Flexibility and Agility with Contract Workers

In working on a project for a client, I'm reading through reams of material on staffing and discovering something that comes as no surprise to me: with the increased need for flexibility and agility to compete worldwide, "the smartest companies are taking bold approaches to staffing. ... They are moving away from hiring processes that can take weeks or months .... They no longer see the wisdom in filling every position with a permanent employee [and] rely more heavily on temporary and contract employees." (StaffingSmarts)

Given the many costs to a permanent employee, including payroll taxes, paid vacation and sick days, health benefits, the paperwork, and so on ... and given the challenges of letting them go if they're not needed ... and given the challenge of changing the hours they work or having them ideally fit each new project that comes along ... it just seems completely natural in a virtually connected world that many of our projects would be handled by contract experts that best fit. They may charge a up front higher salary, but may also provide better results (due to specialization) at a lower total cost to the business.

I remember working for a monthly newspaper in 2000 and having the publisher talk about the possibility of having us work remotely -- at least some days of the week -- as technology continued to advance. I moved the next year and began freelancing; and he sold the business not long afterward. But that idea was fixed in my mind at the time, and I'm convinced that this is a strong model for the future.

This is precisely why I offer my part-time services as a Marketing Director and a Writer on Retainer. The idea is to allow any business to have these critical services as if on staff, because the regular work means getting to know that individual business and how best to serve it without becoming a high monthly cost or coming with other employee complications.

Of course there may be several areas where your business can benefit from this kind of arrangement. But if you need any help with writing and marketing in your business ... pick up the phone or write me. I love answering discovering new businesses and people and figuring out how I can help to improve a bottom line.