Effective contractor management: A practical guide to improving health and safety performance

Managing contractors safely and effectively is a challenge faced by almost every organisation, from facilities management and cleaning services to complex, high-risk construction projects. While contractors bring valuable expertise, they also introduce additional risk if health and safety expectations are not clearly set, communicated and monitored.

Drawing on real-world consultancy and auditing experience, this article outlines practical steps organisations can take to strengthen contractor management and drive better health and safety outcomes.

Pre-Qualification Questionnaires (PQQs) are a common starting point in contractor selection. They help assess whether a contractor is suitable to tender and can reduce the field to a manageable shortlist.

However, PQQs should never be the sole measure of contractor competence.

Too often, organisations rely heavily on certifications such as ISO 45001 as proof of capability. While these standards are valuable, they offer only a snapshot in time and do not guarantee cultural fit, quality of supervision, or how work is actually delivered on site.

Good practice includes:

• Using PQQs as an initial filter only

• Applying a risk-based approach to selection

• Involving health and safety professionals early for higher-risk or long-term contracts

• Reviewing task-specific risk assessments and methods, not just policies

Once a contractor is appointed, the onboarding phase is critical. This is where expectations become reality.

Organisations should clearly explain:

• Safety standards that go beyond legal minimums

• Site-specific rules and restrictions

• PPE, permit-to-work, and drug and alcohol requirements

• Cultural expectations, including behaviour, communication and respect

Importantly, contractors are far more likely to comply when they understand why rules exist, not just what the rules are.

Equally vital is ensuring internal staff are competent and confident to:

• Review contractor risk assessments

• Issue and manage permits correctly

• Challenge unsafe work and stop activities when required

Every contractor, whether on site for five minutes or five years, should receive an appropriate induction. However, longer inductions are not always better.

Many contractors attend multiple inductions each week, which can easily become background noise.

Effective inductions should:

• Cover essential emergency and welfare information

• Explain organisational values and safety expectations

• Focus on site-specific risks and interfaces with others

• Avoid unnecessary repetition or overload

Inductions are often the contractor’s first real introduction to your organisation. Make it count.

Monitoring contractor performance is not just about inspections, audits and KPIs. It is about relationships.

Common pitfalls include:

• KPIs that are unrealistic or poorly explained

• Inspections that generate long lists of demands without discussion

• Contractor meetings focused only on negatives

Instead, effective monitoring should:

• Set clear, achievable expectations from the start

• Involve contractors in inspections and reviews

• Encourage open conversations, not just emails

• Balance challenge with recognition of good practice

A key principle to remember is that engagement is monitoring, and monitoring is engagement.

Despite best efforts, unsafe acts and inadequate work can still occur. When they do, they should be handled in the same way as incidents involving direct employees.

A robust approach includes:

• Immediate action to make the situation safe

• Clear reporting mechanisms

• Joint investigations with the contractor

• Identification of root causes, including organisational factors

• Sharing lessons learned

This approach supports a just or fair culture, where learning and improvement take priority over blame, while still allowing for consequences when required.

End-of-contract reviews are one of the most underused but valuable tools in contractor management.

They provide an opportunity to:

• Capture what worked well and what did not

• Learn from contractor best practice

• Improve future tenders, onboarding and contracts

• Make evidence-based decisions about reappointing contractors

Even where formal reviews are not practical, organisations should periodically review contractor management processes with key stakeholders to drive continual improvement.

Effective contractor management does not happen by accident. It requires clear expectations, strong engagement, competent internal teams and a willingness to learn.

By taking a proportionate, risk-based approach and focusing on communication and culture rather than paperwork alone, organisations can significantly improve contractor health and safety performance and reduce risk across their operations.