hiring – Talent500 Blog

6 Best practices for hiring contractors for your business

Posted on April 11, 2022April 11, 2022 by shanthamurthy

The Great Resignation and then the Great Reshuffle has led to the “gig economy” – employees are now questioning how and when they work, and for how long. An estimated 162 million people in the EU and US (20% to 30% of the working population) are already involved in the flexible economy as flexible workforce — freelancers, contractors and independent workers – 44% of whom do so as their main source of income, according to McKinsey. With the increase in flexible working options, and organizations hiring across geographies, the labor market and economy is undergoing tremendous changes.

As more people in the workforce are making the shift and looking for short-term contracts, it might be relatively easy to find contractors. However, deciding when they are needed, effectively communicating their roles, and evaluating their work to provide timely feedback remain a challenge. It is not uncommon for contract workers to experience clumsy onboarding, poor communication, and unexpected changes to their job descriptions.

Here are the best practices when hiring contractors.

1. Decide if and when you need contractors

The first step towards hiring contractors is for companies to decide whether they need their services at all. It is not uncommon for big organizations to have a need for an extra workforce during busy seasons. This can be the period around the end of a financial year or when a company is expanding and they need time to fill open (full-time) positions. Also, if companies are struggling with a skills gap, they might need to hire contractors immediately until they are able to upskill existing employees or hire new ones.

Many organizations that get into an exponential growth phase need specific talent quickly, but recruiting at this pace becomes a challenge. In such a scenario, a temporary staffing model can be helpful. For companies in the tech space, the requirement for contractors arises when they unveil a new service or product. This is when companies struggle to reach full velocity with in-house employees. Briefly, there are some situations where it is appropriate to use an independent contractor, for example: for short-term projects, projects that require specialized experience, and for temporary assignments for less than a year.

2. Source the right contractors

Finding potential contract workers who will fit a company’s requirement is not a hit-and-miss approach. It will require a well-thought out sourcing strategy. Often, hiring managers have a lenient attitude towards hiring contracts. If they are not full-time employees, the thought process might be something along the lines of questioning the need to be extra cautious, given that it’s relatively easier to let go of contractors who don’t fit the bill. However, this isn’t true. Companies stand to lose.

A lot goes into finding and onboarding an individual, even a contractor, so it’s important to get it right. When interviewing contractors, it’s critical to focus on skills that they possess in the context of the tasks they will be performing. Asking candidates why they think they are a fit for the project is one way to do this. When using a vendor to hire contract workers, take the time and make the effort to build a long-term partnership as it will serve the company well in the long run. If a vendor sees long-term potential in the partnership, they are more likely to go the extra mile and present you with the best matching candidates.

3. Make onboarding easier

One of the biggest challenges contractors face is clumsy onboarding. They are not full-time employees but are equally important as long as they are associated with the company’s projects. This is why companies must make the onboarding process as easy and seamless for contractors as they would for full-time employees. It’s important that companies are ready to answer a contractor’s queries and show them around, virtually, in many cases. Let them know what level of security access they have as contractors, and openly discuss their roles and the kind of autonomy they will enjoy, to enhance clarity. Introduce them to the company policies that apply to them and any administrative requirements they must adhere to.

Introduce contractors to their team, set up introductory meetings, and provide them with necessary equipment and tools for the job. In short, companies must do all things to onboard contractors that they would do for a new employee. Unlike full-time employees, contractors will not be motivated by the perks, but by the way they feel at the workplace. Companies should focus on making a real connection with each contractor.

4. Keep an eye for talent

What truly makes a business successful is the versatility of talent in the organization. With some effort, anyone can clone services or products, but not the talent that a company employs. Human talent is the single most valuable competitive advantage a company can have today. This is the reason why procuring a smart workforce can create an unmatched game-changing environment for companies.

While hiring contractors as temporary employees, companies also need to keep a close eye on their skills set. If, during the course of the project, companies identify potential in contractors, the smartest thing to do is to hire them. Even if the company has not fully figured out where the contractor will be accommodated as a full time employee, hiring skilled talent will give the company a head start.

5. Don’t hire without cybersecurity tools

Over the last decade, cybersecurity has become a major concern for businesses. Experts warn companies to use the right tools when hiring to avoid security breaches. A common assumption among organizations is that only tech companies require cybersecurity, but this is a grave misconception. Any company using a software tool with connectivity to the internet is susceptible to cyber-attacks.

This is why companies need to take precautions when hiring remote workers in the form of identity verification. It is not uncommon for criminals to fake identities and take advantage of the remote workforce to gain access to your business. According to data security firm Varonis, the average cost of a data breach attack is $3.86 million. They further warn against the rise of attacks against remote workers with the aim to get access to cloud infrastructure. Companies should make cybersecurity a priority when hiring contractors, so as to avoid being an easy target for cybercriminals.

6. Assess and review performance

Assessing talent is as important as identifying it. Once a company has hired contractors, the next step would be to assess them in detail. Having the right assessment tools becomes critical here, otherwise there’s a risk of getting this wrong.

Companies can start by being clear about the goals and expectations. And then have an honest and open conversation with contractors, and share feedback about performance just as companies would do with full-time employees. As contractors need to make quick adjustments in performance due to compressed timelines, it will be productive if companies provide them with detailed feedback. If companies have a large temporary workforce, it becomes important to set up processes to support and coach contractors so they have a positive experience. How companies make contractors feel will directly translate into a brand’s reputation in the marketplace.

Talent500 is helping some of the biggest brands hire contractors quickly. We connect you with the right talent from over 50 countries. Set up a consultation now.

Hiring for diversity: 3 best practices to follow

Posted on April 6, 2022 by naveen

Hiring for diversity was once just a practice meant to appease compliance norms, but that isn’t the case anymore. In most organization today, there is simply no room for discrimination, and hiring strategies focus on the value on offer. In fact, data states that organizations that hire without any kind of bias have greater employee satisfaction numbers. Additionally, diverse companies are 33% more likely to outperform their competition and their teams are 2x better at making decisions.

The sheer fact that diverse companies outperform their competitors speaks to the validity of it as a hiring strategy. That aside, it is simply the right thing to do. Moreover, diversification leads to trade facilitation and a chance to explore new market opportunities. Beyond revenue, it also provides increased social cohesion, a welcome benefit that has a major say in public perception. Naturally, every company looking to exist and thrive in a modern landscape must have policies that promote diversity.

Here, setting realistic goals is important and they must align with long term objectives, as is standard for any business practice. Inclusive environments are thriving and the business case for diversity & inclusion (D&I) is stronger than ever, as per reports. If nothing else, it helps steer clear of the steep penalties that accompany a lack of such policies. So, how do companies go about hiring for diversity? Read on for an overview of a few proven strategies.

Diversify against a single demographic workforce

Literature review on D&I provides compelling evidence that diversity unlocks latent innovation, a key driver of market growth. Moreover, the millennial employee is a huge advocate for diversity in the workplace. Data shows that these individuals actively seek out employers with a history of equality among the genders. Women millennials are particularly invested in this regard, looking to see a change in the hiring policies.

Diversifying against a single demographic workforce also promotes goodwill in the market. It creates awareness and has the potential to generate a more diverse clientele. An efficient way to put this into action is to do a thorough audit of the job ad. Scan the language and look for tones that could either alienate or focus on any given demographic. Very often it is the simplest issue of communication that could be the cause of such disparity.

Get rid of unconscious bias with artificial intelligence (AI)

Bias is ubiquitous and universal; it is difficult to avoid. At certain times the blame for discrimination in hiring is placed on unconscious bias, which everyone is susceptible to. Artificial intelligence (AI) holds great promise for eliminating this bias in the hiring process due to two primary reasons:

It remains objective while assessing an entire pipeline of candidates, often faster than humans.
It combines data points using the algorithms to predict the best candidates all the while processing information at a massive scale.

Different software that leverages AI can also eliminate bias in a job advertisement by conducting sentiment analysis. This identifies exclusionary language, while also suggesting alternatives better suited to a more diverse talent pool.

Use blind hiring tools to assess for value

Studies show that a majority (85%-97%) of professionals rely on the mental synthesis of intuition while processing applicants. This simple act of assessment has the potential to develop a bias. Blind hiring solves this issue, as there are no identifiable characteristics shared during the process. Naturally, for a diverse hiring protocol, this approach was widely adopted and rightfully so. Among its main advantages is that it can eliminate gender discrimination from the process of hiring.

This is particularly important as data points out that one in five women are discriminated against during recruitment. When compared to their male counterparts, only 5% reported similar issues. Additionally, blind hiring solutions can eliminate performance assessment errors that may arise when factoring in past experience. This is a common issue that can be a roadblock to establishing diversity.

In general, diverse teams are more efficient and better equipped for the modern world. Organizations must adapt to the new landscape and technology-backed solutions are the way forward. The employee retention improvements alone make it worth the effort, and with Talent500, the hiring process is a lot more efficient.

Our services help companies prioritize their hiring agendas and extract maximum value. Leverage the best talent across a range of developer communities to achieve your D&I goals while attracting the best in the talent pool. To know more, schedule a consultation and explore solutions that can help you build and scale global workforces that deliver.

How to ensure you are hiring developers with the right skills

Posted on April 5, 2022April 5, 2022 by naveen

Ever since the pandemic struck, businesses across industries have been disrupted, and are still trying to pick the pieces and make sense of this new work world. Companies are facing a severe talent crunch and the software industry in particular has been further impacted by this disruption. According to the State of Software Development study, nearly 24% of employers agree that hiring developers in 2022 is difficult. A downside for companies experiencing severe skill shortage is that more than 50% of them report hiring developers who don’t meet the job requirements.

As organizations are faced with a historic level of uncertainty regarding finding the right talent, simultaneously, software technology is growing at a mind-boggling rate, reiterating the need to hire the best software developers.

Let’s start by looking at the major challenges businesses are facing today.

The need for tailored apps is at an all-time high

For companies to stay competitive in this new business and economic environment, the landscape calls for new digital strategies and practices. According to a new McKinsey Global Survey of executives, companies have accelerated the digitization of their customer and supply-chain interactions and of their internal operations by three to four years.

While companies navigate between a remote or distributed way of working, it calls for skilled developers who can build and enable a digital workplace; companies can no longer settle with off-the-shelf apps. There is a sharp rise in the need for customized apps by businesses to meet their business requirements.

Remote work culture is changing everything

The remote work culture is on the rise and IT professionals are leading the way. While the ability to hire candidates from anywhere in the world is widening the talent pool, it is also making organizations lose talent at a rapid pace. Over 4.5 million people quit their jobs in November last year, and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics presents a picture of a tightening talent pool that is forcing HR managers to ditch traditional approaches to hiring and training.

Development teams need platforms and tools that help the company preserve intellectual property. It is also important to combat orphan code and enable knowledge transfer. The right talent-hiring helps fast legacy creation in case severe team changes happen within a short timeframe.

Legacy tech maintenance is a constraint

The software development industry is experiencing a major shift and we are managing 100% more code today than we did back in 2010. Interestingly, 72% of the IT resources at big companies are engaged in the maintenance of legacy systems rather than innovating and creating competitive success in the long run. This is why identifying and hiring skilled talent who can use modern cloud infrastructure to help migrate is critical for organizations.

To tackle these challenges and hire the best talent we recommend these top tips.

Switch to objective-based hiring

Organizations will no doubt lose out on candidates if they are stringent about the policy, and insist on ejecting candidates who lack experience with specific language and tools. A competent programmer can pick up a language within weeks as new development tools and libraries are made available to them. This is one of the primary reasons organizations should hire for talent and not only skills.

Use realistic coding evaluations

Because ‘mis-hires’ are increasingly expensive for tech organizations, it is also imperative to thoroughly assess a programmer’s technical skills during the recruiting process to validate whether or not they will be a good fit for the role. Putting across coding problems taken from real-life situations that the company’s software team face on a regular basis is one of the best approaches in evaluating the potential on-the-job performance of developers.

Establish a system of verifying skills

When organizations move beyond technical skills, they can hire a developer who, at their best, has the capabilities to function as a Swiss Army Knife for software development. This is where organizations will benefit from looking for candidates who are able to display creative, insightful, and rational thought processes. If you think a whiteboard interview or code and bug fixing is the way, you might want to revisit that. It is best to create a work sample quality test as recommended by researchers Frank L. Schmidt and John E. Hunter.

Sell your company to the candidate

A common misconception is that during the interview process, a candidate needs to sell their capabilities to the interview. However, the tables have turned and now it’s up to recruiters to try and convince candidates to join the organization. A candidate needs to be fully on board with the company culture and their day-to-day functioning to ensure that it does not lead to an employee dropping off shortly after joining the organization.

Make quick hiring decisions

This is an important part of the overall hiring process. Some of the best hiring managers and leaders are the ones who can streamline the entire hiring process to make decisions within hours or days. Given that employees always have options of job offers available to them, this becomes even more critical. In a Talent500 Talent Intelligence Survey, over 5000+ active tech professionals said that 2-3 rounds of interview were sufficient. Long drawn interview processes simply don’t cut it anymore.

Talent500 can help you hire developers with the right skills from anywhere in the world, with a faster time to hire. Connect with our pool of pre-vetted elite talent. Request a consultation today.

Tag: hiring