Many businesses choose to employ temporary workers over the holiday season to handle increased demand and consumer traffic. Online personalization company Zazzle brought in more than 800 new employees for the holiday rush, according to Silicon Valley Business News, and the employees have already had to demonstrate their speed and precision during Cyber Monday sales.
Holiday temporary work can be taxing, and it can also be a worker's first introduction to a particular industry like manufacturing or shipping. To keep employees working at their highest capacity, it's important to give them reasons to enjoy coming into work.
While employee engagement is often considered a technique to boost retention rates, it's equally important for those workers who won't be retained beyond the duration of their contracts, according to Real Business. Engaged temporary workers will be more productive and provide service of a much higher quality than those who dread the workweek. Businesses of all kinds know their employees are some of their greatest assets, and this applies to temporary employees as well.
Ways to keep temporary and contract workers motivated include bonuses, special training, contests, raffles at work and more. Sometimes the best way to keep employees engaged is simply through keeping them busy and reminding them how important their contribution is to the business.
Managers of temporary holiday staff should try a variety of methods and see what works best.
