Page 139 - Retaining Top Employees

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Recruiting for Retention 127

• The individual job tasks are linear, discrete, and short-
term. Where the job being shared involves tasks that are
wide-ranging and long-term (for example, pharmaceutical
R&D), it isn’t practicable to “hand over” the job once a
day or even every few days. Each employee will want to
pursue his or her own train of thought and the nature of
the tasks doesn’t allow for easy summation and handover.
On the other hand, a
machine operator on Watch Cost Creep
a factory production Job sharing can be an
excellent addition to
line can hand over a
your retention efforts,but if you
job to a colleague
decide to use it as a hiring model,
with a minimum of
watch the underlying costs of employ-
interaction required. ment. Job sharing often results in
duplication of costs for tools,comput-
Compressed Workweek.
er equipment,training programs,and
Many organizations now
other resources that each employee
realize that some jobs that
needs for the job. Be strict in ensuring
require a commitment of that any duplication of costs is neces-
40 hours a week can be sary.Where practical,enforce sharing
done in different “rhythms,” resources as well as sharing jobs.
often more suited to their
employees’ commitments or preferences. Two compressed
workweek schedules are common:

• Four 10-hour days
• Five nine-hour days, followed by four nine-hour days (i.e.,
a day off every two weeks)
Compressed workweeks best suit jobs that involve little
interaction with colleagues (who may not be available when
the “compressed” employee is clocking those late or early
hours) and no direct interaction with customers or clients (who
may not appreciate being contacted at times outside “normal
work hours”).
I predict that the compressed workweek will be the fastest
growing form of flexible work over the next few years, for two
reasons: