Michelle Yanik

An Untapped Workforce

If you are a small business owner or a manager in a small-to-mid sized company, I bet you can think of a few tasks you’d like covered on a regular basis. You’d like to transfer those day-to-day duties that would free you to grow your business or release others in the organization to focus on profit-generating tasks. You may have considered hiring someone, but upon evaluating the time involved, you decide that the hours are too few to keep an employee. You may worry that a qualified, part-time worker would take the job only until a full-time opportunity comes along. You can just see your training investment flying out the window. So, you plod along under the weight of all the extra things you must do. Is that a wise use of your time?

You don’t have to remain overloaded. There’s an untapped workforce out there just ready to take on those tasks for you. They’ll take those few hours. In fact, they want to work a maximum of 25 to 30 hours per week. They are not looking for full-time positions, so they won’t jump ship after a few months. They are skilled and professional.

Who are these people? They are stay-at-home moms. They left full-time careers to focus on their families. With their kids in school between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 3 p.m. they have time to put their skills to good use, earn some money, and add some experience to their resumes. We can’t ignore them; they’re everywhere. We just haven’t known how to use them.

Since the mid 1990s, mothers have been leaving the workforce and choosing to stay at home with their children. At the peak in 2000, about 77% of women in the prime ages of 25 to 54 were in the workforce. However, the daily challenges facing many moms resulted in the decision to drop out of the workforce. Yet, at home, they find they long to use their skills in a way that contributes constructively to a business. They hope for a flexible work schedule and time with the family to create work/life balance. These women are scouring the Internet and newspapers looking for flexible part-time jobs and work-at-home opportunities. Much to their dismay, the so-called opportunities online are often scams. So, where can they find legitimate work?

Some companies have caught on and are creating the legitimate, work-at-home and part-time in-office jobs this segment of our population craves. Fast-track entrepreneurs, high tech companies, associations, consulting groups, CPAs, and law firms have joined an array of organizations that use stay-at-home moms on a flexible, part-time basis to cover bookkeeping and administrative duties. These companies are also engaging experienced writer/editors, HR professionals, web and graphic designers, customer service reps, project managers, and event planners to fill vacancies on a part-time basis.

Employers who overcome the need to have all employees in one place benefit greatly. At-home workers are just as productive as in-office workers. In some cases they can be more effective because of fewer interruptions. Hiring at-home workers helps companies keep overhead costs down. Some candidates have previously worked at home and have all the necessary equipment. The possibilities are limitless when it comes to virtual workers.

The demand however, is greater than the supply of jobs. The mom community hopes that as more companies realize the benefits they gain by hiring moms who can efficiently apply years of experience to the job at hand, they’ll be more comfortable accommodating a flexible schedule. They have strong work ethics that will help a company succeed. With a limited number of hours in the schedule, efficiency is paramount.

A well screened candidate, placed in a position for which she is properly suited, is an invaluable asset to an organization. Companies have an option; they can hire workers as contractors eliminating the need to put an employee on their payroll. They issue a 1099 and the worker handles her own taxes. Choices lead to greater opportunities.

So, go ahead, advertise your vacancy. Create that flexible, part-time position you’ve put off for so long. There’s a smart, efficient, highly skilled candidate out there for you. Think outside the box. Consider an at-home worker or a contractor. Plan for an ongoing relationship; they want stability too. Working together, you’ll create the ideal flexible schedule to fit both of you. Then, enjoy the freedom you gain to focus on what you do best.