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ISSUE 3: APRIL 2006 In This Issue: CURRENT ISSUE FROM THE ARCHIVES JOIN US |
CARE AND FEEDING OF CONTRACTORS By Peggy Kenny You've scoped your project and decided you need some outside help to get it done. Have you thought about the ways your contractor can help you most effectively?
Here are eight suggestions for making the most of your investment in their
services. 1. Plan ahead. Begin by thinking of your contractor as a temporary, but vital, member of your project team. Plan ahead for your contractor's start date. Let your staff know that help is on the way. Whenever possible, make advance arrangements for access to the facilities, information, software, and hardware your contractor will need to be productive. Provide readily accessible tech support to help your contractor use proprietary or secure tools. Time spent waiting for access to data is time not spent moving your project forward. 2. Choose assignments appropriately. Choose assignments appropriately. If your goal is to free up other staff for a special project, ask them what routine chores could be offloaded to a contractor. On the other hand, if your goal is to get an "outsider's" perspective on your project, make that clear to your staff, so they won't feel threatened. Assign tasks that an outsider to your group can accomplish using their existing skill set and tools. For example, a requirement for Internet research is fine; figuring out who is the company expert on an arcane feature of your product is better done by someone inside the firm, who knows the organization better. 3. Use examples. Be clear about the outcome you are looking for. If at all possible, provide samples of the results you want. If a picture is worth a thousand words, a sample is worth a dozen revision cycles. 4. Be proactive. Introduce the contractor to the people who will provide guidance and product expertise, by email or teleconference, if not in person. Let the contractor know who can help with specific topics. This assures the contractor brings questions to the right people, saving valuable time for both your employees and your contractor. 5. Put it in context. Provide enough of a big picture so that details make sense, and the contractor has a context for understanding your processes. Doling out disconnected details makes it difficult for your contractor to perform effectively. Tip: if security or other concerns preclude sharing "big picture" information with a contractor, try to plan an assignment that doesn't involve the protected information; otherwise, accept that the contractor will be less efficient and plan for that. 6. Write it down. Supply written, step-by-step procedures for complex processes that are unique to your organization. This is especially important for procedures that are performed infrequently or require precision accuracy. And make sure these procedures are kept up-to-date, as your processes evolve. Tip: Updating procedures is a good task to assign to a contractor, if your staff has no time to do it. 7. Warn about "gotchas". Warn the contractor if there are commonly used software features or tools that won't work for your project. For instance, if a software program feature is incompatible with company tools or platforms, mention this ahead of time to save everyone time and frustration. 8. Ask for feedback. Finally, beware of things "taken for granted." Your familiarity with your products and processes can overcome the aspects that are not immediately obvious to outsiders. Tip: contractors are good "canaries in the coal mine" for issues that may confuse or frustrate customers. Pay attention to the questions your contractors ask about your products and processes. If they don't understand how to make something work, chances are your customers will have similar difficulty. Let your contractor debug procedures, identifying steps left out, or improperly sequenced. Remember, both you and your contractor want the same thing: a successful project! With some advance preparation, your temporary team member will make a significant contribution to your bottom line. ______________________________________________ Peggy Kenny (peggywrites@yahoo.com) is a writer who develops creative and effective communications in all media for clients in a diverse array of businesses.
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