Even if you have a bona fide
vacancy, you may not need to fill it with a full-time staff employee.
There are some cost-effective alternatives, but be very sure that you're
choosing one because it's really the best solution (remember the old
adage "penny wise and pound foolish.") If you choose one of
these alternatives, you need to make sure that the job description clearly
reflects that. Don't wait until the candidate has gone to the trouble
of coming for an interview to say, "Oh gosh, didn't anyone tell
you we only need someone 10 hours a week?"
Jobshare: Sometimes
a valued employee can't work full time but wants to stay with the company.
If you can make it work, dividing a job between several employees is
a possible solution. There are a lot of ways to arrange this but you
have to be sure that the people doing the job understand how to work
together; otherwise, you're better off to replace the employee or adding
the tasks to the workload of different employees who might be doing
something similar already.
Upgrade/Downgrade Position:
Replacing staff becomes increasingly more difficult the higher up the
org chart you go. Sometimes, despite everyone's best efforts, you have
duplicate positions that are costing the company more than the work
the individuals are doing. A well-managed budge requires constant reassessment.
Salaries, like everything else, rise over time, which means that people
coming into the industry now expect to receive more than they would
have even a few years ago. Be very sure about the job title and description
before you post the job. Don't wait until the interview to tell the
applicant that the job has been downgraded!
Part-Time: Sometimes
you have important work that must be done but it won't fill 40 hours
a week. You've got a couple of options here: you can add tasks to the
job to make it full-time or you can firmly establish the position as
part-time. There are various degrees of part-time, which affect payment
of benefits, so be sure you review the position with HR before you advertise
it. Be prepared for the applicant to ask whether the job might grow
into a full-time position.
Flex Time: In flex time
situations, employees still work 40 hours but not always five consecutive
8-hour days. Typically, there's a "core" period of time during
the workday when employees are expected to be at work (i.e., 10 am-
4pm). This is when the bulk of the work (including meetings) is conducted.
Beyond that, employees can make arrangements about when they work as
long as they meet their goals. Other variations include working four
10-hour days with three days off, or working a rotating schedule of
days on and off. This is something you'll want to specify in the job
description.
Telecommuting: More
and more companies are using telecommuting, which enables them to cast
a much wider net for employees and reduces overhead costs associated
with having employees on-site. In the best situation, telecommuting
employees frequently are more productive because they have no commute
time and are often willing to work longer hours because they're at home.
The downside is that you can't actually monitor their work so sometimes
the situation is mishandled. If you're offering telecommuting as an
option, add that to the job description, as well as the specifications
you use for monitoring work.
Freelance: Sometimes
you may have special projects that either don't require an extended
full-time employee or that require someone with a very specialized skillset.
That's when you want to consider contracting a freelancer. You may end
up paying a higher hourly or per-project fee but you do not have to
pay benefits or other overhead costs. Be prepared for the freelancer
to ask whether the job might turn into something permanent. As much
as they love the freedom of working for themselves, many freelancers
yearn for the stability of a "regular" job.
Once you've established all
the requirements for the job, it's time to write the job description,
but...
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