The Benefits of Flexible Resourcing
When a site is undergoing change or growth, a question hiring managers need to consider is: ‘Would a contractor be a better fit for this role in your company than a permanent employee?’
Hiring a contractor can have many benefits depending on the circumstances of your operation. A permanent employee isn’t always the right fit for every role and situation. If your business needs a resource quickly, with specific skills for short a to medium-term project or assignment, a contractor can prove to be a better solution.
Outsourcing for short to medium-term engagements is nearly always cheaper, faster, more efficient, and more flexible than hiring in-house staff. You can use outsourcing to temporarily tap into expertise and experience not available in-house, both technical and managerial, or to reduce support services costs. Concerns about outsourcing’s potential pitfalls stop sites from realizing the many benefits of outsourcing, but quickly bringing in specialized contractors can allow operations to focus on core activities of their business
Asset Management Leadership Centre
Outliers Mining Solutions launched the Asset Management Leadership Centre in 2020 to provide experienced asset management and maintenance leaders. This program lends large-corporation experience to developing and mid-tier organizations. These contractors offer smaller or less mature organizations an opportunity to realize the benefit of this experience without incurring the time and expense of hiring someone full-time.
The Leadership Centre provides your team with experienced, professional coverage until a permanent placement is secured. Remote support and coaching are also available. We provide personnel with two levels of experience: Manager/Superintendent level and Senior Planner/Senior Reliability Engineer level. Our personnel have experience in fixed-plant and mobile asset management.
We designed the Leadership Centre to make access to experienced leaders simple and flexible while keeping the mine fully operational. Our broad team of seasoned asset management and maintenance professionals have operations know-how, leadership skills, and a keen understanding of the challenges of remote sites, FIFO rotations and expatriate situations. While delivering the leadership role’s needs, we also offer additional consulting services to ensure that role transitions, program management and other business-critical tasks are addressed. This program is an excellent option for:
- Filling the gap between two permanent placement positions
- Sites that require experienced personnel to focus on specific programs or projects
- Providing coaching and support to existing site resources or teams
- Sites that are recovering from crisis management situations
- Sites that require rapid access to additional ‘firepower’ for a limited time without having to employ personnel directly
- Filling the gap when existing employees take a vacation or extended leave
Why Hire a Contractor or Consultant?
Although contractors and consultants aren’t suitable for every role, there are instances where a contractor or consultant may be the preferable solution. If any of these factors apply to your company, it may be beneficial to utilize the Asset Management Leadership Center.
- Access to skills
In a recent study, 64 percent of people said that this factor was more important than other factors, like cost savings. A key benefit of hiring contractors for many companies is adapting to changing demands for skills.
- Organizational flexibility
It’s useful to increase or decrease your staff numbers based on changes in the market and the broader economy. If your business revolves around seasonal work, hiring a contractor is useful because you aren’t obligated to keep paying them when work doesn’t come in or the season ends.
- Fast access to new tech
Companies are struggling to hire employees in fast-growing fields, especially in the technology industry. If you’re engaging in such an area, you can probably get a consultant with the necessary skills faster than an employee.
- Ease of termination
Typically a contractor’s agreement includes a get-out clause so that you can end the contract with a few weeks’ notice for any reason. That’s rarely the case when downsizing employees.
- Lower overheads
There’s no need to provide company benefits, holiday pay, sick pay, employer taxes, or pension payments to contractors.
Overall, hiring a contractor or consultant often helps businesses grow more flexibly.
When should I hire a Contractor?
If you are growing or upgrading your mine, you might find yourself needing some temporary help as you navigate the waters of the new opportunities. Contractors are valuable hires to provide your business with a skill or service that you don’t regularly need or only need for a short period. Resources from the Asset Management Leadership Centre are already skilled experts, alleviating the need for training. Our team also knows their work may not be on-going, making them perfect for tasks you don’t need regularly.
The Future of Contract Work
While Covid-19 continues to upend the way we do business, contract-to-hire work will play an essential part in the economic recovery. The COVID-19 pandemic has created uncertainty about the immediate future. As a result, many companies may not hire full-time, permanent employees for some time.
Though businesses may not have the full financial ability to hire permanent staff, they might need to hire additional help at times to grow (or regrow) their company. Given that millions of people are currently out of work, it is more important than ever that employers get the right hire in the right job, at the right time.
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