Top skills needed to be a contractor

There are numerous factors behind the growth of the contract market, including businesses seeking more project-based and temporary solutions, and workers themselves seeking greater flexibility.

Despite the variety of roles available, there are common skills that all contractors can be honing, and organisations should be looking out for these when hiring, to remain competitive.

As a contractor, technical know-how is your bread and butter. You are most likely being brought into a team to fulfil a specific function – such as carrying out project work, fixing a problem or covering a role until a permanent team member is appointed, and you have therefore been chosen because of your experience and expertise.

The nature of a contract role also requires a person to have enough confidence in their abilities to hit the ground running without much of, or even any handover, and to make an impact quickly. As a result, it takes a range of softer skills to be a successful contractor and be a real asset to an organisation. And quickly. We give a snapshot below.

Communication and empathy

The first task of a new contract will be intel collection, soaking up as much relevant information as possible about the role/problem and the organisation itself. Speaking to colleagues and team members is crucial to grasp the extent of any situation quickly.

This will invariably require digging to find the root of an issue, rather than taking problems at face value. Let’s say a new system has so far not been embraced by staff. Rather than accepting the reason for this as it simply being too complicated, the contractor will need to delve into the context of why the system has been chosen, and how it was communicated to the staff. This could reveal that team members were not consulted about the change, or the reasons behind the system’s implementation were not properly explained, and staff are therefore not fully on board with the idea.

Speaking to team members about such topics requires strong communication skills, including asking thoughtful and careful questions, listening attentively with open and friendly body language, and demonstrating empathy and compassion. Joining an organisation with an already-formed environment and long-held relationships can be challenging, so it's important for interims integrate smoothly with their team. Building trust by allowing colleagues to feel heard, sympathised with and valued, will strengthen the social fabric of the organisation and facilitate quicker problem solving, as people will be more honest about the challenges they face.

Organisation and adaptability

Given the nature of short-term work, interim candidates need to deliver value quickly. This is only possible if they are well organised and can identify which tasks are the greatest priority, to maximise their productivity. Of course, these priorities may shift quickly, so candidates also need to be able to think on their feet and adapt quickly to new scenarios.

Contract work requires the spinning of multiple plates. Short-term employees may be working across multiple departments, with the need to switch between tasks quickly and efficiently. The multi-thread nature of this work – and the limited timeframes of interim work – means that keeping track of numerous elements is vital, as well as setting clear deadlines and realistic timelines for work to be completed, all of which requires excellent time management skills.

Resilience

Getting to the source of a problem or down to the nuts and bolts of a project quickly means actively seeking information and asking lots of questions. This might be unsettling or disruptive for a team with established protocols, so candidates may need to balance keeping those around them working efficiently, whilst also ruffling some feathers.

If a contract worker has been hired to solve a problem, it's likely it will have existed for a while. This could mean encountering disenchanted employees who are frustrated that nothing was done sooner, or, alternatively, those who don’t believe there is a problem and are therefore sceptical about the need for a solution. Temporary workers need to be able to navigate these challenges and remain unrattled, delivering value quickly to settle any doubts and focusing on their communication and empathy to ensure that people feel their concerns have been heard.

Confidence and assertiveness

Contractors are hired because of their expertise and their decision-making abilities. Their decisions won’t always be popular, especially when they involve changes to work practices, but they will invariably be crucial to business success. Interims who can assert their confidence and stand by their guns in their decisions are the most likely to get ‘buy-in’ from colleagues, whilst earning respect and trust from those around them.