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Finding an IT contractor can save your business time and money. Not only are contractors employed on a contract basis rather than on a permanent basis, but they often possess skills that in-house teams just don’t have. What’s more, by hiring a contractor, you won’t need to pay things like National Insurance and holiday pay – and the process of hiring a contractor is often much quicker than it would be to hire a permanent member of staff. Below, we’ve rounded up the five steps you need to take when hiring your next tech helper.
- Determine what you need from your contractor
Are you looking to find a contractor to cover for another member of your IT team, or do you want a temporary staff member to carry out one-off tasks like data transfers and software switches? Discuss the exacting requirements of your contractor with the team, and decide whether you really need to hire somebody to do the job. You could find that one of your staff members has the skills required and that work and scheduling can be altered to give them more responsibility and carry out all of the required work in-house.
- Decide how long you’ll need them for
If you’re planning on setting up a business server to host your files and documents, then you’ll need to plan the installation and then run an initial set-up before you can begin transferring anything. Be generous when determining long you’ll need a contractor for, and be sure to accommodate for problems and mishaps so that you don’t have to start the hiring process again if your contractor has to move on to their next job.
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- Post the job on a reputable jobs website
As soon as you’ve determined what you want from your new hire, write a job description and post it on a reputable jobs website. The IT jobs in Manchester section of the CV-Library website is one great suggestion – from there, you’ll have access to thousands of job seekers who have the skills and qualities you’re looking for.
Remember to keep your job description short and sweet, and answer questions that you think potential contractors would have. State the length of the contract clearly, and tasks that they’d be required to carry out, and don’t forget to mention the salary for the role to give you a competitive edge against other companies who are also looking to find the best IT contractors.
- Whittle down the candidates
When you’ve closed applications for your new position and have some candidates, it’s time to begin whittling them down and deciding who you’d like to meet for an interview. The Entrepreneur website has put together a guide to screening potential clients effectively and offers some valuable tips. First, it suggests that you focus on their resume. Look at why they left their last position and why their employment history is ‘hoppy’, but remember that you’re only recruiting for a temporary contractor, and, as such, the same rules won’t apply as if you were looking to add a permanent member to your team. Then conduct references in the right way, evaluate the candidates’ personal portfolios and proceed to the next step.
- Conduct interviews
Finding a contractor won’t be as tough as it is to find a permanent member of staff, but you should still take care when interviewing them. Make sure you ask questions that give you a feel for who they are and what they do and ask for them to discuss their experience of working with IT and computer software. To demonstrate their skills, organise a quick task – such as transferring a document from one server to another or responding to an IT issue from a member of staff. The more you can be sure they’re right for your company, the more confidence you’ll have when selecting the right candidate.
Whether you’re looking to hire an IT contractor as soon as you can, or you want to take a slow and steady approach, following these five steps will certainly help. Good luck!