Contracts Being Cut Short By The Client :-(

[AnthonyQuinn]

WNLS

The cost of contract staff to a company is the same as permie staff (Tax, nat ins, holidays, insurance, sick pay, pension, health plan which contractors pay themselves) except that you don't have the future costs of their employment to take into account.

Companies aren't paying a premium for contract staff, you pay for a plumber to fix a leak, because he can do it quickly and you don't need him after that, you don't take on an apprentice for a couple of years unless you are expecting lots of leaks in the future.

Candidate for the crappest metaphor 2013.

Exactly my point, the plumber is skilled and has a fixed task to do. the problem is if your pipes explode every month on random days. You shouldnt call a skilled plumber to park himself in your premises for the whole month. you should upskill someone in your household (spending what is needed) so that they can do their other work and be available for this contingency.

This is where some clients fail miserably. I find contractors in the same client for over 10 years because only they know how to run the batch on the 29th of every month, only they know how to deploy the latest release once a quarter, etc etc.

Danger signs are when only two contractors know how to change some of the inner pipes in your system. Their expertise should be what they have gathered OUTSIDE the client organization, not INSIDE.