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ITC Contracts Could be a Great Opportunity


26 September 2009

[Submitted discussion and comment can be found here.]


Reading the material about ICT contracts, I found myself thinking "what's wrong with this picture?" Apparently, independent contractors offering an expertise that is highly valued and hard to come by are being entirely stitched up by intermediaries who have taken over their client relationships. It's not clear what value the intermediaries are adding, other than taking on the 'people stuff'---the communication and administration load. A lot of technical people will avoid dealing with 'people stuff' if they can, and that may be happening here.

Why couldn't the following happen?:
    A group of experienced ICT contractors take the time to get their heads together and thrash out their view of the real needs of their market (which are probably different from what the market says it wants). They then profile the skills and resources required to meet these needs and compose a fair and ethical contractual basis for supplying them. Next, they configure themselves financially in some way that allows them to be a channel for the services of other contractors. And they bring marketing and sales skills of a high order to get the benefits they offer across to customers. Then, as customers start to experience these benefits, recruiters who are currently ripping off contractors will find themselves left to look for work in sales or administration for this new ICT contracting organization as their clients transfer allegiance.
I suspect that part of the reason this doesn't happen is the culture of secrecy and competitiveness that ICs feel they have to maintain to protect themselves. There may be very good reasons to behave this way, but it is seriously restricting their potential to serve clients. Most of the value being created in the economy could probably best be created by people working together as independents (as Ken Phillips says in Independence and the Death of Employment), but it can't happen until they can be relied on to work together very effectively. Developing a culture that encourages co-operation is a major challenge for independents.

ICs who have learned to work together would be able to access to a range of opportunity to benefit both themselves and the economy. An environment that genuinely offers people a relationship which invites them to contribute all they can has a huge advantage over the "we tell you all that you need to know" culture that seems to have been so common in the past, even if it is less so now. Most people have no idea what they know or can contribute until they are faced by a real situation where they feel at the centre of things and suddenly discover an excitement, a new trust in colleagues and a new sense of themselves. Knowledge is not something kept in cupboards to which only experts have the key. It is often created in real situations through interaction and struggle of committed people. ICs have the potential to create a work culture that manifests a higher order of effectiveness and productivity than any Australia has yet seen.

This is a long-term issue, but the current ICT contracting problems could be a very good place to start demonstrating the power of co-operation.

What do you think about Dick's thoughts on this issue? If you would like to contribute your own thoughts, please e-mail your contribution to us at: dickdavies@contractworld.com.au.