After the COVID-19 pandemic, many employees returned to their on-site responsibilities. As the Great Resignation gained momentum, many of them left again to become contract workers.
While some companies are still reeling from the pandemic effect, others are worried about the recruitment costs. Either way, in the second half of 2022, employers posted 26% more openings for contract positions than in the same period of 2021. Meanwhile, postings for full-time roles were only up around 6%.
Whether you are planning to increase contract positions or already dealing with a number of contract workers, engaging them may be an issue. Since engagement is the driving force behind productivity, knowing how to boost it is vital to improving your bottom line.
Here are a few actionable tips to keep your contract workforce engaged.
1. Work on Communication
The absence of high-quality communication is one of the major issues with the contract workforce. While in-house teams usually have a smooth system in place, the contract workforce that works remotely or on the front lines rarely does.
The moment contract workers fall out of the loop, they become disengaged. This prevents them from producing the required results and minimizes the chances of the contract extension.
Technology
Without the right communication tools, keeping your contract workforce engaged can be problematic. Long gone are the days when email was the best channel of communication. Today, this approach has many downsides, the main ones being speed and accessibility.
Since contract workers are rarely in the office, they need a faster and more reliable way to get messages from the management. Something instant that doesn’t require passwords and a top-notch internet connection works great.
You may have to consider a comprehensive communication solution that can help you communicate with contract workers and your in-office staff by utilizing a variety of channels (e.g. text messages, emails, push notifications, and others).
Regular Check-Ins
While contract workers appreciate their freedom, leaving them without supervision could prevent these specialists from staying engaged. By scheduling regular check-ins with your contract workforce, you can make sure they are on the right track.
Meanwhile, such check-ins demonstrate your involvement in the employee’s activity and help the worker feel as if they are a part of the team.
These check-ins don’t have to be highly productive and include in-depth discussions. Even a regular “hi, how are you” type of communication can help contract workers stay connected.
Encourage Water Cooler Moments
Water cooler conversations are an important part of workforce communication and employee engagement. In fact, 43% of workers who operate remotely miss the water cooler talks. If contract workers are spending the majority of their time out of the office, you can rely on technologies like Slack or other messenger services that allow group chats. Connecting contract workers to the rest of the workforce can boost engagement and involvement in the company culture.
2. Goals and Timelines
To feel engaged, contract workers need to see clear goals and follow a schedule. While flexibility is often one of the critical benefits of the contract model, exercising control is vital to achieving results and maintaining engagement.
Goals and schedules are an integral part of successful company operation. They can provide the necessary framework to the contract worker and make them feel part of the team.
Even if your project has a vague timeline, consider reworking it in order to help the contract workforce stay on track.
3. Provide and Solicit Feedback
Since contract workforce is harder to engage than in-house employees, it’s important to go the extra mile. Studies show that 65% of employees desire more feedback. Meanwhile, 43% of highly engaged employees receive feedback at least once a week.
Your estimation of the contractor’s performance gives them a clearer understanding of their work in the company and plans for future collaboration. Constructive and empathetic feedback is key to managing contract workers and improving their sense of importance to the company.
The feedback you provide to contract workers should be:
- Meaningful
- Focused
- Honest
- Future-oriented
- Brief
- Clear
- Regular
Always be as specific as possible by providing examples. It’s also vital to be open and available for feedback discussion.
Besides providing regular feedback, it’s important to get feedback from your contract workforce. Contract workers can give you valuable insight into what you can do to drive engagement.
Arranging regular surveys and presenting feedback opportunities are integral to evaluating contract workforce engagement levels.
4. Forget the “Guest” Attitude
Contract workers often become disengaged because they aren’t sure about their contribution to the company’s success. Same as with on-site internal teams, it’s important for a contract employee to feel that they are a part of something significant.
Many employers make the mistake of treating contract employees as “guests” in their workplace. This causes contract workers to adopt the “guest” attitude as well.
Even though your contract workforce isn’t permanent, it is still highly important to the success of your company. That’s why it’s imperative to let these employees know about it.
To fix this issue, you can add more transparency to your relationship. While the responsibilities of your contract workers are clearly stated in the contract, you can go a step further to show these people how their work ties into the big picture.
5. Design a Recognition Plan
Without recognition, employee engagement is nearly impossible. Studies show that when employees believe that they will be recognized, they are 2.7 times more likely to become engaged.
When you create an employee recognition plan for your company, it’s important to factor in the contract workforce without differentiating between internal and contract workers.
If you set a completely different set of rules for contract and in-house employees, you can make matters worse. This type of treatment can reinforce the “guest” attitude and prevent the contract workforce from considering itself a part of the team.
From simple “kudos” to free ball game tickets, rewards you implement in your employee recognition plan can motivate contract employees to work better even if they are planning to leave after the project is over.
6. Welcome Them into Corporate Culture
Making contract workers feel welcome is one of the first steps toward boosting engagement. Even if you haven’t done this already, it is never too late to welcome the contract workforce into the company culture.
Contract workers should feel their integration into the company culture and have an opportunity to learn more about its values. While it’s important to check value compatibility during the recruitment process, it’s always possible to show contract employees that they are part of the team.
Depending on what responsibilities a contract worker has, there are many ways to make them feel welcome. This approach doesn’t just boost engagement. It can encourage the contract employee to consider extending their time with the company.
If you are one of those companies that rely on the contract workforce heavily, you need to do what you can to hold on to the top contract talent.
7. Segment Your Workforce
While many of the same rules apply to both your internal and contract workers, there are several significant differences. Strategies that work for your internal team could be useless for contract workers. Examples are:
- Corporate email notifications – can work for someone who sits in the office but can be hard to access on time for someone who is working with customers on the front lines.
- Worker of the year award – this type of award is useless for project-based workers who leave before the year is up.
- Privacy policies – confidentiality rules you set for in-house computers and servers don’t work well for personal notebooks and other remote tech.
To maintain engagement and work efficiency, you may need to review your technology, recognition programs, and HR policies. This can create a convenient and comfortable environment for your contract workers without changing anything for the internal team.
8. Leverage All Contract Worker Skills
Companies usually hire contractors for a specific set of skills related to a certain project. This often causes HR experts to overlook other skills that a contract employee can possess. By digging deeper into the worker’s history and capabilities, you can find other skills to use for your company’s needs.
Paying extra attention to the employee’s skills can boost engagement while helping you get the most out of the contract arrangement.
Boosting Contract Workforce Engagement with the Right Tools
The contract workforce is becoming an integral part of many business operations. As the number of contract workers is growing, so is the need to keep them engaged. However, contract worker engagement can be a challenge since it requires complex segmentation efforts.
By taking advantage of the right HR solutions, it’s possible to increase engagement through high-quality recognition, communication, and management.
Refresh is a comprehensive HR platform that provides a set of high-quality solutions for employee engagement, recognition, communication, wellness, and management. To see how it can work for you, please request a demo at any convenient time.