Many employers make the mistake of thinking the Workamper is just like their local hire. That just isn’t the case! Just as I encourage the Workamper to put themselves in the shoes of the employer to help them understand where the employer is coming from, I would encourage you to do the same.

Workampers do not adopt the lifestyle for the job opportunities. The job opportunities are a means to their goal, but not the goal. The job you provide is part of the experience. Workamping is all about experiencing America – while living the RVing lifestyle. You provide one of the key elements that support the opportunity, but if it is not afforded to them by you, it will be by someone else.

Workampers are not Workamping for the jobs, but for the experience the jobs provide them. The income is not the driving force as it is with your local hire. The local hire took your position for the paycheck. They are working to pay the bills, or buy the first car, or whatever financial goal they may have.

The Workamper takes your opportunity to experience the geography of your region. They desire to spend more time in your region than they did possibly on a previous vacation. Your job is a means to their end goal of Experiencing America – One Job at a Time!

So how does this information help you? As you think about your hiring process and your management style, this key factor should be taken into consideration. You must take a moment to put yourself in the Workampers’ shoes and to understand more about the Workampers’ “come from.” I am saying that you cannot manage all of your staff the same way! The Workampers paradigm must be taken into consideration. If not, you will end up back in the market looking for staff.

When I teach Workampers how to market themselves to employers, I use the reverse of the above. I ask them to slip their feet into the shoes of the employer. They need to understand how they can best provide for the employer’s outcome. How their actions can support the employers business, and knowingly provide them with the opportunity to live the Workamping experience in the geographic region.

This understanding took time to develop during my years as HR Director at Adventureland Park in Altoona, IA.

It was not just my understanding, it also meant getting management staff on board. Some never did, and they continued to have issues with their Workamper staff. They never developed the understanding that, in time, would have made their job much easier and more enjoyable.

The management who continued to think of the Workamping staff in the same way as the local staff never did get it. You may be thinking I am talking about a double standard here. Not at all! What I am saying is that your methods and management style with the Workamper dictates that the staff be different.

Consider this situation:

Something has gone wrong and you inquire with your local staffer about what happened. They briefly explain the situation and you make the statement ‘if that happens again, you’re done.’ Because the local staffer has a goal in mind that requires the income you are providing, fear of loss kicks in and they will not say anything, just keeping their frustration inside to build up and eventually explode (especially if the problem was not of their doing).

The same situation happens and you inquire with your Workamper staff about what happened. They most likely will provide you with more information due to work experience maturity. If you make the same statement you did with the local hire, the Workamper doesn’t have the same fear of loss, and may depart your business. You may think, ‘fine, they didn’t want to be here, so they need to leave’ when indeed your actions forced them to depart. Although, in reality, they probably did not want to go. They made the choice and investment to come to your place of business in the first place. Now due to quick decisions by both parties, the Workamper is moving on.

Your work environment and business will be improved if you will give the above some consideration. Think about all of the time you spend to recruit and hire staff. Your efforts to develop and improve on this simple understanding about Workampers will go far; your world will change around you, because you have changed!