As seasoned chief information officers probably know, companies’ IT staffing and management practices are evolving – and fast. With businesses’ tech departments expanding at rapid rates so that their organizations can adopt and implement the latest innovations available to take their operations to the next level, they are experiencing rising demands when it comes to talented manpower.For this reason, a growing number of companies have been leveraging various strategies – from consulting staffing agencies for contractors to hiring remote workers – so they can get their hands on the specialized talent their advancing organizations need. If CIOs are looking to use some of these emerging tactics to build a solid staff of highly skilled professionals, then they should make sure they go about these practices in the best manner possible so they can render optimal results.Temporary staffing continues to growAccording to The Seattle Times, a trend that has been gaining steam throughout the U.S. economy as a whole – and the IT field in particular – is using staffing agencies to find and place IT professionals in contracted positions. Due to economic uncertainties, companies have become more prudent in terms of their hiring choices. To guarantee they are not wasting any expenses, tech departments have started to take on contracted staff members who are responsible for carrying out projects with a specified timeline.”It is not hugely clear that we’re coming into a temp-worker, contract-worker, contingent-worker nation. But it’s something to keep an eye on,” stated Heidi Shierholz, an economist at the Economic Policy Institute, according to the news source. “There’s definitely been an increase in the share of those working part time.”In the past, when economic dips prompted companies to depend on contractors to meet their rising labor demands, they typically returned to their full-time hiring habits as soon as the market began to recover. However, this time around, that does not seem to be the case, as businesses’ temporary staffing practices have continued to climb, despite the country’s financial stability. Bearing this in mind, CIOs may find that these hiring tendencies are here for the long run, and if they want to participate in this trend, they should optimize the ways in which they go about recruiting contractors.CIOs capitalize on staffing flexibility By relying on temporary employees, companies have been able to adjust to the demands of their operations, hiring the precise number of representatives they need, in addition to putting together a team that boasts the exact credentials businesses require at a given moment. Ultimately, this strategy saves organizations a significant amount of money, as they do not have to salary superfluous IT professionals.That being said, companies hoping to implement this tactic have to be careful when selecting their staffing firms. If CIOs plan to follow this flexible plan, then they will need a reliable group of recruiters who can consistently curate a pool of quality applicants. This way, expanding tech departments would be able to count on having access to the manpower they need, meeting the fluctuating demands of their operations as quickly as possible.Find a reputable firm InformationWeek advised that CIOs ask themselves some key questions before choosing an IT staffing firm. First and foremost, they will need to know that an agency is dealing with the caliber of tech talent for which companies are looking. This means that businesses must explore the types of skill sets that firms evaluate, ensuring that the recruiters with whom they would be dealing are adept at assessing sophisticated applicants – not just candidates with general tech experience. CIOs adopting increasingly advanced tools want to have trained and experienced professionals capable of wielding these revolutionary solutions, and the staffing firms on which they depend must have the means to provide them with these specialized candidates.On top of determining the exact candidates with whom staffing agencies work, IT executives will want to learn about these firms’ recruiting methods. The only way recruiters can reach out to the most qualified candidates and place them at companies is by being thoroughly immersed in their communities – both physical and virtual. If agencies have a shining reputation and have established a strong presence through social websites and real-life networks, they will have all of their bases covered and are more likely to come across talented applicants who are also thoroughly involved in their field.