A Couple Of Questions

In this issue, we answer a couple of questions that have been posed to us.

Q. At my place of employment, we have a high number of contracted employees. Most of them get paid more money than those of us who are regular staff. Why do companies pay these people more money than the rest of us, and would it be a benefit to some of us to try to go in that direction?

A. Contract workers have been around for a very long time, but it seems like there's more of them in today's world. Companies like contract workers because they only get paid if they're at work, and they don't have to worry about benefits. Sometimes they get paid more money per hour than the regular paid staff, which makes it seem like a very attractive alternative to being an every day worker. But there are some serious trade offs.

For one, as I mentioned, they have no health insurance benefit through the company. The only thing they would be covered under is disability, or worker's compensation, and those rules change from state to state. Two, as I mentioned, they only get paid when they work; this means if they want to take any time off it's all on them. Three, they have no rights when it comes to their employment being terminated; no notice, no reason has to be given, they're just done.

Most employees take the perks they may get at their place of employment for granted. The cost of health insurance can be staggering. Depending upon the type of insurance coverage your company offers, if you were to try to pay for it on your own the cost to you can go anywhere from $300 to over $1,000 a month, depending on the many factors of coverage you might need to pay for. Some companies offer retirement plans that are funded either totally by the employer or shared with the employee in some fashion; most large companies offer a totally company funded life insurance plan while you're an employee that will pay out some type of benefit to your family if something happens to you while you're employed there. Companies that have food services will usually offer discounts to their employees who use it. If you were working at a hospital you might get free emergency room services, and a discount on any balances your family members might incur.

In essence, depending on the industry, most of the time it's a much safer role to be working for a company than being a contract worker. Even as much as a $15,000 a year difference in estimated salary can be easily overcome because of the benefits you enjoy. Still, it depends on your comfort level and how easy it might be to land another contract if one ends unexpectedly. If you have some money available, access to healthcare through a spouse, or just want the flexibility of being able to determine when you work (independent of the contract, because usually contract employees still have to abide by the work schedule of the employer) then maybe taking a look at becoming a contract worker, if it's valid in your profession, is something to look at.

Q. After years of being ignored when I told upper management I needed some assistance I finally got someone three years ago on a contract basis. She hasn't been the best employee in the world, but I never said anything because I felt like if I complained they would never hire another person for me. Not that this person doesn't ever work, but she makes some very bad decisions and often I find her sitting around, waiting for me to tell her what to do. She also sometimes lies to other directors when asked for something, and when I catch her on it she says she didn't want to disappoint those people while they were talking to her, or let on that she didn't know something. I find that I have to follow up on most of the work she does, and I don't have time to do my own work and the work I feel should be her responsibility.

Two weeks ago I was told by the director of human resources that they were going to go ahead and hire this person because of how long they'd been here. I said that maybe they were being hasty, but this director was insistent. Now I'm not sure what to do because I think I'm about to get stuck with someone who's not going to have any incentive to be better, and it'll be all my fault. What can I do?

A. I hate to say this first part, but it's your fault. That is, it's your fault that you've allowed an employee who can't do the job to stay for so long. Once a person assumes the responsibility of being over others, at whatever level, you have to learn to change your thinking. The thinking that needs to change is that you're at the mercy of others at all times. Once you had this employee you should have started an evaluation process immediately, and if this person wasn't working out you should have been strong enough to let this person go and request someone else. At this point, do you think it's been a benefit for you to have kept someone for this long who isn't helping you, or giving you what you need?

Based on your initial question and some other background information you gave me, I came to the conclusion that the personality type your employee fits into is the classic "child" personality. The child is an employee who needs extra time to mold into the type of worker you need. Most of the time they're like this because they have little confidence in their abilities. Unfortunately, with this personality type, you have to give them more time and more instruction and follow up with them on a more consistent basis. With positive reinforcement the child personality usually starts to gain confidence in certain aspects of the job they've been hired to do, and as you increase their knowledge base you'll find that they will start to take more of the initiative upon themselves to do what you need.

At the same time, you may have to set specific boundaries for them to follow, and you have to be ready to document their performance. For instance, you may have to detail exactly what you want them to do and give them a time frame to complete the task. You may have to explain how you want them to do the task if there are specific things you need or specific formats you need it done in. And, as with all employees, you need to give them the opportunity to ask questions. They need to feel as though the person they report to isn't going to hold it against them if they ask even what may be considered as simplistic questions. They just need to know at some point that asking the same question over and over won't be acceptable.

Finally, and more specifically, you need to have a one on one conversation with this person as soon as you can. Whether they've been hired or not, all employees are always on the clock, so to speak. You need to be honest with this person and let them know you have a concern about their work performance. This person needs to be told what will be acceptable and how he/she will be evaluated. This person needs to be told a time frame for their performance to come up to standard. And finally, the most important thing if you ask me, this person needs to be asked what is needed from you to help them achieve the standards needed. This will indicate to the employee that you're not trying to get rid of them, but to help them perform better so that they'll be helping you. It also puts the responsibility back on to them because if they tell you what they need and you give it to them and they still can't handle the job, they won't have anyone to blame but themselves.



Click here to return to newsletters page