Challenges in Contractor Management

Effective contractor management can help to create mutually beneficial working relationships between organisations and contractors. For many organisations however, failures in process can lead to the risk of non-compliance, strained relationships, and inefficient transactions.  

Contractor management can require a significant amount of administration time from facilities teams. In teams where resources are stretched, processes need to be efficient to ensure obligations around contractor management are consistently fulfilled.

Whether consciously or not, your organisation is likely victim to one of these common challenges in contractor management.

Accurate asset records

Keeping asset histories up to date, with details of what work was done and when is important to inform decisions about repair and replacement. This information can also play a role in compliance.

Why this is a challenge

Often, updating asset histories involves on manually updating information. Facilities teams often rely on contractors to write up a service report after a job is completed, and then manually transcribe these.

These steps are enough to create a barrier to record keeping. It’s a task that typically yields little benefit for the contractor, and thus requires vigilance from the organisation.

It’s an easy task to forget, in the time between leaving site and getting in front of a computer. The delay between doing the work, and recording details of the work, can erode the accuracy and usefulness of the report itself. 

Streamlining the process can help to improve asset information for organisations. For example, by empowering contractors to quickly update a work order with attached images, from any device, before leaving site. Simple process changes such as this can help to reduce the burden on the contractor and still produce a better result for the organisation.

Validations are forgotten or neglected

Every single time a contractor sets foot on site, their relevant accreditations, certifications, and insurances need to be checked for validity. This process is one that is easy to inadvertently overlook, particularly when there is a longstanding relationship with the contractor.

Why this is a challenge

Without easily accessible contractor records, the validation process often involves back and forth with the contractor before every engagement. The required emails can quickly become an arduous task, increasing the likelihood that something will be missed.

It can also be the case that the contractor has already completed the work by the time the documentation is received. This makes the validation process pointless, if those accreditations have expired, the work completed is already non-compliant.  

Simple automations can alleviate these process problems. Dedicated facilities management software allows for expiry dates to be saved against a contractor’s record. This makes validation checks a quick and easy process and reduces the scope for human error.

Difficult to measure performance

A lack of visibility over works makes it extremely difficult to measure contractor performance against KPIs and service agreements. Many facilities teams view contractors engaged to perform routine maintenance as a “set and forget” solution, only being made aware work has been done when they receive an invoice.

As well as creating scope for non-compliance, this approach usually means measurement of contractor KPIs is neglected.

Why this is a challenge

If it was apparent that a contractor wasn’t meeting agreed terms of service, most teams would immediately look for another provider. However, without visibility over works, it is difficult to determine whether works are happening in line with agreed terms of service.

Accurately evaluating contractor performance requires visibility over what works have happened, and to what standard. When work is assigned through facilities management software, it is easy to see what work is in progress, what is overdue, and what has been missed.

Communication failures

Successful contractor engagements rely on clear lines of communication. With so much detailed information needing to be exchanged between both parties, there is plenty of scope for communication errors.

Why this is a challenge

Communicating with contractors becomes a challenge when information is provided piecemeal, across multiple communication channels.

To do their work efficiently, contractors need to know at a minimum:

- What asset they’re working on

- Where that asset is

- Where to park

- Key contact details for the site

- Any other supporting documentation specific to their work, including photographs

With such a large amount of information required, it is very easy for things to be forgotten or missed. This can result in contractors showing up on site unequipped, requiring them to leave site, which wastes valuable time and incurs additional call out costs.

Dedicated facilities management software solutions make it easy to streamline contractor communications. When all important information is saved in the one place, it is easy to attach everything to the work order sent to the contractor.

This can help to ensure the contractor has all the information they need, and that the information is easily accessible.

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This blog is not a substitute for legal advice on building and contractor compliance.

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