A gap so wide you can drive a truck through it

Yes, I have to report today on a topic that has suddenly become near and dear to my heart.

Contract employees.

In my new role, I have about ten of these good people on my team.

They are quick labor, sure. Some see contractors as cost savings over regular full time employees (fte’s). And that’s true, in the short run.

Over the long run, not so much.

But I’m not here to talk about retention rates or about tax implications. There are a lot of folks far more well versed in this area.

My concern today is that it is nearing the end of the year and the ever present holidays are looming. As is the end of The Company’s fiscal year.

This is usually a time of both hard work and celebration…for the fte’s. Contractor folks get left out of the party lest we treat them like regular employees, and get ourselves in a bind.

Plus, they work for a supplier. Technically, anything we might provide them is a ta-da!!!….kickback.

Fine, fine. But these people run a call center. They are the first line, front line for the procurement organization. They are our face to The Client and how they interact sets the pace for the corporate view of all of Procurement and Sourcing.

If I know one thing about a call center, it’s this:

Burnout is the main factor to be managed.

And giving people a little year end “something nice” and a thank you sure goes a long way towards keeping people wanting to put up with the kind of things these folks put up with every single day.

But I can’t. I have to defer to their “employer” to bonus and gift them. And I know their employer. They won’t. They are cheap company.

Wanna know how I know they are cheap? I *negotiated* the deal with them. I know what they are paying people and I know their markup.

But I’m severely limited in what I can do to take care of some of the finest employees, ahem, contract employees I’ve ever worked with.

This is frustrating. And it drives a wedge in my team between the fte’s and the contractors. The ever expanding gap between The Haves and the Have Nots.

And so now…I have to mind the gap.