Recruitment: Permanent, temporary, contract, or freelance?

If, like many charities, you’re struggling to recruit, it might be worth taking a step back and reconsidering your options. Below we provide a short overview of the main routes to recruitment, to help you choose the right option for your charity.

 

 

Recruitment and permanent employment

 

If you’re looking for someone to join your charity for the long-term, a permanent contract is likely the way to go. They will have a yearly salary, employee benefits, and embed as part of your team.

 

You might choose this option because one of your team is leaving the organisation, you need to create a new role to bring in a new skill set, or your team’s workload has increased and you need extra pair of hands. 

 

Recruiting to a permanent role is an investment – of time and money. As well as a salary, you’ll need to pay staff benefits, provide an induction, training, and performance management.

 

All that is great if the employee sticks with you for a while. But if it doesn’t work out, it can be more difficult to terminate a contract and expensive to re-run the recruitment process.

 

Hiring a permanent employee means you’ll keep their skills and expertise in your team for a longer time, and you’ll reap the benefits of any further training and development they have while in post. It will also help you to create a stable team, and potentially a loyal one.

 

If you choose to recruit a permanent employee, then it’s worth running the process well and with care. As well as being costly to re-run, the way you present to employees during the recruitment process speaks volumes about you as an employer – either winning them over or putting them off your organisation completely.

 

Take a look at our hints and tips on running a strong recruitment campaign or the NCVO’s guidance on designing a role.

 

 

Temps, contractors, and freelancers

 

If you’re looking to fill a shorter-term need, then it’s likely you’ll want to hire a temp, contractor, or freelancer. It’s worth noting that some of these terms will mean slightly different things to different people.

 

A big bonus of these options is that they are usually quicker to get someone on board than hiring a permanent member of staff (it takes on average 44 days to get someone into a permanent post). Plus, short-term employees are often skilled at jumping into a project or role from the word go, and you won’t need to invest quite so much time on-boarding.

 

Shorter-term staff might be less invested in settling into your team. But working with someone on a contract can be a great way to see if they fit into the organisation, and if you’re a good fit for them. Then, if you need someone longer-term, you could offer them a permanent role at the end of their contract.  

 

 

Temps

  

Hiring a temp is a flexible way to bring in extra resources or skills – and can be cost-effective as you’re only paying for the time you need them.

 

You might hire a temp to take on a short-term project, cover a vacant role while you look for a permanent team member, or for sickness or maternity cover. 

 

There are lots of recruitment agencies specialising in temporary charity workers, meaning they’ll have a network of candidates ready to get started quickly, and will take the legwork out of finding someone.

 

Temps are usually on the recruitment agency’s payroll, rather than your organisation’s payroll, so that means less admin in-house.

 

 

Contractors

 

It’s common to use ‘contractor’ and ‘freelancer’ interchangeably. But there is a key difference: a contractor is likely to work solely for your organisation, while a freelancer may have several clients at the same time.

 

Generally, contractors are independent, highly skilled professionals who work with your organisation for a fixed time.

 

You might hire one to cover a hard-to-fill role or to bridge a skills gap. Contractors are usually sole traders or limited companies, paid direct through your organisation.

 

 

Freelancers

 

While freelancers have many similarities with contractors, generally, their contracts will be much shorter, or for very specific projects.

 

For example, you might hire a freelance photographer for a one-day shoot at an event, or a freelance designer to work with you to design your annual report.

 

Freelancers are typically sole traders (or limited companies) who pay their own taxes and arrange their own business insurance protection.

 

They usually invoice by the hour or the day, so it’s worth agreeing a clear quote, expectations, and timings before they start any work for you. 

 

You might build up a long-term working relationship with a freelancer; someone who is a good team fit and has a growing understanding of your organisation. This will give you access to a specialised skillset from someone you trust, while only paying for them when you need it.