Misconceptions of Contracting
Contracting or resourcing? Does contracting imply specialists who are only there for a short period, people who are essentially outsiders, rather than members of a team, and people who are more expensive than in-house staff? That may be the case in the traditional contracting relationship, but there is a better way. We prefer the term “resourcing” - a cost-effective service that has been specially developed for organisations who need high-calibre people for mid-term, project-based assignments. Resourcing brings a fresh approach to staffing and project management by combining the focus of head-hunting with the flexibility of project contracting.
Filling a gap or focusing on results? The perception is that contractors are hired to complete a specific project, fill a gap or provide temporary cover for staff who are on leave. That’s a legitimate and widely-practiced role for contracting, but resourcing goes much further. The reality is that the “resourcing” approach is much more focused on results. At a structural level, it allows you to create a more dynamic, flexible marketing team and provides a more effective solution than recruitment or stretching existing resources. That enables you to meet the demands of shrinking development cycles for roll-out, launches, events and tactical campaigns. Resourcing also enhances team performance by providing diverse or specialist skills on a short or mid-term basis and provides a cost-effective solution to peaks and troughs in marketing activity. In terms of performance, resourcing places the emphasis on delivery and supports the increasing focus on quarterly activities and results. That also benefits contractors by giving them more focus and a greater sense of involvement in the work and success of the team.
Limited inside knowledge or scalable marketing expertise? There is a perception that no contractors could possibly match accumulated in-house skills, knowledge and experience. While that may be true, just how essential is that for the profile of the contractor? The reality is that marketing departments can use resourcing to acquire targeted and scalable marketing expertise without adding headcount. So, resourcing adds to the capability and experience within a team and complements it. As a resourcing provider, we aim for long-term strategic partner status with our clients and provide the highest levels of pre and post-recruitment support to ensure that our people deliver real value to your business. The resourcing approach is also applicable to agency relationships. Resourcing staff can provide additional benefits by giving marketing departments greater access to specialist technology agency creative skills and production facilities. This is available through a managed marketing service, a fast-track solution for self-contained projects while you retain normal agency relationships for your other marketing activities. This type of service may be suitable for time-critical projects or specialist programmes where regular agencies don’t have the appropriate skills.
General marketing knowledge or deep industry insight? Closely related to this is the perception that contractors are multi-skilled staff who can complete different types of project, but probably don’t have the heavyweight profile to go beyond a tactical role. In reality, the type of people who go into resourcing have the market insight to bring a depth of understanding of the decision-making processes and the key challenges you face. They can work effectively with other members of your team and identify the marketing programmes that will enable you to meet your goals. To enhance your business development programmes and achieve an effective return on marketing investment, they bring strategic vision and an ability to work effectively with your sales, marketing and product development teams. From the contractor’s perspective, there is a perception that they will get more variety in their work. The reality is that contractors, much more than staff employees, are hired because of what they know and can prove that they've done it before in similar industry organisations. They know that clients won't pay contractors to learn their technology or train them on how to meet their audience's needs, so there is a higher expectation that contractors must be able to deliver from day one. The bonus for the contractor is that it’s a great way to build an impressive CV, so both sides benefit.
Industry knowledge or commercial security risk? For some companies, perhaps with a bad experience, the perception is that contractors steal ideas and take them to competitors. On that basis, hiring contractors poses a significant security risk. The reality is that contractors, like marketing agencies, apply acquired campaign knowledge and experience of what works well, and what doesn’t, from previous employment. That allows them to hit the ground running. After all, the reason hiring managers employ particular contractors is probably because of their impressive CV and proven ability to deliver and achieve results in essential areas. Whether or not this constitutes “stealing ideas” or poses a security risk is a matter of degree. No reputable resourcing provider would condone a candidate who flagrantly breached confidentiality agreements or conducted the equivalent of industrial espionage. However, the ability to apply previous experience and industry insight is a beneficial process that is a cornerstone of effective recruitment and selection.
Quality contractors or people who haven’t made it? There is a perception that quality contractors are not readily or quickly available. Instead, contractors may be perceived as people who are “resting between jobs” or are unable to hold down a senior position. The reality, in our experience, is that, although contracting does not appeal to everyone, increasing numbers of senior marketers appear to be comfortable with this way of working as job security and longer-term permanent employment is not a deal-breaker. In our experience, some of these high-quality candidates may currently be in permanent senior positions but looking for new challenges. Others have already worked with us in our resourcing service and have demonstrated exceptional performance and leadership in delivering beyond clients’ expectations. However, we also find that senior marketers tend to be more selective about the agencies they use to secure their next roles and often choose to work with more specialist agencies. These types of contractors are also a lot more selective about the roles they take on and the employers they choose to work for.
Expensive departmental cost or cost-effective investment? The perception remains that outsourcing is expensive and the general belief is that it’s cheaper to keep everything including skills and project delivery in-house. In reality, this is probably a short-sighted view, particularly when looking at the bigger picture. Hiring managers can acquire skills, services and flexibility without the hassle of overheads, sick pay, redundancy payouts and other recurring HR costs. What’s more, hiring is time-consuming work and recruitment agencies aren't cheap, although they take a lot of the pain out of the process. Given the “total cost of ownership” marketing departments would need a much stronger economic case for recruiting and retaining internal teams. While it’s true that some contractors are in constant demand, usually because of their outstanding skills, and earn substantially more than internal staff, the overall cost of hiring in project-based contract staff is likely to be competitive with internal team costs.
Integral team members or invisible resources? There is a perception among contractors that they won't have to commute as much, on the basis that they prefer to spend a lot of time working offsite. They also believe that they will have more control of their time. That attitude could lead the marketing team to feel that contractors act as outsiders. As a result, many marketing departments are reluctant to hire contractors who insist on working mostly offsite due to the lack of visibility of projects or team integration. The reality is that contractors are no less accountable for the timely completion of accurate, high-quality deliverables and that may mean spending the majority of their time working as an integral part of the marketing team. However, most employers understand the benefits of flexible working and allow this on an ad hoc basis – with the average being at least one day in five. Contractors must also decide whose schedule (theirs or their clients') is more important, and resolve the conflict between whether to sacrifice a promising business relationship or their own leisure time. In our experience, contractors bring the commitment, energy and enthusiasm to make your IT solutions enhance the lives of your customers, and make IT prosperous for your business. They are good team players and are able to work effectively with other members of your team to enable you to meet your goals. One small, but important advantage contractors have is that they are outside the politics that go with being on permanent staff. Contractors are able to focus their efforts on getting the job done rather than getting embroiled in office and team bureaucracy.
Job satisfaction or permanent insecurity? Many contractors perceive that they have less job security and are only hired for low-grade jobs that permanent staff want to avoid. In reality, although people contracting for themselves have to provide their own holiday pay, training and other benefits, this is not the case for resourcing professionals who work for an agency that contracts out their skills to deliver a service to their clients. Here, the contractors are protected in the same way as an employee, with a contract, notice period, sickness, holiday and redundancy rights similar to those of a permanent employee. What’s more contractors are often used to strategically fill gaps in skills. That could mean planning and coordinating global events such as roadshows, workshops or major exhibitions, helping clients get maximum benefit from enhanced customer relationships., or building better relationships with channel partners and managed programmes to accelerate new product launches or improve channel performance. The result is contractors who operate as team members with a high level of commitment, job satisfaction, and contract security.
Resourcing, good for business? Resourcing brings a fresh approach to staffing and project management for technology company marketing departments. Resourcing staff enable you to scale your resources to meet peaks and troughs in marketing activity. You can also integrate staffing levels and skills with ongoing marketing programmes. High-calibre candidates, who are a good fit with your corporate culture, understand the importance of focusing on results and improving return on marketing investment. They make your IT matter for your customers and for your bottom line, by delivering real value to your business.
