Creating a positive workplace culture fosters employee satisfaction, engagement, and productivity. While many organizations invest heavily in their full-time workforce, external employees—such as temporary workers, contractors, and staffing agency hires—are often overlooked. This divide can lead to lower morale, decreased retention, and reduced performance, ultimately impacting business success. To maximize their workforce’s potential, companies must extend their commitment to culture beyond their permanent staff and ensure that external hires feel valued and included.
Businesses can enhance collaboration, improve retention, and build a stronger employer brand by treating external employees as an integral part of the team. However, fostering this inclusive environment requires intentional strategies, from better communication and onboarding to competitive pay and professional growth opportunities. This guide will outline key steps organizations can take to ensure that all employees—regardless of employment status—feel respected, supported, and motivated to contribute to the company’s success.
Treating External Hires as Your Own
Building a positive workplace culture is critical for employee satisfaction and retention. However, many companies overlook the importance of fostering this same environment for external employees, such as temporary workers, contractors, and staffing agency hires. Forbes suggests treating contractors as employees can boost productivity, foster loyalty, and build a more cohesive team dynamic. Organizations that actively integrate external hires into their culture see greater collaboration, engagement, and long-term success.
This guide will provide actionable steps to improve workplace culture and help external employees feel valued, engaged, and motivated, ultimately benefiting the business and workforce.
Why It Matters: Breaking the Stigma Around Temporary Work
One of the most significant challenges in staffing is addressing the negative perceptions associated with temporary employees. Numerous organizations inadvertently divide their permanent staff from external personnel, resulting in diminished morale, decreased engagement, and increased turnover rates.
By creating an inclusive and supportive environment for all workers, companies can:
- Improve retention rates: Temporary employees who feel respected are more likely to stay for the duration of their assignment.
- Enhance productivity: A positive work culture leads to better performance and increased efficiency.
- Strengthen employer reputation: Companies that treat all employees well are more likely to attract top talent.
Key Strategies to Foster a Positive Workplace Culture for External Employees
1. Prioritize Clear and Open Communication
Effective communication is essential to keeping external employees engaged. Unlike permanent staff, temporary workers may not always be informed about company updates, policies, or changes that impact their role. Ensuring consistent communication prevents confusion and increases employee satisfaction.
Best Practices:
Provide a thorough onboarding process to set clear expectations and help them understand company values.
Assign a dedicated point of contact (such as a client specialist) to ensure temporary employees have someone to turn to with questions.
Use multiple communication channels (such as emails, texts, team meetings) to keep external employees informed and included.
The Advance Group facilitates effective communication by assigning dedicated client specialists to connect employers with external employees. This approach includes personalized onboarding processes, real-time updates, and automated messaging tools. These efforts aim to keep temporary workers well-informed, foster a productive work environment, and minimize turnover.
2. Integrate External Employees into Company Culture
Temporary workers should feel like part of the team, not outsiders. Creating an inclusive atmosphere helps them feel more engaged, leading to higher retention rates and better job performance. The Center for Creative Leadership emphasizes that cultivating a sense of belonging at work is crucial for developing equitable, diverse, and inclusive cultures. When internal and external employees feel connected, supported, and respected, organizations experience enhanced performance, greater innovation, improved job satisfaction, and reduced turnover rates.
Best Practices:
Include them in company meetings, team outings, and events to reinforce a sense of belonging.
Recognize their contributions publicly to show appreciation for their work.
Offer mentorship or buddy programs to help them build relationships with permanent employees.
To align external employees with company culture, thorough candidate vetting is crucial to ensure a good fit. Client specialists collaborate closely with employers to facilitate smooth onboarding processes and provide strategies for ongoing engagement. This approach helps external employees feel valued and included, fostering a work environment where all employees experience a sense of belonging. Creating this inclusive atmosphere enhances performance, innovation, and overall employee satisfaction.
3. Set Clear Performance Expectations Without Excessive Hoops
Many external employees face excessive red tape and lengthy hiring processes that can be discouraging. Companies should streamline their onboarding while maintaining high standards.
Best Practices:
Trust the staffing agency’s vetting process rather than requiring multiple rounds of interviews.
Avoid unnecessary background check hurdles that delay onboarding.
Provide direct feedback to help them improve and succeed in their roles.
Our four-touchpoint hiring process ensures deeper vetting and better candidate matching—eliminating the need for multiple interviews on the employer’s end. Our automated AI-driven recruiter ensures applications are processed immediately, keeping top candidates engaged and ready to start without delay.
4. Offer Competitive Pay and Growth Opportunities
Two of the most significant factors in retention are compensation and career growth. While external employees may not have the same long-term benefits as permanent staff, companies can still offer competitive pay and development opportunities to attract high-quality talent.
Best Practices:
Ensure fair wages that align with industry standards.
Provide performance-based bonuses or incentives for top-performing external workers.
Consider temp-to-hire opportunities for outstanding candidates.
We consult with businesses to determine competitive compensation strategies that attract and retain top talent. Our temp-to-hire model allows employers to evaluate performance before committing to full-time employment, ensuring a win-win scenario for both the business and the worker.
5. Treat External Employees with the Same Respect as Internal Staff
Companies that treat external employees as second-class workers create a hostile environment that leads to disengagement, lower productivity, and higher turnover. Research from Tandfonline indicates that outsourced employees often experience lower perceived insider status than permanent employees, which can significantly impact their job satisfaction and performance. Addressing this gap in inclusion is critical for organizations looking to maximize their workforce potential.
Best Practices:
Onboard them like internal employees by providing proper training and a warm welcome.
Encourage team leaders to check in regularly and offer support.
Recognize their hard work through employee appreciation initiatives.
We prioritize quality placements and only work with clients who respect their workforce. We ensure that external employees feel valued and appreciated through ongoing employee check-ins and support systems, leading to better engagement and higher retention rates.
What The Advance Group Can Do for You
Creating a positive workplace culture for external employees isn’t just about doing the right thing—it’s a strategic move that improves retention, productivity, and overall business success. However, many organizations struggle to find the right staffing solutions and integrate external hires into their culture.
Start Building a More Inclusive Workplace Today
Implementing these strategies can help companies create a more engaging and productive environment for external employees, leading to higher retention, improved morale, and a stronger employer brand.
Strategic Staffing Solutions: We provide customized staffing plans tailored to your business needs, whether you need long-term workforce stability or flexible hiring solutions.
A High-Touch, High-Tech Approach: Our combination of human expertise and AI-driven automation ensures the best candidate matches quickly and efficiently.
Industry Expertise & Compliance Support: We stay on top of labor laws, compliance updates, and industry best practices to help your business stay ahead of the curve.
Culture-Focused Hiring: Our approach ensures that temporary and contract workers align with your company’s culture, leading to better engagement and performance.
Contact The Advance Group today to learn how we can streamline your hiring process and improve retention if you’re looking for top-tier talent and a staffing partner who prioritizes workplace culture.
