How to work effectively with contract developers

Recently, a friend reached out because his startup had hired a contract development firm to build a new feature. He wanted advice on how to ensure the project’s success. Having managed many teams that included contract developers, I shared what I’ve learned over the years.

It struck me that many teams get this wrong, and some companies avoid contractors altogether after bad experiences. But when managed correctly, contract projects can run smoothly and deliver excellent results. Here’s what I’ve found works best:

1. Hire contractors for the right reasons

This was a lesson I learned after discussion with some great leaders at a previous job — shoutout to them if they’re reading! Before hiring contractors, ensure you’re doing it for one of these valid reasons:

They bring expertise you don’t have in-house

For instance, if you need a WordPress plugin and have no one on the team familiar with that platform, hiring an expert can save time and produce better results. Once, I found a WordPress Core Contributor who accelerated our project significantly and added insights we wouldn’t have had otherwise.

That said, think carefully about whether the skill should become a core competency for your team. If so, the contractor’s primary role should be to upskill your developers, with coding as a secondary focus. We learned this the hard way — after leaning on a…