Pressured clients seek specific contractor relief

Interim consultants have confirmed what contractors have long-suspected -- that overhead burdens on end-users provide optimal conditions for third-party, temporary hires.

In fact, in a 400-strong poll of senior interims, almost nine in 10 who are on-contract said their client’s decision to bring them in was mainly thanks to “external pressures.”

And today there’s a ‘perfect storm’ of these, elevating conditions to above optimal. For example, there’s Brexit, fiscal slowing; digital transformation and new market hunger, found Odgers Connect.

The staffing specialist warned against over-simplifying the reasons that freelance consultants are used, but also said 88% of those on its books gave reasons which had one underlying factor.

“Rising economic uncertainty is, we believe, fuelling growth at the high end of the professional gig economy,” said Odgers Connect managing partner Chris Preston.

“From Brexit to squeezed public spending, both private and public sector organisations are making increasing use of independent consultants to identify their best options.”

Crucially for contractors recently told to turn consultant, Preston said clients chose consultants who are freelance to get “an objective resource focused on a specific challenge.”

That appears to explain why although Brexit and economic slowdown are “major concerns,” the most dominant ‘push’ factor towards using freelance consultants was needing to find new markets. Digital transformation was the second biggest reason clients gave.