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| A new survey says contingent workers are engaged with hiring companies. Despite a small sample, it may have merit. |
Last week we talked about worker loyalty and engagement when
it comes to employers. Hours later, I received my daily email from a staffing
feed with a report that says contingent worker attitudes toward hiring companies are quite favorable. It seems
reasonable given the fact that contingent workers need to prove themselves
because their livelihood as an independent relies upon performance and results.
What benefit would they get from not going 'above and beyond' and being truly
engaged in the efforts of the company for which they are working?
While not the same as loyalty; the numbers were quite surprising
given the fact that a much larger global workforce study (1,000 times as large) suggested that
two-thirds of employees are unhappy and disengaged with their current employer.
So I asked myself, 'Was
I mistaken? Should I possibly scale back my way of thinking regarding this
matter?' The fact that contingent workers are happy with the organization for
which they work, own employer problems as their own, and over 41-percent of
them would like to finish out their career with their current company certainly
makes a strong case for using my contingent IT staffing
offering and goes a long way to break the myth that they are just there for a
big payday.
Then I looked at the numbers: 346 employees surveyed, all of
whom were from Australia, responded to the favorable survey. With that, I had
to ask myself if the favorable data was remotely credible. Given the sample
size and country (I have yet to meet an Aussie who wasn't positive and
persevering) my first thought was that last week's idea was on point: employee
engagement is a problem and social media and the Internet have something to do
with it.
However, I do think the positive survey does have some
credence and reinforces another of last week's points. There are loyal workers
around the world and forward thinking organizations that put employee happiness
and engagement at the forefront of their efforts to improve results.
Both studies also support another point from last week: What is the norm for one type of worker may
not be the norm for another. Personally, I don’t see the difference that
conventional 'wisdom' holds true about the differences in FTE and Contractors
(barring 1099 situations). I’ve worked
with contractors who are no different than their internal FTE counterparts.
They have a job to do, and engagement and happiness often depends on their
current situation. Whether either type of worker decides to be loyal depends on
something more.
I think it all comes down to two factors. The first of which
is what the hiring company breeds as far as culture. What the level of trust is
like, the management structure, and the role teamwork plays within the
organization all factor in to the equation. If employees feel like a part of
the team, contingent or otherwise; if they feel like their opinion and
expertise is valued; if they have the ability to make decisions on the way the
business or a project is structured; they will perform and feel engaged.
The second factor comes down to who the company is hiring, contingent or otherwise. It’s not a
question of whether or not they are a contractor, but the type of people for which they are looking. A problem arises when
employers are looking to hire the best of the best only in terms of a skill sets
at the potential expense of enthusiasm, engagement and loyalty.
A candidate's personality and engagement can be hard to
gauge during the interview process; that is…unless you ask. It's important to
find out a candidates real motivation for wanting to work for you.
There's a big difference between a worker who was attracted
by what you do as well as how you do it and one what is looking at how much you
pay and what they'll be doing for you. A good interviewer can usually get an
inclination of intent by asking questions about former employers and what the
candidate liked or didn't like about working for them.
I am not a professional economic prognosticator, but being
in the staffing industry and, due to the hints the recession seems to be slowly
subsiding, I can firmly say the days of A+ employees for less are over.
Companies will no longer get the best of the best in both terms of culture fit and skill sets for a song. However,
that's not to say they aren't available. It all depends on what companies offer
in terms of value and engagement potential to candidates.
Companies that have had
the luxury of retaining top talent, contingent or otherwise, should do whatever
they can to hang on to it: offer a stable environment and keep workers engaged
and happy. If you don't, someone else will.
Josh Kaplan writes on various subjects including
management, information technology breakthroughs, healthcare IT recruitment and innovations, big data, IT staffing and recruitment, and technical news and trends.
