How to Conduct Contractor Performance Evaluations

A contractor’s safety is directly correlated to their overall performance at the job. An often-overlooked aspect of contractor management is the act of conducting performance evaluations. They are important because they provide insight into how the quality of output from your external contractors is affecting your overall business performance.

Performance evaluations can be used to scale your business, make changes to your organization, and plan proactively for the future. When assessing the performance of your contractors, there are a number of factors that you must consider. These factors will enable you to make data-backed decisions in an effort to make business operations safer and more productive. Read on to learn more about what factors you should be considering when conducting a contractor performance evaluation.

Submission of required documentation

• Are your contractors able to provide valid documentation when requested?
• Have you received incomplete documentation from your contractors in the past?
• How long does it take for your contractors to prove their credentials are valid?
• Are any of your contractors missing any required documentation, which is causing a delay in operations?

Operational Assessment

• Has there been any safety incidents stemming from your contractors?
• Have any of your contractors caused damages to your worksite, equipment, or tools?
• Have you had to flag your contractors for noncompliance before?
• Have you or your stakeholders been concerned about the delivery of services providers by your vendors?
• Did your contractors experience any job restrictions or stop work orders while at your worksite?
• Did your worksite experience any environmental incidents due to your contractors?
• Have you had to distribute notices/warnings to any of your contractors?

Progress Evaluation

• Are your contractors making progress on projects in a timely manner?
• Are any of your contractors causing a delay to business operations?
• Have your contractors improved at completing their tasks?
• Are all project requirements met once completed?
• Are your contractors providing timely and accurate updates to project progress?

Compatibility/Productivity

• Are your contractors able to work well with all of your internal employees?
• Are they producing measurable results that contribute to company goals?
• Do your contractors reflect the safety standards of your company?
• Do your contractors adhere to company policy regarding health and safety?
• Do your contractors adhere to all guidelines specific to completing a task?

Providing yourself with a detailed response to each of these questions can afford you valuable insight into how your third-party hires are performing in relation to the productivity they display, as well as their safety practices in relation to what is required from your organization and federal/state regulations. After collecting this information, the next logical step is to conduct a succession plan that details what action you will take to move forward with new and existing contractors. To do this, you must first enlist all the primary reasons for your performance evaluation. A few reasons may include:

• Deciding which contractor(s) your organization will hire
• Keeping a record of all contractor activity at your worksite(s)
• Tracking the progress of your projects that contractors work on
• Identifying gaps in your compliance caused by third parties
• Preserving resources, money, and time for projects
• Collecting data on how to strengthen contractor relationships

Using this information, hiring organizations can then make informed decisions on how to move forward with their contractor management strategy. Depending on the outcome of your projects, you may want to adjust your onboarding process, reevaluate your prequalification criteria, or allocate your time and resources to monitoring third-party activities through the means of contractor management software. Either way, the best safety plan is the one that grants you full visibility over your operations and is adaptive to adjustments and growth. Over time, your contractor performance evaluations will save you time and money and make your workplace a safer and healthier environment for everyone. These effects will allow you to refocus your business on its vital operations with minimal disruptions.

Faris Badaro is Junior Marketing Specialist for Contractor Compliance, a SaaS software for contractor management.