Contract help, on request, for a defined need

Permanent placement on contingency is our standard engagement. Contract, contract-to-hire and project crews are available on request only, each on bespoke written terms agreed before work starts.

Contract work is a request, not a menu item

We are a direct-hire technology search firm first, and we say so before anything else. Contract engagements are available only on request, for a defined need, and each one is quoted and written up individually. There is no standard rate card on this site because there is no standard contract, and any number printed here would only mislead you about your particular case.

That caution is deliberate. Contract arrangements depend on the role, the site, the tools involved, the way your organization engages outside people and many other details that a form cannot capture. We would rather have a candid conversation first, and discover together whether we are the right firm, than imply a ready product that does not exist.

Needs that suit a contract conversation

People ask us about contract help when the work has a visible edge. A colleague is on leave and the system cannot be left unattended. A backlog of integrations or migrations has outgrown the team that normally handles it. A seasonal surge arrives and recedes. A specialist is needed to finish one piece of work that your permanent staff will then maintain.

In each of those cases the question is whether the need genuinely ends. If it does not, we will probably suggest a permanent search instead, since paying for a stopgap that quietly becomes permanent is the most common way contract arrangements disappoint.

How terms get written

When a request seems workable, we put the arrangement into a written proposal specific to your situation. It states what the person is there to do, how the arrangement starts and ends, who is responsible for what, and how success will be recognized. It is a document for you to read and challenge, and we expect questions.

We deliberately leave out claims about who employs the individual or how the administrative side works until those are settled in writing for that particular case. The proposal, not a webpage, is the source of truth, and nothing on this page should be read as a commitment about price, length of engagement or the shape of the relationship.

When someone else is the better fit

A dedicated contract staffing firm built around that model may serve you better, particularly if you need many people at once, a standing bench, or a long-running program with predictable volume. We will tell you so plainly. Sending you elsewhere costs us a lead and gains us credibility, which is a trade we accept.

Where we are strong is the harder end of the market: specialists who are not on job boards, whose availability for a defined engagement depends on the right conversation. If your need is of that kind, such as an experienced systems person to carry a conversion or a security practitioner to stabilize a program, a request to us is reasonable.

What we ask you for

To judge whether we can help, we need the shape of the work: what has to be delivered, which tools and environments are involved, where the person works, what level of access and clearance is required, and what happens to the work when the engagement is over. We also need to know who in your organization decides, because contract arrangements stall when the approver is invisible.

Tell us too what you have already tried. If a previous attempt with another provider fell short, the reason is usually informative, and it keeps us from repeating the same mistake with a more cheerful tone.

Contract and the rest of what we do

A contract conversation sometimes turns into something else. It may become a contract-to-hire discussion if you want to see the work before committing, a project crew request if several people are involved, or a permanent search if the need turns out to be lasting. Any of those is fine, and the guidance on each lives on its own page.

Whatever the outcome, the first step is the same: tell us about the work through the form, and say clearly that you are asking about a contract. A senior member of the team will read it and answer honestly.

A word on expectations

You should expect candor about timing, about availability and about the difficulty of the need. You should not expect us to promise a fast turnaround on something we have not yet assessed. Specialists suited to short engagements are scarce and busy, and the ones worth hiring tend to have several conversations running at once.

What a first reply from us looks like

Expect a short, direct answer from a person, not an automated quotation. It will say whether the need sounds like something we can staff, which questions we still have, and whether a different kind of firm would serve you better. If we proceed, the next message is the written proposal. If we do not, you will know quickly, and you will not have spent a week waiting for a polite maybe.

The four engagements

• How we work
• Permanent placement
• Contract-to-hire
• Project crews
• How we compare