It can be difficult for hourly and temporary workers to feel like part of a team. Among full-time staff members—whether they’re on-site, remote, or hybrid—camaraderie often comes easily. However, recent trends towards flexible part-time, temporary, and hourly employment do not show any signs of stopping, making it important not just to react, but to proactively create new modes of team engagement and belonging.
Of the 47 million American workers who left their jobs in 2021, a large portion cited the need for greater flexibility and a more manageable work-life balance as the main reason behind their decision. It is telling to note that, even despite this, hiring rates have outpaced quit rates–for example, hospitality and leisure lost 833,000 in July of 2022, but also gained 1.1 million workers in that same month. “Clearly, it’s not the case that ‘nobody wants to work anymore,’ says Steve Anevski, CEO of Upshift, a tech-enabled, on-demand staffing platform that connects businesses with pre-vetted W2 employees with a success rate over double the industry standard (over 90%). “Instead, they want to have more say in how they work.”
Of course, this kind of shuffling is not without its consequences, especially in terms of the strength and vibrancy of teams and company culture. If the underlying issues that prevent workers from feeling connected to their companies are not addressed, it’s likely that the shuffling will go on and on, creating a cycle that perpetuates the original problem. Fortunately, a growing body of tech solutions is helping to tackle these challenges.
How can tech help?
In the U.S., there are 82.3 million workers aged 16 and older who are paid an hourly wage. Meanwhile, there are 25.09 million part-time employees in the country. If current trends hold, many of them may be leaving their current gigs in search of greener pastures. Across industries—whether it’s manufacturing, logistics, or hospitality–tech can help attract part-time, hourly, and temp talent.
Considering that most people now find work through apps or websites, digital recruiting tools are not just useful, but necessary. In the present market, the tools that offer the greatest capacity for flexibility and customization will likely see the highest demand from workers. By pre-vetting workers and reducing ambiguity about payment and position expectations, they provide clear benefits to both employers and employees. This, however, is just one part of what they offer to all parties involved.
Building a team
Tech can enable companies to build strong teams regardless of location and regardless of their employment status. Digital communication platforms like Zoom afford easy and cost-effective ways of fostering a team environment across disparate locations. “Of course, technology itself is just a tool: it’s how you use it that makes the real difference,” Anevski says. “Fortunately, new technologies are becoming increasingly user-friendly, making it easier to integrate them into existing workflows and see exceptional results.”
It’s important for team leaders to welcome non-full-time workers like they are part of the team and treat them as they would a full-time employee. This can be done by introducing them to everyone else in the workplace via online meeting tools such as Zoom or Google Meet, including them in meetings, and putting an emphasis on regular communications through digital channels. Staying in contact with hourly or temp workers and showing that you are open to hearing their feedback and concerns helps prevent them from feeling forgotten while providing them with additional motivation and support.
Asking them about their personal goals is another underutilized tactic. “If workers simply want to avoid the standard 9 to 5 due to other obligations, try to respect those obligations,” Anevski advises. “If they want to find full-time employment, consider keeping an eye out for opportunities (both in-house and elsewhere) for them.”
Get organized
Not every workplace had the organizational infrastructure to take on temporary, part-time or hourly workers prior to the pandemic changing the world of work. Thankfully, many apps targeted at this workforce enable workplaces to staff up quickly. Those that do the best job of streamlining payment and scheduling, as well as clearly laying out instructions to help employees hit the ground running and integrate with their new peers’ workflows, do the most to ease the burden on all parties involved.
There are also plenty of digital learning tools that use text, audio, video and images that provide essential training that meets immediate needs while also going above and beyond. These kinds of technologies demonstrate a company’s willingness to invest in its workers’ skill development (regardless of how often they’re on the job) while ensuring that everyone is on the same page. This, in turn, eases a new staffer’s integration into the team, cuts down on ambiguities, and makes everyone’s job easier in the long run, which is great for morale.
Conclusion
Workers who feel like real time and effort is being invested in their success are the most likely to perform well and be enthusiastic team members. Fortunately, tech has cut down the real time necessary to create this feeling, as it removes many of the difficult and time-consuming barriers to integration that beset traditional staffing practices.
In all, there are clear benefits to integrating technological solutions into your non-full-time hiring process. “Regardless of how long someone has worked with a company, those who feel valued by their workplace are better problem-solvers, more innovative, experience less stress, and generally enjoy their work more,” Anevski points out. “With digital tools and some simple human kindness, it becomes easy to reap these rewards.”
Export data into different formats
One of the LMS features often overlooked is exporting data into different formats. This might not seem like a big deal, but it can be a lifesaver when you need to share data with someone who doesn’t have the same LMS platform.
Exporting data into PDF, Excel, or CSV format means you can share data with anyone, regardless of what LMS they are using. This can be a huge time-saver and make your life a lot easier.
Schedule reports
The ability to schedule reports is an important feature of any learning management system (LMS). This allows businesses to save time by automatically generating and distributing reports regularly.
Scheduling reports can be a real-time-saver for businesses, especially those with large amounts of data to process. Businesses can free up their employees to focus on other tasks by automating the report generation process.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the value of comprehensive reports and analytics should not be underestimated. They provide a wealth of data that can be used to improve the learning experience for all students. By understanding how students use the LMS, what resources they are accessing, and how they interact, educators can make informed decisions about supporting their students’ needs.
