How, When, Where, …

 

 

“Something's wrong in this house today

While the sorcerer slept the apprentice decided to play.”

from May Be a Price to Pay by The Alan Parsons Project

 

When discussing hiring and addressing a skill gap with a founder or business owner, one word I often hear is "control." Control, defined as the power to influence or direct people's behavior.

 

This is driven by the understanding that, from a legal perspective, when you work with an independent contractor, you relinquish control over how, when, and where they do their work. Though, when work is about outcomes and results, isn’t controlling the how, when, and where control for the sake of control?

 

Kickidler provides a point of view on what happens without employee control:

 

“…nothing positive can come out of the situation like that …employees will stop working …when the cat’s away, the mice will play …people start to procrastinate and lose motivation. Sure, there are always highly motivated employees who work perfectly well without any external control. The problem is that they are not the entirety of your staff. A simple principle applies here – once you neglect employee monitoring, efficiency starts diminishing.”

 

Also provided are recommendations on what employers should share with their employees about the control:

·       The very fact that they’re being monitored;

·       The tools used to accomplish this task;

·       Key indicators (control points) for evaluating their performance;

·       The consequences that arise from supervision (bonuses/monetary sanctions).

 

“In other words, you need clear regulations – policies for monitoring employees’ activities that specify every important aspect of monitoring.”

 

Lastly, Kickidelr busts the myth that employees react negatively to control: “People react negatively not to monitoring itself, but to its incorrect use. Excessive control, micromanagement, asymmetry – resentment is caused by … managerial mistakes.”

 

The idea that incorrect use of control negatively impacts performance was underscored in a study done by a team of researchers at Duke — Tanya L. Chartrand, Amy N. Dalton, and Fitzsimons. In fact, if employees only perceive the boss as a controlling person, even an unconscious thought can have a negative effect on their performance. They will respond, to a greater or lesser degree, by letting their performance slip, by screwing up, by undermining, and/or by doing the opposite of what they are asked to do.

 

Back to the control of the how, when, and where: Assuming a non-controlling environment free of mistakes, control of performance using transparent KPIs has nothing to do with timing or location of work. That puts employees and contractors on equal footing.

 

And when the contractor then takes a role like a VP of Sales or a CRO, would you really want to “control” them in every aspect of their work? Don’t you expect them to work independently, be self-motivated, have the proper knowledge and skills, and then deliver results? 

 

And then consider this: Contractors are in a volatile position as their engagement is easily terminated, and their ability to win the next client is dependent on their reputation. So guess who has more incentive to achieve those results?

 

 

Contact us to find out how a fractional or interim sales leader can help you achieve your results.

 

__________________

Billie Anne Grigg - 1099 vs. W2 Employee: Which Is Better for Your Business?

Andrew O’Connell - Why Controlling Bosses Have Unproductive Employees

Kickidler - Control for the Sake of Control Is No Good. How Best to Supervise Employees?

Photo by Anne Gosewehr