5 Tips for Onboarding Contingent Staff

As contingent staffing expands, employers must take specific steps in order to ensure efficiency across the board, from embracing digitalization and emerging technologies to clarifying expectations and values. The process of onboarding contingent staff, specifically, continues to change as the workplace becomes not only more digital but more virtual as well.  

Below, we have outlined some tips for onboarding contingent staff that will help you stay ahead of the competition. 

Tip #1: Digitalize the onboarding and orientation process.  

This step, along with the following tips for onboarding contingent staff, is essential in this day-and-age. The workforce is moving toward an increasingly virtual environment, so shifting your onboarding process to digital will not only help with convenience, but it will show candidates flexibility and understanding. More importantly, a digital onboarding process will boost efficiency by expediting background checks, paperwork, and the overall process. Digitalization also promotes organization and time management, making the onboarding process easy to manage.  

Tip #2: Ensure role-specific onboarding processes exist for different positions. 

First, when onboarding contingent staff, it is important to differentiate their role from all necessary angles. For example, the information and skills needed for a contract worker in one department would vary from another, which would both vary from a full-time position. The easiest way to master this step and implement it into your onboarding process is by creating numerous checklists for each and every position based on context and direction. In doing so, candidates can better understand their roles while wasting no time learning information that does not pertain to them. 

Tip #3: Set clear expectations in relation to company culture and values. 

While laying out what is expected from the candidate may seem obvious, sometimes this step is overlooked when it comes to contingent staff. Understanding what their role entails is only part of the goal; the candidates should understand where they fit into the company as a whole and if there is room to grow. Highlighting the company culture and structure not only provides insight and unification, but also incentive to potentially join the team long-term. 

Tip #4: Promote communication throughout the entire onboarding process. 

As previously mentioned, a growing number of today’s workers are remote. It can be extremely alienating to start a new job with no in-person interaction, which is why communication is so important. Brief check-ins the first few days, and later as needed, can help foster a culture of open communication and demonstrate the company’s commitment. Effective communication can help ensure contingent staff feel like a valued asset to the team, easing assimilation and enhancing collaborative and cohesive work. 

Tip #5: Remember that technology and external resources exist to help you. 

The fifth and final step, embracing technology, is critical in streamlining the onboarding process. Onboarding can be overwhelming for those involved, but with technology and collaborative efforts, the process is more efficient. Technology in the onboarding process works to amplify engagement, ease the transition, and improve tools and metrics.  

If you have any questions about staffing and the onboarding process, contact us today.