Whether they are freelancers, business collaborators, consultants, or others, contingent workers bring lots of value and do not require the same benefits and cost investments as employees. This creates a space where businesses have access to the services of talented and experienced individuals for specific goals and projects.
As a result, most contingent workers have a project-based relationship with various businesses. Therefore, it is natural to see some disconnect between employees and project-based workers. However, if this issue is not addressed, it could lead to communication problems, mistakes, and missed deadlines. In addition, all these may lead to a lack of productivity.
To avoid such a disastrous scenario, here are three steps most businesses take when collaborating with contingent workers:
#1: Design a Protocol for Contingent Workers
You must have a special protocol for new employees onboarding the company, right? So why not also create one for contingent workers who will be with you for a specific project?
You can apply the same strategies used for helping new employees get up to speed, only at a narrower level. This usually involves disclosing company documents necessary for their work, so make sure to take all legal precautions (which also should be part of the protocol).
Overall, it is important to help them feel included in the team, just as you would do for a new employee.
#2: Help Them Connect with Your Brand
Your brand is the very representation of your business, so everyone involved in your projects should be familiar with it. Now, many contingent workers research their business partners beforehand, so they are probably familiar with some of your business goals and aspirations.
Still, you should encourage them to bond with the brand in order to understand your business drivers and motivations. Here is how you can do that:
Start with the Beginnings
When you understand the history of a brand, it is easier to understand its climb and path forward (regardless of the brand’s popularity). Moreover, you can combine team integration with brand initiation and have the team provide the information to the newcomers.
Give Out Branded Small Gifts
The phrase “out of sight out of mind” holds a lot of weight in this scenario. So make sure your brand is not out of sight by offering small branded tokens such as notebooks, business cards, pens, or snack pouches. You can make some amazing custom stand-up pouches for all sorts of scenarios.
Motivate by Incentives for Them
Why should contingent workers bother to learn and understand your brand? These workers are not motivated by the same incentives as your employees, so it helps to find some benefits for them as well.
#3: Prioritize Communication
Communication should always be a two-way street so contingent workers could feel heard and seen. Luckily, nowadays you can use technology to have meetings with the team — even if some of the members are far away.
However, you should also consider giving them access to internal communication systems such as group chats, newsletters, or intranet. In addition, it helps to create an account for document-sharing platforms where they can collaborate with people in your team and receive feedback.
Also, make sure to ask for their feedback when it comes to the projects in which they are involved. Besides making them feel seen and heard, you’ll also receive unbiased opinions from people with unique points of view of your company.
Wrap Up
Open lines of communication, help with team integration, and encouragement to connect with the company brand and culture are but a few of the steps you can take to welcome contingent workers. True, it is a bit of extra work on your team, but the end result is worth it!
