Sourcing part-time candidates in a part-time world

If you’ve been paying any attention to the latest UK employment figures, then you may have noticed that the part-time worker has become much more prominent in recent times. Of course, many of these people will inevitably be those who are unable to find full-time work. But in many ways, this perception is quite unfortunate in a world where firms recruiting staff arguably require the flexibility of part-timers more than ever, as webrecruit (http://www.webrecruit.co.uk) explains.

The truth is that part-time workers are becoming not only more numerous, but also more relevant – and it would be wrong to presume that all part-timers are merely ‘settling for what they can get’ in the absence of full-time hours, in the manner described above. As a matter of fact, it can be argued that part-time workers are at their most valuable at senior levels, as they allow firms to recruit staff of a level of talent and skill that they would not be able to afford beyond one or two days a week.

When one examines the true composition of the country’s part-time workforce, it soon becomes clear how damaging the widespread perception really is of part-timers as ‘less important’ or ‘lacking’. There are many reasons why ambitious professionals may opt for part-time rather than full-time work, with some pursuing a portfolio career and others finding that they are more productive when they spend more time working at home on a freelance basis. Others may work flexibly due to being largely based overseas.

In addition to these less predictable part-time workers, one can find those that are more customarily expected, such as working mothers or fathers who appreciate the ability to fit a senior role around their family. The part-time workforce also includes the likes of mature students who wish to combine work with study, as well as retirees who would like to continue working. Any company that uses a recruitment agency would do well to take notice of such a rich pool of skills – but a failure to do so can often be attributed to a company’s simple inexperience at designing a part-time role.

Many firms are simply not used to using flexibility to attract candidates as part of their staff recruitment campaign, and may merely resort to offering a would-be part-time employee the chance to leave early two days a week if they wish to retain them. Other employers may attempt to shoehorn full-time responsibilities into a 15 hour a week job, without consideration for the specialist areas of the expertise that can be split into different roles.

Although the advantages of part-time workers are becoming particularly acknowledged among small and medium sized employers, all firms can potentially benefit from targeting this pool of candidates. Contact webrecruit’s (http://www.webrecruit.co.uk) recruitment experts now for informed advice tailored to your own individual candidate sourcing requirements.

Editor’s Note: webrecruit (http://www.webrecruit.co.uk) is represented by the search engine advertising and digital marketing specialists Jumping Spider Media. Please direct all press queries to Louise Byrne. Email: louise@jumpingspidermedia.co.uk or call: +44 (0)20 3070 1959 / +34 952 783 637.