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With the sector facing a skills shortage, job sharing is one way to access a greater range of skills and experience. Here are some tips to recruit, onboard and manage a job share

Job sharing is when two people share the responsibilities and duties of one job. A job share can be carried out in different ways, depending on how the role is split. 

For example, if the role requires someone to be working throughout the week, then it could be split Monday-Wednesday and Wednesday-Friday. Or it might be that both people work on the same days, or each work half a day, five days per week. 

What are the benefits of job sharing for charities?

To bridge the skills gap: With a job share, a charity can benefit from two people’s experience, expertise, and skills for the price of one. That can be particularly helpful for roles that require a wide range of expertise (for example, a comms role that asks for social media skills as well as PR experience).

To attract a wider pool of candidates: More and more candidates are looking for flexible working. A job share can make the opportunity available for people who may have great experience, but are only able (or choose) to work part-time. For example, Birthright’s Joint Chief Executives who job share.

To increase your team’s diversity: And in doing so, learn from different perspectives and opinions.

While job shares come in many shapes and forms, here are a few overarching pointers to help you recruit and onboard successfully.

How to advertise job shares

If you are looking to widen your candidate pool, but not necessarily through hiring a job share, advertise the role as usual, including a line explicitly stating that you are open to job shares ("We welcome flexible working, including job share applicants").

In this situation, it would be up to two candidates to approach you with the intention of job sharing, and making two separate applications. If you specifically want a job share, then advertise it as two separate roles – each with its own defined responsibilities and requirements.

How to interview for job shares

It’s common practice to interview both job sharers separately (to assess skills, experience, knowledge, etc). It can be helpful to have another, shorter interview, with both people together to get a sense of how they would work as a team.

A successful job share is all about communication and teamwork. With that in mind, it’s worth asking some specific questions around the way the candidates would work together. That might be:

• How would you communicate and collaborate with your job share partner?
• How would you handle disagreements with each other?
• Have you worked together before? If so, can you give an example of a successful project you worked on collaboratively?
• How would you keep track of your work to make sure nothing falls through the cracks?

How to onboard for job shares

For the first few weeks, it can be helpful to have both people at work at the same time (and then settle into their individual work patterns after that). That means they can attend any introductory meetings together, receive the same information and also have time to fine-tune how they will work as a team. 

How to establish clear ways of working

Ways of working can include anything from who manages direct reports to how to have effective handovers. Communication is key – and that’s not only between the two colleagues. It’s important that all other staff or external contacts know who they need to speak to about specific projects, or whether there is a shared email and voicemail.

It’s also important to have some time each week as an overlap. This will give a chance for job sharers to catch up on how the week is going, highlight urgent tasks or collaborate on any knotty issues.

How to conduct performance management in job shares

Investors in People suggest that both employees should have individual performance plans that "reflect each person’s contribution and responsibilities". It also says that: "Performance reviews must be separate and confidential so it’s important that both parties address how they have contributed to joint goals and KPIs."

What to do when one half of the job share leaves

Some job shares are set up so that if one person leaves, both parties leave. However, it could be that if one half leaves, then you’ll need to recruit another – in which case it’s important to involve the continuing job sharer in the process.

Much of the success of a job share is down to compatibility and having a strong working relationship, so include the colleague in interviews (or at the very least ask some questions from them) and make sure they meet each other before any final decisions are made.