Good help is definitely hard to find. But sometimes effective training can make the difference and ensure good help delivers the desired results. Although orientation and skill enhancement are vital to the long-term success of full-time employees, they are equally important for the contingent workforce.
Professionals in staffing service firms will all say that training and skill enhancement can play just as great a part in the preparation of those seeking temporary and contract work as it does for those looking for a full-time position. Indeed, these professionals take a proactive role in preparing their staff long before they reach the client’s workplace.
Temporary and contract staffing services use various tactics to prepare and train contingent workers, but the strength is not often in any single approach but the sum of the whole.
“Our training process starts with a fact finding questionnaire the candidate completes before they arrive for an initial interview,” said Valerie Gilmore, president of Temps4U and Gilmore Staffing Solutions in Toronto. “From that point on, we learn about the employee’s skill sets and occupation preferences, and then tailor a program to prepare them for their next career step.”
This next step might vary from the choice to use temporary work as a way to re-enter the workforce to accepting a more senior full-time position, as well as many variables in between.
Staffing services provide training that entails orienting the employee to the client’s environment, requirements and business procedures, as well as a touch of career guidance. For temporary assignments, this can include awareness training on specific workplace requirements, such as the workplace hazardous materials information system (WHMIS).
Other training may include software programs and can range from one-on-one instruction to quickly brushing up on an application to a computer-based training (CBT) tutorial.
Staffing firms can usually provide sufficient training in-house, but sometimes they will refer an employee to a course at a training centre or community college or recommend a book to help meet the requisite requirements for a specific job.
“We place a high priority on training employees in various areas to increase their skill levels and awareness of good work habits,” said Sue Kelcey, a training and quality consultant with Manpower Canada. “It also raises employee satisfaction and dependability on an assignment.”
Some services offer one-on-one computer training where the staffing consultant invests the time to show a worker how to perform specific functions.
CBT tutorials are also frequently used to sharpen a worker’s existing computer skills in a specific application, but not to learn a new program from scratch. This means employees don’t need to trudge through an entire tutorial. Instead, the staffing specialist reviews employees’ credentials and runs them through rigorous tests to identify skill gaps. They then direct employees to specific tutorial exercises to strengthen weak areas and bring them up to par.
“If we have a stellar candidate who almost matches the client’s ideal profile but is shy of specific data entry requirements by 500 keystrokes per hour, we use a CBT tutorial to help close the gap,” said Barb Allen, general manager of TOSI Placement Services Inc. in Toronto. This approach can be used for direct hire, as well as temporary staffing.
In addition to CBTs and video-based computer training, all Manpower employees can obtain training through its Global Learning Centre, which they access from their homes via the Internet. Manpower offers courses in software skills, business skills, interpersonal skills, call-centre training and good manufacturing practices training.
For off-line skills, one tactic is sending a senior staffing consultant to facilitate orientation sessions at the client’s work site. Once there the consultant may work for up to three days with the employees to ensure they are familiar with job tasks and demands.
“This practice works particularly well when staffing a customer contact centre, where the client’s reputation depends on all its customer service representatives being up to speed from day one,” said Allen.
Soft skills training is also integral to Gilmore’s commitment to both her direct-hire and temporary employees.
“Consultants spend extensive time coaching employees on how to present their unique abilities and to have the confidence to work effectively for any client.” she said.
The approach and extent of training required may, of course, be dictated by what the client wants and how fast they need it. Temporary and contract workers are usually required “yesterday,” which is not the case when filling a full-time position.
In all circumstances, effective training and preparation of job seekers can build client loyalty and a close relationship whereby the staffing service is hired to meet a variety of HR needs, on an ongoing basis.
“We have always placed the same emphasis and effort on matching our temporary employees to their assignment and training them for it, as if it were a full-time job,” said Gilmore.
Best practices in the preparation of contingent workers and all job seekers are strongly endorsed by The Association of Canadian Search, Employment & Staffing Services (ACSESS), which represents the staffing industry in Canada.
Leslie Hetherington is a freelance writer and public relations practitioner with clients in the staffing services industry. She can be reached at [email protected].
Professionals in staffing service firms will all say that training and skill enhancement can play just as great a part in the preparation of those seeking temporary and contract work as it does for those looking for a full-time position. Indeed, these professionals take a proactive role in preparing their staff long before they reach the client’s workplace.
Temporary and contract staffing services use various tactics to prepare and train contingent workers, but the strength is not often in any single approach but the sum of the whole.
“Our training process starts with a fact finding questionnaire the candidate completes before they arrive for an initial interview,” said Valerie Gilmore, president of Temps4U and Gilmore Staffing Solutions in Toronto. “From that point on, we learn about the employee’s skill sets and occupation preferences, and then tailor a program to prepare them for their next career step.”
This next step might vary from the choice to use temporary work as a way to re-enter the workforce to accepting a more senior full-time position, as well as many variables in between.
Staffing services provide training that entails orienting the employee to the client’s environment, requirements and business procedures, as well as a touch of career guidance. For temporary assignments, this can include awareness training on specific workplace requirements, such as the workplace hazardous materials information system (WHMIS).
Other training may include software programs and can range from one-on-one instruction to quickly brushing up on an application to a computer-based training (CBT) tutorial.
Staffing firms can usually provide sufficient training in-house, but sometimes they will refer an employee to a course at a training centre or community college or recommend a book to help meet the requisite requirements for a specific job.
“We place a high priority on training employees in various areas to increase their skill levels and awareness of good work habits,” said Sue Kelcey, a training and quality consultant with Manpower Canada. “It also raises employee satisfaction and dependability on an assignment.”
Some services offer one-on-one computer training where the staffing consultant invests the time to show a worker how to perform specific functions.
CBT tutorials are also frequently used to sharpen a worker’s existing computer skills in a specific application, but not to learn a new program from scratch. This means employees don’t need to trudge through an entire tutorial. Instead, the staffing specialist reviews employees’ credentials and runs them through rigorous tests to identify skill gaps. They then direct employees to specific tutorial exercises to strengthen weak areas and bring them up to par.
“If we have a stellar candidate who almost matches the client’s ideal profile but is shy of specific data entry requirements by 500 keystrokes per hour, we use a CBT tutorial to help close the gap,” said Barb Allen, general manager of TOSI Placement Services Inc. in Toronto. This approach can be used for direct hire, as well as temporary staffing.
In addition to CBTs and video-based computer training, all Manpower employees can obtain training through its Global Learning Centre, which they access from their homes via the Internet. Manpower offers courses in software skills, business skills, interpersonal skills, call-centre training and good manufacturing practices training.
For off-line skills, one tactic is sending a senior staffing consultant to facilitate orientation sessions at the client’s work site. Once there the consultant may work for up to three days with the employees to ensure they are familiar with job tasks and demands.
“This practice works particularly well when staffing a customer contact centre, where the client’s reputation depends on all its customer service representatives being up to speed from day one,” said Allen.
Soft skills training is also integral to Gilmore’s commitment to both her direct-hire and temporary employees.
“Consultants spend extensive time coaching employees on how to present their unique abilities and to have the confidence to work effectively for any client.” she said.
The approach and extent of training required may, of course, be dictated by what the client wants and how fast they need it. Temporary and contract workers are usually required “yesterday,” which is not the case when filling a full-time position.
In all circumstances, effective training and preparation of job seekers can build client loyalty and a close relationship whereby the staffing service is hired to meet a variety of HR needs, on an ongoing basis.
“We have always placed the same emphasis and effort on matching our temporary employees to their assignment and training them for it, as if it were a full-time job,” said Gilmore.
Best practices in the preparation of contingent workers and all job seekers are strongly endorsed by The Association of Canadian Search, Employment & Staffing Services (ACSESS), which represents the staffing industry in Canada.
Leslie Hetherington is a freelance writer and public relations practitioner with clients in the staffing services industry. She can be reached at [email protected].
