What are the positives & negatives of using part-time workers in your business?

All the research says flexibility is the most popular benefit candidates look for in a job and with the work landscape changing in how we deliver work - how can you ensure your business outcomes are met?

The initial concerns are often...

***Well we need 40 hours per week - we’re budgeted for an FTE (Full-time equivalent)

***If we offer part-time other workers will others want to do the same?

****Will we lose productivity?

So what are the positives?

***You instantly increase your candidate pool

Opening up a whole new pool of skilled & experienced workers who either for family reasons, interests, life-balance choose (or don’t choose can have dependants that restrict their working hours) 20, 25, 30, 32 hours

***You save on salary overhead ie you pay pro rata so if they work 4 days a week you pay them 4/5 salary - simple

***You can save on the recruitment fee as you only pay a % of the salary the candidate is appointed on

***You retain staff who have been wanting to work part-time instead of having them leave - they can no longer work full-time (having families or other commitments)

***With an ageing work force (The baby ‘boomers’) you can retain skills & experience instead of having them retire for good

***Increase in productivity much has been mentioned about a 6 hour work day being more productive…check out the article from the Harvard Business Review click here

***Part-time workers are often very skilled & experienced and can often come in and ‘nail it’ working very efficiently focused on outcomes

***A recent study on ‘Presenteeism’ found 57.5 days per year were lost with workers turning up & not actually doing anything…please check out an article on EHS today click here

***Some part-time contractors already have client commitments but can help you out for 5, 10, 15 or 20 hours etc and as they’re very skilled & experienced can get you the right business outcomes quickly

What are the negatives?

***Overhead - You have a work station - desk top / desk / phone etc set up for full-time yet it’s only being used part-time

***Availability? Synching with team meetings. Do you have core hours set that everyone needs to be available for ie 10-3pm etc?

***Not available for impromptu meetings out of their working hours

***Part-time contractors can come at a premium hourly $$ rate but can deliver you excellent value

So in skill short industries like IT a smart talent strategy is being open to all types of working relationships which is positive for both employees and the business. Opening up the candidate pool statistically gives you a higher chance of hiring better qualified, well-matched candidates to the work outcomes you require to get achieved.

Let me know your thoughts & experiences with part-time?

I'm Paul, I love coffee, Founder & Principal Consultant of Sunstone, an IT Recruitment & HR company specialising in recruiting IT roles within software, web, mobile, blockchain, big data, cloud infrastructure, security & networks in Christchurch & South Island of New Zealand.