Pros
-Consultants are knowledgeable, hard-working, warm and personable people. -Great CPE classes offered by internal employees. -Flexibility (work from home) for people with families/small kids. -Buddy/advocate/mentorship programs.
Cons
-Except for providing a company laptop, there is no reimbursement/company contribution for work-from-home expenses, such as Internet, phone bills, using and maintaining one's own office equipment, such as monitors, desk, keyboard, etc. If you go to the office to work, there's no proper desk/cubicle, monitors are outdated and Internet speed is slow. -Commute to clients is reimbursable for the first 20 or 30 miles only. -There are value-added activities that consultants have to participate, which generate additional compensation. These activities include client service, technology, new hire onboarding, etc. Coupled with the points mentioned above, it seems that the company has saved a lot of money over the years by offloading expenses of running the business to consultants. However, within 2 weeks after the lockdown was effective, the company laid off a lot of its workforce. In my last company, when the 2008 recession happened, everyone chose to take a pay cut so that everyone would have a job. -If a consultant is not assigned on clients, he/she'll be sitting on a bench without pay. If the situation persists, he/she will be let go. The problem is there's not enough explanation or mentorship provided by the company to help such consultants improve their situation and keep their job. They just stop getting work assignments.
