Contingent Worker

What Is A Contingent Worker? Description, Examples and Benefits

Maybe your company needs more employees during peak season, but hiring more full-time employees is too expensive. In this case, you should seek external, temporary help in the form of temporary workers. Below is a detailed guide to what a contingent worker is and how your company can benefit from their services when your staff needs support.

The most important facts

• Temporary workers are individuals who often have specialized knowledge or training and can help teams complete a project more efficiently.

• Companies hire temporary workers on a temporary basis and pay them based on hours worked or a commission.

• A company is not required to place temporary employees on the payroll or provide them with benefits.

What is a temporary employee?

Temporary workers (also called independent contractors, freelancers, or temporary workers) are people the company hires to handle high volumes of work or to perform certain complex tasks.

Typically, these independent contractors provide their professional services to a company when it is an intensive project. The Company is not obliged to rehire the Contractor after completion of his work.

Contingent workers vs. standard employment

While both temporary and regular employees can help your business grow, they both interact with your business in very different ways.

So, unlike regular employees, independent contractors are not kept on the payroll even though you pay them for their services. Additionally, your company is not required to provide benefits to contractors, although some companies do if contractors stay long-term.

Temporary workers are also responsible for their own taxes. The government relies on your company to properly classify these workers so that the relevant authorities can determine the amount of tax owed.

What are some examples of temporary employees?

There are different types of temporary workers who provide a variety of specialist services for your company during their contractual relationship.

• Writer. A writer can help a company create or update marketing materials, prepare reports, and other intensive tasks.
• Brand ambassador. These freelancers represent your company to the public to increase your company’s awareness. They are often hired for trade fairs or marketing events.
• Advisor. Consultants offer expert advice on niche topics to help your business perform at its best.
• Creatives. Several services fall under creative work, including graphic design or animation. These freelancers often help create marketing materials or content for the company website.
• Accountant. Companies use freelance accountants to accurately record expenses, complete accounting tasks, and handle other important financial tasks.
• Project Manager. These external employees oversee the implementation of projects for which your employees may not have the necessary skills or time.

Benefits of hiring temporary workers

Due to the nature of their work, hiring temporary workers can provide several benefits that your full-time employees cannot always provide. While this doesn’t always or necessarily make them better than a standard workforce, these additional workers can increase the overall productivity of your existing teams.

Reduce skills gaps

Even if your recruiters find the best candidates to fill company positions, your employees may still be missing important skills for certain projects. Temporary workers help fill these skills gaps by quickly providing knowledge and experience until a permanent replacement is found.

Gain new perspectives

Depending on how closely an independent contractor works with your company, their experiences with other companies may illuminate aspects of your business that can be improved. When working with a team of permanent employees, their outside perspective and in-depth knowledge allows them to identify obstacles or opportunities that others do not.

To save time

When you hire an external employee, they can start working almost immediately without the need for extensive onboarding or additional training. Again, their experience will come in handy as they will know the standard process for the task you have assigned and can ensure that you meet deadlines.

Greater market reach

Independent contractors bring an outsider’s perspective to your team and help you see your work in a new light. This gives you exactly the insight you need to reach new target groups. Contingent staff with these diverse backgrounds can give you insight into the type of content you should produce, new advertising channels you should try, new audiences you want to market to, and other activities that will increase your market reach.

Improving productivity

Many temporary workers are deployed on a project basis to fill skill gaps that would have slowed down the regular staff team. More people on a job doesn’t always increase productivity, but the contractor can provide expert advice to help keep progress on track. This may mean pointing out possible obstacles or bringing in an expert for a specific software or program.

Reduce costs

Permanent employees can bring more value to your company in the long term, but this comes with training and onboarding costs. In order to maintain morale and comply with legal regulations, you must also offer certain arrangements. Temporary workers, on the other hand, only need to be paid for the work they do for your company, without incurring any additional costs.

Maximum flexibility

Having a pool of reliable talent for your company to draw from provides more opportunities when a project requires a specific skill set. Good temporary workers can increase your company’s chances of success by giving you the resources to take risks that you wouldn’t be able to take with your regular staff. Likewise, they can help you if you need to manage a sudden increase in work due to recent business growth or increased demand.

Frequently asked questions about contingent workers

What is an example of a temporary employee?

Contingent workers are people with special talents who are used to perform company tasks that regular employees cannot do. People who fall under this term include:

• Copywriter
• Photographers
• Videographer
• Accountant
• Project Manager
• Brand ambassador

Why do companies hire temporary workers?

Companies hire temporary workers to temporarily supplement their workforce with qualified talent who can fill skills gaps in the core workforce and help out during busy times.

Are temporary workers the same as contract workers?

Temporary workers receive a commission or hourly fee for their services, while contract workers receive agreed compensation according to a fixed schedule, sometimes set by a staffing agency. Contract workers can work temporarily or permanently and receive benefits depending on company policy.

The role of temporary workers in your company

While a company’s regular workforce is sufficient for most tasks, temporary workers are a valuable resource when there is a large or complex workload to handle.

When your regular workforce is struggling with a project, temporarily bringing in qualified and experienced employees can mean the difference between success and failure.

However, to know what type of external employees you should use, you need to understand the skills gaps within your workforce. With this thorough analysis you can put your company on the road to success.