Frequently Asked Questions
Why
Use a Contractor?
When should you use a contractor?
Aren't contractors expensive?
How much do salaried employees
really cost?
Is there research
about the true cost of contracting?
Who works for us?
Why Use a Contractor?
Face it - we've all hired that permanent employee that
looks great on paper but just doesn't produce. If you
don't have time to find out how productive someone might
be, let us provide the right person the first time.
Or how about those times when your team is focused on
Task A but you still need Task B done? Or you just can't
find the right skills right now? We can make it easy
for you.
When should you use a contractor?
If you are like our other customers, you may want our
help if one or more of the following situations are
true:
-- When you need a working solution fast
-- When the economy is uncertain and staffing requisitions
are fluctuating
-- When you need proven expertise yesterday
-- When you don't have the skills you need in-house
-- When you have a clearly defined task that you need
done without distracting your team
-- When you need more people but are hesitant to grow
your team permanently
Aren't contractors expensive?
It's true that good people generally don't come cheap
- and shouldn't. But do you really know how much your
permanent employees cost? Figure in benefits, and vacations,
and meetings about the state of the company - yep, it
all adds up. These are costs you don't have with a contractor.
But it's really about value. We all know that our star
programmer is worth far more to the company than his
extra salary would indicate - and our worst performer
costs more than his lower salary saves us. In fact,
researchers indicate that contracting can actually
increase the productivity of your whole company!
Now there's some ROI!
How
much do salaried employees really cost?
If you were to recruit and hire an experienced software
engineer as a full-time employee at a salary of $75K,
the fully burdened hourly cost, which is the real cost
to your company, would look like the following graph:
Given a six month project, for example, the costs to
your project using a new hire making $75K will be about
$120/hour. For the same length project, using
an EASE contract software engineer, your expenses will
be lower and your headaches fewer.
If you want the spreadsheet used
to create this graph you can download it and put in
your own numbers and see what the expenses will be using
your assumptions: Engineering
Cost Calculator
Is there research
about the true cost of contracting?
The Decision Sciences Journal* reports on a study indicating
that companies see performance improvements when using
10% contingent labor such as contractors. This indicates
perhaps that the work ethic and task-oriented focus
of contractors can make your entire operation more productive.
*Vol. 32, No. 4 Fall 2001
Who works for us?
A contracting engineer is motivated differently than a
staff engineer. Successful contractors:
-
Enjoy the challenge of coming
up to speed quickly on a project.
-
Own the solution process, not
the code
-
Revel in solving problems not
achieving security
-
Enjoy a variety of technical
challenges and work environments
-
Realize the customer is always
right
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