Hiring high-quality temporary workers doesn’t happen by chance.
Did you know that high-performing employees produce 25% to as much as 1,000% more than their peers? And that includes temporary employees! Being purposeful in how, where and whom you recruit can help you attract this kind of talent.
With temporary employees, getting the best results doesn’t happen by chance. But it does happen, and you actually have a lot more control over the quality of the contingent staff you hire.
What can you do to get great temporary employees – every time?
Tip #1: Create job descriptions
If you want to hire a great employee, you first need to define what a great employee looks like. With temporary employees, you need to create job descriptions that accurately define the goals, duties, and responsibilities of each job. Ideally, your job descriptions should include specific performance goals and standards.
Tip #2: Benchmark performance
When writing job descriptions, go beyond a list of required skills and experience, and provide measurable goals for technical skills. One thing you can do is ask your staffing partner to conduct benchmark assessment tests with your current top performers. Then when they hire, they can compare new candidates against your company’s benchmark scores.
Tip #3: Allow more lead time
While last minute staffing needs will happen, the more time you can give your purpose-driven staffing partner to source and evaluate talent, the better they’ll be able to do. And when you can’t provide much lead time, prioritize the skills and traits that are most critical for the assignment.
Tip #4: Set clear expectations
It may seem obvious, but if you want employees to do something, you have to tell them what you expect. And this includes temporary employees. Too often, temporary employees are given a list of duties to perform, but performance expectations are never discussed. Your quality and productivity expectations should be part of your job descriptions. They should also be discussed with each new temporary employee during onboarding on their first day on the job.
Tip #5: Provide employee performance feedback
Performance feedback is essential to any employee’s success. Make sure your temporary workforce is given feedback on their work, especially in the first few days and weeks. But with temporary employees, performance feedback can be a little tricky. To minimize co-employment issues, lean on your staffing partner to provide any needed discipline. While casual feedback directly to the worker is encouraged, formal performance feedback and discipline can be provided by your staffing partner.
If you are happy with a temporary employee’s work, it’s fine to tell them they are doing a great job. You should be specific about the things the person is doing well. However, if you are not happy with a worker’s performance, tell your staffing partner about the problem. If you want the worker terminated or replaced, ask your staffing partner to do it.
Want more ideas on temporary staffing?
Contact Helpmates today! As one of the leading staffing agencies in Southern California, we match the area’s leading companies with outstanding temporary employees.
