Why Forming Relationships With Temporary Employees is So Important

Temporary employees: here today, gone tomorrow. Why get invested? Sadly, that’s a common attitude toward temp workers. It’s also a mistake. Forming a relationship with your temporary employees can lead to a number of important long-term benefits. 

Don’t let your time with temps go to waste. Building a long-term connection can open up new potential and help you develop a meaningful talent pipeline. At the same time, you can learn a lot from these workers, who often bring unique knowledge and varied experience to their tasks. 

Here are some of the key reasons to form relationships with your temporary employees: 

Improve Team Productivity 

People have hidden skills. You might bring in a temp to fill one position, only to find they have a talent for something else. However, you’ll never make this discovery if you won’t form a relationship.  

By talking to your temporary employees, you learn more about their backgrounds and skillsets. This information will make it easier for you to maximize everyone’s productive capability. 

Cultivate a Welcoming Culture  

In some ways, being nice is its own reward. In this case, the reward comes in the form of an improved working environment.  

Companies talk a lot about culture. Discussion is a good first step, but you need to back up the rhetoric with concrete action. This comes from forming a relationship with everyone contributing to your success, including temporary employees. It works as an inclusive signal to other staffers and a clear way to develop your cultural goals. 

Fill Future Staff Positions 

Temps don’t always stay temps. Temp-to-hire recruiting represents an extremely effective team–building strategy. You gain a significant edge by bringing in workers on a short-term basis to try them out and get to know them. You have much more information when it comes to making a full-time hiring decision.  

Long-Term Relationship Building  

You might not hire a temporary employee for an immediate full-time position. They might not even stay with you very long…at least, not at this point in their careers. However, that doesn’t mean you’ve reached the end of your working relationship.  

Previous temporary employees make great additions to your talent pipeline. You can call on them again in the future, like when you get a rush order or when you experience a significant spike in demand. You can also consider them for full-time positions down the road. 

Develop New Institutional Knowledge  

Even if your association with a particular temp doesn’t last very long, it doesn’t mean that the relationship can’t have a significant impact. You can learn a lot from a temp. They can provide significant outside knowledge and a diverse skill set. By talking to them, you can internalize this experience, making it part of your institutional knowledge. In this way, even a short–term relationship can have a significant long-term impact on production. 

Drawing the most benefit out of your temporary hires means having the right people to start with. A top-flight recruiting firm, like SmartTalent, can bring you the talent you need to take your organization to the next level.  

Contact SmartTalent today to learn more.