4 ways to turn your temps into perms

With temporary and seasonal workers, you get to try them out for a while before deciding whether or not to bring them on board permanently. These temporary  employees can be completely underwhelming, but, sometimes, you’ll find a diamond in the rough that would make a great full-time or permanent staff.  Convince great temporary employees to stay

If you find a great temporary employee within the ranks of your staff, you’ll want to do everything in your power to retain them after their assignment has ended. 

1. It’s not all about the Benjamins, but some of it is

Unless you’re independently wealthy, pay is an important consideration when selecting a permanent position. Your temporary employees will be more inclined to accept a permanent position if you offer a raise with the change in status. Even if you can’t offer a raise with the permanent position, a temp who’s interested in joining your team may still be persuaded with the promise of future raises.

At current employment rates, offering a merit-based financial incentive may prove effective in turning great temporary staff into permanent employees. You could offer a performance bonus based on the employee’s efficacy or timely mastery of skills, or you could offer an annual bonus to incentivize yearlong results.

2. Talk up your benefits

Promote what your company offers in the way of perks beyond the paycheck. Temp work doesn’t often provide health and/or life insurance, but permanent positions do. Appeal to their desire for a good work/life balance by plugging your paid time off and holiday policies. You could even look into offering tuition reimbursement and occasional remote work days to temporary employees you want to convert into permanent staff.

3. Encourage staff to engage

Fewer than 30% of workers feel engaged in their workplace. A lack of engagement can lead a productive, enthusiastic employee to resent their job or burn out. Facilitating an active and community-oriented corporate culture can help your employees, both permanent and temporary alike, connect with their peers and build loyalty to their people and company.

For example, at InfoMart we have a program that allows volunteer committees to organize events both during and outside of work hours. Our I’m Giving Committee meets monthly to plan and organize companywide and community charity events, such as volunteering for the Komen Walk and collecting school supplies to donate to local children.

4. Provide learning opportunities

Your staff is more likely to engage with their work if they are encouraged to grow with the company, and that extends to non-permanent staff as well. If you have a great temp who is willing to learn more, teaching them something new can encourage them to stick around and become a valuable asset to your company.

Training you can provide at the workplace includes organizing departmental cross-trainings and mentorships that pair your temps with more senior staff. You can also conduct lunch and learns and provide video or module learning on a weekly or monthly basis. If no one has time to organize or facilitate training, you can always send your employees off site to seminars and conferences.

Rewarding temporary employees and contract workers for their achievements

Many companies will use temporary employees at some point during their sales cycle and become familiar with bringing in people for a short time. However, you may find an excellent employee in these temporary workers and want to keep them.

Convincing these great employees to go permanent in a market full of possibilities for temporary gigs can be difficult, but singing your organization’s praises can help. If you lack reasons why your company is worth sticking around, try asking others why they stay and relay that information.

Even if you don’t have many perks to offer, recognition can be powerfully persuasive. Letting your employees know what they do well often can create a strong sense of community and engagement, and all it costs is a bit of praise and a ‘Thank you for all you do. Please keep doing it?”

When it’s time to screen your temporary employees or your full-time staff, reach out to InfoMart.