Getting the most from Contingent Workers

Hiring independent contractors over full time employees comes with many benefits. Independent contractors are paid per day through a limited company as opposed to PAYE and they can provide you with flexibility, expertise and more choice of candidate available. You might prefer to hire a contractor when you need expert help, quickly. You'll get someone with really specific expertise who are top of their game. People who are masters of their art (Software Engineers, Project Managers, Demand Managers etc) often take their skills to the contract market as they want the flexibility and creativity contracting affords as well as the extra earning potential. They get paid a daily rate as opposed to a package and can offset legitimate expenses through their company to reduce tax. There is a premium for their services, but you get what you pay for in life. But how expensive are they? Well a rule of thumb is to calculate a permanent persons package in your company, salary, Bonus, pension, health plan, Employers PRSI, Options if that’s a thing, and any other benefits associated with a permanent hire. Divide this by 232 to get the equivalent daily rate to compare against a contractor and what they bring.  

Many companies, especially the larger multinationals focus on building a blended workforce that includes permanent employees and Non-Employees or contingent workers. We will refer to Contingent workers or non-employees as Contractors for simplicity – but they come in different flavours (Daily Rate Contractors, Temporary Workers, Freelancers / gig Economy workers by the hour). So companies hire Contractors because it gives them a competitive advantage. The benefits of independent contractors and contingent workers including temps / freelancers include

1. Increased Flexibility when you don’t need someone full time and want to avoid having to look for more work for a permanent hire when the project of work finishes, then you need a contingent worker. You can find them fast, onboard them quickly and they will hit the ground running faster  to get the work done. When finished, you then know about them and a benefit is the ability to re-engage them again for future needs. Contractors who have already worked with your company know how things n, and since they have already been through the onboarding process, re-engagement is often much faster.  When you lower costs and have faster access to talent, you move faster. Independent contractors help companies to become more agile—increasing supply chain control and boosting overall efficiency. It is also easier to terminate employment and disengage as required which is attractive for a lot of businesses.
2. Overheads - Overall, independents tend to be very cost-effective resources because they can be engaged for a set period of time and can contribute specific expertise that may be difficult to recruit for or find among your current base of employees. Once you have a system in place to hire, engage, and manage contractors, there are minimal overhead expenses associated with continuing to build your pool of contingent workers.nbsp;There are many financial benefits to engaging independent contractors, including not having to provide traditional benefits such as health insurance, stock options, or retirement plans.

1. Increased Productivity - Independent contractors are given specific project goals when they are hired. Because their job is to focus solely on solving problems and identifying and implementing a solution, they tend to reach these goals faster than traditional workers.  Using an independent contractor for a project rather than investing the time to hire an employee with the same skills, simply makes more sense for many companies. Independents operate as their own business, completing the work outlined in their contract for a client. Once the project is complete, the independent contractor moves on to their next gig. There’s no dealing with discussions of continued employment or termination. While they will report to a manager, they need much less oversight than a traditional employee. One of the downsides to hiring a new employee is the amount of time it takes for them to learn their role. Independent talent, on the other hand, should be already an expert. There’s less training required. This reduces onboarding time, which is helpful for managers and gets projects started faster.

Want to get the most from your contract worker? Heres how.

Managing a contractor isn’t quite like managing an employee, but it’s not altogether different either. Turns out there’s a delicate balance you’ll need to achieve in order to reap all the best benefits of hiring an independent contractor.nbsp; Why is managing your independent contractors so important?nbsp; Good work is hard to come by:nbsp;Hiring a contractor is beneficial for your business because it allows you access to people who have specialized skills. So, when you find a good one, you’ll want to make sure they’re motivated to stick around. You will also want to get the most return from your investment. Contractors are people, and motivated people work better.nbsp; Being organized and efficient will help you get more bang for your buck. Here are some ways to manage your contractor more effectively

1. Get clear about why you hired them  

You can’t make important decisions about how to manage your new hire until you’ve pinned down exactly what you’re asking them to do. Without this information, they’ll be confused, you’ll be frustrated, and there won’t be any clear parameters to measure what success looks like. Make sure you provide a detailed timeline (including a final completion date), what the output you’re expecting is, what their role and responsibility will be in the team, and how any changes to this existing plan will be managed if (and when) they arise. Utilise a good job spec with deliverables outlined and refer to this in the appraisal process. Now that everyone’s clear on what you need, it’s time to set expectations about what your partnership will look like. The best way to do this is to create a formal document that outlines a clear scope for your project – including a schedule, milestones, key dates and tasks, project goals, privacy requirements and payment terms. Usually when onboarding a contractor, there is a recruitment agency in between the arrangement who should supply a detailed  legal contract and terms as well as manage billing and payments for you.

2. Onboard them and treat them as part of the team

This can seem counter-intuitive since they’re not a regular employee – but stay with me. Good contractors offer expertise you need, but if it’s their first engagement with you – then they are new to your business, so they will need to figure out how  work gets done in your environment (Processes, Stakeholders, Systems). Take time to explain the goal of the work they’re doing and how it connects to the bigger picture for your company so they can make the right decisions that align with strategic business goals. Make sure they have a point of contact so they can get information fast and get going. If they feel welcome, treated with dignity and respect – then they will care more. Human nature, so just like employees they prefer to work for companies that make them feel good. Yes they prefer not to get involved in office politics or get too immersed in relationships but if you don’t exclude them and make them feel like second class citizens because they’re not technically part of your perm team, then this is a good thing. Don’t be fooled that it will make your perm team more appreciative – it often wont. If possible, ask them to attend important meetings at your workplace, add them to the company email list, invite them to the team lunch and ask about their family and interests outside of work.

3. Appraisals and feedback loops

Sometimes people feel like they can’t, or shouldn’t offer feedback to contractors, but this is a mistake. Don’t be frightened by their expertise or experience. Sure it might not be a full-blown performance review but, at the end of the day, this person has been contracted to work for your business – so it’s you who is going to be held accountable for the job they’re completing. Inspect what you expect is the old adage. Begin with your document on deliverables always and a simple discussion about what is and isn't working so they can feel more invested in working with you. Try to include specific examples of work and behaviour as opposed to generalisations and schedule a few one-on-ones to keep the lines of communication open. If you are using a reputable recruitment agency, they can often work on the appraisal process with you and run sessions, feedback loops and more to ensure you are getting what you paid for.

RECRUITERS is a well known Irish recruitment agency that specialises in contracting and contingent workers for many companies and iconic multinationals in Ireland and the UK. For more information contact us on www.recruiters.ie