In the federal contracting space, one of the most common challenges is ensuring that contractor employees not only fulfill their duties but also maintain an appropriate, professional distance from the federal agency they serve. When incumbent employees refuse to perform certain job tasks, it can lead to frustrated customers and operational bottlenecks. Moreover, a lack of clarity regarding the roles of contractor employees can blur boundaries and create management issues between federal Contracting Officers (COs), Contracting Officer Representatives (CORs), and contractor staff.
This blog discusses strategies to resolve these challenges and offers insights into setting clearer expectations for both new and existing employees. It also emphasizes the importance of maintaining an arm's-length relationship between federal agencies and contractor employees, while ensuring ongoing training to reinforce roles and responsibilities.
Challenges of Non-Performance and Role Confusion
When contractor staff refuse to carry out essential job duties, the impact on the organization is significant:
Customer Frustration: When tasks are neglected, customers (federal agencies) do not receive the products or services they expect, resulting in dissatisfaction and strained relationships.
Operational Disruption: Non-performance can delay projects, create backlogs, and force agency personnel to intervene, wasting valuable time and resources.
Erosion of Trust: If vendor performance repeatedly falls short, it can undermine trust between federal agencies and the contractor community, making it harder for vendors to secure future contracts.
Additionally, without clear guidelines, contractor employees may misunderstand their role, believing they are accountable to the agency rather than their contractor employer. This confusion can lead to inappropriate interactions and expectations, further complicating the performance of duties.
Strategies for Resolving Non-Performance and Setting Expectations
Root Cause Analysis and Open Communication Begin by understanding why certain job duties are being neglected. Are there gaps in training? Do employees feel unsupported? Are there role ambiguities? Addressing the root cause through open dialogue allows for tailored solutions that tackle the issue at its core.
Approach: Hold one-on-one discussions with employees to understand their concerns and identify areas where training or clarification is needed.
Reinforce Job Descriptions and Responsibilities A lack of clarity in job descriptions often contributes to task avoidance. By revisiting and clearly outlining each employee’s duties, you ensure there are no misunderstandings about what is expected.
Approach: Regularly update job descriptions to reflect current expectations. Communicate these updates clearly to both new hires and incumbent staff to ensure they understand their responsibilities.
Provide Additional Training and Coaching If non-performance stems from a lack of competence or confidence, targeted training can help employees overcome these hurdles. Providing regular coaching sessions further reinforces their duties and skills.
Approach: Implement ongoing training programs that focus on areas where performance has been lacking. Additionally, hold annual refreshers to remind all contractor staff of their roles, responsibilities, and reporting structure.
Encourage Accountability and Autonomy Employees should be held accountable for their tasks, but it’s equally important to empower them to take ownership of their roles. Providing autonomy with oversight helps foster a sense of responsibility and commitment to the job.
Approach: Set up regular performance reviews and establish clear consequences for non-performance. Pair this with training and mentorship opportunities to support their professional growth.
Maintain an Arm's-Length Relationship For federal agencies, maintaining an arm's-length relationship with contractor employees is essential for legal and regulatory reasons. COs and CORs must avoid managing contractor staff as though they are federal employees. Instead, they should rely on contractor managers to supervise and direct their employees.
Approach: Ensure that contractor employees are aware of their roles and responsibilities through annual compliance trainings. These trainings should emphasize that contractor policies, not federal agency guidelines, apply to them and reinforce the reporting structure within their contractor organization.
FedSync’s TARA© Approach to Managing Staff and Contracts
At FedSync, we have faced similar challenges and have developed our TARA© (Training, Autonomy, Readiness, and Automation) system to address non-performance issues and streamline the relationship between contractor employees and federal agencies. Our approach emphasizes clear communication, robust training, and continuous improvement.
Training: All FedSync managers and leads are trained on the technologies and processes required to succeed. We maintain a knowledge library of "how-to" guides and ensure that managers are always equipped with the information they need to support their teams. This ensures that our employees are fully capable of fulfilling their job duties and understand their reporting structure.
Autonomy: FedSync’s Project Managers (PMs) are empowered to make decisions at the contract level. They are responsible for hiring, performance reviews, and terminations, ensuring that all authority remains within the contractor organization. This prevents COs and CORs from becoming over-involved in managing contractor staff.
Readiness: FedSync uses an Agile Recruiting Methodology to maintain a pipeline of pre-screened candidates. This means that even when positions are fully staffed, we have backups ready to step in if an employee leaves or performance issues arise. Our HR team regularly updates these pipelines to ensure readiness.
Automation: Our Infrastructure Stack leverages AI-driven technology to streamline the recruiting process, ensuring that we identify and hire the right talent quickly. This allows us to maintain our fill-rate goals, often staffing positions within 5-7 business days. It also ensures that our staff have the support they need to perform well in their roles.
Maintaining Professional Boundaries Between Federal Agencies and Contractors
FedSync’s approach also prioritizes maintaining professional boundaries between federal agencies and our employees. To ensure that contractor staff understand their role, FedSync requires standing trainings that remind employees annually of their contractor status and the policies set by FedSync—not the federal agency—apply to them. This helps avoid role confusion and ensures that our employees continue to operate within the appropriate scope of their duties.
Conclusion: Addressing Performance and Clarifying Roles for Success
Addressing non-performance and role confusion requires a mix of proactive management, clear communication, and continuous training. At FedSync, our TARA© approach ensures that our staff are well-prepared, autonomous, and accountable, while maintaining a clear boundary between the contractor and federal agency roles. By reinforcing these strategies, FedSync successfully navigates the complexities of federal contracting, ensuring that both our clients and employees have the support they need to succeed.
Partnering with FedSync means gaining access to a highly trained, professional workforce equipped to meet agency needs, while ensuring compliance with federal guidelines and maintaining the highest levels of performance.
At FedSync, we’re committed to providing value and quality through our relationships. For more insights on how we support our federal clients through expert IT, cybersecurity, and program support solutions, explore our services at www.fedsync.net.