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Research shows it’s not all about the money for contractors

• Softer benefits surpass money for motivation and satisfaction
• Half of those surveyed (52%) fell into contracting
• Jonathan Lee Recruitment advises employers to focus on loyalty

Recognition, achievement and challenging work make a real difference to contract workers, according to research by Jonathan Lee Recruitment, who deal with the recruitment of;  finance, technical, sales & marketing, purchasing, supply chain and health & safety staff  for a wide range of clients in the engineering and manufacturing industry sectors. The survey of contract engineering professionals shows that whilst the majority are still accepting roles based on the financial rewards, softer benefits are also crucial for getting the best out of them.

When asked what would make them change contract, the majority of respondents ranked financial reward as the most important factor, with 60% saying it was very relevant or essential.  However, money doesn’t rank highest for providing motivation at work, being surpassed by achievement of objectives, ranked as very relevant or essential by 72% of respondents. And when asked what gives them satisfaction, the majority of contractors said ‘having done a good job’ (88% ranked as very relevant or essential), followed by ‘being valued by colleagues’ (65% ranked as very relevant or essential).

“The tradition within contracting is to attract the best employees with higher rates but this can cause problems with retention,” commented Marc Sanchez, Operations Director - Jonathan Lee Contracts Limited,  “Our research highlights that contractors do care about things other than just money and employers need to take note if they want to hold on to talented engineers for longer.

Marc continues: “Most organisations are failing to get the most out of their contractors on medium and long term assignments by not effectively aligning reward and job design with what motivates them. A flat hourly rate will attract a contractor, but will not retain or motivate on its own.  By designing work to be interesting, setting objectives to be testing and giving a sense of achievement and recognition through periodic reviews, organisations can take advantage of contractors' intrinsic motivators.”

The research also found that the vast majority of contractors (52%) only took this work option following a chance opportunity, rather than as a conscious decision. The next most popular reasons for contracting are as a stop gap (17%) and to earn more money (17%).

Jonathan Lee Recruitment have a number of opportunities available: current vacancies