Contract to Hire
Typically, this is used to get to know a person and if they would fit in with your team. This can be for various reasons: Maybe it’s a senior team and the consultant may or may not be a good fit or maybe it’s a junior team and bringing in a seasoned person could cause a team conflict or possibly become an unintended leader.
This is when bringing in a consultant can be placed on a contract-to-hire basis, giving you the opportunity to evaluate the consultant’s performance before committing to a long-term, permanent hiring decision. Say there is a need for a specific project that needs a skillset that is not on the team ie: an application specific migration from version 1 to version 3. This is where it is important to have confidence in your staffing partner to get the skillset right before bringing in the consultant.
Pros
- Flexibility of budgeting in the short term.
- Fills skills gap in team.
- On-Boarding is faster as it is temporary.
Cons
- Consultant may not be a good fit in the team.
- Consultant may find a permanent job and leave.