Most small businesses these days struggle to have an optimal workforce as they are confused about whether they need to hire only full-time employees, part-time employees, or a combination of both. While part-time employees are quite flexible for fluctuating needs; full-time employees offer more consistency and predictability with confidence. When hiring employees for your company, there are a lot of factors to consider based on your business model and budget for the purpose. Make sure to keep an eye on the Affordable Care Act (ACA) describes how overtime works while offering health-care coverage.
Full-time Employees vs. Part-time Employees
Full-time Employees
If an employee works for 40 hours in a week, that can be considered as a full-time employment. However, some companies can consider it 32 hours a week as well. Either way, the key here is to determine who is eligible for paid time off, paid holidays, incentives, retirement packages, and so on. Working 40 hours every week makes an employee spend around 2,080 hours in a year.
Pros
- Planning - They offer better opportunities to plan for different projects and business goals.
- Cost-effectiveness - The more eligible full-time employees you have, the more benefits your company will enjoy. Large benefits-eligible groups and organizations try to yield cost savings and invest in the healthcare benefits area.
- Consistency - An effective workforce can provide consistent productivity. The more they work with the company, the better they become with the work processes and overall production.
- Employee Loyalty - Full-time jobs are more likely to turn the employees more loyal as they get to spend more time with the company and business operations.
Cons
- Higher Employee Stress - Full-time employees suffer more from work-generated stress and when it comes to well-being, such employees are quite concerned about the people around them.
- Overstaffing Issues - Full-time employees are not a good choice if the workload dips or the output drops suddenly.
- Cost of the Benefits - Expenses for the benefits are huge and they only compound with the number of full-time employees you hire.
- Employee Relations - Employers are bound to manage attendance and performance-related platforms in order to reduce employee burnout and inefficient work-life balance.
Part-time Employees
Part-time employees typically work less than 40 hours a week. According to ACA, the employees who work more than 30 hours are eligible for medical benefits and so, the jobs that require less than 30 hours of duty in a week, can be considered part-time.
Pros
- Lower Cost - Part-time staff can be hired at a reasonable cost.
- Flexibility & Support - Part-time employees can help to fulfill fluctuating schedule needs. With the flexibility of nimble staffing can help to gain extra support.
- Cross-training - You are able to develop teams with cross-training that can cover different sheets and projects.
- Balanced Employees - A part-time schedule can help the employees participate in other jobs as well.
Cons
- Inefficiency - Part-time employees who work on a temporary basis can create a higher rate of errors due to a lack of inconsistent repetitions.
- Inconsistency - With inconsistent schedules, it gets quite hard to retain employees and other readers.
- Employee Challenges - Hiring part-time workers comes with co-employment issues. Part-timers are often found working with two different offices or employers.
Final Thoughts
The need for full-time employees and part-timers completely depends on your business needs based on any given time. You Should re-evaluate your business goals in order to determine the perfect balance between both kinds of employees. It requires going through the staffing options at least once a year to ensure the business is running optimally with the required workforce.
