This week we're talking about Managing Contract Personnel.
Contractors are often employed to fill vital, but temporary or transitional roles. An IT staff that needs to reduce an expanding backlog of work or an organization that requires special knowledge for a one-time project often employ contract personnel to fill the gaps in their own teams. For some managers and organizations, it is a difficult task to properly evaluate the quality of work that contract personnel perform if clear goals are not established at the start of a project. Once the proper groundwork has been laid, there are additional tasks a manager must perform in order to properly utilize contractors over a project lifetime.
The first task is to clearly define the scope of work that you expect contractors to perform. If someone is purely a technical resource, then they should be made aware of your organization's quality levels and service level agreements. As with any employee, they should be expected to provide work that conforms to these standards. You should expect that prior to this engagement their standards of work have been a patchwork of differing standards and expectations as they moved from project to project. Laying out the ground rules at the start will make both of your jobs easier in the long run.
Items that can help contractors get up to speed
Personnel that will be performing management tasks need to know their domain of influence. That is, who and what they are expected to manage during the project. Do they need to motivate people who are not direct reports? Are they responsible for delivery of any documentation or test results? What are your organization's standards for project management? Providing these details, in addition to the technical standards mentioned above, will give the contract personnel the knowledge they need to complete their tasks to your and your customer's satisfaction.
For those who will manage non-reports help them do their job by providing the tools they will need to motivate those non-reports. Nothing is more exasperating for a contract manager than to hear "you're not my boss and you can't do anything if I don't do this work". Contract managers need to have the same ability to deal with non-performing employees as you do. If there are no negative consequences for team members who fail to perform, morale and discipline will evaporate. Team members will retreat into CYA mode and your project will fail. As a permanent manager you can (and should) clear those roadblocks by intervening with either the problem team member or their direct supervisor. This is especially important when non-reports work for a different group or organization within your company.
The next step is to set up progress report meetings at fixed intervals during the project timeline. You should get reports from your contract personnel prior to internal tollgate/milestone meetings, especially if this is their first engagement with you or your company. You will need to iron out differences in expectations among your team before you go "public". Airing differences in expectations during a non-team milestone meeting means that you as a manager have not done your job, no matter how badly the contractor has "not performed as expected". In addition, when reviewing work with contract personnel listen carefully to their evaluation of other team members. If someone in your organization is an obstacle to progress the contractor will often need your help in clearing the roadblock. On the other side of the coin is determining whether the contractor is trying to lay blame for a lack of progress on people in your organization. When projects are going badly it is your job to determine the real cause of the delay. Knowing the history of everyone working on the project, contract or permanent, will help in that regard. It always helps to emphasize at the start of a project that it is a team effort, and success or failure will belong to the entire team.
Let's say you've clearly outlined the expectations you have for your contract personnel and are holding regular progress reports. What next? Don't assume that everything will continue to flow smoothly. As your project ages the chances of contract personnel leaving for one reason or another increases. Don't be surprised, you've given them absolutely no guarantees about employment, and we've all had that Friday afternoon discussion with contract personnel where we let them know that they don't need to come back in on Monday. Contractors cope with that job insecurity by constantly looking for their next job. If a "better" job comes along and they are not quite finished with your job, don't be surprised when they set up their own Friday afternoon meeting.
You can minimize the risk by either using a staffing firm that guarantees either the personnel (they will stay the entire contract length) or staffing levels (they will replace anyone who leaves with a comparable resource within a set number of days) or by joining into a guaranteed contract with each contractor you need to keep for the entire project lifespan. A bonus for contracts that stay the duration of the project can also help avoid loss of key personnel. On your side you provide a certain duration and/or pay level the contractor can expect, such as "at least six months" or "at least 90 days or a separation payment of $1000 if less than 90 days". The contractor would agree to work the minimum period (or the entire contract, if that is your desire) or forfeit a portion of their fees a nd/or a project bonus.
Okay, now you've set up your project, provided clear quality levels and deliverables to your contractors, established regular update meetings and safeguarded key personnel. Are you done yet? Of course not! Your final task as a manager of contract personnel is to work the transition period; the time when one project is coming to an end and another is starting. Do you keep your current team together? Do you find new personnel? What if your project gets cancelled? As mentioned above, the end of a project is an uncertain time for contractors. They are often not told their fate until that final Friday of launch week. To keep your contractors on course and away from the job boards you need to step up your motivation during this time. Stop by work areas and have quick (less than five minutes) discussions with personnel to see how things are going. Make sure you have the time to deal with any issues that come up during these talks. You will negate the purpose of these meetings if your response to a problem is "well, I'm on my way to a seminar in Hawaii, let me know how that little problem with the database works out!" In addition, be sure to offer positive verbal feedback to team members who have been doing well. A public "well done" does wonders for morale. Finally, be open about future projects. If your next project isn't firmly established let everyone know. You may lose a contractor or two at the end of the project, but all the ones who stay will know that you are dealing with them fairly. Of course, the entire subject of project scheduling and transitions is another topic...and another column!
I've highlighted some of the key points of dealing with contract personnel. As you will find, each experience is unique in some way, and you'll learn a little more from each contract engagement. As long as you deal with contract personnel fairly and openly, and give them the tools they need to succeed, they'll help you and your company succeed. If contract personnel request to be brought back for future projects, you're doing your job well!
Until next time, thanks for Talking Technology with me!
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