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Contract to hire: see the work before you commit to the hire
A trial period that works for both sides. The professional joins on a Cloud Data Vision contract, delivers real work in your environment, and converts to your payroll when you are both confident.
Interviews predict interviews. Work predicts work.
Even a strong interview process is a few hours of conversation used to make a decision worth years of salary. Contract to hire replaces that guess with evidence: how the person handles your codebase, your stakeholders, your deadlines and your Monday mornings.
The professional joins on a Cloud Data Vision contract for an agreed trial period, usually three to six months. They are on our payroll and our compliance throughout. At the end of the period — or earlier, if you are sure — you convert them to your own employment under terms fixed at the beginning.
It is equally valuable to the candidate. They get to see the team, the tooling and the roadmap before giving up a permanent role elsewhere, which is why strong candidates accept these engagements when the conversion terms are honest.
- Conversion fee fixed at the start
- Early conversion permitted at any point
- Full payroll and compliance during trial
- Replacement guarantee if it does not work
Contract to hire compared with the alternatives
| Contract to hire | Contract staffing | Direct hire | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best for | Roles you intend to make permanent but want to de-risk | Defined-duration project work | Roles you are certain about, filled permanently from day one |
| Employer during engagement | Cloud Data Vision, until conversion | Cloud Data Vision throughout | Your organisation from day one |
| Typical time to start | 2–4 weeks | 1–3 weeks | 4–8 weeks |
| Evaluation period | 3–6 months on the job | Not applicable | Interview process only |
| Cost model | Hourly bill rate, then a conversion fee | Hourly bill rate | One-time placement fee |
| Exit if it is not working | End the contract with agreed notice | End the contract with agreed notice | Standard employment termination |
How the conversion works
Agreed up front and written into the contract, so nothing is renegotiated under pressure later.
Terms set before the search
We agree the trial length, the bill rate, the target permanent salary and the conversion fee schedule before we present a single candidate.
Candidates briefed honestly
Every candidate we present knows this is a contract-to-hire role, understands the trial period and has confirmed they want a permanent outcome.
Structured evaluation
We agree what good looks like at thirty, sixty and ninety days, and run check-ins at each point with you and the consultant separately.
Convert when you are ready
Conversion can happen at any point, including before the trial ends. The fee reduces on a published schedule the longer the consultant has been on assignment.
Or change course
If it is not working, end the contract with the agreed notice. We restart the search under the original terms rather than charging you twice.
Why hiring managers choose this route
- No permanent headcount commitment until the evidence is in
- Faster start than a permanent search, because the offer decision comes later
- The person is productive during the evaluation, not sitting in interviews
- Budget can come from project spend before converting to salary lines
- Team fit is assessed by the team, not inferred from a panel
- A clean, contractual exit if the fit is wrong
Contract-to-hire questions
How long is the trial period?
Most run three to six months. We recommend at least three so there is a full delivery cycle to judge, and no more than six because good candidates lose patience beyond that.
What does conversion cost?
A conversion fee calculated as a percentage of first-year salary, reducing on a schedule as the assignment progresses. The full schedule is in the agreement you sign before the search begins.
Can we convert early?
Yes, at any point. Many clients convert at sixty or ninety days once they are confident, and the fee schedule accounts for that.
Do candidates actually accept these roles?
The good ones do when the terms are transparent and the intent to convert is real. Candidates are wary of contract-to-hire that is really just contract work with a vague promise attached, so we insist on a defined conversion path before we take the requirement.
