What You Need to Know to Do Contracting (Hint: It's Only One Thing, and You Already Know It!)

You already know that you should do contracting. You know it can help you keep income flowing when direct-hire job orders are sparse. And you know that more and more of your clients want contractors and are probably going to your competitors to get them.

So why aren't you doing it? Well, there's a misconception out there that contracting is hard. Let's face it, it sounds hard. Who is the legal employer of the contractors? What about taxes and Workers' Compensation? How is the employee's payroll funded?

The truth is, you only need to know one thing to do contracting: How to recruit candidates.That is the only prerequisite for making contract placements as a recruiter. How is that possible? Well, from the recruiter’s perspective, the process is almost identical to a direct-hire situation. You secure a job order, you source candidates, you set up phone interviews, the company selects one of them, and you receive a fee for your services.

Yes, there are certain back-office tasks that must be completed, and those tasks can be complicated and time-consuming. But you don't have to be the one to handle them . . . or know anything about them, for that matter. You can outsource those tasks and responsibilities to a contracting back-office. The contracting back-office works behind the scenes to take care of all the little details and you get to do the fun parts.

With that in mind, here is a three-step plan for getting started in contract staffing:

Tell your clients you can provide contractors.
Ask your candidates if they would consider working on a contract basis.
Select and call a contracting back-office.

That’s all it takes. You can go from a 100% direct-hire recruiting desk to one that includes both direct hire and contracting in a matter of days. We’re talking about a very small up-front investment of time and energy for what is potentially a large return on that investment. And all you have to know is what you already know best!

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