Forte Financial Blog

How do you treat your short-term/contract workers? (And why you should treat them well.)

Scott Berkun - the well regarded project management thoughtleader - observes that managers may be missing out by not treating contract/short-term workers well. He isn't advocating that short-timers deserve special or better treatment than full time employees, but he does suggest that there are three important reasons to treat contractors well:

1. Contracts are scouting missions.
   [excerpt:] Any contractor you hire should be thought of as a potential full time employee - possibly not even for the skill they’re contracting for. Treat them like idiots in a box, and you’ll get idiots in a box. But give them a chance to outperform your expectations and your next star recruit might already be in your office.
   
   
2. Contract hires create your network. 
   [excerpt:] While you’re climbing the corporate ladder, every contractor has a long sequence of future companies and bosses ahead of them. What stories of you will they tell? If you ping them in 6 months about job openings on your team, will they recommend you to their peers in their new company? Contractors are true worker bees. They fly from place to place spreading reputations - will they be your ambassador or detractor?
   
   
3. They bring new ideas. 
   [excerpt:] Forget what job you hired them for - they bring experience your team might not have, and exposure to ideas new to you.

Read the whole post here.

Debunking the telecomuter = slacker myth

A recent article in Employee Benefit News cites a survey by CareerBuilder.com that supposedly demonstrates that many teleworkers are in fact not working much at all!

As someone who often works from home or remotely from a hotel room, this kind of research infuriates me. For every slacker there are many productive, dedicated, honest individuals working very hard outside of a traditional office. In fact, many people who work remotely are working longer hours. The ability to compartmentalize and set boundaries between personal and professional is difficult when your home and work are the same place.

I suspect the survey results would be far different were they to segregate out those teleworkers that are self-employed or consultants. Alas, I was unable to find the original survey at CareerBuilder.com -- if anyone out there is more successful please send the URL in your comments.

The Ultimate Professional Services Firm

David Maister, guru of professional services, poses a challenge in a recent blog post about the Fortune Magazine list of the 100 best places to work. He lists the professional services firms listed in the top 100, and then goes on to list the characteristics that would make a firm great to work for. This is his wish list:

David Maister's Characteristics of a Great Place to do Great Work

What would make a firm a great place to do great work? Here are some of my hypotheses:

• A high percentage of smart, energetic colleagues (no dummies.)
• A disproportionately high percentage of top-end assignments. (Only bring in challenging work.)
• An A  client list. (Refuse to work for the rest.)
• Real mutual support and collaboration among partners (Get rid of the cowboys.)
• Practicing with others who share mutual interests. (Base teams around individual enthusiasms, not dry analytics.)
• Lots of help around (Real coaching from peers and group leaders)
• A willingness by the firm to provide the tools and support needed. (Avoid excessive cost-cutting)
• High standards, enforced with help and discipline. (Acting according to what we preach.)
• A clearly articulated set of values that everyone believes in. (A firm driven by principle, not expediency)

Done well, all of this would create a firm-wide reputation, not dependent on individuals, that would help each person succeed in the marketplace in attracting and executing the best possible, most challenging work.

I take that as a call to action. Is there any reason why Forte Financial should not be such a firm? Sounds great to me, and since I'm the boss, let's see what can be done about it!