Organisations are adding temporary and contract employees to their workforce, but are they missing a trick? According to recruiting experts Hays, employers who effectively integrate temporary and contract employees into their team attain a far greater end result than those who don’t.
“The benefits of temporary or contract employees are greatly increased by integrating them into the existing team and organisation,” says Nick Deligiannis, Managing Director of Hays in Australia & New Zealand. “The most successful blended workforces are ones where the employer takes steps to ensure this is done properly.”
Hays share 10 such steps:
- Make sure your temporary or contract employee is aware of your organisation’s values and way of working.
- Give them an induction so they can quickly access the appropriate information necessary to perform their assignment;
- Give them the context of the tasks they will complete so they understand the bigger picture;
- Tell them what is expected to be considered successful;
- Introduce them to others in the team and explain each team member’s role and responsibilities;
- Equally, make sure other employees – especially those in the team your temporary or contractor will be working within – are aware of their reason for being there;
- Let them know how and when to communicate with you;
- Educate permanent team members about a temporary or contractor’s hourly rate. Yes it may be a higher rate than what a permanent salary equates to on an hourly basis, however they do not receive paid annual, sick, carer or parental leave. They do not receive benefits. And tax has not been deducted from the hourly rate;
- Include them in team social activities or training sessions;
- Provide performance feedback as temporary and contract employees want to know their contribution is valued just as much as permanent staff. This will greatly increase engagement, important when sites such as Glassdoor and SEEK’s Company Reviews allow any employee – not only permanent staff – to share their experience of working for a particular organisation.
Finally, employers are advised to interact with temporary and contract employees in exactly the same way as with permanent staff. As Helena Santos, Senior HR Manager Asia Pacific and Global HRBP for the IT and Finance Division of the International Baccalaureate in Singapore says in the Hays Journal, “I deal with everyone in the office in the same way, whether they are permanent or freelance, because everyone is representing our brand, so you need to try and engage contractors in what you are trying to achieve.”