Digital Contractor Market - Key findings from our 2022 Salary Survey

Jaqs, Consultant on our Contract team, shares his key findings from this year’s salary survey to give insight into how the digital market is shaping out in 2022.

With headcount increasing and 53% of those working in the digital sector considering a career move in 2022, there are gaps popping up in teams which urges the need to bring in a freelancer/ contractor, however, there are challenges that are needed to be overcome to this supply and demand problem for contractors. 

Below I’ll go into detail on what contractors are looking for in this market, and what our clients are putting into practice to win.

Current data shows that 37% (the largest segment) of contractors find their next role through Recruiters, which highlights the importance of partnering with agencies when extra freelancer resource is needed. 

However, partnering with agencies is only the first step in the right direction to secure contractor talent, there are many factors to consider in staying competitive in this market. 

The Day Rate Dilemma: 

From our survey of the contract market as per below, day rate compensation is still the most important aspect when considering a contractor, what we have found is that Day rates have increased by 14% compared to last year to acquire the same talent.

Day rates which could have gotten a well experienced contractor in Q1- Q3 of 202 just do not work as well in the current market of 2022, our data shows to hire the same quality contractor in 2022 that you would of hired in Q1- Q3 of 2021, to stay competitive in a job saturated market average day rates have increased by £50pd. 

What our clients are doing to stay competitive in the digital contractor market: 

Longer Contract Lengths:

Longevity in a contract is a huge deciding factor, if a contractor had three offers on the same day rate, the next factor they would base their choice on is the contract length, what we are seeing work in this market is a minimum of a 3 – 6 month contract. 

Shorter Interview Processes:

The contract market moves very fast with companies looking to do one stage interviews and offers the same day, as a result to capture the talent available the best way to do so is short and decisive interview processes where one stages generally is the norm. 

Increasing Day Rates:

As per our figure, day rates have increased by 14% since last year, by meeting the market rates businesses will see a larger talent pool.  

Start Dates:

Typically, contractors are expected to start within two weeks of receiving an offer, however, with the current candidate short market we are in flexibility around start dates increases the chances of winning in the market. Some businesses we work with have now been open to contractors who can start within 6 weeks. 

To conclude, the digital contractor market is forever evolving and flexibility to being able to adapt to these changes quickly will be the only way for businesses to thrive in this environment, feel free to reach out for more information on jaquarn@spherelondon.co.uk