One of the most significant expenditures for any science-based company is its people. Clearly, if a company could reduce its personnel costs without sacrificing any productivity or intellectual resources, its bottom line would look much better.

Renting staff...that is, using scientifically trained individuals just when the company needs them—is a method of reducing costs while maintaining the level of sophistication and expertise to which a company is accustomed.

Take, for example an agrichemical manufacturer that recently identified a new herbicide—one that could prove very effective and safe for the environment. The company has determined that the com pound requires a testing program of six to 18 months using a specific type of moth colony indigenous to its geographical market target. So it must hire a technician to play mother and protector to the moths in the test.

If the company hires directly, union regulations will force it to find this...

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