The role of a temporary employee can be a thankless task. From shift work to short-term assignments, the variation of work can be both rewarding and frustrating at the same time. So how do you maintain motivation?

We speak to Sarah Blackmore, Head of New Directions Social Care to discover more about how the staff that work via this leading recruitment and training agency stay positive and performing.
Sarah, who has worked for New Directions for ten years, gives five key tips for keeping the troops happy who work via supply:

1) Supply staff are human too…

The very real risk agencies pose to themselves is the treatment of the people that work for them. We hope that every day we are speaking and working with our supply staff – they know how much we value them as part of our team. That could be an extra five minutes on an aftercare call to find out how the assignment impacts their personal life – if they have plans for their spare time…or simply a chat about the weather. Make sure you recognise that beyond merely filling a shift for you, they are working as part of your team.

2) Offer as much information as possible…

If you expect a supply team member to drop into a last minute emergency booking (which is so often the case), or you have a long-term assignment lined up for someone – give them as much information as possible. Names, telephone numbers, addresses, emails – the choice of biscuit the team eat on a tea break. The more information your supply staff have, the more confident they will feel, and the more motivated to do the best job they can for you.

3) Keep them in up-to-date with your team…

Individuals who work via supply want to know they are as secure as they can be working on a freelance basis. Keep your staff up-to-date with all the latest news and relevant company information. Has your team been accredited by a new training body? Did you work as part of a charity drive? Let the staff working out on contract know they are part of a strong, unified business. After all, the more you tell them, the more they tell their colleagues and peers. Word of mouth is the most powerful form of promotion for any agency.

4) Sign them up to social media…

Our social media accounts are there to connect with all of the staff who work for our team 24/7. We try to post as often as we can, so even if we don’t have a space where all the people who work for our business can get together physically – we have it virtually. Our online platform allows us to open dialogue, run competitions, talk about the things that matter within our sector. We also love a good motivational quote or too, and our online supporters seem to as well.

5) Add value to them as individuals…

Our staff are what make our business thrive. The better they are – the stronger we become. We don’t expect to simply ‘crop rotate’ staff into different roles. We want to see them grow – personally and professionally. We offer all the staff that work via our team the opportunity to train with us. If we can add something new to their CV – we know we are making them stronger professionally.

We spend so much time at work – we want to make it count.