Hiring a contractor is one of the best ways to grow your business with minimal risk. A contractor is defined by law as someone who performs a certain task autonomously and within a set job scope. To this end, a contractor can only be hired to perform certain measurable tasks, usually with a start and end date, but not always.
For example, a receptionist could be hired as a contractor, with a task of taking phone calls. But it would be expected that the receptionist normally operate under some level of supervision. Therefore they almost always cannot be engaged as contractors, except in the case of outsourced virtual office services. These work differently though, in that the receptionist is able to take calls for other businesses as well during the day and is usually placed offsite.
When the task is fairly specific
A good example of when is it right to hire a contractor is when you have a single task in mind, and preferably one that you know little about. For example, a web page design job is something you might want to send out to a contractor because it isn’t right to hire a staff member to do this job, and none of your staff are really qualified to do this.
Accounting is another area where you would probably want to hire a contractor or consultant to do the job. Doing this yourself without good training can only lead to problems later on. Contractors typically have their own insurances and take a level of responsibility for the job being done in the correct way.
How to find the right contractor
There are various online directories where contractors and consultants can be found. Ideally these contractors or consultants need to be qualified by the relevant professional bodies, so you must always check this where relevant. Ask friends for referrals as well, if they know somebody who has done a good job in the past.
Always look to see past work, and possibly past clients so that you can get a feel of how the contractor’s work is done. One you have compared a sufficient number of contractors (a minimum of three is a good rule of thumb) then you will be able to engage the right contractor for the job.
Safety for your business
Contractors have the distinct advantage over employees of being able to be quickly engaged or disengaged from the business. There is also an ability to switch liability for tasks onto the contractor, employees are not liable for errors or problems with their work, usually. The rule for hiring contractors is ‘wherever possible, where costs allow’, because they are an advantage to the business in almost every way.
This article is written courtesy of Hirepulse a great place to find contractors and consultants, feel free to take a look at our website.