You ask: As part of a company initiative on flexible working I allowed two of my employees to do a job share. Initially I was supportive because I thought this would allow me to retain invaluable technical knowledge within the team. However I’m now finding that a lot of information is falling between the cracks and I have to pick up the pieces.
I run a repair centre where repair times and customer satisfaction are key performance indicators for the department. I don’t think a job share will work in the long term but am not sure how to go about reversing my decision. Any suggestions as to how I could do this?
Janet answers: I wonder if, in your haste to ‘retain invaluable technical expertise’ and show support for a company initiative, you gave enough consideration to the implications of a job share.
Just as many underestimate the implications of ‘working from home’ the same can be said for a job share. It is not usually as simple as splitting the job down the middle; perhaps you have discovered this. Some understanding of what’s involved is required to get a successful result; for the company as well as the employees involved. This is normally done through a formal training programme.
What training did your company offer to you as it launched its ‘flexible working’ initiative? If the answer is none then I would suggest that you are probably not in the best position to judge whether a job share will work in the ‘long term’ or not.
Why not share your concern with whoever is sponsoring this initiative within the company and ask for their advice? They might consider providing some training a better option than a failed initiative. If there are other job shares in operation do you know how they are performing? If they too are struggling then that might strengthen your case.
A good understanding of business process is a critical factor in a successful job share. The role and its associated responsibilities must be broken down into its constituent work elements; inputs (what is required to start the work and who supplies it) and outputs (what is expected as a result of the work and who receives it) and how individual elements relate to each. Once each element is fully defined they can then be categorized into core or non-core activities. A job share is a partnership so both employees can work together to create this with you. Together you can agree handover procedures for core activities to ensure a seamless service to customers. Non-core activities can be divided up between them so you all know who is responsible for what. Investing time up front to sort this out pays dividends later.
It seems clear that you do not believe the job share is working but what about everyone else? Have you checked what the employees sharing the job think? You don’t mention anything about the situation leading up to your decision to ‘allow’ this job share but you allude to job losses. Is it possible that these employees are also unhappy about information ‘falling between the cracks’ but are reluctant to raise this in case it jeopardizes their position? Another possibility is that whilst you keep picking ‘up the pieces’ there is no incentive for anyone to take corrective action.
I’m not sure how long this job share has been in operation, but I’m guessing not that long – probably less than six months. Is this really sufficient time to bed-in a new working practice? Do you know what success looks like and does everyone share the same expectations of how the job share will work? Would you set up a new customer repair process without trialling it first? Would you implement any change without consulting the customer? No? Then why do anything differently here?
How have you actually split the job? Some approaches I’m aware of are:
It really does depend on how open-minded you and your company can be to your employee’s wishes balanced against getting the job done effectively. Key success factors are planning in a handover period and rigorous record keeping.
Other things to consider as a manager when looking at a job share are that:
All in all, having been courageous enough to champion a job share, it would be a shame to admit defeat before having exhausted every possible option to make it a success. I hope that my answer will spur you into exploring a few more option before throwing in the towel.
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