Should you hire a part-time or full-time employee?

Whenever businesses are exploring ways to be more efficient, secure, and cost-effective, they often turn to their recruitment strategies.

Are they hiring the right people? Are they offering a suitable salary? Is the job description provided to potential candidates actually reflective of the tasks at hand?

In some cases, all of these boxes are ticked, yet they are still not getting the desired results.

However, one element that is often overlooked is choosing whether to hire an employee on a part-time or full-time basis.

Employers engage part-time and full-time employees according to their needs, sometimes solely depending on one type, or a combination of both. While some businesses may require more part-time staff to remain flexible, others might need a workforce that is more consistent and predictable.

Hiring the right talent is integral to any business, but hiring the right type of employee is equally important.

Therefore, here are some important pros and cons to consider when choosing which employee type to go for.

Pros of part-time employees

1. Cut labour costs

Hiring a part-time employee can prove to be very economical, as they generally work for an hourly wage and can be scheduled according to the needs of the business. For example, if a company requires a more substantial workforce during winter, and a slimmer one during summer, part-time employees may be the ideal option for increased flexibility and significant cost savings.

2. Extra support for other employees

As explained above, the scheduling of part-time employees allows the workload to be shared across a greater number of workers. This way, full-time employees will have a break and not be overworked, leading to a boost in morale across all fronts.

3. Less burnout

Since part-time employees work fewer hours, they tend to be more refreshed and enthusiastic about the work they do, prompting a lower burnout rate when compared to their full-time colleagues.

4. Increased specialisation

Part-time employees can also be trained to specialise in a specific task, rather than covering a wide range of responsibilities. This allows them to produce higher quality work than colleagues who are required to frequently shift positions, an asset which can be especially useful in administrative or manufacturing positions.

Cons of part-time employees

1. Inconsistency

Part-time employees can prove to be a headache when it comes to job retention, as if a business opts for inconsistent scheduling according to the organisation’s needs, then employees who want steady hours might look elsewhere.

2. Possible inefficiency

The lack of consistent work can act as a hinderance rather than a benefit to the employee. Part-time employees who only work occasionally may experience higher error rates than full-time employees, mainly due to a lack of repetition.

3. Viewing the role as a ‘side gig’

Very often, part-time employees have other commitments they need to cater to, such as other employment, studies, or family matters. This can take the focus away from their position at the company, especially when dealing with co-employment cases where an employee might value one job more than another.

Pros of full-time employees

1. Better long-term planning

Full-time employees can present businesses with more consistency in scheduling, together with more job security over the long term. This way, business leaders can plan their goals, projects and workloads more efficiently, knowing that they have the right amount of personnel available.

2. Consistent output

Employees that are employed on a full-time basis can provide a more consistent output than part-timers, primarily because they can spend more time working in their roles and partnering with colleagues. This is also due to the fact that more time working at a company can make them feel more ingrained with its culture and goals.

3. Employee loyalty

When employees spend more time working at a business, they can feel a greater bond and stronger ties with its brand, making them feel more at home. Greater loyalty and security can also enable employers to invest more heavily in them through training and development.

Cons of full-time employees

1. Steady amount of work

Full-time employees require a consistent work schedule that ensures that they do not constantly run out of work. When there are workload dips or drops in productivity, a large amount of full-time employees can lead to overstaffing concerns.

2. Increased employee stress

Employees that work on a full-time basis have to manage more work-related stress when it comes to deadlines and project goals. Business leaders have to take note of this to ensure that their team members are well-cared for and also due to the widely studied inverse relationship between employee stress and productivity.

3. Benefits-related costs

When recruiting an employee, businesses might offer an attractive benefits package to entice them to choose the business over its competitors. However, this has its drawbacks, as fringe benefits, when combined with competitive salaries, can prove to be a substantial cost for companies. This escalates more and more as the workforce increases.