Any advice for a software leader who is experimenting with temporary hires / staff augmentation for the first time? How can they help temp staff succeed and quickly integrate them with their in-house team?

Giving new hires a feeling of inclusion from day one is very important. They often arrive with a lot of energy and a desire to contribute, so it is essential to include them in meetings and discussions, share the product direction, and seek their feedback. Step-by-step documentation is helpful for setup and understanding the product. We also hand over the onboarding documentation to new joiners, allowing them to update it based on their experience. This not only helps them but also benefits future new hires.

In our case, we refer to these hires as co-op students or interns. To integrate them effectively, we prepare a Confluence page before they join, which includes onboarding activities and a list of necessary tools and accesses. For the first two weeks, we assign team members and mentors, and schedule specific tasks for specific hours so that new hires feel connected rather than isolated. We avoid simply giving them documentation to read; instead, we use a buddy system, where each new hire is paired with a senior team member who can answer questions and provide support. This ensures a smoother onboarding and helps them assimilate into the team.

I have had good experience with this over the past couple of years. We focused on improving the experience for new hires, including college interns and temporary staff. One key strategy is to have a defined scope of work at the start. This helps new joiners gradually learn and gain hands-on experience with the team. A smooth onboarding process is important; if onboarding is easy from day one, everything else tends to go smoothly. The environment should be standardized so that newcomers do not face issues with basic tasks, such as installing tools or finding documentation. Providing good documentation or clear steps, and assigning a mentor or buddy, helps new hires feel a sense of belonging and enables them to do their job properly. The mentor acts as a bridge between the existing team and the new person, fostering an inclusive environment.

While I do not have extensive experience with temporary hires, I believe the best approach is to make them part of the team and treat them as you would a full-time hire. They should have a peer-guided onboarding process and be paired with someone more experienced. This helps them feel equally accountable and gives them ownership over their work. It is important to celebrate their learnings and successes, as well as support them through any challenges, just as you would with any other team member.