When this employee retention speaker and employee retention author goes on a tour of a facility with the HR leader or general manager, I can almost always tell who the temporary employees are in the facility. You can feel the “vibe” from the person taking you on the tour that the person is not a “regular” employee. This is truly a shame in that with the increased emphasis on using temporary staffing agencies a larger percentage of an organization’s workforce is “temps.” The reality is that being a temp is more and more becoming the path to becoming a regular employee.
With this as the backdrop, this employee retention trainer believes that organizations need to treat every employee the same…be it a temp or regular employee. The employment attorneys reading this just had a heart attack! Attorneys are usually very concerned about creating that employer/employee relationship with a temp employee. I understand that certain things like pay, benefits, etc. are going to be different. But, how you “treat” the employee as a person needs to be the same. After all, these people are working right alongside your regular employees and if they aren’t getting the job done it kills your organization’s effectiveness. A way to ensure that a temp’s heart is in it and that they are engaged is to treat them like any other person you have working in the organization.
A long-standing client of mine was being decimated because they could not keep the plant staffed. As this employee recruitment expert was touring one day, one employee retention issue became very evident. The “temps” weren’t treated like everyone else. As such, they didn’t feel a part of the organization so when a better job came along, they quit. This became a topic of our kaizen event on employee retention and we were able to get the message through to the entire leadership team that “temps were people too!” How leadership started treating them changed. Leaders knew people’s names, said “hi” to them in the morning, wished them an enjoyable weekend, etc. These were all he same things leaders did with “regular” employees. In a matter of months, temp employee turnover dropped significantly and the pipeline to keep the plant staffed was stabilized.
Treating your temps like regular employees needs to be a part of your employee retention strategies. Once it is, you will see temps have a more positive impact on the organization as well as reduced turnover in your temp ranks. For that reason, whenever you walk by, say “hi” to the temp. Don’t forget…Give Your Employees C.R.A.P.® (Caring, Respect, Appreciation and Praise). Why? Because C.R.A.P. Works…even with your temps!
