Everyone wants to make more money, and recruiters are no exception. One of easiest and most reliable ways for recruiters to make more money is to add contract staffing to their business models.

Contract staffing can help recruiters generate more income by:

1. Providing a steady stream of income - When you make a direct placement, it's a one-time fee and you're done.  With contract staffing, you continue to make money over the course of the whole contract. That means money is coming in even if you are on vacation. For longer contracts, you can actually end up earning more than if you had placed the person directly. 
2. Allowing recruiters to earn money hourly - Contractors are generally paid hourly, so you are paid for every hour they work. This adds up rather quickly. Consider this: it is not uncommon for a recruiter to have 12 contractors out and make $10 per hour on each of those contractors. At that rate, assuming the contractors work 40 hours per week, the recruiter would earn $4,800 per week.  That adds up to $249,600 per year! And you earn even more when they work overtime.
3. Earn conversion fees - Conversion fees are like the icing on the cake. In addition to earning money for every hour the contractor works over the course of the assignment, you could earn a conversion fee if the client chooses to hire the contractor directly.  It is a good idea negotiate a Conversion Fee Agreement with the client for every contract assignment because you never know which contract placements could turn into direct hires.  Top Echelon Contracting can include custom conversion fee language for the recruiter as part of our standard Client Services Agreement to the Client Company.

Debbie Fledderjohann is the President of Top Echelon Contracting, Inc.