How does your contingent workforce start their day? Perhaps more importantly, what do you do to encourage them at the start of their day? How a person begins their workday sets the tone for everything else that they’ll do that day, so it’s important to start on a positive note. To that end, here are three things that your contingent workforce can do—and that you can encourage them to do—at the start of each day. If you want, you can even distribute this article among them, or post it on the company bulletin board, to ensure that each day begins the right way.
1. Start with a Clean Slate
Yesterday might not have been the best. Maybe you hit a brick wall on a particular project and didn’t get it done like you were hoping. Maybe you kept getting interrupted so that you couldn’t focus on one single task for long enough to complete it. But whatever happened yesterday is in the past. Even if you still have work from yesterday carrying over into today, remember that today is its own day, and use it to start afresh. Leave all the problems from yesterday behind. Instead, focus on what’s happening today, get organized, and hit the ground running.
2. Be Present
Not everyone is a morning person, an afternoon person, a night owl or whenever it is your shift starts. Regardless of your day time preference, when you’re scheduled to be at work, you need to be awake, alert, and ready to go. You can’t let the quality of your work suffer because of scheduling that’s less than ideal. If your job involves operating heavy machinery and you’re not fully awake and present in your job at all times, it can turn into a health and safety issue for you and for those around you. Do what it takes before your shift to be present during your shift, whether it’s a cup of coffee, a hot shower, or getting a hot meal.
For Management: Good management means being present and taking the time to connect with your team members. Greet them with a smile, ask them how they are, and if there’s anything they need, or that you can do. This is not just a friendly gesture or part of your company culture, it’s also important for gauging the pulse of your contingent workforce. If someone comes to work who isn’t fully present: nodding off, upset, or distracted, the best, quickest way to find out about it is to engage them in conversation.
3. Remember Your Core Purpose
Why are you here? What are you trying to accomplish? Go deeper than just, “I’m here to collect a paycheck.” What sets this job apart from all other jobs you’ve had, and what is it that you’re here to do? Taking a few moments at the beginning of each workday to reconnect with your core purpose is a great motivator. Focus on what you’re trying to achieve and for whom. Adjusting your focus can help you set goals and priorities for the day, and work to accomplish them.
Employees: Consider this a checklist. Look at these three things at the beginning of every day, and focus on each of them before you start your actual work. Begin each day as if it were on purpose. You’ll be amazed at what you’ll be able to accomplish after that.
Managers: You need to do your part, too. Encourage your contingent workforce to start with a clean slate and to be mentally present in their work, and remind them of what their core purpose is in working here. If you and your employees work together, you can create a happier, more productive, and healthier workplace for everyone.
