When it comes to offering flexible working arrangements, most employers immediately think it means working from home. While attractive, it’s not always the case. In fact, there are significant numbers of highly skilled and qualified professionals who want to return to work, but only in a part-time capacity.
So ask yourself:
- Do you want to keep the position open until you eventually find a full-time candidate?
- Or perhaps you are willing to hire a less qualified person for the role?
- Or would it be worthwhile considering an ideal candidate (or 2) who only want to work part-time?
Our advice to clients is to show your flexibility by considering a part-time employee and here are the benefits:
Benefit #1: Part-time staff are loyal
Most part-time roles are filled by existing staff returning from parental leave. As a result, it’s hard for people returning to work in a part-time capacity once they’ve been out of the workforce for a few years. By offering part-time work, you immediately gain these workers’ loyalty because they know how hard it is to secure a good part-time position.
Benefit #2: Being open to part-time work means you expand the talent pool
Some industries really struggle to find candidates with the specific qualifications, experience and cultural fit they are looking for. If this sounds like your business take heart. By being open to part-time employment you will immediately expand your talent pool. The quality of candidates is also directly impacted by the effectiveness of the job description. You can read more about this here.
Benefit #3: Productivity is often greater when employing part-time people
While they may work shorter hours, part-time employees often make better use of their time, especially if they feel their efforts are appreciated. Take care that you don’t overload them and expect similar output to full-time employees doing the same job. However, this is easily controlled by having clear KPIs for every role in your organisation and we can help you with this.
Benefit #4: Instant back-up when someone goes on leave or resigns
If your vacancy requires full-time hours, you will probably need to engage 2 part-time workers for the role. While there may be some additional costs with this set-up, there are also significant benefits. For example, with only one person in the role, if they take sick leave, annual leave or resign, there is usually no-one to perform their role or train the next incumbent. But if you have 2 people working part-time, there is always a back-up person to do the work and train the new employee.
A fresh approach
Finding and hiring new staff usually requires compromise because there is never a perfect fit. So if you find an ideal candidate, don’t eliminate them from your short list just because they want to work part-time.
At End2end Business Solutions, we provide a fresh approach to your staff recruitment challenges. By combining our skills with those of our sister organisation, Working Parents Connect, we are able to offer a range of recruitment and outsourced HR services to suit your needs. To learn more or to discuss your recruitment or people challenges, visit our website or call 02 8977 4002.