Part time workers can add value to your organisation

38% of voluntary sector employees are currently working part time (compared to the 27% national average) and this percentage is increasing.  Why are not for profit organisations increasingly choosing to employ staff on a part-time basis and how can you take advantage of this trend?

Typical part time workers


Part time staff are those who fewer hours per week than a full time employee. Jobs are generally classified as part time if they cover fewer than 30 or 35 hours per week.
 
There is a growing pool of jobseekers who are specifically looking for part time work, particularly women with young children wanting a job they can fit around childcare.  Typical part-timers also include the semi-retired, students balancing work with study and professionals looking to spend some time freelancing or volunteering.

Make cost savings

Obviously, employing part time staff helps to keep costs down in areas where you don’t yet need full time cover, particularly for smaller charities.  Employing a part timer to help out full time staff can also help save on overtime costs and reduce staff stress and absenteeism.

Using part time employees can also give your organisation greater flexibility to cover busy periods or areas of growth.

Bring in new skills

Hiring a part time employee can also add real value to your organisation, as you can look at more senior staff then you could otherwise afford.  These employees have often had a variety of jobs and can bring more knowledge and experience to your organisation and are used to handling stress and juggling lots of different tasks.

Employers often combine specialist skills in order to create one full time vacancy, such as fundraising and marketing or finance and IT.  However, it can be better to hire two part time specialists, rather than one full time employee who has to wear two different hats.

Part timers can also be used to bring in a specific skill currently lacking in your current employees.  This enables your organisation to grow without necessarily investing a substantial amount of money.

Widen your pool of candidates

Recruiting for part time staff has another big advantage of giving you a wider pool of candidates.  Part time roles are still greatly in demand, as people wanting to work part time greatly outnumber the jobs available, meaning you have your pick of candidates.

This is particularly true when hiring for positions where good candidates are in short supply.  If you’re unable to find suitably qualified candidates at the right salary, extending your search to part timers can give you access to a huge army of well qualified people looking for flexible work.

Offering the option to work part time also allows you to retain talented staff, eg after maternity leave.

Increase productivity

A rewarding side effect of employing part time staff is that it can help boost morale, productiveness and retention.  Part timers usually value their jobs greatly and combined with the increased job satisfaction that flexible working traditionally brings, this is reflected in their productivity.  In fact, it is not uncommon for part-time workers to do as much in their shorter day or week than a full-time worker on the same staff.

Part timers also tend to fit the rest of their life in the time that they are not at work, so require less time off for dentist’s or doctor’s appointments and have lower absenteeism and sickness rates than full time employees.

Young part timers, such as students, can bring energy and enthusiasm to an organisation, as well as a willingness to learn and take on new tasks and responsibilities.

Demonstrate diversity

Employing part time staff also helps to demonstrate that your organisation has a diverse workforce and ethical employment practices.  This is particularly important for charities that champion those sectors of society which have a high percentage of potential part time workers, eg those dealing with women’s rights, parenting or ageism.

Recruiting for part time staff

The next time you are recruiting for a job requiring a high level of skill but with a low salary, or for one spanning several disciplines, consider employing one or more part timer instead of a full time employee.  Even if you do decide to advertise the role as full time, don’t automatically discount CVs from part time candidates, as they might be just the solution your organisation needs.

Unlike some recruitment consultancies, who don’t like recruiting for part-time positions as it results in lower fees for them, TPP are always happy to fill part-time roles and always encourage our clients to consider what option will give them the best value for money.  In fact, 13% of TPP’s own workforce are part time employees.

How to offer the right salary

When recruiting for a new employee, it can be tempting for organisations to set a wide salary range to bring in applicants of the right quality, but then make an offer to a successful candidate at the lowest level. However, the savings on staffing costs this may make are not usually worthwhile in the long run.In this blog post, TPP examines the reasons why you should offer at the right level and the best ways to establish what that is.

Getting the balance right

Specifying an extremely low compensation package for a role will obviously limit the quantity and quality of responses, which is why most organisations advertise using a salary range. But there is no point specifying a range, if you automatically offer at the lowest level.  Remember, if a candidate rejects your offer, it can cost much more to restart the recruitment process than simply upping the salary, particularly when productivity losses are factored in.

Even if a candidate accepts a low offer, they are not likely to be fully motivated in their new role, and may leave after a short period of time, negatively affecting your staff turnover levels and the performance of the organisation.

Conversely, if you offer a new employee too high a salary, that does not fit within the pay scales of existing employees, it can also lead to poor performance. Chances are, your existing employees will find out, and this will lead to resentment among your team. Salary discrepancies can also leave you open to charges of discrimination.

Keeping salaries competitive

The key to offering at the right level is to make sure your salary is competitive. Employees of not for profit organisations will usually accept lower salaries in exchange for intangible benefits such as a better quality of life and higher job satisfaction, but they will still expect to be paid at a similar level to staff in similar organisations.

Monitoring job ads from organisations of a similar type or size can help you to make sure your compensation package is competitive. TPP constantly monitor the recruitment market and can give you help and advice on benchmarking your salaries.

Even if you are simply re-filling a role following the departure of a member of staff, it is not a simple case of advertising the role at the existing salary. The job description and responsibilities for the replacement may be different, meaning you will have to conduct a review of the salary as well. You also need to be consider whether a low salary was a contributing factor in the previous incumbent’s departure.

Setting a salary range (and sticking to it)

Once you establish the industry average for a role, you should set a salary range around that amount.  Make sure you have criteria set to decide which qualifications or skills a candidate would need to have to achieve the highest level.  And which can be sacrificed for a lower salary.

This is particularly important if you are recruiting for more than one position, as differences in salary offers could leave you open to discrimination charges.  Make sure you can back up your decisions and be careful not to simply link salary to years of experience.

The more senior or specialist the role, the more flexible you will need in terms of salary to make sure you get a candidate with exactly the right skills and experience.

Similarly, if you are only interested in hiring a candidate who is currently working for an organisation that is similar to yours, it can take a higher salary to tempt them away from their current employer than someone who is currently unemployed, particularly in the current economic environment when people are reluctant to take risks by moving roles.

Once you have specified a salary range, make sure you stick to this range when making an offer. Nothing is more likely to make a candidate reject an initial offer without any possibility for negotiation than going back on the advertised salary package, meaning you may have to start your recruitment process again from scratch.

What if your initial offer is rejected?

A candidate may reject your initial offer if they feel they deserve a higher salary and could achieve it elsewhere. In this instance you may wish to stick with your initial offer if you think it is a fair one, or you can reassess based on the value they could potentially add to your organisation.

If salary becomes a real sticking point, you could make a revised offer with an initial salary at the original level but with a clearly-defined path of progression to move the candidate up to a higher level within a specified time frame.  This way, the candidate is given an opportunity to prove they are worth the extra and the organisation can ensure the additional investment will be worthwhile.

If there is no room for manoeuvre with the salary you can offer, take a look at the total compensation package.  Make sure you are including all available employee benefits and consider what you could add to make the role more attractive, eg training courses, flexible working, extra paid holiday.  If a candidate is not entirely happy with the salary they may still be willing to join your organisation if they think it will be worthwhile in the long haul.

How TPP can help

TPP Not for Profit constantly monitors salary packages to establish industry averages for roles of every type and level.  We can help ensure your salary is as competitive as possible and give you advice on making the total package attractive to potential new employees.

We handle all potential salary negotiations for roles placed with us and are dedicated to making sure that you get the best possible value for money when recruiting.

Further Reading

Debunking Charity Salary Myths
Low Salaries Hold Charities Back

5 ways to improve your recruitment next year

Managing your recruitment effectively is one of the most significant ways to improve your organisation.  Getting it wrong can cost you in lost productivity and can mean you end up recruiting twice.  Getting it right should allow you to delegate more and have more confidence in your team.  This month, TPP looks at a few ways you can quickly and cost-effectively improve your recruitment.


1.  Spend more time on job descriptions

When you are replacing members of staff, particularly if you are in a hurry, it is tempting to put together a job description as quickly as possible, usually just copying the role requirements of the previous incumbent.

However, spending a bit more time reviewing the job description and person specification prior to starting recruitment will really pay off in the long run.  A detailed brief that defines not only the needs of the role and the organisation, but also the qualities of your ideal candidate will help you to judge interviewees objectively against set criteria, and avoid over-reliance on ‘gut feelings’.

While putting together a job description, you may also find that some duties would be better split or moved around the department, rather than just replacing like for like.

For more advice, see our previous blog post on writing effective job descriptions and person specifications.


2.  Consider your timing

Traditionally, January is the month many organisations start big recruitment drives, as there tend to be more jobseekers around as people resolve to improve their working life in the New Year.  However, it also means your vacancies are competing against those from other organisations, so it may be worth considering moving your recruitment to a different time.  In fact, almost half of British firms plan to recruit before the New Year starts.

It’s definitely worth keeping an eye on the recruitment of organisations similar to yours.  If they are running a recruitment drive at the same time as you, this could be a benefit as your brand can ‘piggy-back’ on their efforts, but it may also lead to competition for the same candidates.

As well as reducing competition for jobseekers, recruiting at less popular times of year, eg around national holidays, could also get you better deals on advertising on job boards or in publications – making your recruitment budget go further.  2012 will be a particularly eventful year, with the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee in June and the Olympics starting in late July.

Even if you need to replace a staff leaver asap, don’t feel pressurised into rushing your recruitment.  Consider using temporary or fixed term contract staff to fill the gap, giving you more time to define the role and allowing you to wait for the perfect time to recruit.


3.  Put a PSL in place

If your organisation hasn’t already got one, putting a preferred supplier list together can have some excellent benefits for your recruitment, the most obvious one being saving you money, as recruitment consultancies included in a PSL usually offer a discount on their standard terms.

However, PSLs also establish relationships with your recruiters, with expectations and levels of service agreed in advance.  This saves you time both in recruitment and administration, and ensures a consistent quality of service across all roles and departments.  Using a small set of suppliers on a regular basis also means they are likely to have a better understanding of how your organisation works and the type of employee that will fit your culture.

You can read more about setting up PSLs in our previous blog post on making your recruitment budget work harder with PSLs.




4.  Use your existing staff more

Your internal employee base is a great resource for recruiters, but one that is often neglected.  As well as an obvious source of in-house candidates, your employees are also your best source of referrals, as they usually have a network of contacts with similar roles in the not for profit sector.  Ensure all your vacancies are well advertised within your own organisation, make sure you advertise them on your organisation’s social media channels and ask your employees to redistribute to their own contacts and consider setting up an employee referral incentive scheme.

You can also use your existing employees to help with the recruitment process.  Allowing them to give feedback on the job description and person specification prior to recruitment is likely to help ensure that a new employee works well with the rest of their team.  Existing employees can also help you review CVs and sit in on interviews, to give you an additional point of view.

Finally, don’t forget to give your staff leavers thorough exit interviews, and to feed the results back into your recruitment programme.  This is one of the best ways to improve staff retention, as it addresses problems when they arise.  See our past blog on the 3 stages of a successful exit interview for more help.


5.  Work on your employer branding

Your employer brand is simply your organisation’s reputation as an employer, and should accurately reflect the values and culture of your organisation.  It is particularly important to protect your employer brand in the charity sector, where being seen as an ethical organisation, both internally and externally, is vital to attract new employees.  There is also a big overlap between your employees, volunteers and supporters, so damaging your employer brand could lead to a drop in support for your organisation’s mission.

Even if you cannot compete in terms of salary with other organisations working to attract the same type of candidate, you can still distinguish your organisation as a great place to work.  Make the best possible use of staff benefits to attract candidates.  Offering flexible working options is particularly attractive to jobseekers in the third sector.

Managing your employer brand is also about ensuring that every interviewee you see has a good experience, regardless of the eventual outcome.  Providing as much feedback as possible is key to this.  See our blog on lack of interview feedback can damage your donations for more information.


Happy new year from all at TPP!

5 ways to engage remote workers

It is increasingly common for employees to wish to work from home on the odd occasion, eg in cases like transport strikes or last year’s snowy weather, or on a permanent basis to give them a better work-life balance.  Many not for profit managers also have to manage ground staff based overseas or in distant locations.

This means that enabling and managing remote working is becoming increasingly important to not for profit organisations - 86% of third sector decision makers say it is their key technical challenge.

But remote working can lead to employees feeling isolated and demotivated, as well as leaving their line managers in the dark about progress.  How can you manage remote staff to make them an effective part of a team?

Why use remote workers?

One of the most common reasons for employees choosing to work from home is to improve their work-life balance, eg giving them time to pick their kids up from school.  Flexible working is one of the key benefits that attracts staff to a third sector organisation (as shown in TPP’s fundraising recruitment survey), so being able to offer remote working is a definite advantage in sourcing top-quality employees.

Working remotely is also traditionally perceived to improve efficiency, as employees are happier and less stressed.  BT claim that flexible employees who choose remote working are 20% more productive than their office-based counterparts, while absenteeism has been reduced by 60%.   Allowing primarily office-based employees to work from home on the odd occasion can also greatly improve morale and therefore productivity.

Remote working also opens up opportunities for people living with disabilities, who might find it hard to work if they had to travel to an office, helping to improve your organisation’s diversity and giving you a wider pool of potential employees.

Many not for profit organisations, particularly those working in international development, prefer to employ local staff who are native speakers to run their programmes overseas.  However, these employees are often ultimately managed from the UK.

Enabling employees to work from home can also allow money-conscious charities to save, as overhead costs are cut and productivity is maintained if staff cannot get in to work, as in last year’s period of snowy weather, in which snow absence rates in the UK were estimated to reach almost 14% and cost the economy £0.5bn a day.

1.  Hire the right employees

Managing your home workers to ensure they stay effective starts right at the point of recruitment.  Selecting the right staff is important – look for employees with previous successful experience of remote working and justifiable reasons for wanting to work from home.  Even if they are not office-based, it is still important that they fit with the organisation and team culture.

It is also important to make sure that contracts set down the terms of remote working clearly, and measures of performance are in place from the start.   Make sure these are consistent across all your remote and office-based staff to avoid generating resentment.

Also detail the parameters of this type of work arrangement. If employees are working off-site, how quickly do you expect them to respond to e-mails, pages or phone calls? Can they work a flexible schedule or do they need to perform their jobs during specific hours? What technologies will be made available to employees to facilitate working remotely? How many days a week can people telecommute? etc.  Not every position lends itself to a teleworking arrangement

The more effort you put into defining requirements such as these early on, the less complicated it will be to supervise people once they are off-site.  TPP Not for Profit has recruited many remote workers to the third sector, and we can offer great advice and help to organisations looking to recruit home workers.

2.  Keep remote workers included

Managing remote workers is all about inclusion – it is all too easy to overlook employees not in the office.  Include remote workers in all team meetings, either in person or via a conference call or on speakerphone, and make sure they are invited to staff events, even informal ones like team drinks.

Lack of opportunities to chat informally with colleagues can also hinder working relationships, as it makes it harder for fellow employees to build the rapport that helps with collaborative projects.  Encouraging all group members to hold frequent discussions can help to keep teleworkers engaged, even if it’s just to let everyone know that work is progressing to schedule.

Where possible, you should also encourage your remote workers to visit the office on a regular basis, eg for monthly catch-ups or for important group meetings.  This allows them to meet their colleagues face-to-face.  If this is not possible, organisation charts and staff profiles with pictures can help remote employees put faces to names.

3.  Train in steps

It’s important to make sure that remote workers aren’t forgotten about when it comes to staff training, both at the start and throughout their careers.

When office staff are trained, a manager can constantly oversee their progress and give instant feedback.  With remote staff, this process is much harder but can be avoided by training in chunks, or scaffolding.  Essentially, the training programme is split into steps and a new employee must be able to demonstrate that they are fully competent in each stage before they can progress.

Training this way means that a manager can be fully confident that their remote employee can handle tasks on their own without constant feedback and support.

4.  Set goals and monitor progress

It is usually necessary to have a more formal schedule of update meetings with remote employees than office-based staff.  Ideally, you should aim to have a quick daily phone call with each remote worker, followed by a longer weekly catch-up.

You need to be even more clear when setting goals for remote workers; making sure that the expectations of both parties are agreed at the start of each project and a schedule of formal contact to monitor progress is set.  There should be clear procedures in place for remote workers to follow and people to contact if things start to go wrong at any point.

When it comes to monitoring the productivity of remote workers, managers have an advantage, in that there is usually an extensive document trail to help them investigate concerns or problems, for example by checking when employees were logged into a network.

5.  Keep improving your processes

If you are successfully using remote workers, it is important to keep evaluating and improving your processes.  Feedback from both remote and office-based workers about how the situation is progressing is vital to make sure both sides remain happy.  New technology is constantly being developed that can help to make remote workers more integrated with the rest of the team.

Most importantly - don't distance yourself from team members. Be available to them, this will increase the trust they have in you and let's you show them that you respect them.

Examples

Some case studies on remote working from the not for profit sector:

ramsac Provide CHASE hospice care for children with Remote Working
NPC slashes ICT costs and risk to maximize its impact
Home-based workers fundraise for charity: Actionaid's NTT operation
Case Study: Merlin Life-saving Communications at an Affordable Price
Case Study: New Charter Housing Group
Case Study: ActionAid