Five Ways To Reduce Contingent Worker Turnover

It’s natural in the staffing business that contingent workers will prematurely quit their assignments and in some case never show up for the first day work. While some staffing companies treat this simply as the cost of doing business, others are focused on improving contingent worker retention. Here are some quick improvement tips:

Become very knowledgeable about both the job and the client’s culture. Matching people to the job and the employer can only occur when recruiters fully understand what are competencies required to perform the job successfully. Moreover, getting a handle on the client’s work culture (how things get done), will allow recruiters to place workers in client work site that match worker values and what motivates them with what the client will offer.

Use realistic job previews. These multimedia approaches to fully explaining the good, the bad and the ugly about a job and the client’s work setting allows candidates to make an informed decisions about the assignment.  This helps recruiters to better manage contingent worker expectations.  One of the major reasons people quit early in an assignment is that the job is not what they expected it to be.  Employing this tactic may increase the number of candidates you need to screen, but it will reduce early turnover.

Take time to select the right workers.Quick resume reviews and short unstructured interviews may help with staffing efficiency, but they may fall short in fully understanding what the worker can do and is willing to do.  Using both hard and soft skill testing is an excellent way to make a better placement.  To reduce no-show rates use a valid measure of conscientiousness.  Use structured interviews that include questions of organizational culture fit.

Engage employees. This starts with the day-one onboarding experience and continues through the life of the assignment and relationship with the staffing firm. Successful engagement starts with creating an organized, warm and welcoming environment, not only with the staffing company, but also with the client.  Establishing an open and honest relationship with workers is a key. Being their coach by helping them succeed with the client is paramount.

Sweat the small stuff. Small complaints by either the worker or the client, which are left unattended, can fester and lead to larger problems. Resolve these problems in a timely fashion. This may require uncomfortable conversations with either or both parties.

Carl Greenberg

Carl Greenberg
Carl Greenberg is the founder of Pragmatic HR Consulting. He can be reached at carl.greenberg (at) pragmatichr (dot) com.

Carl Greenberg

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3 Responses to “Five Ways To Reduce Contingent Worker Turnover”

  1. […] It's natural in the staffing business that contingent workers will prematurely quit their assignments and in some case never show up on the first day of work. While some staffing companies treat this simply as the cost of doing business, others are focused on improving contingent worker retention. Here are some quick improvement tips.  […]

  2. […] It’s natural in the staffing business that contingent workers will prematurely quit their assignments and in some case never show up for the first day work.  […]

  3. […] It’s natural in the staffing business that contingent workers will prematurely quit their assignments and in some case never show up for the first day work. While some staffing companies treat this simply as the cost of doing business, others are focused on improving contingent worker retention. Here are some quick improvement tips:  […]

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