Job-sharing: It’s not about women or childcare, it’s about retaining the best talent.

In our coaching practice we meet an increasing number of job-sharers who want to tell their story — and others who would like to explore job-sharing if they knew how to go about it. We are seeing evidence that job-sharing is not just about meeting participants’ personal needs, in the right circumstances, there can be significant benefits for 21st century employers.

Job-sharing can be found at all levels of an organization, and in all types of role. There is some evidence that the latest generation of recruits see flexible working practices as a definite plus in an employer. However, for the purpose of this booklet, we have talked mainly to senior leaders and managers, and all quotes come from people who carry significant leadership responsibilities. We are extremely grateful to them all for their time

What is the potential prize for an employer?
Employers are increasingly using flexible working practices to help them attract and retain their best talent. This is not only about women and it is not only about childcare. Men have caring responsibilities too. Women and men without those caring responsibilities may sometimes want to study, write, volunteer in their community, or reduce their hours on the road to retirement or to a career change.

A growing number of individuals are prepared to trade off some loss of income to make space for their other commitments, and still want to contribute in challenging roles. There is a growing view that a job-share arrangement can be fairer to colleagues than part time working, because the role is fully covered throughout the week.

Part time working, nine-day fortnights and compressed hours are already available in many organisations. Technology allows far more people to work from home for part of their time. Job-sharing develops the concept of the flexible workplace and offers something more to the employer. This is because:

• the job-share partnership may bring a set of skills, styles, perspectives and experience unlikely to be found in one person. This can have value for everyone they work with — upwards, downwards and sideways. When a team is in brainstorm mode, having input from both partners can be invaluable.
• job-sharers tend, in our experience, to be highly motivated and determined to show that two heads can be better than one.
• job-sharing offers talented people the incentive to stay in an organisation, in roles that develop their capabilities and advance their careers. This can be in contrast to part-time roles, which are too often seen by their occupants as leaving them on the sidelines marking time.
• successful job-sharers coach and learn from each other. This mutual mentoring can reduce the demand on their manager to be a sounding board and can provide support in times of stress — for example, when dealing with poor performance or an unexpected crisis.
• a senior job-share can draw on both of the sets of networks that the partners bring with them
• job-share offers the flexibility of being able to have say 1.2 FTEs working in a heavily loaded post.
• whatever their commitments on their non-working days, some job-sharers find that their subconscious works on a problem during their time away from the job. This enables them to tackle the issue with renewed energy and perspective when they return.
• if one partner is ill or on holiday, the other provides a degree of continuity that would not otherwise have been there.
• job-sharers believe they are more resilient in a very busy period than single post holders, because each partner has more available recovery time.

“I held back from applying for a senior job that I knew I could do, because I feared I would have no space to do other things in my life. My ambition changed when I discovered job-sharing. People thought it was a strange thing for a man to do, but I couldn’t be happier or more motivated.”

How can employers maximise the likelihood of job-sharers succeeding?There are risks for an organisation as well as benefits. We see the risks being managed well where the employer:

• creates a marketplace where potential job-sharers can contact each other and explore best fit. Some organisations hold a job-share register; others may have more informal online communities.
• gives evidence in job adverts that job-share applications are genuinely welcome, and that recruitment arrangements have been thought through.
• ensures there are HR policies for managing job-shares.
• provides advice and guidance to both job-sharers and managers, including the availability of mentoring or coaching where appropriate.
• removes practical barriers to effective job-sharing e.g. by scheduling management meetings so that the partners have similar opportunities to participate over a period of time.
• provides the technology options for the job-share partnership to operate as one.
• encourages job-sharer networks, whether real or virtual.

Employers often ask whether certain roles lend themselves to job-sharing better than others. We have seen successful partnerships in a wide range of roles. The more challenging and fast-moving the job, the more commitment seems to be required of the partners, but the key is to test for that commitment, rather than to assume it cannot be done.

It has been suggested that a partnership can’t work without the partners knowing each other well beforehand. An existing relationship provides a good start, yet we also see evidence of partners meeting each other for the first time, and running a successful job-share. In either case both people must do their due diligence before they sign up. They need to understand the other person’s abilities and skillset, and their personality, career aspirations, style of working and how they are likely to respond to pressure. A wise employer will insist that this due diligence and careful preparation happens, to avoid potential problems later.

In the next part in the series, we consider what job-sharers need to know to make the most of the flexible opportunity… the full paper is downloadable from praesta.com