How Can I Motivate Part-Time Workers and Temps?
It’s hard to motivate contingency workers but it is possible. To begin with, you shouldn’t overload them with grunt tasks. It’s a temptation to assign all low-level work to part-time and temp employees. Don’t. Find out what specialized skills they have and take advantage of them.
Avoid confusion about their work assignments, too. For instance, make clear to these individuals who is allowed to give them work assignments. If it will facilitate their work, assign them a fulltime worker to be a mentor. The part-time employee will feel more like a part of the team and the mentor will feel good about the added responsibility.
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If possible, give temporary employees work that taps their experience. If you have an assignment that involves filing and photocopying, don’t ask for a seasoned project manager. Keep in mind that temporary work has evolved in the past decade or so, and it is not uncommon for a company to bring in a temporary CFO for a major initiative.
Be clear to temps, too, about their responsibilities. Let them know what they will be doing before they arrive, not after, and let them know to whom they should direct questions. Because contingent workers are new to the office, they’ll have more questions than full-time employees will. Don’t just leave them hanging. Not only should you or another be there to answer questions, you should try to anticipate them as well.
In other words, treat your contingent workers just as you would any other employee.