If you're reading this article, you're probably considering hiring contract workers for your project, and are perhaps looking into the best contractor management software. If that’s true, then you’re probably confused about what a contractor is, and why there seem to be several definitions for this type of employment.
In this piece, you'll learn about these types of employment and their differences, how hiring contractors works, contractor management, and more.
The challenges of working with contractors
Today, many companies are relying on the services of contract workers, because it helps them save significant time and money. With contractor employment, you do not have to set aside capital and resources for training, induction, and all the additional benefits that permanent employees are entitled to.
However, on the flip side, there are also several challenges.
According to a study done by Faulkner Information Services, well over 10% of a company's contracts are misplaced, destroyed, or deleted at any given moment. Further, traditional contractor management also brings a host of administrative issues.
Because contractors are freelancers who work on a flexible basis, a lot of the nitty-gritty of their employment is ambiguous. This makes it harder to keep up with their progress on projects, productivity, and performance.
To make matters more complex, sometimes you have to work with several contractors at a time, all focusing on different but related tasks. Unless you have a dedicated team whose sole purpose is to manage your contract workers, you might have a disaster on your hands.
Here is where contractor management and contractor management software can save the day.
The Difference Between Contractor Workers and Permanent Workers
In the professional world, you often hear of three distinct types of employment: permanent employment, temporary employment, and independent or contractor workers. While there may be several other categories of workers, these are the most common.
Temporary employment is much like permanent employment — the primary difference is that your contract is for a fixed period, after which your obligation to the company and vice versa are concluded.
With contractor employment, independent contractors are generally hired to complete a specific task or project within a specified period. Additionally, contract workers are employed for their specialized knowledge and competencies in a particular niche or field.
With contractor workers, there is no learning on the job. Why? Because their work is for a limited time, usually tied to deadlines that those who hire them must meet. In short, there is a sense of urgency with their tasks.
What is Contractor Management
Contractor Management entails a broad range of workload depending on the nature of your project. In summary, contractor management includes:
- Designing an end-to-end contractor management framework
- Establishing efficient contractor processes like preliminary prequalification and safety, employee risk review, contractor induction, and subcontractor governance
- Safety and adherence checks and assessments
- Authorization and issuance of induction cards to check into physical sites
- Tracking and robust compliance spot checks
- Additional training or reskilling
While all these tasks can be performed by a team of individuals dedicated to contractor management, there is only so much one team can handle, especially if there are several ongoing projects in real-time.
A contractor management system is a more efficient solution if your goal is to complete projects in record time, with maximum efficiency and quality deliverables, especially in the construction industry.
What is Contractor Management Software
CMS is a management solution that a corporation can establish for outsourced employee selection, administration, management and assessment, and the job they undertake for a single company.
Key features of Contractor Management Software
Centralized database
Instead of spending weeks or months sourcing potential candidates for a short-term project, you can save time by browsing through the carefully curated and verified lists of skilled contract workers available in the CMS.
Prequalification
Before you hire general contractors, you must verify and review many documents and safety requirements (in the case of construction workers.) With CMS, you get to skip this stage as the software only includes contractors who have already met all the compliance checks and have all the necessary documentation in place.
In addition, it also updates the contractor on the status of their licenses so they can renew them before they expire.
Seamless digital induction
CMS focuses on a seamless onboarding process for all its contractors so they can immediately get to work. There is no need for contract workers to visit their employer’s offices and collect their IDs, security passes, and other relevant documentation. They can simply sign in using the mobile app and scannable barcodes — a feature available on iOS and Android.
Real-time tracking and time management supervision
If you’re hiring contract workers for a construction project, geo-fencing will come in handy. With geo-fencing, you get access to more than just their sign-in and sign-out time. You can also know what your workers are doing at any specific time and which part of the site they are working on.
Such a feature allows you to make informed decisions about the productivity and efficiency of your workers. Unlike traditional tracking systems where you have to wait for excel sheets with sign-in data, you can instantly identify any misconduct, unpunctuality, and absenteeism.
Frictionless and on-time communication
Generally, project managers hold weekly or bi-weekly meetings with team members to track progress, follow up on deliverables, and update contract workers about any new or upcoming changes.
With CMS, these physical, time-consuming, and monotonous meetings are a thing of the past. Instead, you can connect with contract workers at any time with hard-to-miss notifications so that every individual is always in the loop about progress and changes.
Reporting and dashboard support
In today's data-driven world, businesses that want to stay ahead of their competition invest significant time, effort, and capital into data mining. And a CMS makes this easier.
Contractor management software provides and breaks down the insights collected on projects, contractor productivity, and time management, so you can assess whether a specific hire was a good financial move or not.
Safety management and risk assessment
Certain jobs like construction come with its own set of risks. With CMS, employers can quickly and easily get the necessary permissions to work in risky job sites and inform contractors of the same.
CMS also allows employers to know the vaccination status of contractor workers, if they’ve been in contact with infected persons, or have visited high-risk countries/red zones.
Although traditional field service management may appear to be a basic notion, it is ultimately a time-consuming and intricate operation that can cause a slew of management and efficiency challenges.
Contractor Management Software is the most brilliant option for businesses that outsource their needs while striving for cost-effective, timely project completion, and quality output.
Are you looking to manage your contract workers efficiently and automate a number of processes? Check out SSR for the best contractor management software, client support and friendly pricing.
