Sometimes there just aren’t enough hours in the day when it comes to completing tasks for your business. When employees are overworked, or have more on their plate than they can feasibly handle, your business is bound to suffer. Bringing in contractors to take on specific roles is a cost efficient way to address that mounting work and keep everyone working productively.
Before you hand out assignments to contractors, however, you should first consider these tips:
Get it all in writing. Make sure terms are very specific for both sides. Include how you want invoicing to occur and when those invoices will be paid. Make sure you have a way out of the contract if things aren’t working out, and vice versa. Need confidentiality? Get it in writing. Remember that bringing on a contractor is a partnership, so you should try to be accommodating while still looking out for the best interest of your business. If you have access to a lawyer, it never hurts to have that person look over the documents and be sure everything is in place before any work begins.
Ask around. Technology has made it pretty easy for people look good, no matter what black marks may be on their work records. Be sure to ask for references and then follow up by actually making phone calls. You want to be sure that the contractor has a strong work ethic, but also that the person has actually done the type of work you are hiring them to do.
Loop them in. A contractor comes to the job with less training than a typical employee. This means that the contractor may not know the company mission statement or understand the culture. It’s important to provide this information for contractors to help them “get” what your company is striving to achieve. This will make their work higher quality and more reflective of what your full-time employees are doing too.
Be available, but back off. Contractors usually don’t work in the building, and even if they do, they do not have the same rules as regular employees. Make sure they know how to reach you or whoever they report to, but give them the freedom for their expertise to shine. An advantage to hiring an outside person as a contractor is that he or she is specialized in the work you need done, so let them do it – but be available for questions.
Ask for feedback. Make things easier on your business by getting the expert advice of your contractors. Take the opportunity to ask contractors what advice they would give to improve your company. Maybe it is a more streamlined approach to collaboration. Maybe it is an improvement to a product or service. Maybe it is just looking for ways to offer better customer service. Having that outside opinion can be very valuable to your business, so encourage contractors to be honest.
What advice would you share on hiring contractors?
