As far back as 2018, news outlets were reporting on the rise of the contract workforce, indicating that one in five workers at that time was a contract worker, and predicting that these numbers would swell to encompass half the American workforce within 10 years.  

Today, course, those predictions are already being realized. According to Velocity Global, 40% of the global workforce represent contract, or “gig,” workers.  

During the pandemic businesses and employees quickly learned that contrary to common wisdom at that time, employees could work remotely and still be as, if not more, productive. This opened up opportunities ranging from the ability to save on real estate or office costs to the ability to recruit workers from a much broader geography—even a global geography—than ever before.  

Contract Workers in HR, Admin, and Accounting 

Not all types of roles, of course, are equally well positioned to be filled by contractors. Some that are, however, are those within HR, administrative, and accounting. These are roles that are largely task-oriented and tactically focused. And while candidates in such positions require some specialized knowledge, virtually anyone who sets out to learn these skillsets can perform the job effectively.  

Scaling Up (or Down) 

The use of contract workers offers another big benefit for employers—the opportunity to scale up, or down, without assuming long-term liability for salary and benefits. Most companies experience both work stable, ongoing demands, as well as demands that may ebb and flow over time. Maybe it’s a special project need—you’re migrating data from one system to another, ramping up for the holiday sales season, revamping your HR taxonomy, or moving to a new accounting process. Or maybe it’s a system migration—you’re adding a new technology to your operations for payroll or inventory management. A merger or acquisition could also be on the horizon, and additional staff may be in order.  

Whatever the driver, there are times when a temporary demand for labor makes the opportunity to work with contractors especially appealing.  

The Benefits of Contract Labor 

We’ve already seen how contractors can help companies adjust to shifts in demand without the need to hire on permanent staff that will cost more in the long run. There are other benefits as well. 

Hiring contractors allows companies to access specialized talent with current knowledge based on education or experiences with other companies. Contractors often bring in new ideas and new competencies that current staff may not have. 

Particularly in areas like HR, administration, and accounting, contractors may be able to take on the more tactical or routine work required so that employees can focus on higher-level, more strategic activities. And contract staff can generally be brought on board more quickly because the same level of approvals, and lengthy recruitment and interviewing processes don’t need to be undertaken. 

Contract labor can also play a role when current staff may need to take a leave of absence, or move to a new assignment. 

Clearly there are a lot of opportunities for today’s employers for finding contract workers to fill roles in HR, admin, and finance. The company benefits and the contractors benefit as well from more flexibility in the work they do, more opportunities to explore new positions or new companies and more opportunities to learn about the different policies and practices that other organizations follow. 

For employers, though, contractors can represent more administrative oversight. That’s where companies like Planet Professional can come into play.  

Third Party Help in Finding, Placing, and Overseeing Contract Staff 

When you need temporary workers in accounting and finance, HR, and administration, turning to an outside firm to help in the process can both save you money and ensure that you’re following all of the appropriate legal and regulatory requirements, conducting background screening, filing the appropriate forms and documentation. This can be particularly helpful when bringing on several people at once. And you don’t need to worry about backend processes once they start either. You can focus on achieving your organizational goals, while your staffing partner helps you get the right people on board to do the work.  

Contract workers offer a number of opportunities for companies—and contractors themselves. Consider how you could benefit from contract workers to fill temporary or high-volume needs cost-effectively and efficiently.  

Photo Credit: Canva