Every business requires some form of manpower to successfully run its operations. In today’s business reality, IT has become a very major component. There hardly is any type of business that does not require one form of IT or another. As a business grows, these IT needs increase.
What this means is that there continues to be a rising need for very qualified IT experts. Everyday, companies are looking to hire staff for their IT department and the competition is making this more difficult. For companies that are looking to employ their own in-house IT expert, there are two ways they can go about it – in-house hiring and using an IT staffing agency.
We shall do a quick comparison of the options listed above so the benefits of each method will be clear.
A Comparison of In-House Hiring and Hiring Agencies
To compare between in-house hiring of IT staff and hiring through an agency, we will look at how the two perform in some key features.
Efficiency
In-House Hiring – Regardless of how experienced a company’s HR or hiring department is, they will likely not have the necessary knowledge to hire an IT staff. At best, what they will have will be a general HR knowledge which may not be enough to ensure that the candidate most suited for the position is hired.
IT Staffing Agency – An agency like this has full knowledge the workings of the IT department and so will know what skills and qualification to watch out for while interviewing applicants. This simply means that the selection process will be more efficient since it is more likely to lead to the most suitable candidate(s) being put up for the position(s).
Time
In-House Hiring – When hiring in-house, the process begins with the available position(s) being advertised. After they are advertised, the applications are reviewed and then some are shortlisted to move on to the next phase. It is usual for the entire process, from advertising to the final selection to take a few weeks if not months.
IT Staffing Agency – When an agency gets a request for some openings to be filled, they do not necessarily begin to place adverts. They already have a database of suitable candidates which they immediately sort through, choosing those that fit the needs and requirements of the client company. This process can take a few hours or a few days before the company receives a list of suitable candidates. This is much more efficient and time saving than the other alternative.
Cost
In-House Hiring – The cost of hiring in-house can be very high, especially if the company wants to have a top quality hiring department. From the cost of hiring workers in that department to the cost of running the department, placing job adverts and conducting all the necessary interviews, a company needs to be hitting a minimum level of staff hiring for this expense to make sense.
Someone suggested that this can only make sense when a company hires an average of 50 persons monthly.
IT Staffing Agency – When you need a position filled, you reach out to the agency and get what you need and pay for what you get. This is not just efficient but also much cost saving. You do not need to maintain a department that will not be required to function all the time.
Guarantees
In-House Hiring – When you hire in-house, you bear the full risk of the performance or non-performance of the new staff. You could spend all the time and money filling new positions only for some of them to leave your employment after a short while for any reason. You will then have to go through the process of filling the position again, spending all that time and money.
IT Staffing Agency – When reputable agencies supply a company with IT staff, they usually offer some form of guarantee. This guaranty usually ensures that if any of the applicants they supply leaves within a specified period, they will be obligated to refill the position at no extra charge of refund the payment made for that placement.
Conclusion
After looking at the comparison of the two options for hiring IT staff, it should be clear to you which method is best for the majority of companies, especially small businesses. As you can see here, hiring agencies bring efficiency to the hiring process of any business, big or small. Everyone can take advantage of this service.
