TAPP Blog

We asked working mother, Ariane to tell us about the arrangement she has made with her company to work part-time and how it has impacted her life.

I've been hearing so much lately about how, in other countries, the culture around work hours and time off is quite different from what we are used to in the US. I was curious, so I did a little research. What I found out got me to wondering about how deep into our lifestyles these differences reach.

One of my co-workers happened upon an interesting blog post that discusses a "part-time revolution" in the UK, where 5.1 million people work part-time by choice. Apparently, part-timers in the UK are protected by legislation that states they should be treated no less favorably than full-time equivalent colleagues. Read more.

I recently had dinner with a friend ‘Emma’ who is expecting her first child. A very exciting time for her and her husband. I asked her whether she had decided what she was going to do after the baby was born – stay home, go back to work full time, or work part-time. She said that her company didn’t have part-time as an option and she was planning to go back full time. I laughed and said that there was a great resource I had heard about – TAPP- which might be able to assist if she decided she did want to work part-time.

In some office cultures you find co-workers participating in group social activities, like fantasy sports leagues, book clubs, and health & fitness programs. Some of these activities are sanctioned by employers and some are arranged by individuals.

One of the fun parts of my job is being able to participate on all the webinars. Today's webinar was with resume experts Dawn & Melissa from Relaunch Career Associates and focused on how to be hired as a part-time professional. As we discussed the current trends for an individual to find a job and how to organize his or her resume, I realized that some of my perceptions about a resume were stuck in the 80s. For example a one page resume is not necessarily the best length - the length of a resume is determined by years of experience, industry, and position. In addition the resume must demonstrate how the candidate fits into the company... it is the primary sales piece to be hired.

In order for the candidate to convey the message that the hiring manager hopes to read, the company must provide the right job description. So what does a job ad say about your company? Is it part of the sales tool to get the "right people on the bus*." Large companies often have a section on their websites which try to share what is like to work at the company and the company culture. My guess is that many smaller companies don't have that information on their website. I remember the first time I was asked what our company culture was. I think I rambled trying to explain it.  How an individual will fit into the company culture is important for both the employer and the employee. Realizing how much job seekers are being encouraged to research a company and tailor both their resume and cover letter, makes me think of the job ad differently.

From Good to Great by Jim Collins is the book which I am reading now. The focus is on what has distinguished truly great companies and their CEOs from other companies. One element of having a great company is having the right people ‘on the bus’. And not only having the right people on board but having them in the right seats is critical to distinguishing a great company from a good one. The focus of this book is on large multi million or billion dollar corporations - very different from the micro shop that I run. However there are many points which I think translate to all size organizations:

1. Hire staff at all levels who are passionate about what the company does or provides
2. The right people will be self motivated. (however management has to work to ensure that they do not demotivate these individuals).
3. Don’t settle for just anybody when looking to hire. It’s better to wait than to settle.
4. When a company is in time of transition, get the right people on the bus and the right people off the bus before determining the direction.
5. If it seems like you don’t have a fit with an employee, first determine if it’s the role you have assigned to that individual before ending the relationship.
6. If it is not a good fit, act… let everyone move on with their lives. (a tough one)

What Jim Collins does not discuss but I think is connected is retention. When you have the right people, what will you do to retain those individuals? How do their life events factor into your retention plan? Do you work with staff to reduce hours to a part-time schedule; create a flexible schedule, etc?

They will be your next _____________.  Fill in the blank with boss, friend, customer, co-worker, donor, or in my case president. This was a statement that my dad said often. It was a gentle reminder that for us in the association management industry, we don’t know who will join our association next and ultimately become the president of the organization.  There seems to be an association for EVERYTHING from lawyers to electrologists to roller skating. So I truly don’t know with whom we might work in the future. Or what that future member/president is doing now.

One time I was handling registration and one of the volunteers was standing behind the desk with me. An attendee who was a fundraiser was rude to us about something. I don’t recall what any longer. What I do remember is that the volunteer’s father in law was a major donor to that fundraiser’s non profit. And yes the father in law did learn of that incident.

If you have managed people for any length of time, then you have had a resignation. There are times when this might b e a good thing. You and the employee both know at some level that the relationship isn’t working for either and this is the right next step. Hopefully this is the exception, not the rule. Too often the resignation is from a reliable, high performing individual and comes at a busy time for the company.

If you run a small business like I do, then it is tough to be without an employee for long. The temptation is to post a position and spread the word that you need a person who can do the same tasks as the person who left. But is that the best course of action? Are your services and customers the same? Are you using exactly the same technology? What current employees are ready for a new challenge?

As I listened to the TAPP webinar this Tuesday, I was really surprised to learn that Lynn Berger, the speaker – career coach and author of The Savvy Part-time Professional: How to Land, Create, or Negotiate the Part-time Job of your Dreams – was able to describe a proven plan of action to take with your employer when you are trying to transition to part-time.

I'm happy with free coffee, ergonomic chairs and the occasional office party, but the times they are a'changin'.

Welcome to the first TAPP blog post!

The TAPP staff set creating a blog as one of our goals for 2012. Our hope is that it will provide information and dialogue with the TAPP members and potential members.  There will be TAPP staff bloggers as well as guest bloggers so if you want to contribute, please contact us. After all, we believe that collaboration is fundamental to an association.