Temporary staffing is rapidly emerging as a significant staffing strategy for organizations. It provides numerous benefits, such as cost savings, time savings, and streamlining of staffing, among others.

According to a study, 10% of the workforce in the organized sector in India will be temporary staff members by 2025.

To gain the most out of their temporary staff, organizations need to engage the temp employees and keep them motivated. Following are some of the ways that can prove to be useful in this process.

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  Mini onboarding program :

  Employees need to have clarity on the organization and its operations, policies, protocols, and their role to contribute to the fullest. The same shall apply while working with the temporary staff members. Businesses must design a mini onboarding program for the temp staff covering the key points of the organization. Induction training can be given to the temp staff members as part of the onboarding process. The sense of workplace environment through these processes will assist in engaging the temp staff members right from the beginning.

   

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  Communication and inclusion :

  It is important to communicate with the temp staff from time to time. The respective managers should regularly engage with their teams to understand the issues and concerns if any. Also, businesses must ensure including the temp staff in the organization and team-level activities. These aspects will enable the temp staff members to effectively collaborate with other team members and contribute to the success of the organization.

   

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  Celebrate and recognize success :

  It is essential for the employees to feel valued by their organization to continually enhance their productivity and efficiency levels. Businesses must make it a point to recognize the work done by temp staff. Some of the ways to do so can include appreciation mails to the temp staff members on the display of good performance, recognition through monthly and quarterly awards or employee of the month, and compensatory offs to the temp staff members if they work on the non-working days, etc.

   

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  Safeguarding the interest and rights of workers :

  Organisations must always preserve the rights of the temporary staff members. For example, several organizations have been conducting vaccination drives to maintain the health and safety of their employees during the Covid-19 pandemic. Such drives should also include temp staff members. Similarly, the staff members should receive their salaries on time and as per the wage standards. Labour laws and compliance standards apply to all the employees in the organization. Discrimination protection, for instance, assures equal remuneration to all the employees for the same role irrespective of their gender. Similarly, differently- abled employees have special rights under the law to provide them equal opportunities at work. Organizations need to ensure that these rights are preserved and that the temp staff gets a safe work environment.

   

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  Training options and opportunities :

  One of the most successful ways to engage the employees is by providing them with new opportunities to learn and grow in the professional space. Training is the primary channel to enhance employee skills and knowledge. It is always a good idea to offer the temp staff training opportunities and options as per their roles. Organizations can design training sessions for the temp staff and provide them with an option to take up additional training as per the need. It can help in improving the connection between the employee and the employer.

   

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  Skill-based work allocation :

  Employee engagement has several internal and external factors. Adequate mapping of the employee skills with the employee role is one of the crucial ways to improve the engagement levels. Temp staff members should be given the roles and responsibilities according to their skills, knowledge, and experience. It will provide the opportunity for the temp staff to showcase and utilize their skill to have fruitful outcomes. These results will motivate and engage the employees to work better while fulfilling the interests of the organization.

   

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  Two-way feedback :

  Temp staff members should be given feedback by their managers and peers. The staff members should also be able to provide feedback to the team, management, and the organization. The two-way feedback process assists in the resolution of the concerns and conflicts. It also paves the path for the continuous improvement of both parties. Elimination of the gaps and issues leads to better engagement of the temp staff within the team and the organization.

   

Temporary staffing brings with it several benefits for the organization. The cost of a temporary staff member is way lower than a permanent employee. Also, it offers considerable time savings and has lower hiring risks. To avail of such benefits, it is also essential for the organizations to effectively engage the temp staff. Organizations must have a clear plan and strategy to involve the temp staff through transparent and constant communication, two-way feedback, legal compliance, rewards & recognition, training opportunities, and skill-based work allocation.