Utilising Contractors in Your Search for a Permanent Workday® Team

Hiring your permanent Workday® team can be tough – especially for those tricky-to-fill senior positions that are so integral to the success of your Workday® platform and business goals. 

You’re searching for the right combination of technical, functional and behavioural skills, matched with the right experience, and a good cultural fit. Not an easy task in a relatively small ecosystem. On top of that, the average cost of replacing an employee is roughly £30,000 (⁓$37.5k), so you want to take the time to get your permanent hiring right, and not fall victim to high turnover costs. 

The talent pool has improved in the last year or so, but tech layoffs, partnered with many organisations calling for a return to on-site working, have kept the skills-gap alive. Many candidates are reconsidering making a big career move, when this could impact the stability, security and flexibility they have with their current organisation.  

However, there’s no need to panic if your search for permanent Workday® staff is proving to be time-consuming and difficult – there’s a short-term solution that could solve a lot of your problems.

Fill the void with contractors 

Why not hire Workday® contractors to fill the void while you’re waiting for your permanent Workday® pro to take the reins? 

If your hiring process has hit speed bumps or turned stagnant, and there doesn’t seem to be an end in sight, it’s time to take a more agile approach. 

Let’s break down why hiring contractors in the interim is a sensible move… 

Immediate Availability 

In contrast to the hiring process for permanent employees, the process for hiring contractors is quicker, simpler, and easier. You could hire and onboard a Workday® contractor in a matter of days. 

If you’re working to tight deadlines that you’re unable to meet, or need urgent support for your Workday® project, a contractor can come in and hit the ground running, solving the problems you’re facing in the absence of your future permanent team member. 

Flexibility 

Workforce needs can fluctuate quickly, leaving room for changes and uncertainty if you’re going through a lengthy permanent hiring process. This is the beauty of filling the void with contractors – you can hire immediately based on your workforce needs at that time, but you’ll also gain the flexibility you need to aid your team during the search for permanent staff. 

You scale the team up or down based on project needs, and once your permanent team is in place, you can adjust your contractor workforce accordingly. Contractors work on an hourly or daily basis, so if you need to either extend or shorten a contract, you’ve got the freedom to work around your project scopes and timelines as you see fit. 

Strengthen your Workday® practice 

A Contractor would bring a much-needed skills injection into your Workday® practice. A successful contractor is an expert in their field, so you can bring them on and see immediate results with your Workday® platform. They’ll also share skills and knowledge with the Workday® team you already have in place. 

They would offer some stability and continuity to your Workday® practice while you’re searching for someone to take the role permanently, so you don’t onboard that new permanent employee and immediately land a huge workload of overrun deadlines and a backlog of projects in their lap. 

By fortifying your Workday® practice with a skills injection, and keeping the workflow going, you’re also making the position much more attractive to permanent employees, as a long-empty role is often a red flag for candidates. This will help shorten your time-to-hire for your permanent employees. 

Shape your perfect candidate 

Getting a contractor in the short-term can actually help paint the picture of who you want to hire permanently. 

You might have an initial idea of what your perfect team member looks like, but contractors often possess skills you didn’t realise you needed. This realisation could have a huge impact on who you eventually decide to hire permanently, and the scope of their role within your Workday® team. Contractors can expose you to a learning curve that could lead to a more successful Workday® practice going forward, and leverage the Workday® platform in ways you hadn’t anticipated.  

Let the contractors pave the way for your permanent success. 

Although it might seem like there’s no room for a contractor in your hiring budget, the financial repercussions of leaving an important Workday® seat at your table empty for months could be far greater. With the strategic use of contractors in the interim, you could stop your Workday® initiatives from stalling, build a team in less time, create a more attractive environment for the permanent candidates you’re looking for, and shape your idea of what your ideal candidate looks like.  

Focus on WD are 100% dedicated to recruitment within the Workday® ecosystem, so we are well placed to assess your needs and advise on how to save you time and money going forward in your hiring process. We also have an extensive network of accomplished Workday® professionals, both contract and permanent, so we can supply expert candidate profiles within a short timeframe. If you’re interested in discussing the strategic use of contractors when hiring permanent Workday® staff further, get in touch today.