Contract workers make up more than half of the workforce at some of today’s tech companies. It’s becoming the expected thing that these workers receive access to benefits that reflect companies’ culture and values. What does that look like in practice?
I recently had a discussion with a very talented contract worker who was in charge of employee engagement for a tech company, yet he couldn’t take part in the matching or volunteering benefits he was organizing. It got me thinking about workers who are not employed full time. Did you know that only 42% of companies rely primarily on full-time employees? The rest rely on a wide range of contractors, part-time employees, and independent freelancers.
Human resources guru Josh Bersin says, “Not providing benefits to contract or part-time workers is going to go away over time—these are real ‘workers’ even if they aren’t classified as ‘employees.’”
Recent headlines and developments, particularly at tech companies, underscore Bersin’s perspective and the importance of making contract workers feel valued. Partially in response to pressure from full-time employees, many companies are starting to give contract workers’ benefits and actively seeking ways to weave contract workers into the culture that’s built for full-time employees. SurveyMonkey, for example, extended benefits to all employees, including contracted janitorial and food services workers, at their headquarters.
Studies show that making everyone truly feel part of the company is worth it. In a Glassdoor report, employees reported that “culture and values” are the most important attributes they seek in a company.
Contract workers are ambassadors for your organization [Learn why employees are your best ambassadors]. As contract workers become a staple of the workforce, how can companies show them they’re valued? Here are three easy ways:
It gives you an opportunity to reward contract workers for giving back to local communities. [Learn more about employee engagement.]
Donors are energized to support affected areas when natural disasters strike. [Be prepared to involve employees in your company’s disaster response with this checklist.]
Employees appreciate charitable incentives and contract workers are no different. Charitable gift cards from organizations like GlobalGiving or DonorsChoose make employees feel engaged with your organization. [Get ideas for charitable gifts.]
If you want to provide the same job satisfaction—and get the same productivity—out of your contract workers as you do from your regular employees, use the same tools. Just because someone isn’t on your official payroll doesn’t mean they aren’t inspired and motivated by the same recognition and opportunities.
Learn more about how GlobalGiving can help engage all your employees.
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