Contracting in 2024

One thing that the pandemic has shown us is that it was time to change how we work, where we work and for many, work/life balance is a priority. 

Over the past three years we have kept hearing the world of work is changing, evolving and it’s safe to say it looks completely different to what it was before. Hybrid working is now the norm and remote working an option for many professionals. As organisations navigate economic uncertainty, legislation changes and the biggest changes to how we work in a generation, the importance of contract and interim talent in 2024 has never been more important.

For those organisations looking to grow, push forward and move the needle, the organisations that are nimble, flexible, and smart are those that outperform everyone else with contract and interim talent playing a big role. Contractors and interims are an effective and agile method to fill roles in a short time frame, optimise costs and maximise resources. All of these factors provide greater flexibility, risk mitigation and allow for existing resources to be allocated more strategically as projects can be ramped up and seen in a longer-term view rather than waiting on permanent recruitment processes finishing.

Contract and interim talent present a huge opportunity for many organisations to access specialist talent quickly for those niche and hard to fill roles that otherwise would sit unfilled for months, even years in some cases. According to the Open University, 68% of organisations in Northern Ireland are currently facing skills shortages and 70% of organisations have said those skills shortages have increased workloads on existing employees. 

In an increasingly specialised economy, the demand for niche skills and domain expertise continues to soar. Whether it’s Artificial Intelligence, DevOPs, Rust, Go or Machine Learning, interims and contractors allow organisations to enhance their internal capabilities, take some of the pressure off existing teams whilst increasing competitiveness in rapidly moving markets. With the CIPD saying that 41% of employers have hard-to-fill vacancies, interims and contractors are being seen as more strategically important resources to forward thinking organisations and are no longer seen as a short-term fix.

With changes expected to IR35 legislation and removal of burdensome administration in April 2024, more contract and interim talent continues to enter the market seeing this, alongside the flexibility contract work provides and increased control of projects more appealing than an employed role. What this means for ambitious organisations is that need for a strategic partner who can provide contract and interim talent that delivers growth, change and transformation is crucial rather than just having relationships with recruitment companies that provide contractors.

Strategy and partnership, that’s where we come in. At MCS Group, what makes us difference is our approach to contract and interim assignments. We do more than just find the talent for your roles, we find the outcomes and solutions for those challenges and pain points by delivering talent that can be sourced and screened quickly, while delivering a seamless onboarding process so your next contractor or interim can hit the ground running.

To find out more about our contract and interim solutions, and how we can deliver the right talent to your organisation ensuring you have the right resources at the right time book a meeting or coffee with the team today.