Part time employment is on the increase. Its growth has outstripped that of full time employment over the past ten years: up 9%, compared to a 2% increase in full time employment1.
It’s not just about the recession. It’s about technology too, and societal shifts in what employees want. But mostly, it’s about the business benefits of part time work. Employers everywhere are waking up to the advantages of having a flexible, skilled workforce.
Here are our 5 top reasons to recruit part-time:
1. Get a £60k candidate for £30k
Need a senior manager who can lead your team, but can’t afford their full time salary? Access their skills for the amount of time your budget allows. For a growing business, two or three days a week of top level input can be of greater value than a more junior person working full time.
3. If a job takes four days, why pay for five?
This one needs no explaining, yet 5 days a week remains an expensive habit for many businesses. How often do we really examine the demands of a role, and relate the tasks to staff time? Good job design at the point of recruitment can often reveal the potential to improve efficiency.
5. Get back in commitment what you give in flexibility
People place a high value on part time working patterns. Employers regularly report that part time candidates exceed the requirements of the job spec. What’s more, once hired, part time employees often prove to be highly motivated and focused on the job. They also take less sick leave, and are known to be more loyal.
1ONS data, May 2011
2. Hire two specialists instead of one generalist
Let’s say you’re hiring a PR Manager to lead your social media presence, handle internal comms, develop campaign ideas and proactively develop press relations. You’ll end up with someone who’s done a little bit of everything. Why not split the role and recruit two part time professionals, each with greater specialist skills?
4. Improve diversity at senior levels
High calibre candidates for part time roles can be found at every level, including the very top. But to be really serious about tackling diversity issues, large corporates need to ensure a pipeline of talent coming through middle management. Opening up more roles to part time recruitment, as well as retention, is a simple solution.