Moving up in retail

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1.5 million people currently work in low-paid roles in retail, and the majority work part time. Flexibility in working hours is one of the most important reasons cited for choosing to work in retail. However, much talent is wasted because retail staff who need to work flexibly or part-time are trapped in junior jobs: they cannot take their flexibility with them to progress to store management level.

Timewise, supported by the UK Futures programme and working alongside Pets at Home plc, piloted the redesign of retail management roles on a flexible and part-time basis. The aim was to find out if greater access to flexible working could unblock the retail talent pipeline and address diversity issues.

The project also aimed to identify a process for implementing wider access to flexible working, for other retailers to follow.

The Pets at Home pilot

Pets at Home employs 8,000 store-based colleagues of whom 65% are women. The business suffers from high attrition rates for women. Research amongst employees found that:

• The ratio of men moving off the shop floor into assistant manager roles was double that of women
• The lack of flexible working in management roles was a major contributing factor to this gender gap.

Through data mapping, surveys and listening groups, and analysis of operational practices, Timewise helped Pets at Home to identify the challenges and opportunities within the business. The board made a commitment to job redesign for managerial roles, and set up a steering group to run the change process. Training for managers helped to facilitate the new approach, and role models have been championed through internal communications channels.

Recommendations for other retailers

Through the pilot, Timewise developed a guide for retailers interested in using flexible working as a means to improving talent retention and progression. We recommend a five-stage process to implement flexible job redesign in retail management roles:

1. Establish a business case
2. Explore your current capacity to drive change
3. Identify which job design options will support your business
4. Set up a pilot and measure its impact
5. Roll out the changes and continue to measure the benefits.

Published November 2016

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To raise family living standards in the UK, the number of ‘quality’ part-time and flexible jobs needs to be increased. This study quantified the impact such an increase might have. It also analysed supply versus demand, and suggested that businesses are currently under-utilising a proportion of the skilled candidate market.

Key points

• Parents, older people and disabled people (the three groups under study) need to earn at least £10.63 an hour to meet minimum income standards. This rate establishes the pay threshold for a ‘quality’ job and equates to a full-time equivalent salary of £19,500 a year.
• 1.9 million people could benefit from getting a quality flexible job and hold the necessary qualification levels to attain one. Of these, over 1.5 million people are currently in part-time work below the pay rate for a quality job. A further 154,000 people are workless.
• There are 202,300 well-qualified people in the groups who are living in poverty.
• Only 6.2 per cent of quality job vacancies are advertised with options to work flexibly. This compares poorly with the high demand for flexible work (47 per cent of the workforce want to work flexibly).
• There are 8.1 people in poverty for each quality flexible vacancy, of whom 7.4 people are workless. For quality full-time jobs, the demand is only 0.9 workless people per vacancy.
• An eight-fold increase in the number of flexible job vacancies would be needed, for supply versus demand to match that for quality full-time jobs.

Published January 2016

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Over a period of three years, our research tracked a sample of 80 out of work mothers facing significant barriers to working. It investigated their career trajectories over three stages: making an initial decision about returning to work, looking for a job, and experiences whilst working.

Key findings

• Most mothers had a preference for part-time employment, but many struggled to find this.
• Most shared a common set of barriers to work: low confidence, concern over the lack of part-time and/or flexible jobs, and concern that childcare was unavailable or unaffordable.
• Of those who entered employment during the 3 year period, most found work through social and professional networks, rather than through job adverts or recruitment agencies.
• Many mothers compromised on working hours, salary and level of responsibility, in order to achieve balance with their family lives.
• Many mothers were unable to move into work that was secure, allowed them to balance work and family life, and offered opportunities for progression.

Recommendations

Addressing the issues that women face in finding and sustaining work requires action in three key areas:

• Providing integrated employment support and advice which covers the spectrum from confidence building to high-end careers advice.
• Opening up intermediate and senior level roles to flexible and part-time working patterns, to prevent women (and others with caring responsibilities) from having to compromise their career aspirations.
• Providing affordable, flexible, quality childcare.

Published in 2014

Getting back into work after a career break can feel a bit daunting. In aid of understanding what women returners want, we surveyed over a thousand potential “women returners” who had taken a career break of a year or more, and were seeking flexible work. We found that while there is a high demand for “women returner programmes” among those who have taken a long career break, the overwhelming majority are looking to return to part-time or flexible work.

Key findings:

The context

Of the women we surveyed:

• 71% took a break of at least one year. 42% took 2 years or more
• Only 26% returned to work with the same employer
• 58% had chosen to return to work on a part-time basis
• 63% of those returning to a part-time job had taken a lower salary than in their previous role
• 60% of part-time returners and over half of full-time returners feel they have fallen behind in their careers and would like to get back on track.

What do women returners want?

Of the women we surveyed:

• 93% of career break women wanted to return to a part-time job.
• 45% are interested in returner programmes.
• 70% want the returner programme to result in a flexible job, compared to 13% wanting a full-time job.
• 49% want the returner programme to update their knowledge of industry sector trends
• 47% want the returner programme to be confidence building

Timewise’s recommendations to employers

As there is little interest in returning to full-time work, employers should open up to flexible hiring, so they can offer appropriate flexible working arrangements. More specifically, employers should consider whether a 4 day working week can be accommodated, as this is the most preferred working pattern.

Published October 2015

With 8.7 million UK full time workers wanting to work flexibly in 2014, this research explores managerial attitudes towards flexible working. We interviewed 500 managers, all responsible for key hiring decisions, to find that while the majority have positive views about flexibility, few take positive action on it. And many managers recognise that there are barriers in their organisations to doing so.

Key findings:

Managers own views about flexible working

Among the managers who responded to our survey:

• 7 in 10 managers believe flexible workers are an underused talent pool
• 9 in 10 are open to discussing flexible working options during the recruitment process
• Nearly half believed that the roles they’d advertised in the past year could have been filled by a candidate on a flexible basis.

Perceived organisational barriers to flexible working

Despite managers being open to flexible workers, our research found both structural and cultural challenges that prevent flexible job design and discussions surrounding flexible working. Among the managers who responded to our survey:

• 75% had never had any training on how to handle flexible working enquiries
• Only 30% said that their organisation was open to offering flexible working in managerial-level job vacancies. This dropped to 14% at director level and 9% at leadership level.
• 25% said that flexible working does not tend to be offered for roles with key responsibilities.

Our recommendations

Timewise recommends a more transparent recruitment process to better reflect the possibilities of how a role can be worked. Additionally showcasing successful examples of flexible working will address the stigma.

Published in 2014

This research set out to explore what barriers face part-time workers as they attempt to progress their careers. To do this, we conducted interviews with 1000 people working less than 30 hours a week, and earning full time equivalent salaries of more than £20,000 per annum. We found when it comes to part-time and progression: Britain still has far to go.

Key findings:

A step down to part-time

Among the part-time workers interviewed:

• 81% say their current part-time job is at least a step down, or at the same level, as the last full time job they held
• More than a quarter say they are overqualified or over skilled for their current job
• 7 in 10 respondents say that if they were looking for a new part-time job, they would downgrade their expectations of salary and level of seniority.

The part-time plateau

Many respondents reported reaching a plateau in their career, with the prospect of promotion fading with their reduction in working hours. Among the part-time workers interviewed:

• 77% feel “trapped” in their current part-time jobs because of the perceived lack of good quality part-time vacancies to move into.
• 73% have not been promoted since they started working fewer hours.
• 63% believe that promotion within their current organisation would only be possible by increasing their hours.
• Only half of respondents say they feel as valued as their full time colleagues in their office.

How Timewise is addressing the stigma of part-time

Following this research, Timewise has launched a search for the second Power Part Time list: a roll call of 50 people working at the top of their profession in any way but the standard 9-5. By sharing these leaders’ stories, the list hopes to prove that success and progression in part-time is and should be possible.

Published in 2013

In a bid to give Britain’s part-time executives a voice, this research set out to understand what it’s like to work in a professional part-time job and how working part-time affects office status. We surveyed senior part-time workers and found that the term ‘part-time’ carries a strong stigma, even though the overwhelming majority of respondents hit their targets and are successful in their roles.

Key findings:

The context

Although UK workers are unconvinced that you can work in a senior role on a part-time basis, 650,000 people work in a quality part-time role, earning more than £40,000. Among the senior part-time workers who responded to our survey:

• 90% say they hit their targets and feel they are successful in their jobs
• Part-time work is no longer just for mothers: 30% cited the enjoyment of working fewer hours while earning a sufficient salary as their reason for working part-time, a higher percentage than those citing childcare.

The benefits to employers

When senior part-time employees were asked what benefits they felt their employers experienced through hiring them on part-time basis, the main responses were:

• “My employer knows I’m more likely to stay for the long term” (43% cited retention as a benefit)
•  “My employer gets more talent and experience for less cost” (42% cited a talented workforce at a lower cost as a benefit)
• “My employer gets happier, more refreshed employees” (29% cited welfare and employee morale as a benefit)

The stigma

Juxtaposing the clear successes of part-time working, our findings highlighted hesitation in being recognised as working part-time. Among the senior part-time workers who responded to our survey:

• 39% would not admit they work part-time, a figure that increases to 67% amongst those earning over £75,000.
• Of those who wouldn’t refer to themselves as part-time, 41% cited the negative stereotype surrounding part-time work.
• 14% let colleagues assume they work full time hours.

How Timewise plans to tackle the negative stereotype

Our research has inspired the Timewise Power Part-time Top 50 awards. The awards hope to bring part-time workers and flexible pioneers out of the shadows, telling really inspirational stories of what can be achieved on a part-time basis. By providing role models, these awards hope to trailblaze a path for future generations who want to work in the best jobs on a part-time basis.

Published in 2012

This study comprised a mix of quantitative and qualitative research amongst employers in the London area. It explored what might trigger employers to generate quality part-time vacancies (those with a salary of £20k+ FTE). We found that many employers are unaware or unconvinced of the benefits of recruiting part-time staff, or of the high volume of skilled candidates seeking flexible work. 

Key findings:

• The London part-time recruitment market is skewed strongly in favour of low-paid vacancies. 22% of all jobs are part-time and paid less than £20k FTE. In sharp contrast, only 3% of jobs are part-time and paid more than £20k FTE.

• Part-time working is primarily used as a retention tool. This restricts employment mobility for skilled candidates who need to work part-time. While they may be able to reduce their hours with their existing employers, they will have difficulty switching to new jobs.
  
  
• 16% of employers reported that they ‘sometimes or frequently’ fill £20k+ full time vacancies with part-time candidates. This suggests that the pool of part-time applicants is of high quality.
  
  
• Resistance to part-time recruitment is related to workplace culture, with most resistance amongst employers who have not previously recruited part-time staff at £20k+ FTE. Concerns reduce with experience – those who have recruited at this level cite many benefits and few disadvantages.

Recommendations

To stimulate the flexible recruitment market, the debate around part-time working needs to move away from regulation and towards the business benefits of flexibility. Employers need to be convinced that part-time candidates offer good skills and experience. They also need to see hard evidence that it can work for their business.

Published March 2012