Does anyone require a minimum number of hours/days/shifts of availability for their part-time staff to retain employment? For example, if after a year of working X,Y, and Z shifts, they can now only work Z... do you part ways or keep them on for just Z shifts?
Hi Erin-
Our front-line team is made up of work-study students at the University of Michigan and we struggle with this question a lot as many of them can become over-committed and their class schedules change every 4 months. I would say that it really depends on the individual. We had a team member a few years back who had to go down to one day per week for a couple of semesters but they were great at retaining information and were more productive in one 4 hour shift than others who were working twice as much. We're really glad we kept her around because her schedule opened up the last year she was with us and we were able to have more time from a well trained, high achiever on the team instead of a trainee. I would say its quality and quantity that help us make those decisions which is a case by case decision. I would say if they are positive contribution and this is a temporary change then try to find a temporary solution and keep them around. If this change makes them a drag on the team and it's not going to change anytime, then here is an opportunity to part ways and let them know that to attract a good candidate you need to provide the hours that all three shifts provide. I hope that's helpful.
Good luck!
Christina
I would also add to Christina's note that we post our student position with a 10 hour per week expectation in the job description. We know that very few students will be able to give us that, but it tends to attract applicants who are interested in giving more of their time to a campus job. As a result, situations like the one Christina mentioned tend to be temporary (like one semester or a couple weeks that a student needs to reduce their availability) versus hiring students who generally have low availability across the board. We realllly focus on scheduling and availability in the job interview process so applicants know it's a big priority of ours.