WHAT TO CONSIDER WHEN INTRODUCING JOB SHARING

Spreading Joy: Sharp Consultancy’s Annual Easter Egg Drive

At Sharp Consultancy, our annual Easter Egg Drive has once again brought together our team, clients, and community to support local charities and spread a little cheer. As a finance and accountancy recruitment business rooted in Yorkshire, we’re proud to use our network to give something back—and this year has been no exception.Led by Tom Davage, Senior Consultant in our South Yorkshire office, our team has been out and about collecting Easter egg donations from our fantastic clients. The generosity shown has been incredible, especially given the ongoing challenges many continue to face. Thanks to everyone who contributed, we were able to deliver meaningful support to three wonderful charities in our region: Paces, a specialist centre supporting children with cerebral palsy and motor disorders; St Luke’s Hospice, which offers compassionate end-of-life care; and The Family Works, a trauma informed, family support project working alongside underprivileged families.Tom, who organised this year’s initiative, shared: “When you hear the stories from the people working within these charities, it really opens your eyes to the challenges others face. If we can bring a smile to someone’s face—even through something as simple as an Easter egg—it makes it all worthwhile. Every bit of support counts.” Seeing familiar donators from past years and welcoming new ones has been truly heart-warming. It’s a testament to the kind and community-minded nature of the businesses we work with. To all our clients who donated, thank you. Your kindness and continued support make this initiative possible and help us make a real difference. If you’d like to get involved next year or learn more about the causes we support, we’d love to hear from you. Together, we can keep making a positive impact—one small gesture at a time.

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Having two or more employees sharing a full time job role is an increasingly popular way for companies to meet the demands of the business and continue to attract and retain the best talent. If you are considering employing workers on a job share basis, what do you need to take into account to ensure success?

What is job sharing? The responsibility, pay and benefits of a full time role is shared between two (or can be more) employees. The pay and benefits attached to the role are shared in proportion to the hours that each individual works.

How are the working hours shared? This is very flexible and is one of the key advantages to offering job share opportunities as these can be determined to suit the needs of the business and hours the employees wish to work. For example, one person may work Monday, Tuesday Wednesday, whilst the other works Thursday and Friday. In other situations they may each work three days per week with one day being an overlap/handover day.

What are the benefits of job sharing? There are a number of benefits to the employer including retention of valued members of the team who can no longer or no longer wish to work full time, the opportunity to gain new skills and experience, greater continuity during holiday periods or if one job share is absent through illness, increased commitment and loyalty and potential reduction in absenteeism and workplace stress. For the job sharing employees, they will gain a more flexible working arrangement which fits in with other aspects of their life and also the benefit of knowing that tasks are being taken care of by their colleague during on the days that they are not working or are on holiday.

Recruiting the right candidates. It is important to take into consideration how those who will be job sharing will work together, particularly as they may have limited or no time actually being at work at the same time. During the interview process you should think about what complimentary skills and experience each person has as well as looking for opportunities to enhance the expertise of the other.

Managing job sharing arrangements. As a line manager it is imperative that you put clear lines of responsibility, allocation of tasks and channels of communication in from the outset. Work should be divided fairly and the job sharers themselves should ensure there is good communication and an effective handover process between them.

Recruiting a replacement. If a job sharing employee chooses to leave, bear in mind that it may take longer to recruit a replacement as you will be seeking an suitable individual who can work the required hours.

Sharp Consultancy specialises in the recruitment of temporary, interim and permanent finance professionals. With offices in Leeds and Sheffield our highly experienced team of consultants recruit for positions throughout Yorkshire and beyond. CONTACT US today to speak to a member of our team about your next career move.