How Hiring Contractors can be a Cost-effective Solution for Higher Education

In my previous blog, I touched upon the financial challenges facing the Higher Education sector, in part due to a decline in student numbers and a stagnation in Government funding. Some of the issues may be easier to resolve than others, but what is clear is that managing budgets effectively is more important than ever – so what can be done?

With an ever-evolving political and economic landscape, Universities have had to remain cautious, and rightly so. Unlike the golden age of 2021-2022, funding is now scarce. Not only that, but recruitment processes have also become cumbersome, largely due to self-inflicted institutional challenges.

If a hiring manager has an urgent need for a Learning Technologist for example, they will need to advertise the position for a period of 4-6 weeks, after that there will be a period of review with an interview date scheduled for 2-3 weeks after the application deadline. Not to mention if a successful candidate isn’t selected, the process will need to start all over again. All in all, it could take 3-6 months from the point of advertising for a position, to having somebody in post.

Occasionally, time isn’t necessarily the driving factor. In this case, the above process can work just fine. However, when a piece of content needs to be developed on a tight deadline, or a VLE needs to be integrated for a specific academic term, the timescales above aren’t viable, and the consequences of not having the right talent onboard can be catastrophic.

In summary, Education institutes need a more effective way of securing talent, on-demand at point of need and hiring contractors can offer a cost-effective solution that provides the flexibility required.

Benefits of hiring a contractor

• Hiring contractors is a great way to keep the costs down – that’s right, hiring a contractor can be cost-effective! Unlike their permanent counterparts, the organisation won’t be responsible for holiday pay, sick pay, pension contributions, and general payroll expenses. This prevents institutions from incurring the ongoing costs of full-time employment.
• A flexible resource – Contractors are the perfect solution for project-based work and allow you to easily manage peaks and troughs in business demand. All of Instincts’ contracts are fully flexible and managed on a monthly time-sheet basis, meaning you only pay for the time a contractor works!
• True expertise - All contractors provided by Instinct are seasoned professionals, with many years of industry experience. Additionally, your teams can be upskilled by learning from the best and formulating new ways of working. Any contractor provided by Instinct would have likely worked through us previously, giving you the peace of mind that they can be trusted to deliver high-quality work.
• A quick turnaround - Instinct can provide you with a short list of fully vetted contractors within 24 hours. This can help free up your internal team to deliver against BAU projects, without suffering from ‘burn-out’. 
• You can still recruit on a Permanent basis – Often what you need is a new permanent head on the team. However, a contractor can be a great interim solution whilst your internal teams work to source a more permanent appointment. Allowing you to still deliver against deadlines.

With growing competition among UK universities, as well as from international institutions for students, it’s crucial that we adapt to the evolving expectations of today’s generation.

It is widely accepted that Gen Z prefers the involvement of digital tools in learning, after all, they are digital natives as opposed to adopters and what a good educational offering looked like to a student 30 years ago, is very different to what it looks like today.

But to be able to deliver the high-quality Digital Learning offering required, we need to reflect on the quality of talent who are developing it, and potentially some of the ways we are procuring and attracting that talent.  

By no means is the above a suggestion that we move away from permanent recruitment, as that would simply not be viable. However, what is clear is that from conversations we have with Education institutes on a daily basis, many are simply not aware of how procuring a contractor works in practice and in fact how straightforward the process can be.

If this resonates with you, please give me a call for a no obligation chat!