Finding talented technology contractors is no longer solely the concern of technology businesses, it’s now due to Covid-19, the main challenge for all businesses. Irish talent-tech specialist Techfynder has the solution.
Techfynder is empowering employers and IT contractors to find one another quickly and connect with one another directly, saving time and money.
Instead of paying costly commissions and waiting weeks to hear back from potential employers, their subscription model provides continuous access to available IT contractors – with the exact skills they need – for a modest monthly fee.
Since its launch in October 2019, it has seen rapid growth. The platform is already active in 92 countries and is used by more than 52,000 technology contractors – one-third of whom are female – and 170 client companies.
Techfynder’s daily use rate by IT contractors is 85%, clear evidence of the number of skilled candidates out there looking for new opportunities according to Paul Guy, Techfynder’s Marketing Director.
“Currently in the industry, IT contractors are finding it difficult to connect directly with the companies that demand their skills,” he says.
To date, the talent-tech innovator’s customer base is split worldwide, with 60% in Europe, 20% in Asia, 10% in the USA, and 10% rest of the world.
It is experiencing significant growth in Germany. “We have seen an increasing appetite in the German technology market for contractors joining Techfynder as well as businesses availing of their services,” says Guy.
“They can see that our solution allows them to connect directly with companies based on their skill level, experience, and rates. Currently, there are over 124,000 professional IT contractors based mainly in tech hubs around Munich, Berlin, Dortmund, and Dresden, as well as in cities such as Erlangen and Stuttgart.”
Techfynder’s IT contractor base in Germany grew to almost 2,500 in its first five months and is now 5,500, being used German client companies such as global player TES, the technology deployment global company. “We have seen particular interest from around Darmstadt due to its research and education demand, as well as technology jobs,” says Guy.
Its rapid success is attributable to the fact that traditional search and hire models are both costly and time-consuming. “For the contractor, planning and searching online for their next contract takes time, while for the company, selecting and interviewing is a long process,” he explains.
By contrast, Techfynder is quick, easy to use, and free for IT contractors. “It’s a free service that connects the contractor with thousands of companies. It enables them to manage their availability and pre-plan their work calendar simply by logging into the system.”
Contractors can find those contracts or projects that require the skills they have, at the rates they want to be paid, either in their chosen location or remotely.
It means they no longer have to register their profile on numerous portals. Techfynder is a one-stop-shop that simply sends them an alert every time a job that meets their criteria goes live on the system.
The benefits for employers are even more pronounced.
“Companies globally are always in need of IT contractors who have the precise skills they are looking for as well and the experience they require. Techfynder’s unique platform is a global solution that allows them to search and find the right IT contractor based on their skills, availability, location, daily rate, and eligibility to work.”
With traditional advertising fees of between 18% and 24%, it represents huge savings for companies.
Once they have chosen a shortlist of suitable contractors they can download and view their full resumes, arrange and undertake interviews, and even sign contracts via the platform.
“For companies it creates a global contractor market and enables you to browse it efficiently, identifying only those IT contractors who meet your needs. Once you have selected them, it allows you to communicate with one another directly, undertake interviews by phone or video, and sign contracts using our e-signature service, all within the platform,” he says.
The easy to use application provides subscribers with a dashboard to highlight their progress, identify profiles of interest and prioritise postings.
“Our commercial model is a non-commission subscription of just $99 a month for companies, and free for IT Contractors. Each month a subscriber can post five jobs and have an unlimited review of candidate profiles, plus 50 downloads of resumes. All our contractors are of quality and are reviewed before they can proceed with a job application directly to a client,” says Guy. Our latest product is the ‘Strategic Account’, were our clients have access to an account manager with their own designated sourcing team, who manage all the processes for them, background checks, technical evaluations, and a lot more.
The new product allows the companies to focus on their business whilst we take care of their recruiting directly. “We have an incredible turnaround rate as we know the tech area well, we have clients looking for contractors within a day’s notice to arrive on-site, complete projects that have their IT skill but also a required language, albeit German with English.”
Corporate subscribers use it to meet a variety of recruitment needs. “One international project saw a client fill 75 jobs, in just five weeks, for positions in Germany, Italy, Portugal, Spain, the Netherlands, and the UK. In another, a UK client company hired five people in each of 17 cities across Germany, with Techfynder supplying 20 candidates for each position.”
Companies only receive notification of candidates with the requisite skills, he points out. “TechFynder’s algorithms will rate for skills, experience, daily rate, and location. It also runs background checks to verify the candidate, all without any human element involved at all.”
Innovative technology alone is not enough, he says. “It’s the user experience that counts. In the case of Techfynder, that means a simple subscription service with no commission and a seamless hiring experience with minimal spending and maximum efficiency.”
The global talent base is growing fast. Currently, there are in excess of 3870 tech skills listed on its platform, with new ones added each week.
Demand for tech skills is growing fast too, particularly in Western Europe, he points out, where skills gaps are clearly emerging. Yet at the same time, highly skilled tech contractors in countries such as China and India are actively seeking out opportunities.
“It’s a massive gap,” says Guy. “What TechFynder has done is to find a way to bridge it.”
