When you commit to hiring temporary workers, your long-term success depends on winning over your short-term workers. Think of your staff like a baseball team. Happy temporary workers can become valuable utility players in your lineup. If they like you, they can also be your minor league team: Talented players you can call up to the majors (full-time employment) at any time.
The best outcome for everyone is a temp-to-perm placement. Those only happen when both sides feel it’s a good fit. When this happens, it’s a win-win-win. The employer is happy to have filled a position. The worker is happy to have a job with an employer they like. We’re happy knowing we’ve done our job well.
But how do you make temporary workers want to work for you permanently when the time is right for a hire? At Enterprise Staffing, we’ve worked with hundreds of temporary employees, and we know a thing or two about what makes them tick.
Temporary Workers Enjoy Flexibility
One of the things we hear most often from our temporary staff is that they like the flexibility of temporary work. Temps can take time off after a job is complete, thus giving them the option to work on the projects that fit their timeline. However, once they are assigned to a project, they must continue to work on that project to its completion.
Extending flexibility into the workplace can make these workers feel more fulfilled in their roles. If you can steer away from the rigid 9-5, that’s great. Most firms can’t give flexibility in scheduling, but there are other ways to make workers feel empowered through the choice of shifts or assignments. When they feel less “trapped” in the arrangement, they’ll be happier to fulfill their end of the bargain.
Temps Feel Purpose Working for the Right Company
One of the reasons some workers choose to work temporarily is they don’t see most jobs as worthwhile. When work is disconnected from a greater mission, and you’re just doing it because you have to make money to live, then you become alienated from your labor. Workers naturally feel less like working somewhere if they don’t think it makes a difference.
You can foster a sense of purpose in your workers that will extend to the temporary workers by reminding everyone frequently why they do what they do. If your company has a mission statement, bring it up in team meetings. Give your temporary workers feedback and link it back to that mission. People want to work for a cause, so give them one.
Temporary Workers Want to Get Along
Critically important to fostering loyalty from temporary workers is the team dynamic. People want to feel accepted wherever they are, and that’s even more true with temporary workers, who often have to deal with a lot of different teams. They often feel like they don’t fit in by the pure nature of their temporary assignment.
We give written tests and conduct interviews to assess fit for specific assignments. Once a worker is placed, you should treat them like you do any team member. Give them honest feedback and treat them fairly, and they’re more likely to work out.