There appears to be a reoccurring theme of rejection surrounding engaging contractors. When contacting my clients to advise them on current contracting talent, the most common objection I face is – “I only look to engage people who are part of the team and loyal to my company"...

The reason anyone hires an individual is because there is a need for a particular skill at one point in time to ensure business as usual. Contractors can equally be the solution. In the current candidate market, contractors are equally valuable assets for employers that are looking to staff projects and have a demand for a specific area of expertise.

The onus is on you. Contractors are an organisational asset, adding immense value. Contractors have a specific skill set and are adaptable in their approach given your organisational demands. This is what they enjoy and why they choose to engage in contract assignments.

Contractors more often than not choose contracting to maximise their earning potential and to expose themselves to a variety of challenging work based on their strengths. This enables you to leverage this skill set to your advantage and continue to allow business to function as usual.

Welcoming them as members of staff into your environment is crucial as it creates a collaborative environment and instills loyalty for the assigned period. How you can leverage this expertise in an existing company culture is easy – include, involve and value. Your response prompts the loyalty.

Company values are important to any staff member – this is why they chose to engage with the business in the first place and sets the tone for the engagement. Yes, their status is different to permanent staff, but, in order to ensure that they are actively invested in achieving outcomes, communication and involvement are of equal importance as this will foster this sense of belonging.

Check in regularly for feedback. Prompting input not only initiates important strategic conversations, it ensures that value is placed on their work and you can ensure you gain all the right knowledge/valuable input. Involve them in company events and let them meet all the team. Not only will they appreciate the effort, it ensures they are more than a name on a piece of paper to workers and prompts conversation.

It's simple. Treat contract employees the same as every other employee. At the end of the day, you are all working together towards the same common goal aren’t you?