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Submitted by twinsen on
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Having just finished the ordering multiple interview manager tools podcasts, does the same rigour apply to recruiting external contractors? 

My firm has an established belief if a contract resource is not fulfilling the services provided that immediate termination of their services can be done and a new person brought in. 

I do use most of the Manager Tools screening techniques (telephone first, behavioural questions, interview result capture, etc.) to avoid hiring and onboarding someone poor and then having to exit them regardless of employment status. 

mattpalmer's picture

I don't really think that contractors are really any easier to get rid of -- legally, at least in most parts of the US, you can fire a full-time employee just as easily as a contractor.  To me, if someone is a part of the team, regardless of how they got there, they need to be held to the same high standards as everyone else.

Now, that being said, it does depend somewhat on the nature of the contractor.  If they're a known short-term person to fill in a gap (receptionist cover for a week, or a hotshot DBA to fix a performance problem over a few days) that's a bit different.  In that instance, it would be more likely to be a pay-for-performance gig, anyway.  But for someone who will be working for an extended period of time and being a part of the team -- they're going to be put over the coals.

DiogenesPerez's picture
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In the podcast they talk of 8 hours for an employee who will be 5 or 10 years in your company.

How long does the work with the subcontractor might last? How much money will you invest (compared with payroll)? with the answer to those questions you can develop a rule of thumb that will apply to your company. Maybe an hour interview for every two weeks work? it would depend on the job to be done and many other variables.

twinsen's picture
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Thank you for the replies.  These are actually annual contracts and honestly we have a lot of contract folks who almost just get renewed every year for many years; of course all through a third party agency to keep them at arm's length per legal and HR policies.  I think the wish to treat them separately also stems from the legal thing.

About ROI - the effort expended to on board and bring a new team member up to speed is the same regardless of employment status so I have been scrutinizing folks and trying to hold them to the same standards.  Just because I don't do a performance review using HR templates with the contractors doesn't mean their activities don't contribute to department objectives.  Otherwise, why are they there? 

Noted about the extremely short term assignments.