We have had 5 contract employees of the same company onsite for about 5 years (I know - that's the first problem). Last year we re-defined our relationship with them to work on a project by project basis using task orders, rather than paying them for the hours they spent on-site whether they are specifically working on a project or not. They estimate how many hours a project will take, and we pay on a time & materials basis with a 10% cap. We have no one with the skills they have (Java/C++ programming). Now that we've changed, we're paying them for less hours and they seem to be over-estimating the project work. Most of our projects are fairly small, two weeks or less. Any ideas on a better method for estimating and payment would be greatly appreciated. Saving Changes...
Sandi, As a starting point go back to the projects they have completed for you in the past and try to match them up to the new projects your now under contract. It looks as they want to keep charging to make the difference up under the new plan. In addition, I would quickly go to Management / HR and request an person to work with you for one or two weeks identifying the basic programing requirements in Java/C++ so you could begin to capture some type of measures. The estimate should be changed to the "final price" with very specific SMART Goals attached. You are still in control and you due have the power to bring in a different team. Saving Changes...
