17 Jun Listen to Your Temporary Help for Long Term Impact
In the new economy, millions of workers in the U.S. have returned to work in interim, or temp jobs, via staffing agencies. Many of today’s temp jobs are being filled by people with a decade (or two) of experience —
[bctt tweet=”in 2010, more than 40% of jobs were held by those 55 and over”]
and can offer a lot more than what is needed for the role they are now filling for the short term.
Want to really leverage that temporary solution into permanent gains? Here are five ways to make great use of your interim worker:
Take notice of management potential. Sure, it might seem odd to have someone who is not a permanent employee have official supervisor duties, but why not? If the person you’ve hired has direct experience in the field, it’s entirely possible they have headed a team before. They could be sitting on a ton of great ideas on how to get the most out of your full time hires if you give them an opportunity to lead.
Create a mentorship program. If handing over the management reins to a temp seems too much of a stretch, then consider a mentorship role for the short-term employee. Without the formality of a manager relationship, they can still coach your more junior employees and be a resource that leverages their years in the industry.
Consider temporary help for the temporary help. Some staffing agencies specialize in helping companies coordinate all of their temp hires, especially if their client is working with multiple agencies. If you have chosen to work with a boutique agency to find physical therapists, another agency to staff the front office, and a third to provide janitorial services, you might benefit from a dedicated service partner who can handle invoicing, time sheets, expense tracking and other paperwork across all of the agencies you work with.
Be a humble boss. If you run your own small or start-up business, you might find temporary help that have also successfully run their own company in the past. The recession was tough on everyone, not just those who didn’t know how to make good business decisions.
[bctt tweet=”You could learn a lot from someone who has years of experience being the boss, even if they aren’t right now.”]
Let them make a lasting impression. Many experienced employees will have had prior responsibilities building out policies, handbooks, playbooks and other helpful documentation that will survive their tenure with your organization. Let them put that experience to good use and have them do more than just execute the day-to-day role – instead, have them review (or create) your company’s forms and templates and learn from what similar companies have done.
Employers have been slower to hire to permanent positions for a variety of financial reasons, but also logistical ones – temporary help can be great for seasonal surges in business, for big projects, or to get specific skill set help needed for a special role. But temporary help doesn’t mean inexperienced help. Find out about the longer history behind the short term employee and you could discover a treasure trove of talent that will have an impact that lasts long past the length of their contract.
