With currently over 1 million vacancies unfilled and everyone I speak to telling me they are struggling to recruit, I often ask “are you offering the role as part-time/ job share/flexi-time/hybrid?” and 99% of the time they answer “no, that’s not an option for us”.
I started my business 10 years ago because I wanted to work part time and be a mom. At the time part time / flexi-time senior HR roles were not available to me and I felt that this was my only option for a work-life balance.
10 years on have things changed all that much?
You may believe that after Covid, things started to change and I agree to a degree. Covid and flexi-furlough allowed Companies to see that working from home and working flexibly can work for them. However, three years on and a large portion of Companies are asking for staff to return to the office.
Figures show that only 30% of vacancies advertised have some sort of flexible working and only 12% are part time roles. I have first-hand experience of businesses who believe that job shares or working part time won’t work for their Company, especially in more senior roles. Currently the job market suggests that the ratio between people wanting to work part time and roles available are 4:1.
I have heard many times “we would open the floodgates if we said yes to someone who wanted part time work” or “I can’t manage two people in that role, only one will work” or “a job share cannot work in that position” or “it won’t work for our industry”. So why are business owners and management so anti part time/ job share/ flexible working? There are a lot of prejudiced ideas around flexible working, I have had employees made to feel apologetic about their situation if they request part time/ flexi working. I know many people who have negotiated part time/ flexi working and now they are afraid to move company as they don’t believe they will have the same opportunity elsewhere.
Some larger Companies now have policies whereby all their vacancies have to be advertised as “part-time/ full-time/ job share”. These include all senior roles. By including these words on job adverts they have increased the job pool that they recruit from. These Companies have doubled their women in senior roles and tripled their male part time workforce.
10 years ago employees “needed” part time/ flexible working, today employees also “want” part time/ flexible working. Following Covid we have all experienced a different way of life and even those with no caring responsibilities would like shorter working hours.
When looking for a role, individuals seek out Companies who support part time/ job share/ flexible working roles. I recently had a great candidate refuse an interview because she wanted as a minimum a hybrid role, but the Company wanted them, 9-5, Mon-Fri, in the office. So why would a Company want to miss out on a great candidate?, again it’s attitudes like “this is what the next generation will be expecting” that means smaller Companies are not moving with the times and missing out on some really great candidates. Yes, it is what the next generation will be expecting and that’s why Companies need to change their culture and embrace flexible working.
Marks and Spencer’s have a female CEO who works a 4 days a week, she implemented a policy giving all employees the automatic option to work a 4 day a week or 9 day a fortnight.
A doctor instrumental in developing the UK’s vaccination for Covid-19, worked a four day week.
The counter-terrorism GCHQ have their first job share in a senior operational intelligence position.
These are a few examples where larger business have put policies in place to embrace the ever changing employment pool. Larger organisations understand that they not only have a larger pool of candidates to recruit from, but they will also retain staff, have a diverse workforce and can use job-shares because they understand that individuals have different strengths which strengthen their business in turn.
Small organisations will say “These Companies are larger, they have the ability to manage flexible working”. But what small businesses need to understand is that this is not going away, new recruits and employees will demand flexible working and if you as a business don’t have a plan, you will have a larger recruitment and retainment issue.
Recently we have had the 4 day week trial, where 61 business trialled a 4 day week (32 hours per week). After the trial, 92% of businesses said they wanted to continue, production levels were maintained and stress levels had dropped.
I would like to see more smaller businesses trial this, just to see what impact it would have on their business. I think they will be surprised at the positive effect it has on their business.
The government have plans to make it a “day one right” for employees to request flexible working, rather than at 26 weeks. Instead of paying lip service to these requests, I would recommend that businesses trial the employees request at the very least – be open and see the positives it brings.
If you would like to discuss flexible working / part-time working/ job shares / hybrid working/ working from home, then please contact me and we can look at a policy or work trial that suits you and your business. I’m not saying it will solve all your recruitment and retention issues, but I think it will definitely put you on the path to creating a culture whereby you will be seen as a Company that people want to work for.