It takes time to onboard freelance and contract workers. As they learn more about your business they become more valuable and it can be difficult to deal with interruptions to staffing. If you rely on contractors or freelancers, it’s worth investing time in retention – there are big productivity gains to be had.

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    • Action plan

    Reducing turnover of contract or freelance workers

    Medium effort

    Medium impact

    It takes time to onboard freelance and contract workers. As they learn more about your business they become more valuable and it can be difficult to deal with interruptions to staffing. If you rely on contractors or freelancers, it’s worth investing time in retention – there are big productivity gains to be had.

    • We’ve designed our action plans to be completed in the order of steps laid out and explained why each step is important
    • Customising your action plan lets you set your own completion dates, assign tasks to others and get notifications
    • Helpful tools are provided for certain steps while a tracking metric at the end will help you determine the long-term success of your effort
    • A downloadable PDF version of each action plan is available if you’d like to compete it offline
    What's involved? Ways to use this action plan Measuring impact
    1

    Get an effective onboarding process in place for freelancers and contractors

    Impact: medium

    Why will this help?

    It’s tempting to assume freelancers can always hit the ground running. They may be highly skilled, but they still need the understanding of processes and company culture and access to tools that come from a well-run onboarding process.

    Employee onboarding – tips on what to do and not do

    A great onboarding experience gives new starters the tools they need to succeed, but there are plenty of common mistakes to avoid.

    Onboarding an employee remotely

    Onboarding an employee remotely is a completely different beast compared to doing it on-site, so it’s crucial to shape your process to fit.
    2

    Talk to freelancers and contractors to figure out how you can make roles more attractive

    Impact: high

    Why will this help?

    Your freelancers are the best source of ideas of what you can do to improve retention. Feedback might range from advice on day rates to access to the canteen – you won’t know if you don’t ask.

    Developing an employee feedback survey

    Employee feedback surveys can be used to measure engagement or assess processes like onboarding or career development.
    3

    Use rolling contracts for freelancers that are in high demand

    Impact: high

    Why will this help?

    Rolling contracts are used to give both parties additional security. For example, you might introduce rolling 90-day notice periods for cancelling contracts that give you time to find a suitable replacement.

    4

    Consider what benefits or social aspects permanent staff receive that can be extended to contractors without risking them being classified as an employee

    Impact: low

    Why will this help?

    Having the opportunity to socialise, as well as other perks, can be attractive for freelancers. Including them on team days out or social events is a great way to encourage loyalty and further embed them in your team.

    Find out exactly what incentives your people are driven by. Then you’ll get the best results

    Thinking creatively, businesses from all corners of Britain have introduced work incentives both big and small to keep staff motivation high. Each have learnt that the more inspired a workforce is the more productive they tend to be.

    What to consider when introducing incentives
    5

    Book in regular reviews with contractors and determine what’s been most effective at reducing turnover

    Impact: high

    Why will this help?

    Getting regular feedback from contractors allows you to spot problems before they develop and improve the processes you use. Setting a goal related to contractor turnover increases focus on solving the problem.

    Creating a community helped us tackle hospitality’s notorious turnover problem

    Few challenges in business are more disruptive than high staff turnover. We spoke to one business leader who has taken action to retain staff.

    Extend performance management to contractors to get the best results

    For performance management to be effective, managers should involve team members that aren’t permanent employees too.

    What can I do with this Action Plan?

    Start this Action Plan

    Add some extra information to this plan and we’ll help you get it done.

    • We’ve designed our action plans to be completed in the order of steps laid out and explained why each step is important
    • Customising your action plan lets you set your own completion dates, assign tasks to others and get notifications
    • Helpful tools are provided for certain steps while a tracking metric at the end will help you determine the long-term success of your effort
    • A downloadable PDF version of each action plan is available if you’d like to compete it offline

    Download and print

    Get a printable template for this Action Plan, fill it in with some target dates, and share it with your team. Pin it on the wall where everyone can see it.

    Get the printable Action Plan

    Learning Groups

    We also run Learning Groups on these topics where you can join other leaders tackling the same challenges.

    Find a Learning Group

    How will I know if my action plan is working?

    Turnover of freelancers or contract staff

    Track the turnover of freelance and contract staff, as well as full-time employees

    Why this metric?

    Reducing turnover of contract and freelance staff increases the value they can contribute.

    How do I use this going forward?

    Keep track of the start and end dates of your contractors.