3 Tips for Becoming a Better Contractor Recruitment Manager

This pocket-sized guide is for aspiring contractor recruitment managers looking to enhance their contractor management skills. Every exceptional recruiter possesses three key elements, which we will present as tips in this article.

If you’re a recruiter specialising in contract work, managing all the contractors on your roster can sometimes be challenging. This is also the case if you provide this service as a sideline to recruiting for permanent roles, particularly when those contractors each have different niches and working requirements.

Effective contractor management is essential for retaining contractors and preventing them from moving to competitor agencies. The key is to establish a strong bond with each individual from the outset, which will set a precedent and foster quality, professional relationships.

3 Tips to Becoming a Great Contractor Manager 

Here are three helpful tips to improve your skills as a contractor recruitment manager:

1. Prioritise building relationships

2. Maintain consistent communication

3. Automate when possible

1. Build a Relationship with the Contractors

Like permanent staff, contractors are more likely to be loyal to a company and produce quality work when they feel valued. Get to know them personally and show genuine interest in their lives beyond their jobs. This demonstrates that you see your relationship as more than merely transactional. Being attentive and caring can encourage them to stay with you.

The nature of contract work can sometimes be quite isolating. Therefore, making an effort to treat contracted workers as team members will help them feel part of the bigger picture. Keep them informed with project and company updates. Include them in company social media groups, and invite them to events and annual work parties.

However, not everyone is particularly outgoing or enjoys being part of gatherings. This is why it’s important to invest time and effort into getting to know your freelance partner. If they are more introverted, pressing the agenda of team outings is likely to backfire. This may lead them to distance themselves from you in the future. In other words, a relationship should develop organically rather than being forced. You need to care about them as a person, understand their boundaries, and tailor your interactions based on their preferences.

Most importantly, remember to thank them for their work upon the completion of contracts.

2. Consistent Communication is Key

Do not let communication fall by the wayside when a contractor begins working on an assignment. Regularly touch base to ensure you and the contractor are both up to date with any changes in priorities or deadlines during the lifespan of the project. This is also a great opportunity to provide your contractor feedback on their progress.

Additionally, employ Radical Candor and give them a chance to raise any issues or questions they may have. This way, you can help address them before they escalate into larger problems. Depending on the length of the contract, you might want to schedule a monthly phone or video call. However, create an outlet they can use to reach you in between those calls as well.

This may sound challenging, especially if you work with multiple contractors. It’s easy to get lost among contacts. Staying organised and tracking the placement status of each contractor can also be confusing. However, a disastrous situation does not occur when you accidentally book a meeting with a contractor who is not expecting to hear from you. It strikes when you neglect the one who has been waiting for you to reach out.

OurRecruitment software offers a secret trick for aspiring superstar recruitment managers. It features an integrated email system that allows you to filter your contacts based on their placement status. You can also send them an email immediately, without logging out of the system.

3. Automate for Their Convenience

If you can offer contractors something that saves them time and effort, they’ll be enthusiastic about it. At Timesheet Portal, we empower you to do just that.

Our flexible online timesheet software allows you to relieve contractors of the burden of invoicing and billing. It also simplifies the workload for your back office staff by automating the process. To facilitate this, we offer a contractor self-billing feature in Timesheet Portal. This feature enables you to automatically generate self-billing invoices for all your contractors, which are then sent to your agency for payment. Invoices are sent to companies in the contractor's name and include their own company details.

Here are some of the features we offer for recruitment managers:

• Contractors can edit their company and bank details on invoices;

• Self-billing invoices are automatically created after timesheet/expenses approval;

• Contractor rechargeable expenses can be included in invoices;

• Invoices are linked with timesheets to avoid duplicate invoicing;

• Invoices can be exported to Sage, Xero and Quickbooks as supplier invoices;

• Timesheet Portal includes AWR and holiday accrual, intermediaries reporting, document storage and signing, reporting and forecasting, and standard client invoicing.

Summary

You must have heard the quote, ‘Simplicity is the trademark of genius. " Becoming a better recruitment manager heavily relies on these words of wisdom. While it’s true that you need a specific skill set to excel in the world of recruitment, none of those skills matter unless you build relationships.

The key is to genuinely support your contractor. When you care for them personally, everything else will follow naturally. Consider this: Do you want to introduce someone you barely know to people you trust? Do you want to maintain contact with them? Would you go the extra mile to make their lives easier? Certainly, some of us might say yes. However, not everyone possesses a heart of gold when it comes to strangers.

Consider how willing you would be to do these things for a friend whose success matters to you. This is your answer to what makes a superstar recruiter.

Are you ready to become a better version of yourself? Reach out to us; we are here to help.