How to Bridge the Marketing-Staffing Gap

If the company you work for is like many companies in today's economic climate, it isn't hiring too many people and its marketing budget has been cut. Employees are being asked to do more with less.

Now more than ever, however, marketing efforts are needed to drive sales. What options do companies have to get all the work done and drive business growth?

It may be the right time to consider hiring an interim marketing professional. This person can fill in for a project, a medical leave, or a sabbatical, or just manage workflow issues. It could also be that your company doesn't have a marketing staff but realizes that some marketing efforts and plans are needed.

Interim staffing is a timely idea. Whether you label these professionals marketing consultants, contractors, or freelance marketers, they all have one thing in common: They can get the job done quickly and efficiently, and at less cost and time than it might require to hire a permanent employee to do the job. Consider that the average time it takes to fill a job opening is 48 days, at an average cost of $3,270.

The trend toward hiring temporary staff for marketing and other functions is growing. Of hiring managers, 29% expect to use freelancers in 2009 (CareerBuilder.com). In 2005, 7.4% of all workers were classified as independent contractors (US Bureau of Labor Statistics).

In a recent issue of Contingent Workforce Strategies, author Kara Holverson wrote: "There are plenty of reasons to turn to temporary workers and plenty of benefits for the companies that use them, especially in today's economy."

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Eva Wu is a partner at Bridge Marketing Professionals (www.bridgemp.com), a marketing consultancy and interim marketing staffing company based in North Carolina.