Profitable organisations enjoy reliable, productive and consistent workforces: the result of engaged employees.
So what makes an engaged employee?
- The right skills to do the job
- The right fit for the job, the environment and the company
- Strong leadership – which includes providing safety, feedback and communication, opportunities to make a difference, opportunities to develop and a sense of belonging
Research shows that when all these factors come together, organisations achieve a high level of performance in their workforce, leading to customer loyalty and ultimately profitability and shareholder value.
Whilst many businesses apply this practice to their permanent staff, when it comes to their flexible workforce, it can be another story.
Tips for Success
If you would like a high level of commitment and productivity from the staff that work for you on a fixed, short term, temporary or casual basis, then here are some things to consider.
- Don’t refer to the staff in your flexible workforce as “temps”, “casuals” or “labour”. If you call someone a “temp”, then that’s how they will behave –as an expendable resource. At Adecco, our flexible workforce are our ‘associates” – they are as important to us as those on our permanent payroll.
- Provide your flexible workers with a buddy or mentor for the first few weeks. We all know how hard it can be when starting a job for the first time and can be even more lonely and confusing when you are employed for only a short time. Assigning someone to help flexible workers integrate quickly will improve their productivity enormously.
- Make sure you provide a thorough induction. It’s all too easy to give an abbreviated version of your training to short term staff but a few hours invested in proper health, safety and functional training will provide instant returns in productivity and reduce risk of accident and injury.
- If you move staff from one function to another, make sure you upskill them for their new role, even if its for the shortest time and let your Adecco consultant know. Most of the issues we see relate to staff being asked to perform roles they haven’t been trained to do. Contact your Adecco consultant and they”ll help you out.
- Be inclusive. People who feel included; feel listened to; can make a difference; are appreciated and belong to a team are far more productive in the workplace. People who feel invisible, feel their work is invisible too. This may translate into less output. Its just human nature!
- Equal Pay. In many countries, flexible employees get higher wages than permanent staff to compensate for the short term nature of the work and the benefits ongoing staff receive that fixed term staff do not. We aren’t proposing this necessarily, but if you want equal productivity from two employees in the same role, they should be paid the same, regardless of employment status. Pay less and you may get less output – which costs you more.
- Feedback communication and reviews. Employees in your flexible workforce are an asset and a cost to your business, even if very short term. Time invested in taking care of this asset, whether its praising good performance or remedying or removing poor performance will make sure your assets are in good shape. Talk to your Adecco consultant to set up a review schedule for your employees- we have some neat tools to make this happen quickly and effectively.
- Learning and development. Adecco offers a wide range of e-learning opportunities to assist you in developing your flexible workforce. From Microsoft Software products to presentation skills, negotiation skills or customer service- we have a comprehensive range of sessions available to you and you staff. We also support some associates in developing technical skills and licences and tickets.
Speak to your Adecco consultant about ways in which we can support you to develop your workforce staff.