30.05.2023
Top tips for onboarding temporary staff members
Most workplaces spend a large amount of time onboarding permanent staff, yet fail to consider the needs of temporary staff members. Temporary employees are those who may need more guidance when starting new roles, yet are often left to their own devices. The necessary strategies must be put in place to allow temporary staff members to feel valued within an organisation. Here are a few top tips on how to on-board your temporary staff members effectively:
1. Create project briefs
Although temporary staff may not be a part of your organisation for too long, it is still essential to set up a project brief that can be followed through with ease. Whether a staff member is temporary or permanent, all employees are working towards achieving a certain goal. To ensure that the temporary employee has a good vision of the company's motivations and understands their role, always provide a project brief or program.
2. Tour of the building
As soon as you welcome your new temporary employees into the workplace, ensure that they are given a tour of the building so they are aware of fire exits, toilets and other health and safety aspects. Giving your employees some time to settle in will allow them to feel valued, despite being just a 'temp'. This would be especially relevant within construction or warehouse environments, as employees will need to be aware of how to access stockrooms and machinery tools.
3. Encourage contact with permanent staff
Taking on temporary job roles can be extremely daunting and lonely, especially when the rest of the employees have been working together for a long period of time. Aim to introduce the new employee to the rest of the team immediately. Some companies believe this to be a waste of time as temporary staff move on in a few weeks or months. Yet allowing your employee to feel part of the larger team should give them greater motivation within their job role.
4. Have realistic expectations
Don't expect your new employee to know exactly what their new role will entail as soon as they enter the premises. Inform them that they are allowed to ask for help at any given moment. Not only will this give your employee extra peace of mind, but it also ensures that the business will continue to run smoothly without hiccups. This concept would certainly need to be put into practice for hands-on roles such as construction or warehouse trades. One tiny slip-up could cause serious impacts on both health and safety and profits.
5. Assign a mentor
If possible, assign your temporary worker with a mentor who can guide them and get them up to speed in a number of days. Jumping into a new role and taking on new tasks is a petrifying concept for any new worker, therefore assuring them that there is someone of assistance would be a real relief for any nervous temporary employee.
6. After on-boarding
Once the on-boarding process is over, it is always best to maintain communications. Make frequent checks on the temporary employee and be sure to ask whether they have any questions or queries that are playing on their mind. Aim to praise them for any outstanding achievements and offer rewards.
We are a recruitment company based in London and work on a number of recruitment projects. If you need any assistance with onboarding your new temporary staff members, please contact us today. To read more on this subject, check out our blog: https://www.extramanrecruitment.co.uk/cm/blogs
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Extraman Recruitment