Wood Words

Quick Tips to Motivate Your Contingent Staff

If you’re like most Middle Tennessee business owners and managers, you are using more contingent workers this time of year.  But as you bring these temporary and short-term employees in, how can you ensure you get the best return on your staffing investment?

While you certainly don’t have to go out of your way to reward and motivate temporary employees, it may be in your best interest.  Why?  Doing so may help you improve the results you get from them – translating into better customer service, lower turnover, higher productivity and improved quality.

Simply put, rewarding your contingent staff makes good business sense.  To show each temporary employee that he’s a valued part of your organization, use this quick list of tips:

Create a formal job description. Doing so sends the message that the employee and the work he does are important.

Orient and introduce. When a new short-term worker shows up, introduce him to the people with whom he’ll be working.  Give him a formal tour of your location, pointing out the lunchroom, restroom, etc.  Do what you can to make him feel like a part of your team.

Treat him with respect. Introduce the worker to his colleagues by giving his full name.  Explain to everyone involved the role he will play.  This presents your temporary in a much more respectable light to his new co-workers – and presents you as a professional in the temporary employee’s eyes.

Provide a challenging environment. Encourage contingent workers to beat the performance or quality standards set for your direct staff.  Take the time to learn about each temporary worker’s skill set – you may uncover additional capabilities that could benefit your company.  Finally, challenge each short-term worker to use his talents to their fullest potential.  This increases the likelihood that he’ll stay working for you.

Keep him in the loop. Without sharing proprietary information, include your temporary as a recipient of memos, company announcements, etc.  When appropriate, invite him to company meetings and share information regarding your organization’s goals and challenges.  The more involved he feels, the more invested in your success he’ll be.

Consider a cash completion incentive. If you have no plans to hire a contingent worker onto your own payroll, consider offering a completion bonus.  A cash incentive can be very helpful in keeping a highly skilled individual working on a long-term project to its completion.

Need short-term, project-based or temporary staff?

If your company is located in Middle Tennessee, give Wood Personnel a call.  We can provide immediate access to thoroughly screened and highly trained administrative, light industrial, IT and management personnel who are ready to perform for you.

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