7 Ways to Engage Temporary Workers

More companies are turning to temporary staffing solutions to make their businesses run more smoothly, but there is still a learning curve for these employers. Often companies hiring temporary workers don’t know the best ways to manage these important team members. Though temporary workers may perform the same tasks as your permanent employees, they often need different management strategies. Research shows that engaged workers are happier workers, so how can you ensure your temporary employees are fully engaged? 

Liberty Staffing Services helps companies (like yours) find the best temp workers in Southern Ontario. Reach out to us so that we can help you build your team with permanent and temporary workers.

In the meantime, here are 7 ways to engage temporary workers in your organization.

1. Provide Great Orientation and Training

From day one, provide great training and orientation to everyone on your team. This is important for any worker, but sometimes temporary workers get lost in the shuffle. However, these employees need just as much instruction and information as your permanent workers. 

Onboarding should be more than just filling out paperwork and activating employment accounts. It’s also about ensuring that everyone understands their role, responsibilities, and expectations, right from the start.

2. Use the Buddy System

Assigning a more experienced coworker as a mentor or guide to a new temporary employee has a few different benefits. First, it helps the new employee know more about how to do their job correctly. Additionally, it gives them someone to go to when they have questions about the position or the company. Mentors can often provide quick answers, as opposed to managers who are responding to countless inquiries every day.

Finally, it also builds a sense of camaraderie and familiarity within the company. Temporary workers feel more connected to the established workforce, and the mentor can introduce them to more people in the workplace. It also helps the mentor get leadership experience so they can have more professional development.

3. Involve Temporary Workers in Team Meetings

Your temporary employees are an essential part of your operations – be sure to treat them as such.

Inviting them to join team meetings and company-wide events creates a better sense of inclusion. They will know more about what is going on in the company too, creating an extra sense of personal investment. In our experience, people do better work when they understand why you run things the way that you do.

4. Offer Development Opportunities

Another great way to engage temporary workers is to provide them with opportunities for professional development. This can include training sessions, workshops, and other events to help them grow their skills. 

If you offer tuition benefits to full time, permanent employees, be sure to show temporary workers how they can get on the path to those benefits too.

5. Acknowledge Their Contributions

People value different kinds of affirmation of their work. Some people love to receive public recognition, while others prefer a quiet word of encouragement and gratitude for their hard work. Regardless of personal preferences, we know that employers who thank and appreciate their employees create a healthier work environment. 

Temp employees sometimes feel excluded from the recognition that permanent employees receive. That’s why it’s important to take note of their contributions and recognize those too. They are making your company work, and they are helping you to avoid over and understaffing, so of course they should be recognized for their great work.

6. Offer Incentives for Outstanding Work

Incentives can include gift cards, bonuses, extra paid time off, special events at work, or anything else that will motivate your employees to do a good job.

Anytime you offer any of these incentives, include your temporary employees so that they, too, can be rewarded for their outstanding performance.

7. Be Transparent About Expectations

Employees may work harder if they knew more about the company's goals, and realize their own goals. Transparency is key. 

A lack of transparency causes frustration, dissatisfaction, and complacency. Tell your temporary workers everything you can about the company, their role within it, and what you expect of them. The more they know, the more productive they will be. 

Liberty Staffing Can Help You Find Great Temporary Workers

When you want to engage temporary workers, it is important to remember that they are playing an essential role in your company. Good management of temporary workers leads to better productivity and, in turn, higher profits. 

At Liberty Staffing, our team of staffing professionals knows just how important temporary workers are to many of the businesses in our Southern Ontario economy. A comprehensive staffing strategy will include temporary workers to avoid productivity delays, under or overstaffing, and the high costs associated with permanent employees leaving. 

Plus, you can get to know workers in a temporary role before you decide if they would make a great addition to your permanent staff.

Liberty Staffing Services can help you find great temporary or permanent workers for your Southern Ontario business. Contact us when you’re ready to stop stressing about having too many or too few workers—we can help!