You have budget for your project, you have located an exceptional content services agency, and the agency has found you the perfect contractor or, even better, contract team. Now what?
The care and feeding of your contractor is an important step to ensure the success of your project. We have a few tips on how to make the most of your time together.
Prioritize Communication with Contractors
The key to working with your independent contractor is communication. You can’t over communicate with them. The more you communicate about the project and expectations, the better. Ensure that communication happens before, during, and after your project is complete.
At Content Rules, we want our independent contractors involved as early as possible. We include them in the scoping phase. The more information they have about the project scope, the more comfortable they are about the work. The result is a successful project for you!
In my experience, the more feedback I receive from our client about the contractor assigned to a project, the more successful the end result. If your contractor is not delivering what you expect based on the project scope, that needs to be shared during a project check-in call, or sooner. The earlier a problem is addressed, the better chance of correction. Of course, when the contractor is doing a fabulous job, we want to hear that feedback as well! Your feedback is always shared with the contractor so they can both improve their work product and feel confident in a job well done.
Include Contractors in Your Company Culture
Oxford University research suggests there is a link between a worker’s happiness and their productivity. Happy employees can be between 12%-20% more productive. These findings apply not just to your hired staff, but also to your contract staff. Like employees, contractors are more successful and happier when they feel that they are a part of your team.
Your contractor is an extension of your team. They are tackling someone’s to-do list and allowing that person to accomplish another task. They are providing value to you and your team. They are more effective when given respect from your team. That means that your team should be on board with accepting the contractor’s role. They need to respond to queries, provide review comments in a timely manner, and do their best to enable the contractor to be successful.
Occasionally, an employee may feel threatened by the contractor’s knowledge, skills, or presence on the project. Managers may need to step in to address concerns before a situation escalates and the contractor is unable to deliver. The good news is, in our experience, the team usually welcomes the contractor and values their contributions. Sometimes, our customers really bring contractors into the fold, even inviting them to after-work happy hours and including them in team activities. Those projects tend to have the best results for the immediate project and for the long term. The relationships develop and the team can bring the contractor back for future projects with full confidence and no ramp-up time. That said … contractors are not employees.
Remember that Contractors are Not Employees
One of the biggest differences between the employees and contractors on your team is that you are not responsible for the contractor’s daily schedule, professional development, or technical savvy. The contractor is there to provide expert services so that project milestones and goals can be achieved. Employees have a role in the organization in addition to their regular jobs. Most organizations want to develop their employees and retain them for the long term. There are structures in place to help employees learn new skills, tackle workplace challenges, earn pay raises and promotions. Managers and employees set professional development goals for individuals and teams and evaluate performance against those goals.
Employees also participate in the “business of the business.” They may attend Town Halls, All-Hands, or “Ask an Executive” meetings where proprietary information is shared and roadmaps to the future are presented.
Contractors, on the other hand, are focused on projects. They work toward milestones and they provide deliverables. That’s one reason the communication is so key – any changes to deliverables, milestones, or standards need to be communicated promptly and clearly in order for the contractor to work most effectively.
Of course, a contractor needs to be trained in the processes and systems unique to your team. But they should not need to be “managed.” To learn more about caring for your contractors, download the Guide to Successful Outsourcing so you can start contracting for the win.
Val is on the Advisory Board for the Technical Communications Program at the University of North Texas. When not working with customers or students, Val can be found sitting behind her sewing machine working on her latest quilt. She also makes a mean hummus.
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