PODCAST | Delving into short-term and contract hiring strategies

Short-term and contract work trends are the focus of this edition of Business Day Spotlight. Host Mudiwa Gavaza is joined by Gary Silbermann, co-founder and innovation director at One Degree. 

One Degree is a digital hiring platform specialising in staffing needs for remote and flexible working in the job market. 

The discussion focuses on the trend towards contract work and its place to help fill in gaps where more staff is needed during busy times or as companies look for permanent hires. 

According to Silbermann, it takes about 50 days on average to recruit a new permanent employee.

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“If we consider that there are between 250 and 260 working days in an average year, this means that up to 20% of the productive time in the year is spent trying to fill one permanent vacancy. That’s bad enough but if we consider that the average tenure in this day and age for permanent employees is 1.5 years with an attrition rate of 15%, hiring managers are constantly against the ropes,” he says. 

While advocating for the filling job gaps with contract workers, Silbermann does concede that permanent employment will continue to have its place in SA’s business sector. 

“Independent contractors fill the gaps and mop up unfinished work. They mitigate against over-stretching permanent employees, they ensure faster delivery and they bring fresh skills and perspectives into the business. Some might argue that they charge a premium; there’s nothing wrong with this because skilled contractors are specialists that need to perform and deliver value to secure their next role.”

Topics of discussion include One Degree’s business model; the trend towards contract work; dynamics affecting permanent work; and strategies for making use of short-term contracts. 

• Business Day Spotlight is a TimesLIVE Production.