For an ERP integrator, the scenario is familiar: a new project is signed, the start date is set, and two consultants are missing on a specific module. A permanent hire takes months; turning down the project or pushing back the plan costs the client relationship. In between, there is an increasingly common route: extending your bench with freelance experts, without making your structure heavier.
Why permanent hiring is not the answer to everything
Permanent recruitment remains the foundation of a solid practice. But it reaches its limits in three situations:
- Workload peaks: several projects start at the same time, then activity returns to normal.
- Niche expertise: a module or localisation you need on one project, without enough work to keep a full-time expert busy afterwards.
- Timelines: between the search, the notice period and onboarding, a permanent hire often arrives after the project has started.
In these cases, a permanent hire creates a lasting fixed cost for a one-off need, with a risk of bench time at the end of the project.
Options to extend your bench
- Direct freelancers: flexible and fast, but sourcing and qualifying them takes time, and you manage the contractual relationship alone.
- Subcontracting to a partner: another firm or integrator provides its consultants, under a services contract.
- Staffing through a specialist firm: the firm identifies, qualifies and presents experts on your module, on assignment or contract, and can also hire permanently when the need becomes lasting.
Whatever the option, one point is worth checking with your legal team: in France, supplying staff for profit is regulated. The contract must cover a genuine service, with a defined deliverable or expertise, and not simply the loan of labour.
Good practice on the integrator side
- Qualify module by module. “SAP consultant” or “Workday consultant” is not enough: Employee Central or payroll, Financials or PSA, design or support. The more precise the need, the more reliable the selection.
- Check project references: size of the rollouts, exact role, working languages, client sectors.
- Prepare onboarding: project method, tools, client contacts. A freelancer who is up and running in a few days is a freelancer who was well welcomed.
- Think ahead: some experts on assignment become excellent permanent candidates once the relationship is established.
The right balance
The strongest ERP practices often combine a core of permanent experts, who carry the method and the client relationship, with a network of qualified freelancers who can be mobilised quickly. This model lets you respond to tenders without waiting to hire, and keep your cost structure under control.
The condition is to have that network before you need it. On the day the project is signed, it is often too late to start looking.
Are you an integrator or consultancy that needs to strengthen a team on Workday, SAP, Oracle Cloud or Dynamics 365? Discover our freelance and contract staffing service.