Problem:
It is a familiar problem facing companies throughout the mid-Atlantic region and throughout the United States. While the challenging economic climate puts a spotlight on the cost efficiencies within organizations, work still must get done. In-house teams are working at capacity, and while new projects are being created, organizations are unable to staff them with their current workforce. Furthermore, the rapid pace of evolving technology reveals a second critical issue; a lack of emerging skills within existing teams to meet the milestones of cutting-edge projects.
Problem – Case study example:
Our client, a Fortune 500 organization, faced a new challenge. Its website search rankings were not keeping up with its competition. To keep proprietary knowledge in house, it sought to build a search engine optimization (SEO)/search engine marketing (SEM) team with a distinct goal of using newly acquired talent for guidance and best practices across multiple clients within the field.
The new team would have to manage the SEO project from beginning to end, including defining strategy, implementation, and carrying out the day to day tasks associated with a successful search engine initiative. Team leaders would need to spearhead the new department and train others. In addition to the required soft skills and industry knowledge, the new roles within the department would need to have analytical skills and vast knowledge of SEO trends and techniques, as search engine algorithms are consistently modified and updated, requiring constant vigilance and updates to Web content.
Solution:
Hiring needs are born from the creation of new projects and initiatives. Today’s corporate environment, while often challenging and complex, allows for flexibility in how organizations build their teams. While full time hires can meet some defined needs, options like freelance staff and contract-to-hire employees permeate today’s work force. It is prudent during role definition to not only define job role and required skills, but also the potential longevity, duration and scope of the need. While no clear formula exists for assessing which type of hire is best suited for which roles, outlining and defining expectations clearly can assist in making the decision.
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Benefits of Full Time Hires |
Benefits of Freelance Hires |
Benefits of Contract-to-Hire |
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Solution – case study example:
To build an internal SEO team, our client sought to acquire talent with SEO account service experience. Affordable, mid-level, experienced SEO candidates would also need to collaborate with senior executives in the field. With a thorough understanding of client needs and budget, Profiles helped in defining a hiring strategy and an 18-month timeline to evolve the organization’s SEO department.
Based on its requirements, the Fortune 500 organization would benefit from the contract-to-hire model that would allow it to take advantage of variable cost savings in benefits, and bring on full time hires in waves, enabling it to ramp up over time. Further, the employer and contract employees would have the opportunity to work together to assess the cultural and business fit prior to committing to full time employment.
Results:
While no ‘correct’ response to a hiring need exists, today’s environment allows organizations to find not only the right candidates, but also the right employment model. Options like full time, freelance and contract-to-hire models include benefits for the employer and employee. To make the decision that best suits an organization’s needs for each requirement, it should:
- Define the organization’s immediate goals, vision of future goals and resource needs
- Define the job expectations, required skills and success criteria of each role
- Define the longevity and scope of the requirements, taking into account how a project can evolve and grow over time
- Build a relationship with a trusted staffing firm that has the niche expertise required to find top talent across the Web, marketing and IT occupations regardless of desired hiring model.
Results – case study example:
With a timeline and strategy in place, the Fortune 500 organization was able to quadruple its SEO department over an 18-month timeline. By partnering with Profiles, it was able to recruit and hire five new employees within the contract-to-hire model. Phase two of the department expansion entails onboarding up to five additional employees with SEO experience, optimizing its searches 600% and increasing its client base by 200%. Both phases should be completed in a three year timeframe.
By finding the right candidates and using a hiring model that suited its need, the organization now utilizes industry best practices and its search results have increased globally. It now enjoys top ranking within Google and Bing search results for its dedicated keywords. It is also driving additional revenue by utilizing a pay per click, online marketing model.
Profiles provides a full suite of recruitment and staffing services for many of the Mid-Atlantic’s fortune 500 companies and leading brands. Profiles offers more industry expertise, greater cost efficiencies, and a proven ability to match the best candidates with the right positions and companies.
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