By Carrie Morris
In my role at Simplicity Consulting, I help hiring managers reach their specific business goals by explaining the many benefits of thinking differently about the traditional hiring process. I highlight the advantages of adopting a more strategic and nimble approach to finding the right talent in marketing, communications, and project & program management.
I’m passionate about this because it boils down to this truth: Traditional hiring is broken. And the fix is adopting a more flexible staffing strategy that involves hiring consultants. This approach can be used by an organization experiencing layoffs, a hiring freeze, a specialized skills gap, the sudden departure of a top performer or an employee going out on a leave of absence (LOA).
Need: Vacancies due to recent layoffs have quickly created a cascade of projects to stall. You need help – and fast.
Real talk: You can’t add permanent headcount at the moment. And even if you could, traditional hiring often takes too long, costs too much, and doesn’t always solve the most immediate issues.
When an employer wants to fill a need related to time-sensitive and mission-critical projects, the traditional hiring process may not be a viable option. And even with an approved hiring budget, traditional hiring often leaves hiring managers waiting too long and, ultimately, spending too much.
Without question, hiring can be a time-consuming process. And then there’s all of the resources and time required to then onboard the new employee – a process that takes an average of 90 days.
But traditional hiring can be costly even when the process seems to go smoothly. Here are some of the heftier costs often associated with hiring a full-time employee:
The true costs of hiring a full-time employee typically far outweigh those of hiring an on-demand consultant once you factor in full-time costs like benefits, taxes and overhead expenses.
Need: A key member of your team is suddenly about to go out on leave (LOA) and there’s no way you can get several pivotal projects done without them.
Real talk: Traditional hiring focuses on the long haul – at a cost to employers.
Traditional hiring doesn’t readily accommodate short-term headcount needs, which is something many employers learned the hard way during the pandemic.
Coverage for an unexpected absence or a leave of several months requires agility and speed. It demands a hiring model that breaks success into bite-sized chunks.
Need: You need to quickly scale your team for an upcoming product launch but won’t need the added headcount after the release is complete.
Real talk: Traditional hiring is inflexible.
We already established that traditional hiring takes significant time, putting it at odds with today’s ever-increasing speed of business.
When you must quickly build an on-demand team, the months required to source, screen, interview, hire, and onboard new employees will only hamper innovation and agility.
If you’re sick of navigating the costly and inflexible nature of traditional hiring, consider hiring consultants through Simplicity to address your organization’s most pressing priorities.
Our consultants are available on a short- or long-term basis to help with a wide variety of projects. Our experts can serve as generalists helping organizations with big-picture marketing or communication strategy, or offer a more specialized focus in a particular area, such as paid media or branding.
Ready to start hiring consultants? We’re here to help. Our team uses a multi-pronged and collaborative approach to make sure you find the right consultant quickly.
Carrie Morris is EVP of Client Service & Success, Marketing, and Operations at Simplicity.
