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Subject:Re: FWD: Cutting a contract short From:Beth Agnew <beth -dot- agnew -at- senecac -dot- on -dot- ca> Date:Mon, 11 Sep 2006 09:36:54 -0400
There seems to be a lot of support for "think of yourself first, and
it's okay to bail, don't worry about what others will think if you cut
your contract short". As an employer, if someone did that to me, I would
absolutely never hire them again. And I certainly wouldn't endorse them
to a colleague. I don't care what other better offer they might have on
the table. That's the nature of the business. I still have to get my job
done, and I entered into a contract with them in good faith. Aware of my
budget, I negotiated with the agency to get a professional that could do
the job for the price I offered. I expect that person to fulfill their
agreement. It would do more for their relationship with me if they
complete their contract, and satisfy the objectives of the project. They
can tell me they have another offer, but I would still expect them to be
as good as their word. I would try to accommodate them working both, but
I certainly would not be pleased to have them leave before the job is
done. I don't care what kind of happy little transition plan they might
come up with, I would expect every contractor to be professional in
his/her dealings with me. To me, ending a contract before things are
done is not professional.
Whatever happened to integrity and commitment in business? File this
under Ethics in Technical Communication.
--Beth
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