I have mixed feelings about using contractors in general, and I certainly don’t like ones that live on an island that has to be well-defined and kept at arms-length. I have seen contractors be successful when they are embedded into existing teams, but you have to be careful that you don’t over-invest in them as they, by definition, won’t be around forever.
Here are some ways I believe contractors can be best used:
- They should be extensions of managers and full-time employees (FTEs). When doing project planning, think about what areas can be carved out for individuals, including FTEs, and let contractors help accelerate the project.
- Do not just hand contractors a project and leave them on their own to solve everything.
- Managers and FTEs need to be involved in the decision-making process and guiding their work.
- Contractors should not have direct ownership of any particular area, as we want to keep that ownership and knowledge with internal team members.
If you do this successfully, contractors can come and go without much notice. If you find that contractors are missed when they leave, or there’s a large knowledge gap upon their departure, then you leveraged them incorrectly when they were around.
Yes, we do want them to act embedded in the team when they’re with you, but you don’t want it to be at the expense of your full-timers. Your FTEs should be getting all of the big, challenging, interesting projects first, and then lean on the contractors to help you work through them.
In summary, a phrase I coined recently while articulating these points about contractors: “don’t delegate ownership, delegate execution”.