The traditional HR answer is "It depends." If you are a small business, a temp-to-hire is a good choice. You will pay more initially, but the person will have been pre-screened and background checked. If he or she doesn't work out, you can quickly and painlessly have the staffing agency replace them. You can interivew and reject candidates from the agency. If the person does well, you can then hire them with confidence. Hiring right away is less expensive initially but you will need to be careful in who you hire. This will include background checking and drug testing. If you already know the person or someone you trust recommends the person, then do the checks but the risk drops considerably. Independent contractor is the least best choice as you are not able to control a lot of their work arrangements. Basically, you will give them a quota/goal and they can work the way they think is best. If you impose a lot of controls on the person, the IRS may not agree they are an "independent" contractor, but actually an employee. That gets expensive! Call me at 321-508-0779 if you have more questions about this topic. Doug Barclay Barclay HR Consulting