Simple Ways to Train Your Temporary Help

Effective training strategies for temporary workers

Christmas is just around the corner, and so too is the busiest time of the year for many businesses. 

You are probably already preparing your business for the surge in demand and may be hiring temporary staff to help manage the influx of customers.

Many companies hire temporary staff during the summer period to cope with the increased demand; on average, businesses facing this seasonal influx will increase their staff numbers by 30 per cent.

This is the time for your company to perform at its peak, and having slack or poorly trained casual staff to help manage the customer influx is not a mistake you want to make. 

Having staff on the shop floor who don’t know how to do their job correctly won’t just lose you revenue during the silly season, but it can also ruin your reputation and the opportunity to gain repeat customers in 2015.

To avoid this from happening, it is essential to train extra staff with the same, if not more, time, care and attention you would give to a person you are taking on full-time.

Utilise these simple steps to help make your temporary staff’s training as quick, efficient and smooth as possible, and your business will be sure to have a very merry Christmas.

Warm welcome 

Making new staff feel a part of the team is all part of the initiation process. 

Welcoming seasonal staff into the business and making them feel a part of the team may seem like a waste of time when you are busy, but it is vital that you do it properly. 

It is important to introduce them to all of the staff, and particularly those who will be on their team. Tell them not only people’s names and job titles, but also their specialities and how their job relates to them. This works both ways. Employees need to know who the temporary workers are and what their responsibilities are.

It can be extremely easy for temporary staff to feel isolated and left out of the team if they are not welcomed properly; this can be extremely counterproductive. Take some time to focus on this aspect and make the new member feel connected and included in the team.  People will work harder for someone with whom they have a connection.

Be crystal clear 

Early on in the training process, explain to your new staff what they will be doing and, more importantly, why. It is extremely useful for a person to know not only how to do something, but also why it needs to be done, as it provides them with context about how their role affects overall operations.

Explaining to new arrivals why tasks are done and how they should be done in a certain way frames the job for the temporary worker and gives them a clear perspective.

Self-reliance

Provide your temporary employee with all the tools they need to be self-reliant and a capable worker. 

Provide them with all the resources they’ll need to work independently; this could mean giving them login accounts to the network database, passwords, access to shared files, specific phone numbers, or simply letting them know who to contact if they need help. 

By providing them with all the necessary information, they will be able to easily answer their own questions. Teaching them to be self-reliant means they will accomplish more work, and you will spend less time answering their questions.