Hiring experienced contractors as internal project teams can be a good idea, especially if you haven’t got any internal capabilities.
However, their goal might be to prolong the project as long as they can to keep the paycheque coming in.
Or they might be one of those few who have integrity, and who wants to do the best job they can – regardless of how long their contract might be.
How do you ascertain integrity in someone you are about to embark on a working relationship with?
Through quick-turnaround interviews for contractors? (I am amazed that interviews for permanent positions are more arduous than for contractors)
I haven’t got the answer, but I believe it really pays to pay attention to the detail.
Before making the hiring decision:
Spend time to ask the questions
Or find out who can ask those questions.
Use LinkedIn. Twitter. Other social media.
Ask your network, who might know someone who might have worked with them before.
Find out the quality of their work, their attitude, their ethics.
Find out who they are, and whether they will be a good fit for your company. And vice versa.
It’s the same if you hire permanent staff, but I think there is more rigour in the hiring process for them compared to hiring costly contractors.
Yes, you can terminate them quickly if things go south, but sometimes the damage is already done.
Finding out you married the wrong bloke after the wedding night is.. a .. bit too late.
It’s not impossible to ctrl-z the situation, but painful. And costly.
A bit like trying to remove a tattoo acquired in a sensitive private area during a drunk pub crawl binge.
Just. Painful.
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