The role is still vacant. Somehow, the work is still getting done.
Your BA picks up another workshop. Your delivery lead handles the vendor questions. You review the requirements after everyone else has gone home.
So when someone asks how urgent the hire is, it’s hard to explain. Nothing has stopped.
But the work you borrowed those people from is moving more slowly. And the temporary cover is starting to feel like everyone’s actual job.
A vacancy doesn’t always show up as a missed deadline. Sometimes it shows up as three good people having less time for the work you already needed them to do.
That’s why waiting feels safe. A bad permanent hire has a name on it. Someone asks why. An empty seat usually doesn’t have a name on it. Often nobody gets asked.
A permanent hire is a big call, so being careful makes sense. But say a senior contractor costs $1,000 a day, and plenty cost more. That’s roughly $20,000 a month, on a 20-day month. The borrowed time rarely gets priced next to that.
A contractor isn’t the fix for everything. They’re paid from day one and they leave when the work ends. If the job carries on, you’ll still need a permanent hire.
But if the work has an end date, like a migration or a go-live, the real question is who’s carrying it until then. And how much longer they can.
If the honest answer is “people who are already full”, the seat isn’t empty. You’re paying for it in other people’s evenings.
