Independent Contractors – Team Work and Performance Management Essay Example

excluded from some project meetings, not paid overtime for extra hour worked, and sometimes not treated like team mates by organizational employees. Building a cohesive team is almost difficult if some team members are not carried along – their commitment to team work may not exist. Excluded from accessing vital project information: Despite the fact that project managers want hired contractors to work with other team members seamlessly, they do not want them to have certain information because ideally “they are not part of the team” Barley & Kunda (2004). This notion or action could exclude independent resources from getting along well with the project team since they are aware they are deliberately shut off or starved of necessary information to work with. Focussed on their personal ambitions and may not be interested in team work: Hired independent contractors see themselves as very valuable people due to the skills they possess and many of them have personal ambitions on just delivering on what they were asked to do solely, not working as team to achieve success together. Often times, they work alone to achieve results so they will remain relevant to the project superior to others. Such actions hinder team building and diminish interdependence that is vital in a cohesive and high performing team.

There is less control of their activities and how they want it done (Dunlap & Girvin 2009, p. 14) ? Envy from employees who think they earn less: Often times, hired contractors earn far more than organization employees for same work they do on a project. Although some company employees may not be ignorant of the reason why they earn more, they

feel bad and disheartened that they do not have such opportunities to have a higher pay. This feeling will not help in developing interdependence and commitment to one another as expected from an effective team building.

Other team members would not provide necessary support to them, saying “this is what they are paid”. Impacts suggested above will result in poor team work and performance. When team building, PM should be careful not to apply the “Apollo Syndrome”. According to Guest (2011), research has shown that individual over-performers in a team perform poorly compared to a team filled with talented individuals that are willing to work together. Hence, performance management will be essential to instil motivation and shared goals among team members than individual performance.

Independent contractors should see themselves as part of the team and that sharing information and putting efforts together with other team members does not diminish the importance of their skills to the project. Williams (2006) suggested team performance can be managed by providing a basis for learning, coaching and development for the team, but this may prove very difficult for independent contractors that are needed for short duration and pushed to deliver right away on the project. Klein et al (2009, p. 83) citing a research by Applebaum & Batt (1994), concluded that organizational performance in terms of efficiency and quality is improved with a team-based work but such a team must be supported, nurtured and developed. References: Barley, S. R. & Kunda, G. (2004) ‘Gurus, Hired Guns and Warm Bodies’ [Online]. New Jersey; Princeton University Press. Available from: http://books. google. com/books? id=nWWAGnBDzJE (Accessed: November 19, 2011) Dunlap, M. & Girvin, D. M.

(2009) ‘Independent Contractor or Employee’, University of Liverpool [Online]. Journal of Financial Planning; p. 14-15. Available from: http://ehis. bscohost. com. ezproxy. liv. ac. uk/ehost/ (Accessed: November 19, 2011) Guest, D. (2011) ‘Increasing Productivity through Team Building & Performance Management Work’ [Online]. Available from: http://www. davidguest. com. au/articles/team/how-team-building-performance-management-work-together-to-increase-productivity/ (Accessed: November 19, 2011) Klein, C. , DiazGranados, D. , Salas, E. , Le, H. , Burke, C. S. , Lyons, R. , Goodwin, G. F. (2009) ‘Does Team Building Work? ’, University of Liverpool [Online]. Small Group Research, SAGE Journal Online; Vol. 40 Issue 2, p. 181-222. Available from: http://sgr. agepub. com. ezproxy. liv. ac. uk/content/40/2/181. full. pdf+html (Accessed: November 19, 2011) Moore, A. (2007) ‘The Talent Shift: Align Your Business with the Future, Now’ [Online] Human Capital Institute White Paper, p. 1-9. Available from: https://elearning. uol. ohecampus. com/bbcswebdav/xid-491473_4 (Accessed: November 19, 2011) Williams, M. (2006) ‘Mastering Leadership’, University of Liverpool [Online] p. 132-146 London: Thorogood Publishing. Available from: http://site. ebrary. com. ezproxy. liv. ac. uk/lib/liverpool/docDetail. action? docID=10141072 (Accessed: November 19, 2011) Best regards, GP Usino