ABSTRACT

The utilization of contractors and consultants has been common in organizations that do major projects requiring skills and knowledge not available in their workforces for a long time. Organizations using contractors and consultants to provide solutions to challenges they face in product design or technical issues that exceed the capabilities of their core workforce realize many benefits. Human Resources (HR) is a critical function and organizations should consider workforce management as a core competence, with HR providing oversight. The increased use of outsiders should prompt organizations to carefully evaluate the effect of using outsiders on the current employees. The potential for increased use of outsiders is magnified during a time when technology is being developed at a rapid rate. One of the most critical requirements for project planners is deconstructing the work into segments and developing performance criteria for them, typically using criteria such as cost, timeliness and quality.