Business 101

WHAT IS AN IT STAFFING FIRM?

At Optomi, we are skilled at placing technology-savvy individuals on temporary projects for our clients. We’re “DRIVING TOMORROW’S TECHNOLOGY WITH TODAY’S OPTIMUM TALENT.”

We partner with Fortune 500 clients and mid-tier organizations to help locate and then place IT consultants with our clients to help speed up the hiring the process on mission critical initiatives and projects. When your sink leaks you call a plumber/expert to x the problem ASAP, when organizations need strong IT talent, they contact an IT staffing rm for quick and talented IT consultants. We are focused on very specific skill sets which allows us to be more agile than most internal HR and recruiting departments. Also, we’re committed to happy consultants and clients, keeping in touch with both throughout our engagements.

Why do people work on contract?

People work contract for numerous reasons with those being based on technology, opportunity, try before you buy, money, etc. A lot of IT Consultants like to ‘get their hands dirty’ and touch and learn new technologies. Instead of staying with one company that has a set number of technologies, the consultant gets to learn new technologies by going to different organizations. To be sure a company is where they want to stay long-term, they do contract or contract-to-hire to be sure it’s a good t with the client and their own needs. Also, there is better earning potential as consultants are paid for every hour of work. There are more options for reducing tax burden and often more flexibility in setting schedule. High level consultants prefer contract because of money and opportunity. Contractors often have the ability to increase their payscale quicker as they move from project to project, whereas a salaried employee will receive incremental raises every year. If you’re making $100/hour +, you go where the projects are because they’re usually not long-term. These are usually the core reasons why people contract but there can be a variety of numerous other factors depending on the situation.

Contract (C)

Providing a client a temporary resource to fulfill a particular staffing need for a certain amount of time. This line of business is our bread and butter. This is where we excel, and also where we make the most revenue. The basic gist of contract work is that Optomi pays a candidate an hourly wage and bills that wage to the client, plus an associated margin. Once the contract expires, it becomes the job of the Optomi team to find another opportunity for the candidate. We strive for a minimum of 6 month contract. Optomi average right now is 7.5 month contract duration. The longer the contract period the better for everyone. At Optomi, we strive to place consultants between a 28-34%GP.

Contract to Hire/C2H/C2P

Providing a client a resource that will be evaluated during his or her contract for a full time position with the client company. Ultimately, the client has an opening on their internal team and would like to hire this person dependent on their performance in the contract segment. They are sometimes referred to within the industry as “try before you buy”. Usually contract to hire opportunities have an associated time frame. For example, a 6-month contract to hire means that Optomi would be billing the client for six months, at the end of which, the client decides if they would like to offer an internal position to the consultant. Again, our goal in this instance is to secure a minimum of 6 month C2P. However, sometimes we have to negotiate a shorter con- tract length to make both the client and candidate happy. We typically DO NOT sign any agreements for less than 3 months in length.

Direct Hire Placement /Perm/DH

Providing a client a resource that immediately becomes a full time employee with company. Direct Hire placement opportunities are sometimes the easiest to sell to potential candidates, but also the hardest positions to fill. Usually we receive permanent placement opportunities when the clients have had difficulty in filling the position themselves. Direct Hire placements are associated with a predetermined markup/fee. For example, if Company ABC has an agreement for a 25% fee, and we place an individual in that seat for a $100k annual salary, we would bill the client $25k for our services. We need to be wary of guarantee periods which means that we guarantee the employee will remain working for the client for a specific period of time. Your goal should be a 25% fee for higher end skillsets but the industry (and our company average) is a 20% fee.

Competitors

OPS Glossary of Terms