Contracting – Experiences of Being a Specialist-For-Hire

​Earlier this year, Protagion asked to hear your experiences of contracting and interim roles. We are particularly interested to learn why you choose these flexible, time-bound and often project-related opportunities, mostly available when employers want a specialist skillset to do work they feel is not part of business-as-usual (BAU). We also wanted to gain insight into whether you move between these roles and permanent positions, and how these roles fit into your past and envisaged career path. This article shares your experiences, including what you like best about contracting and interim work, and what you don’t like. We hope that it is a useful resource to others considering these roles.

The contracting mindset
Versus other markets I’ve experience of, contracting is significant in the United Kingdom, especially within the actuarial, IT and change / programme management functions. When I first arrived in the UK (post financial crisis) from South Africa where permanent roles were far more common, the distinction was immediately apparent, and it gave the office environment a different feel. Contractors made up a sizeable proportion of a number of teams I engaged with, explaining the influence of this "contracting mindset" - I was particularly struck by how employers themselves pushed for more contractors "for more flexibility" across a wide range of projects taking place, possibly driven by ongoing regulatory change. It worried me that companies weren’t developing their permanent staff to take on these new project opportunities, arguing that they didn’t wish to "disturb BAU".

Experiences as a hiring manager
As a hiring manager with department budget responsibility, I’d previously experienced working with contractors from one side only, and remember being surprised about the year-after-year costs of contractors within our team as well as on projects we sponsored. My personal view was that it was much better to have permanent, committed staff, who we would train and develop to add value over a multi-year (planned) horizon than a constantly changing rota of people dipping in and out. I particularly recall one conversation with an expert in the company’s secretarial team about my frustrations… She confessed that she loved contracting roles herself, and wished she could go back to being a 'specialist-for-hire'. I realised that the situation was far more nuanced than I’d assumed until then, but it didn’t stop me, tongue-in-cheek, nicknaming her 'mercenary' from then on.

Over my years in the UK, I also had staff members in my teams choosing to leave their permanent roles to take up contracts elsewhere, which encouraged me to reflect on the relationship between employers and employees, and how attractive our development opportunities were, for example. I hadn’t realised too how much contracting rates can fluctuate over time, having a significant impact on contractors – see one professional’s perspective on this under "Drawbacks" below.

​Another practical example of the "contracting mindset" is the difference in attitude between one of the managers in my team, and one of my bosses: she felt that team activities like strategy days and teambuilding sessions were for permanent (BAU) people only, because contractors were paid a day-rate for specific output, and that we shouldn’t pay them for discussing the three-year business plans. He vehemently disagreed, saying that everyone in the office should celebrate together, as we all played a role in the team delivery and office environment. To me, the distinction about who should be involved in debating the future strategy depended on who would be there to deliver that strategy e.g. if it was a three-month contract, I could see little value (for the company and the individual) in taking time to participate in something not affecting them – not to mention the competitive considerations. If, however, the likely outcome was that the contract would extend long-term, then they should be part of crafting that future.

And now, supporting Protagion members who are contractors has given us additional insight into your hopes and dreams. The remainder of this article shares your views (both members and other contributors to the article) on contracting and interim positions. 

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