Policy Insights To Manage Contract And Temp Hires

The emergence of a tech-enabled business landscape has brought about a complete transformation in the way the staffing needs of organizations are met. More and more companies have increasingly begun to rely on the capability and competence of third-party contractual personnel in order to meet their immediate employment needs. 

Be it critical project requirements, provisional work engagements or short-term assignments, temp hires have currently become an inalienable part of the changing workforce ecosystem. In fact, their ability to finish essential tasks in a time-bound, resource efficient and cost effective manner, has given a massive push to the Indian gig economy.  

So much so, that in the year gone by, over 70% of firms admitted to having hired temp workers at least once for dealing with major organizational issues! 

However, in an environment where permanent staff and contractual employees are meant to interact on a regular basis, issues of coordination and collaboration are bound to arise. The only way to iron out such difficulties is by preparing a strong policy framework which has the potential to ensure a holistic structural transition while addressing trust deficit, is any. 

Listed below are a few policy insights which can help create an atmosphere for contract economies to coexist and thrive in a re-modelled workforce mix: 

1. Contracts 

As a matter of policy, every contract that your company draws up must contain linguistically transparent and legally compliant clauses. The criteria on the basis of which a temporary employee would be hired or replaced should be mentioned clearly. Their terms of employment, total tenure, job profile, payment schedules and overall expectations should also be stated in an explicit way. 

Doing so wouldn’t just entitle them to fair and equal treatment but it would also enable gig workers to easily integrate with the existing corporate mechanisms. 

2. Cooperation 

The recruiters need to make sure that for the duration of the entire contract, a culture of seamless cooperation is created within the organisation. Such cooperation can be infused in the policy framework by including uniform treatment of temporary employees as a non-negotiable feature. 

For instance, workplace safety standards, anti-discrimination practices, and other similar company laws must be applied on equal terms for both, in-house and temporary staff. This would provide a sense of physical and psychological safety to contractual employees, thus equipping them to handle the problems at hand, more carefully and comfortably. 

3. Modalities 

Last but not least, policies for managing contract and temp recruits need to address a few basic modalities. These include the establishment of controls, the determination of potential liabilities, the signing of confidentiality agreements, the adoption of worker welfare measures and the facilitation of access to information. 

Delineating such modalities within the policy architecture can help establish and maintain a long-term relationship with the temporary and contract workers. Chalking out these modalities can also give rise to inclusive practices which further work wonders in terms of consistent performance enhancement.  

If your organisation, too, has been grappling with the constraints of temporary staff management, then platforms like Talent on Lease can prove to be of immense help. They forge a connection between the recruiters and the suppliers, so the right resources can be made available at the right cost and at the right time. 

Temporary and contractual staffing has slowly and steadily begun to reshape the contemporary human resource landscape. Managing this trend and using it to unleash the true potential of your business can go a long way towards helping you gain a decisive edge over your competitors. After all, temp hires are not just a tool to optimize resource planning – they are also a medium to promote productivity, shorten turnaround time and enhance value!