How to efficiently hire and manage contractors

As a PA or EA, your responsibilities will not only vary day to day, but also between the different companies that you work for. Hiring and managing contractors as well as permanent members of staff is one such responsibility that you may be tasked with. This can often require a different approach in order to be successful.

If you’re involved with recruiting and handling contractors as part of your role, it’s likely that you’ll be balancing this alongside classic personal assistant administrative tasks. Therefore, efficiency is key to making sure that you can easily interact with and manage contract workers in tandem with other tasks.

Contract and freelance employees are a popular hiring choice for companies looking to quickly scale up or bring in expert skills, so it’s likely this is a recruitment scenario that you’ll have to deal with. In this article, we share our advice for efficiently hiring and managing contractors in a PA or EA role.

Finding the right contractor

To begin with, you might be involved in sourcing a contractor if a role opens up that would be best suited to a non-permanent employee.

One of the best ways to efficiently find a contract employee that will fit into your company is through referrals and recommendations. Before you start looking on recruitment platforms, ask whether there is anyone within your network who might be able to recommend a contractor for the kind of position you’re looking to fill.

Recruitment agencies and freelance platforms are where you should continue your search if this doesn’t yield any useful results. Many contractors also have their own websites where they advertise their services, and almost everyone will have a LinkedIn profile that will give you an overview of their skills and experience.

Make yourself a checklist of the key things to look at before you reach out and start discussing employment opportunities. If they have a portfolio, then search it for projects similar to the one you’re hiring them for, and check to make sure that they have any essential technical skills or qualifications.

Something incredibly important to remember is to check for references and reviews. The last thing you want is to hire an unprofessional contractor who won’t deliver the quality of work you need, so don’t skip reading their reviews or following up with references to check that they’re a smart hiring choice.

Setting clear expectations when you hire and manage contractors

One of the best ways to make handling a contractor as seamless as possible is to put the work in at the beginning to set clear expectations. This means creating a very clear contract that outlines the work that needs to be done and the timeline it needs to be completed within, so that there aren’t any misunderstandings later down the road.

You’ll likely be responsible for drawing up and reviewing the employment contract, so make sure to include the scope of work, project deadlines, payment terms, and any necessary confidentiality clauses. Depending on the work and your company, you may also need to clarify things like expectations for in-person work, core working hours, preferred communication methods and any mandatory training that the contractor will need to go through.

Once this has been sent to the contractor, follow up and ensure that they’re happy with and understand the expectations of the role.

On the topic of contracts and terms of employment, you’ll want to make sure that you clarify the contractor’s position in regard to IR35 and off-payroll working regulations. The terms under which you’re hiring a contractor will determine if they need to be taxed and paid like an employee, or if this needs to be approached differently. Using an IR35 tax calculator can be a really useful tool in this instance to ensure that payment is coordinated in line with contractor legislation.

Maintaining an efficient working relationship

The final element of efficiently hiring and managing contract employees is to ensure that you maintain a good working relationship. These scenarios become harder when communication breaks down or people get wires crossed, so it’s important to keep your relationship with the contractor positive and productive.

Setting expectations, as we’ve discussed above, is a key part of this as it will ensure that you don’t end up having to chase deadlines or request that work be done again differently. Good communication is essential in this, so be sure to clarify how you’re going to communicate with a contractor at the start of their work and even ask them how they prefer to communicate eg: over the phone or by email.

Integrating the contractor into the team they’re working with can be another way to ensure that they have a positive experience of employment, which will make managing the working relationship easier. This might be tricky in cases where they’re working remotely and asynchronously, but by making them aware of team meetings and employee events and inviting them to these, you can help to facilitate a better sense of teamwork.

Finally, make sure to establish a streamlined invoicing and payment process so that the contractor is compensated when they expect. Delayed payments or incorrect fees can sour a relationship very quickly, so you’ll want to keep on top of this from the start.

How to hire and manage contractors – conclusion

Managing contractors is a PA or EA responsibility that can be complex if you’re new to managing this kind of employment. But by finding a professional and well-suited contractor, ensuring you understand the practical and legal requirements of contract employment, and setting clear and achievable expectations, you’ll ensure efficiency that benefits both you and the business.