Evaluate on the Job.
Convert with Confidence.
Evaluate talent in a real working environment before making a permanent hiring decision. The candidate works on SAM’s payroll for a 3–6 month period while you assess their work, fit and team chemistry.
Why Traditional Hires Often Fail the 6-Month Test
Interviews measure charisma and presentation polish — not real-world sprint velocity, code quality, or how someone behaves under production outages. C2H replaces intuition with indisputable proof.
High Stakes, Slow Recourse
- ✕ Blind Commitment: You make permanent commitments based on a few 45-minute interviews and references who rarely share negatives.
- ✕ Painful Severance & Legal Friction: Parting ways with an underperforming permanent employee takes months of PIPs, HR friction, and severance payouts.
- ✕ Immediate Full Sunk Cost: Agency placement fee is fully payable upfront, even if the person leaves within 95 days.
- ✕ Headcount Cap Paralysis: Frozen permanent headcount stops projects cold, even when urgent customer work is on the line.
Audition First, Permanent When Proven
- ✓ Real Output Validation: Observe the engineer's pull requests, bug resolution time, and team collaboration on actual project deliverables.
- ✓ Simpler Exit if It Doesn’t Work Out: If the fit isn’t right, the contract concludes as per the agreed terms, with SAM handling the employee-side process.
- ✓ Preserve Headcount Budget: Funded via operational project expenses (OpEx) rather than fixed permanent headcount caps (CapEx).
- ✓ Frictionless Conversion: Once validated, roll the professional into your permanent team with transparent, predetermined terms.
How the SAM C2H Model Works
From initial briefing to permanent onboarding ceremony, our process is built around compliance support, speed and regular follow-up.
Direct Placement vs. SAM Contract-to-Hire
How the C2H engagement structure de-risks key organizational KPIs.
| Decision Factor | Standard Direct Hire | SAM Contract-to-Hire (C2H) |
|---|---|---|
| Evaluation Window | 2–3 interview rounds (approx. 2–3 hours total) | ✓ Months of real working hours on your projects |
| Severance & Firing Cost | Notice, severance and HR process on your side | ✓ Contract closes as per agreed terms on SAM payroll |
| Budget Source | Fixed CapEx / Permanent Headcount quota | ✓ Flexible Project OpEx / Vendor services expense |
| Time-to-Start | 60–90 days (standard Indian notice periods) | ✓ 3 to 15 days (active immediate talent pool) |
| Statutory & Labour Compliance | Internal HR manages PF, ESIC, Gratuity, audits | ✓ Managed by SAM under our ISO 9001:2015 processes |
| Candidate Culture Fit | Subjective guess from behavioral questions | ✓ Validated daily in team retrospectives & peer reviews |
Top Roles Deployed on Contract-to-Hire
C2H is ideal for high-impact technical roles and niche leadership where mis-hires carry severe project consequences.
Engineering & Cloud
Evaluate real architecture design, code readability, test coverage, and documentation discipline.
- • Full-Stack & Backend Leads (Java, Python, Go)
- • Cloud Architects & DevOps (AWS, Kubernetes)
- • AI/ML & Data Pipeline Engineers
- • QA Automation Specialists (Cypress, Playwright)
Plant & Industrial Leads
Verify shop-floor leadership, shift adherence, safety compliance, and throughput management.
- • Shift Supervisors & Production Engineers
- • QA/QC & Six Sigma Black Belts
- • Maintenance & PLC Automation Leads
- • Supply Chain & Procurement Specialists
Commercial & Growth
Test deal pipeline generation, executive pitching, client relationship nurturing, and quota attainment.
- • Enterprise B2B Account Executives
- • Pre-Sales Solutions Architects
- • Product Marketing & Growth Managers
- • Customer Success & Retention Leads
Take C2H Further with SAM Assured
For mission-critical roles, SAM Assured provides priority replacement support, weekly candidate satisfaction syncs, counter-offer defense, and dedicated senior account director oversight throughout the evaluation tenure.
The C2H Safeguards
Contract-to-Hire FAQs
Common questions from CTOs, Engineering VPs, and Talent Acquisition Heads.
What happens if the candidate does not perform during the trial?
The candidate is employed on SAM’s payroll, and SAM manages the employee-side exit process as per the agreed terms. You can terminate the contract with a standard 7–14 days notice. SAM handles all offboarding, final settlement, and immediately presents replacement profiles as per the agreed terms.
Who handles the employee's payroll and compliance during the trial?
The candidate is an employee of SAM Manpower & Career Services during the trial period. SAM manages salary disbursement, PF, ESIC, Professional Tax, TDS, and statutory insurance. Your team only receives one straightforward monthly vendor invoice.
How quickly can a C2H candidate start?
Because our C2H talent pool targets professionals serving notice or available immediately, candidates can typically be deployed within 3 to 15 business days — saving 60+ days compared to traditional 90-day notice periods.
Can we convert the candidate before the 3 or 6 month mark?
Yes! If you are thoroughly impressed with their work after 60 days and wish to convert early, our tiered conversion schedule allows an accelerated rollout onto your direct payroll at any time.
Ready to evaluate top performers before you commit?
Share your job description. We’ll deliver 3–5 pre-screened C2H profiles ready to begin a trial.