Professional staffing has always been a chore. The need to fill a professional staff role, no matter the position, triggers an exhaustive, often dreaded process: culling through stacks of resumes, identifying quality applicants, vetting the best candidates, scheduling and conducting interviews, and eventually making tough decisions that, after it’s all said and done, don’t always work out.

It’s a necessary burden: most companies need the muscle and institutional knowledge that comes with a full-time workforce. Still, many employers have the ability – and some might call it the luxury – of supplementing that staff with contract workers who offer, among other things, faster onboarding times and maximum flexibility. In fact, with the right partner – a proven third-party talent cloud – bringing aboard freelance talent can be one of the easiest aspects of a hiring manager’s job.

With a talent cloud, not only can the time and efforts of a human resources department be better focused on other duties, but the results of contingent-labor hiring and professional staffing are often more impressive. That’s because a talent cloud, like PeopleCaddie, focuses solely on contract workers, building networks of quality freelancers and sought-after employers, and, through intelligent technology, matching them in professional relationships that create the best fits for each.

Think of a talent cloud as a vending machine for professional staffing. It’s simple to use, and by building a vibrant and engaged online community, talent clouds build strong relationships with contractors. These relationships, ratings from previous employers, and the increasing scale of the online community offer a clear view of the best available freelancers and deliver a near-instant payoff. That speed is crucial. Companies are always chasing business, seeking the next opportunity, and they can’t afford to worry about whether their full-time staff is perfectly calibrated to take on new work. Having the flexibility to ramp up staff and quickly identify and hire skilled talent to fill specialized roles allows a business to meet whatever workforce needs that may arise based on new projects.

By alleviating the pressure point of modulating bandwidth, a talent cloud enables a company to not only scale up but also streamline at the close of seasonal work or after big projects wrap. One of the reasons employers have balked at new business or focused on slow growth in the past is to avoid workforce bloat during leaner moments. Instead of being on the hook to pay an exclusively full-time staff – not to mention laying out for insurance plans, 401ks, pensions – employers who supplement their workforce with a talent cloud can hire freelancers on contracts that align with the flow of business and, if necessary, make unforeseen adjustments on shorter timelines.

With PeopleCaddie, a company is always plugged into a network of carefully cultivated contractors and a platform that offers smart searching and sortability. Cutting through the clutter to get to your next hire – a pre-vetted, rated and reviewed freelancer with a transparent work history and skill set – puts a world of hiring possibilities in employers’ hands.

Find out how PeopleCaddie’s talent cloud works by clicking here.