If you have an open position in your organization, instead of immediately hiring a permanent employee, you may want to consider the ‘try-before-you-buy’ approach. This method provides a way for companies to test drive their talent without making a full-time commitment prior to observing the quality of their work.  In fact, contract staffing has many benefits for employers and is an underutilized tool that can help improve your retention rates and ensure you are getting the best possible candidate for the job.

Contract staffing ensures you can fill an open position quickly, with talent who is well-trained, has specialized skills, and just needs a quick overview of how your company operates. If you have mission critical positions that are open, this strategy can help ensure your business won’t suffer while you are looking for the right person.

Let’s take a look at a few of the other benefits of implementing the try-before-you-buy approach:

1. On-the-job interview.
Instead of having to spend inordinate hours interviewing prospects, you can focus on observing the contractor in action. This means you can evaluate actual on-the-job performance over a longer period of time.   Also, the data you gather in evaluating prospects this way is likely to be a better predictor of their ability to succeed in that job, compared to the few hours spent talking in the hypothetical during an interview.

2. Finding the right culture fit.
Not only is job performance vital, it is also important to measure how well a contract employee fits within your organization’s culture and how they interact with others. If you end up with someone who isn’t the right fit, you can employ another contractor until you find the one candidate that works best for you.

3. Minimize your risk if change is required.

With permanent hiring, if and when it becomes obvious that the employee cannot handle the demands of the position, making changes can cost valuable time and money.  Minimize the cost and hassle of legal entanglements related with such changes by testing  your talent before you commit to them.

Working with the right staffing agency will also help ensure that you’re not just getting contract workers to fill resource gaps, but highly qualified talent that can help you keep things running smoothly and work towards your business goals while you make your decision.