How to Motivate Part Time Workers
One of the benefits of part time work is the flexibility it comes with. Workers have time to pursue other interests and pay attention to the different areas of their lives. For this reason, some may imagine that part time work is a breeze. However, like working full time, it too has some downsides.
Part time workers often miss out on the perks and benefits accorded to those who work full time. Someone who works 2 days a week may not get annual leave, social security contributions or health insurance for themselves and their dependents. Because of these unique challenges, managers need a different approach to motivating part time workers.
Make them feel a part of the team
Feeling like part of a team is good for both wellbeing and productivity. To motivate part time workers, ensure that they don’t feel like visitors in the workplace. Start with a meet and greet to introduce them to the whole team, particularly those they will be working closely with.
Prevent your part time workers from always looking for a seat or a place to set their laptop, if it’s not possible to have a dedicated seat for each part time employee, assign an area where all part time workers can sit.
This sense of belonging is a good motivator. When it is time for team building, don’t leave them out. This will give them a chance to get to know their colleagues and possibly even make friends. These off duty interactions lead to bonding which improves morale.
Offer benefits
If you prioritise your part time workers, you will be a priority to them as well. They will be more committed and motivated to give their best to a job where the employer gives them benefits like health insurance even if they are not full time workers.
Consider including your part time workers in others perks enjoyed by the full time staff. For instance, if you offer staff free lunch, why not extend this service to this who work part time as well? It may seem like a small thing but it will make your part timers feel taken care of and like they are part of the team.
Help them prepare for their future
In some cases, part time workers are preparing for the next stage. They may be waiting to graduate from school or waiting for small kids to mature before they move on. This isn’t always the case though. Some part time workers hope to pursue a full time career in their field or are hoping to segue into something in a similar field. You will not know unless you ask.
Motivate part time workers by taking an interest in helping them meet their future goals. Have a conversation with your workers about what they want to do next and offer career guidance. By knowing their interests, you will also be able to give them tasks that challenge them and prepare them for those future roles.
Offer training through mentors
All workers are motivated by a learning environment, one where they are able develop. To that end, organisations must treat employee training as a critical part of success. However, managers may have a hard time justifying training for part time workers. As the turnover rate is high for part time workers and their tenure with the company tend to be short, the thinking might be that the organisation will not get a return on its investment.
This is where managers need to get creative. Mentoring is a relatively inexpensive way to train workers. It can be done by pairing a more skilled fulltime employee with a part time worker. As a bonus, the benefits the organisation will reap are twofold: fulltime workers will enjoy sharing their knowledge and gain leadership experience while part time staff will learn directly from people with more experience.
Rotate tasks
Doing the same thing day in and day out can get boring. For part time workers, this situation gets worse if they are constantly doing those jobs no one else wants to do.
Managers can motivate part time workers by changing their tasks from time to time. This will give workers a chance to learn a new skill or stretch a creative muscle. Let them know ahead of schedule what new tasks they will be taking on.
Rotating tasks is another way to offer skills development to your part time workers.
Managers can use work schedule management services such as Wrkio to manage their hourly jobs and workers. It’s free to use with Basic membership, which allows scheduling of hourly jobs up to 60 days ahead. A paid Prime membership allows job scheduling beyond the 60-day limit and offers more features.
Prioritise onboarding
Motivate part time workers right from the get go by getting onboarding right. Sometimes part time workers are brought in on short notice or in an emergency situation. In the fuss, onboarding may be totally neglected but managers should make time for it, even if that means rescheduling it to a future date.
Workers should know what is required of them and how systems work. Give them the same support you would give full time workers especially if you are expecting the same quality of work.
Some workplaces opt to craft different onboarding policies for part time and full time workers.
Make job tasks clear
Motivate part time workers by clearly defining their roles. Let them know what they need to do, how to do it, when and what outcomes you are expecting. Unlike your full time staff, part time workers will not know how the organisation prefers to do certain jobs. Spare them the trial and error of figuring it out by giving clear instructions. Additionally, let those they will work with know what these roles are.
A clear job description and targets will give direction and thus a reason to go in to work whenever they are needed. When workers know what to do they are more productive.
Conclusion
As a manager, your roles stretch wide. You are a planner, a leader and a champion. One role that you shouldn’t neglect is that of motivating your part time workers.
While some of what motivates full time workers will motivate part time workers as well, managers should keep in mind that their work experiences are not the same. Sometimes an approach tailored specifically to part time workers will be required.
