&gt; <i>The &quot;3 month probation&quot; thing is essentially a temp-to-perm contacting position. Do you pay people 2x-3x more during that period?</i><p>What about paying people the 2x-3x more  in the event you decide not to keep the hire? Then the mechanism becomes a 3-month option to make the job either full time or a fairly compensated contract.