News & Views
READY, WILLING AND ABLE:
Contractors do have a major productivity advantage over permanent employees, who are all too often tied up with day-to-day administrative workloads and infrastructural company matters that can draw them away from their primary role. Being able to focus purely and simply on the job in hand, and what’s more, not having a personal agenda within the company, allows contractors to impart a fresh perspective on the business, particularly since they often have experience in other, parallel companies and situations to draw upon.
It is true that important knowledge gained by a contractor can potentially disappear when they do. Therefore it is necessary to successfully transfer this knowledge into the existing infrastructure before the contractor departs. So thoroughly debriefing the contractor in question is, of course, essential. But this scenario is even more critical in respect to departing permanent employees. Imparting a resigning senior employee’s knowledge base, which has been built up over many years, within a typical one month notice period can certainly test the effectiveness of any organisation - especially at a time when the primary focus is on employing a replacement. An appropriate mechanism in this situation would be to recruit internally for the position being vacated so that the expert knowledge is retained, and then backfill with a contractor. A contractor can provide value or help retain value in any of a company’s positions, so it is essential to formulate a plan to preserve as much of the knowledge as possible.
Will the contractor give their heart and soul to the position or project? Will they make a difference? Will they drive the project hard enough? Will they stay till the end? Loyalty is a two way street. It is said today that contractors are “all care” and “no long-term responsibility”. Well, this is what they are required to do - giving 110% effort and then moving on to their next contract where their efforts are repeated. If they are a true professional, then a contractor’s reputation is as good as their last assignment and so they will always produce results to the best of their ability. Similarly, if you provide loyalty to the contractor in terms of resources, commitment, backing, mandates, etc, then you are fulfilling your part of the bargain too.
So it is important to ensure you recruit the right contractor and then manage the situation. Your selection skills need to be honed to do this. If you are recruiting them via a recruitment company, then ensure you are working with a professional recruitment consultant who can provide valuable and reliable guidance and evidence. Between the two of you, you can engage the right person who will give you this loyalty.
What practical contracting issues need to be addressed to ensure the arrangement runs smoothly? And what needs to be done to mitigate potential risks?
Firstly, do a SWOT analysis and ensure your thinking is clear on the reasons for engaging a contractor. For example:
- What are you wanting to achieve?
- What skills are needed?
- How long for?
Have a brief and keep it simple. Your Contractor needs some guidelines on inputs and outputs. If it is a permanent position they are backfilling, then the existing position description may suffice. For a special/particular project, then quickly tap out a list of objectives, requirements and deliverables. After the first week, follow-up with your contractor to ensure commonality of thought.
Establish a time period… you need one! Your contractor has the right of renewal after this date; and even though most are wanting ongoing work and will be keen to say “yes” to another 3 months, the market is full of opportunities so if it hasn’t been an enjoyable assignment for them, then you may be faced with a replacement to finish off your project. The tip here is to decide on a comfortable timeframe and keep talking to your contractor on the possible tenure, thus developing a rapport.
Confidentialities and liabilities. The contract between your company and the contractor (or your company and the recruitment company) should have these risks covered and it should be legally binding.
So how do you extract the best from a contractor?
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Blend them in to your team - we all need some socialisation so make them welcome.
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Ensure the role and requirements are well defined in your mind beforehand and try to keep the focus on a specific project or role.
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Set clear objectives with associated timeframes.
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Establish regular, clear and simple reporting guidelines to measure the effectiveness of the contract to date and to clarify outstanding requirements.
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Utilise the full breadth of the contractor’s knowledge, skills and abilities, both in performance of their day-to-day duties and in obtaining his or her objective comment on existing systems and processes.
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Organise weekly catch-ups or as required. It would be wonderful if each contractor was “Super Person” and they just did everything to the highest standard and more. However, we can interpret things differently, including a brief. Communication is the key here, so sit down regularly and have those no consequence discussions on where, what, how, etc. You are responsible for managing the outputs so invest as much as you need to in order to get the right result. A Contractor is not a miracle worker.
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At the conclusion of the contract approaches, ensure appropriate time and process is planned to debrief the contractor and ensure knowledge is maintained by the organisation.