quickly to ensure the success of a project.

Hiring contractors became the go-to solution, allowing firms to deliver the project roadmap and biding them time to conduct a full permanent recruitment process, avoiding the knee-jerk reaction of recruiting the wrong person for the team.

Hiring and Remuneration Flexibility

Salaries expectations have shot up, partly due to the cost of living and partly due to the hype around the fact that salaries are increasing, it’s been a perfect storm!  

The challenge for firms hiring permanent roles is that they’ve found themselves priced out of the market with a long, complex process to get headcount budget increased. 

Contract hires allows firms to still secure top talent without impacting the recruitment budget. It keeps things moving. Projects get delivered, stakeholders keep engaged and the existing team aren’t drowning under additional work.

It’s a short-term fix, but one that allows teams to bring in high-calibre talent to get the job done whilst reassessing their options for a permanent hire.  Keeping the cogs turning offers flexibility to hire for potential and growth, helping to navigate the salary challenges.

To find out how we utilise our values-based recruitment process to ensure both your contractors and permanent hires are the right fit, get in touch.