The hiring of an external contractor is indeed an extremely interesting option. In so doing, you gain access to specialized temporary manpower poised to carry out work of a specific nature while you continue to focus on managing your day-to-day business operations.
However, choosing an external contractor can prove challenging. You must exercise painstaking care when conducting contractor searches to avoid consequences, physical and financial, which can escalate all too quickly and impact your company’s reputation. Indeed, should an accident occurs at one of your worksites, it is the name of your company that will make newspaper headlines regardless of whether the accident was caused by an external contractor or by one of your own employees. And it is you who will have to justify the unfortunate occurrence.
Here are two tips to prevent risks in outsourcing.
Assume Responsibilities
Although the hiring of external contractors is not devoid of risks, you can attenuate these risks considerably by applying the principles of due diligence.
When you hire an external contractor to carry out work for your company, it is important to understand that you have the same legal responsibilities towards your contractor’s employees as you do towards your own company’s employees. Just like when hiring a new employee, it is essential to conduct the full gamut of requisite checks when searching for prospective contractors. These checks are useful and help protect your company in the event of any unforeseen glitches.
Choose the Right Contractor
The choice of an external contractor extends beyond skills and know how. Even though you endeavor to conduct business with top contractors at all times, you must make allowance for a number of other factors when selecting an external contractor.
Experts recommend drawing up a list of criteria with which external contractors must comply if they wish to carry out work for your company. This exercise helps you gain an in-depth understanding of the external contractor’s company profile and avoid surprises, while ensuring that you enjoy recourse to leading industry contractors in all circumstances.
Key selection criteria include touchstones such as practices relating to occupational health and safety, the environment, insurance coverage and training.
The choice, management, monitoring and due diligence exercised with respect to external contractors are of vital, strategic importance for the health and sustainability of your company. Do you have the tools in hand to manage your external contractors properly?
