Addressing Growing Demand for IT Freelancers

In this article, we will discuss how to adjust payroll managers' and recruiters' contractor management processes to harness the growing demand for IT freelancers. Our key objective is to explain why adopting SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) technology is the best way to embrace the market and how to use it for quick ROI.

In the modern world, digital transformation is never-ending, making IT professionals some of the most sought-after employees. As the global lockdown caused tremendous job losses and put people of different professions on the furlough scheme, many chose to enter the IT arena as self-taught contractors.

Following the global pandemic, many businesses faced financial struggles. As a consequence, hiring IT freelancers became a more effective solution than hiring permanent staff. What new challenges does this change bring to recruitment agencies?

Meeting the Demand for IT Contractors

According to Contractor UK, in May 2021, we witnessed the highest demand for contracted IT specialists in the past 23 years. As explained above, this is mainly due to the fact that companies can no longer afford full-time IT specialists.

However, the ‘IT & Computing’ industry is a very broad term. It covers a lot of different skill sets, from technical maintenance to data analytics. Therefore, it’s no wonder companies struggle to find IT contractors to meet their needs. That’s where recruitment agencies step in. It’s your job to match clients with the most suitable prospects and offer the best job opportunities for your contracts.

Attract New Specialists

Every agency strives to grow. They seek to onboard new specialists who can then connect with their clients. With the demand for temporary IT workers being higher than before, the competition in acquiring new contacts is becoming particularly harsh.

One way to get ahead is to adopt a high-performing CRM system. This system can automate most time-consuming manual tasks, such as creating talent pools, tracking applications, and measuring candidate engagement.

We personally recommend Firefish as one of the best on-market solutions, primarily because it caters to recruitment agencies that work with contractors. It puts you in control of creating the processes you need and integrates with a variety of tools that expand your automation capacities. 

Re-engage Former IT Contacts

Another good tactic is to become a highly relevant resource to your IT freelancers seeking clients. Reach out to IT contractors you’ve previously worked with. However, this route isn’t easy. You will need to separate those whose placements are over from the ongoing ones. And approaching them one by one can be a challenge.

But not if you’re using Timesheet Portal’s Recruitment edition. Our integrated email inbox allows you to easily navigate between clients and contractors. You can also filter the contractors by their placement status. From there on, you can send an email to multiple people - just tick check boxes next to the names to determine the recipients. 

Manage Bigger Volumes of Contractors

Assuming you’ve got a flawless and highly effective candidate acquisition strategy, you will soon find yourself dealing with bigger volumes of contractors than what you may be used to. And that, of course, is a challenge. If you’re running the majority of your processes manually, you may not be ready to face it. The best way of effectively managing more contractors at the same time is by relying on process automation.

Invoice Generation

One of the most significant issues in the contractor recruitment industry is invoicing. Manual data input from timesheets is a time-consuming process that is also prone to errors. If spotted, invoice mistakes can lead to serious legal issues. The cherry on top is breaking the client's trust. Naturally, as the number of contractors grows, so will the number of invoices, which again increases the chance of potential mistakes.

At Timesheet Portal, we aim to minimise manual data insertion. This is why our Recruitment product has a tool that generates invoices as opposed to tasking you with that. Additionally, it’s not a rigid one-for-all template. We are offering a diverse range of customisation options, allowing you to create unique invoices that depend on the client’s requirements, the complexity of the job, differentiating charges and other details you may need to include.

It takes the timesheets submitted to the system and applies a set of rules you’ve programmed to pull relevant data together in a form on an invoice. Similarly to how you can engage past contractors, you can also distribute the invoices to your clients via the same internal email tool.

Automated Reminders

As covered in the previous section, you can’t really generate invoices unless you have timesheets. And unfortunately, contractors are sometimes guilty of not submitting timesheets on time. That interferes with the process of invoicing and can cause setbacks that affect everyone. It strains your relationship with the client for not providing them with the needed documentation, and this also leaves the contractor bitter as they are not going to be paid on time.

The same issue arises when a recruiter fails to approve the timesheets on time. Both parties are equally susceptible to error, and it’s human to make mistakes. That’s why the wisest course of action is to pass as much slack onto the technology as possible.

Our product addresses this issue by including a customisable and highly flexible notification system. It applies to both parties: the contractor and the approver. Notifications are sent via email or SMS.

You can customise your reminders by day of the week, time, whether they are pre- or post-required activity time and more.

On-going Collaborations

As a contractor recruiter, you know you’re meant to be a virtuoso of communication. You’re correct in applying this skill set to attract new talents, but that’s not the only area you should concentrate on. Instead, focus most of your effort on maintaining a good relationship with the existing contractors, as retaining existing staff is far cheaper than attracting new people.

Stay in Touch During and After Placement

Keeping the relationship alive is the key to securing a loyal and effective contractor who will work with you repeatedly. It’s a rookie mistake to stay actively in touch with the contractor before securing their placement and then drop off once they start the project.

First, this makes your previous relationship-building efforts look ingenious and self-profit-oriented. Second, it puts you both at a disadvantage, as you absolutely should provide the contractor with feedback during the project.

Finally, with a shortage of IT specialists, building a strong relationship is the most effective way to ensure they don’t run off to your competitors. And, for them to stick around, you need to prove you’re giving them as much value as you get from them.

Summary

Growth in demand for IT contractors has never been higher. At the same time, however, the market has experienced the most significant shortage of IT specialists since 2017. The best way to address the competition in this industry's recruitment arena is to establish tight bonds with your existing freelancers. Treat new talent acquisition as a secondary task.

Focusing on one task at a time might be tempting: retention or attraction. However, to be successful and stay ahead of the competition, you need to find the balance between the two. The best way to achieve this is by adopting software that’s rich in integrations and automation options.

As it happens, we are offering such a solution.

So, why not get in touch and see for yourself?