Contractor Conversions

Converting Contractors

If you want to convert a current contractor into a full-time position, please follow the steps below before reaching out to Talent Acquisition:

1. If the contractor is employed through a third-party agency, please reach out to the agency to confirm the end date of their current contract

   • If the end date works with the intended start date for the full-time role, that is the ideal scenario
   • If the date does not work with the intended start date for the full-time role (for example, their contract ends in September and we intend to convert them in March), ask the agency about any early contract termination fees as this will need to be covered by your team’s budget

2. Ensure the role you want to convert the contractor into has a job family.

3. Confirm that their country is eligible for hiring as this will technically be adding more headcount to a location

   • If the country is not open for hiring, we unfortunately will not be able to convert the contractor into a full-time position

4. Confirm the budget you have for the new full-time role with your FP&A partner/s and make sure it aligns with compensation benchmarks for the contractor’s location.

   • Please note the budget may not perfectly align to the contractor’s actual location and that there are several factors that go into a total compensation package at GitLab including base salary, equity, benefits, and other personal motivation factors. These do not directly equate to a contract rate, so the recommendation is to ensure we are in the same range during this step and you will work with your Talent Acquisition partner down the line on a final offer recommendation.

If all of the steps above have been completed and we’re able to move forward, please reach out to a Talent Acquisition Leader to get this process started. From there, one of our Recruiters will work with you to:

1. Request a GHP ID from Finance
2. Input the requisition into Greenhouse for approvals
   • TA will post the role internally only and add the contractor’s information manually once we have their name and contact information (email and phone number)
   • The source should be changed to “Contractor Conversion”
3. Work with the current contractor directly for compensation expectations, as well as interview scheduling
   • NOTE: TA requires completing 1-2 interviews for any contractors converting into full-time roles
4. Recommend an offer (including equity) for the contractor, keeping in mind their location, our compensation ranges, the budget for the role, compa ratio, full-time benefits and equitability across the current team
5. For R&D only - create and submit the business justification scorecard.

Talent Acquisition Responsibilities

1. Contractors will need to complete the reference form so CES can capture their details (full legal name, address, etc). Reference checks aren’t required.
2. The Recruiter will work with the hiring manager to recommend, create and extend an offer that is in line with the contractor’s experience and skill set, as well as the role, job grade, and compensation range.
3. When submitting the request for the contract, the Recruiter should note in the request that this offer is a contractor conversion for CES.
4. When selecting a start date, please ensure there isn’t a large gap between someone’s end date and new start date as this will affect their GitLab systems access. Ideally, the start date will be the following Monday from a Friday contract end date to limit disruption to their access to systems, etc.
   • If a start date is after their contract end date, there is no need to terminate the contract through Procurement – the contract should expire after the end date and the PO should be closed.
   • If the start date is before their contract end date, the hiring manager will take on the responsibility of terminating their contract with Procurement.
     • Procurement will ask that a Termination Request is submitted in Zip. This allows the team to complete any steps needed to close out the PO early. In these cases, it should be noted to Procurement either in the title, description, or a comment in the Zip request that the contractor is being converted. Then, if IT has to review they are aware as well and can take the correct actions with system access.
5. For all contractor conversions, CES will need to confirm with IT Ops whether the candidate will need a new laptop or not (full CES process here).

What to know and action as the hiring manager

1. If more than one current contractor is interviewing for a full-time role, the hiring manager will be making a decision based on overall skills and experience for the role. If the budget allows, the contractor not selected for the full-time role can continue in their role under their current contract.

2. If a current contractor is interviewing for a role that is also open externally, the hiring manager will ultimately hire the strongest candidate for the role.If the budget allows, the current contractor can continue in their current contract role if not selected for the full-time opportunity.

3. There may be situations where a contractor from one team is interviewing for a full-time role on another GitLab team.

   • In this case, the hiring manager of the new full-time position will connect with the contractor’s current manager to ensure they’re supportive
   • The contractor’s current manager can share more details about their contract timeline, etc. The current manager may need to reach out to Procurement to obtain and confirm contract details.
     • As a contractor, please always ensure your current manager is supportive of you interviewing for open roles at GitLab before applying

Once a Contractor is marked as hired

1. The hiring manager will receive a new onboarding issue
2. The hiring manager will submit an issue here using the ‘tsp_to_fte_conversion’ template
3. There may be some additional Access Requests that need to be completed to differentiate the new hire’s contract vs full time access. Please check in with IT about this if you have questions.

View page source - Edit this page - please contribute.