Full-Time vs. Hourly Consultant?

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Full-Time vs. Hourly Consultant: [guide + questionnaire]

To determine if your need to hire is sustained or interim, evaluate the people, the scope and the cost. Hinge can talk through your questions by scheduling a chat. You can also download our full-time vs. hourly consultant checklist below.

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Hiring is the most important part of management, so once you have determined you need to hire, consider whether it makes sense to invest in a full-time salaried employee or an hourly temporary consultant.

There are advantages and downsides to both:

Hourly contract hires offer flexibility, speed to hire, and the ability to focus on a precise skillset.

Advantages include:

  • assess candidate on the job, gaining insight into workstyle, culture fit, and skillset

  • evaluate sustainability and viability of a longer-term need

  • mitigate risk due to economic or strategy changes

  • saves recruiting cost, time, and the ability to pivot easily if you hire the wrong candidate

Downsides include:

  • smaller talent pool  

  • potentially a less committed candidate

  • expensive hourly rates  

Full-time salaried hires require a longer cycle time, more investment in training, and incur upfront recruiting costs.

Advantages include:

  • higher caliber candidates

  • larger talent pool

  • ability to protect intellectual capital

  • higher employee engagement and commitment

Downsides include:

  • potential to make a wrong hire, wasting time and money

  • a wrong hire could impact your team’s dynamic and morale

  • costly, typically 45% – 55% of salary with taxes & full benefits

Let’s look at some questions to help you decide:

  1. What is the current business environment?

    Do you have a solid purview into the sales pipeline? Is business steady, growing, or unpredictable? What is known and unknown as you look ahead at the next 6 to 12 months?

    If you don’t have a clear vision or solid understanding of goals and budget, a temporary hourly consultant could be a good solution until you do.


  2. Is the increase in workload sustainable or is this an unusual peak? What is your team’s capacity? 

    If one of your primary objectives for the year is to make a technology platform change, and once the transition is made, your current team can manage. A temporary consultant can be the perfect solution.

    If your team is already maxed, and the future project load keeps increasing, chances are you want to invest in a full-time employee.

  3. Can I write a comprehensive job description? Does the work require a full 40 hours per week?

    If yes, can you define the KPI’s for the position? Is there someone to manage, train and mentor this person? 

    If the answer is yes and the need is sustainable, a full-time headcount might be the way to go.

    If you are uncertain of the scope and sustainability, outsourcing to a vendor or hiring an hourly based consultant is a better option.

  4. Does your team have the skills and expertise?

    If not, do you need to hire for the skill, or could you up-skill your current employees? Will having this expertise on your team long term help you achieve your goals?

    If you are uncertain, you may want to try a consultant to increase the capabilities of your team while assessing your longer-term needs. If the direction you are headed is known, investing in a full-time employee will likely land you a more quality hire.

  5. How does my budget align with my needs? What is the estimated full-time salary?

    As a business, the cost to hire is not just the salary. Additional benefits, taxes, and overhead costs quickly add up to between 45% – 55% of an employee’s base salary. When you do the math, and consider hiring and recruiting costs, do you want to take the risk of hiring the wrong person if the future is uncertain?

  6. What is my timing? How quickly do you need to accomplish your goal? When do you need to complete the projects?

    The cycle times to recruit and hire have increased significantly over the past few years. If you have the time to wait and the budget, invest in a full-time hire. But if you are needing to ramp up quickly, an hourly consultant can onboard quickly without incurring additional recruiting costs.

To determine if your need to hire is sustained or interim - evaluate the people, the scope and the cost.

Hinge can talk through your questions by scheduling a chat. You can also download our full-time vs. hourly consultant checklist below.

 
HelpJenny JohnsonDownload