Contingent Workers

Methods to Motivate Contingent Workers.

Graphics courtesy of Bureau of Labor StatisticsOpens in new window

Employees who do not want to work in a certain organization for a long period of time also fall under the category of contingent workers. Such employees may be defined as freelancersOpens in new window, consultants, or independent contractors. They can either work in the organization’s offices or remotely. They are highly skilled and experts in their areas of specialization.

Contingent workers are not considered employees of an organization. They work as freelancers under a contract or on a temporary basis. Unlike permanent employees, their retention depends on the continued existence of the job at hand.

Contingent workers do not receive salaries. Instead, they receive payments or commissions for the work done. They are not liable for benefits like contracted employees and are responsible for their own taxes. As such, they do not identify with the organization in the same way or display the same commitment as permanent employees.

Contingent workers cannot be told how to complete a project, as they work for themselves. The organization’s main focus when dealing with them is on the results of the project, not how it is being done.

What will motivate involuntarily temporary employees?

An obvious answer is the opportunity for permanent status. In those cases where permanent employees are selected from a pool of temporaries, the temporaries will often work hard in hopes of becoming permanent.

A less obvious answer is the opportunity for L&D. The ability of temporary employees to find new jobs is largely dependent on their skills. If employees see that their current jobs can help develop useful skills, then their motivation will increase.

There are a number of things leaders (and their organization) can do to keep contingent workers engaged and motivated. Here are some tips:

• Ensure the entire experience is seamless and enjoyable. If leaders want to hire the very best contingent workers in their industry, then they need to nail the entire contingent work experience. This will include everything from the hiring process, onboarding, payments, all the way to the exit process.
• Share information and processes with contingent workers. Where possible, leaders should include contingent workers in some of the processes that are usually reserved for permanent workers—such as onboarding, organizational learning and expertise sharing—this will make nonpermanent workers feel like a valued member of your group or team. A contingent worker that feels engaged with an organization will work with increased efficiency, passion, and effectiveness towards achieving the organization’s overall vision and goals.

• Frequent communication. One of the main reasons that a large number of workers choose freelance work is the opportunity to be able to choose where they work and when they work. This means that it is likely that many of an organization’s contingent workers will be remote, rarely (if at all) coming to the organization.
  
  Thus, it is important that leaders communicate with them regularly, either by video or voice communication. Not only will this make them feel like a valuable member of a group or team, but it is also a great tool for leaders to clearly communicate key performance indicators and current objectives to contract workers.

From an equity standpoint, leaders should also consider the motivation problems that result from mixing permanent and temporary workers who earn significantly different amounts. When temps work alongside permanent employees who earn more and get benefits for doing the same job, the performance of temps is likely to suffer. Separating such employees or converting all employees to a variable-pay or skill-based pay plan might help lessen this problem.