As modern workplaces continue to evolve, utilizing the help of contingent workforces continues to increase in popularity. In fact, contingent workers are expected to begin taking on historically in-house roles as well, especially as companies become more agile and market conditions more unstable. Maximizing the efficiency of contingent workers seems to be key to success and taking a strategic approach to workforce management that highlights commitment and productivity will be crucial for enhanced performance. Here are some simple yet effective ways you can achieve the same results:
Create clear scopes of work
While internal employees might be able to tackle projects independently and take on responsibilities within their roles, contingent workers will only complete the tasks that are explicitly assigned to them. After all, they don’t have enough authority and information, and they are rarely present in internal meetings; they simply can’t understand what it takes to complete projects efficiently. To ensure remote workers complete their work hours and stay productive, you have to provide them with a comprehensive scope of work. It should include your main objectives and the big picture you are striving for, any specific results you expect to be completed within a set deadline, as well as any preferences you want them to follow.
Close any communication gaps
There’s no denying that communication is one of the biggest challenges of contingent workforce management. Although it’s quite reasonable to exclude contingent workers from certain internal communications due to safety and security concerns, you shouldn’t put too many limits on their access to information. This will only keep them out of the loop and exclude them from conversations that might be directly tied to their work. Instead, aim to close these communication gaps by sending frequent project updates, including changes to deadlines and goals, policy updates, and constructive feedback. This will help to improve the efficiency of your contingent workforce and uplift your organizational productivity as well.
Improve the payroll process
Managing contingent workers is often challenging and time-consuming. For this reason, many employers tend to delay important operations and treat contingent workers unfairly, with the payroll process being among the most common setbacks. In order to make your workers happy, productive, and committed to the job, it’s important to deliver decent wages on time to show you respect their time and value their work. If you can’t accomplish this on your own, hiring experienced contractor payroll services is always a good idea, especially if you’ve engaged a global workforce. They will take care of payroll practices, international banking, compliance obligations, and even communication, allowing you to manage your contingent workers more efficiently.
Reward good performance
Whether you’re implementing the hybrid workforce model or simply hiring part-time workers according to demand, most contingent staff tend to complete their assigned responsibilities and then move on. Rewarding these employees with better benefits or higher flexibility, for instance, could allow you to boost productivity, improve workplace sentiment, and simply enhance the partnership you have built with your contingent workforce. As these workers understand that they will only work with you for a specific period of time, instilling company pride can be particularly difficult. Try to share your main objectives and your overall vision for their roles, as well as the importance of the company as a whole.
Build strong relationships
You have likely sought out contingent workers to avoid the commitment and cost of hiring new employees. However, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t build strong, long-term relationships with each person you like working with. Even if their service is only needed temporarily, keep in mind that you might need the same skills in the future as well; you never know when a need will reemerge. In those instances, it’s much easier to continue working with the same people instead of searching for someone new. That is the biggest advantage of commitment. You can build it through being open and honest, providing feedback and support, and ensuring contingent workers align with your core values.
Always demonstrate respect
While it’s important to foster a respectful environment for all workers, demonstrating respect to temporary staff might be even more crucial. Let them know that they add necessary skills and real value to your projects, that they are essential parts of your team, and that they are treated equally to all other employees. When contingent workers are treated with dignity and respect, they tend to feel more appreciated and valued at your company. As a result, they often demonstrate higher levels of commitment and might show improved productivity and efficiency as well.
Managing contingent workforces comes with a number of difficulties, but it’s not impossible to achieve. Use the advice above as a simple guide for improving the commitment and productivity of your contingent workers.
