Hiring contractors can be a strategic decision to meet urgent project needs, especially when deadlines loom. This article does not aim to dissuade you from hiring contractors or deny their value. Instead, it sheds light on the hidden costs associated with hiring contractors, which project managers and stakeholders should consider. Additionally, we offer suggestions to mitigate these costs.

Project Familiarity

Contractors often work on short-term agreements. It’s common for a company to hire a contractor to develop a specific part of a system. However, contractors typically leave after their tasks are completed, handing over maintenance to permanent engineers. While documentation and well-written code are crucial, code familiarity is even more important for maintaining a project.

Understanding how the application is built and how different parts are interconnected is invaluable, often more so than extensive documentation. Documentation can never cover every aspect of a system comprehensively, and people interpret it differently. What makes sense to one person might not to another.

To address this, companies should focus on standardisation. Developers can more easily adapt to projects that follow consistent structures, tools, and libraries. Technical demos and pair programming can also help teams become more familiar with different parts of a system or application.

Project Enthusiasm

Permanent employees, who believe in the company’s values and see the significance of their work, tend to be more proactive in improving product quality. They are usually more productive and take the initiative to enhance the product.

Unfortunately, this enthusiasm doesn’t always extend to contractors. Many contractors are primarily motivated by getting paid and may do the bare minimum. This mindset can cause conflicts within teams, as permanent employees strive to meet high standards while contractors may cut corners to complete tasks quickly.

To mitigate this issue, involve contractors in company meetings and ensure they share the company’s values. Encourage them to contribute to product improvements, making them feel like part of the company regardless of their employment status.

Hiring Processes for Contractors

Due to the nature of contracting roles, companies often rush to onboard contractors quickly, leading to less efficient hiring processes compared to permanent roles. This can result in hiring contractors who are less technically capable than the rest of the team, increasing the burden on permanent team members.

Contractors should be subjected to the same rigorous technical assessments as permanent hires. Ideally, they should be highly skilled and capable of mentoring and supporting the team.

By considering these hidden costs and implementing strategies to address them, companies can better manage the integration of contractors into their projects, ensuring smoother operations and higher overall productivity.