The Role of Offboarding in Protecting Your Brand

Hiring temporary employees has become a trend, especially in customer support departments. These people are typically brought in to handle seasonal workload peaks, provide temporary coverage for employees on leave, or offer specialized skills for short-term projects.

While this practice can help businesses with their immediate needs, it’s important to understand that integrating seasonal hires can be challenging. The most obvious challenge is — fostering a sense of belonging.

That’s why creating efficient strategies for a smooth transition is mandatory rather than optional. Also, if your business has a regular need for seasonal hires, investing a little extra into making temporary hires happy can pay off in the long run.

Instead of looking for new employees every time, why not rely on the satisfied past workers?

Offer Unique Benefits

But, how to go about this whole affair?

No matter how you look at it, "temporary" means "temporary."

That’s why businesses should, first and foremost, make sure to hire people used to gigs or freelancers who prefer project-based jobs rather than regular employment.

However, these people have some rather specific standards. For one thing, they value their time. Typically, they look for flexible work schedules and a plus in their CV.

Since it’s almost impossible to provide career growth opportunities to temporary hires (that’s why you’re hiring them in the first place), make sure to offer valuable references they can use in future professional endeavors.

Also, if you need additional support on a regular basis, ask them if they’d be interested in further cooperation down the road.

Provide Effective Onboarding

Onboarding plays a major role in the overall employee experience. Poor practices in this process can lead to a heap of issues, especially if there’s a lack of enthusiasm on your end.

In plain words, if you communicate that temporary hires aren’t worth the effort, it’s only fair to not expect them to be motivated.

Even temporary employees need to be integrated into the company culture. After all, they’ll be assisting living, breathing people, even if it’s for a short while. The only difference in this regard when it comes to temporary workers is that they do not necessarily need to meet many people outside their immediate team off the bat.

Short-term tutorship programs can be particularly beneficial, so make sure to pick the right mentors who know how to inspire people in addition to teaching them the ropes.

Ensure Clear Communication

Clear communication is a major step in creating an efficient team, regardless of employees’ contract types. In other words, seasonal workers need access to the same tools and communication platforms as permanent employees.

HR teams should, therefore, make sure to set up login credentials and provide training on company technology. Effective communication helps temporary employees to share fresh ideas and collaborate more efficiently with the rest of the team.

Encourage Team Bonding

Back to the sense of belonging, one potentially efficient strategy for this scenario is to create opportunities for seasonal hires to connect with the team. Any traditional approach should do the trick: team-building events, after-work social events, team outings…

As a rule, a collaborative culture welcomes newcomers, meaning that HR teams need to provide the initial push to help them feel included.

Provide Training and Support

Temporary workers are often brought in for specific purposes, like seasonal peaks, and require training to start working quickly. Contrary to popular belief, however, investing in high-quality training for seasonal employees is recommended.

Talents can be found anywhere, after all, and there’s no saying whether temporary workers may become valuable long-term employees. E.g., assigning a mentor to each new hire can help them feel welcome and supported. Successful employee offboarding actually starts from this point, so don’t skip this step.

Recognize Contributions

Recognizing contributions helps new hires (temporary or permanent) integrate faster and feel more motivated. The practice demonstrates organizational professionalism and dedication to employee well-being.

It also helps new hires build a sense of belonging to the team and the organization.

Don’t forget that temporary workers typically bring unique skills to the team. This knowledge can benefit everyone, so it’s crucial to ensure that it is being shared. In addition to providing training to temporary employees, businesses should encourage them to share their expertise with other team members.

Monitor Workload

With temporary hires handling seasonal peaks, workloads may become overwhelming. This is where employee well-being comes into play, as businesses need to ensure they’re paying attention to team needs.

Even though seasonal hires are staying for but a while, they should leave with a positive impression. The importance of offboarding is clearly visible in this aspect, so ensure that the workload is manageable and suitable for new hires’ skill sets.

Clear End-of-Assignment Transition Is Paramount

Finally, businesses need to manage the end-of-assignment transition carefully. Seasonal workers know their assignment is temporary, but their offboarding should be handled with care.

The first step is to communicate the end of their assignment clearly and couple the practice with expressing appreciation. Discuss potential future prospects if both sides are satisfied with the assignment and make sure to provide references and support for their future career.