Flexible working: Why job sharing is a win-win and how to make it work

‍Sincethe corona pandemic at the latest,more and more people, regardless of gender, are questioning the way they work: High workload, weekly hours of 50+, plus an ever-increasing work density and speed of information. At the same time, in our VUCA world, more exchange, different know-how and perspectives, and thus collaboration are in demand. Working in a job-sharing model, especially in complex management positions, is therefore rightly coming into focus. And with PairToShare, there is now also an end-to-end recruiting platform for this, so that companies and applicants can find each other with just a few clicks.

What is job sharing all about and how does it benefit companies?

In job sharing, two people assume joint responsibility for a position, usually combined with reduced working hours (e.g. 60% each). The job sharing model is particularly suitable for more complex specialist and management positions that benefit from collaboration and are difficult to perform on a part-time basis. However, the goal is explicitly not to divide tasks, but to share responsibility for all topics in tandem.

And the model has long since ceased to be a niche model - on the contrary:

• ‍Beiersdorfmore than 50Tandems
• Daimler Truck/Mercedes Benz approx. 250 tandems
• Unilever more than 40Tandems

In today's world, where crises are rocking the economy and tasks are becoming increasingly complex, tightly scheduled and condensed, job sharing promotes the innovative power and decision-making strength of workers - and does so through the high degree of collaboration required in this model. One benefits from dual expertise, can guarantee full substitutability and promote knowledge transfer. And last but not least, offering flexible working models strengthens employer attractiveness both internally and externally, so that talent can be retained and entirely new applicant groups can be tapped.

How can companies address the issue?

Many companies have long recognized this potential, but they lack the know-how to implement it or fear an increased effort for recruiting the tandems. These concerns have been heard: HR tech start-up PairToShare has been offering a recruiting and matching platform for jobs in the job-sharing model since March 2023. This provides companies with a straightforward end-to-end technology that makes job sharing job postings scalable and can be implemented by any company with just a few clicks.

Companies receive high-end Tandem applications directly in their applicant management system or by mail - and thus only have to make minimal adjustments to their internal processes.

And the tool is as flexible as the jobs themselves: The first companies are using the TaRec recruiting tool (short for Tandem Recruiter) to make EVERY management position flexible for job sharing. Others leave the decision per job posting to the hiring manager, so that the idea can slowly mature within the company. TaRec can also be activated without a career site. The concept is therefore applicable to every company with its individual requirements.

Individual advertisements for tandem appointments or the search for a second tandem partner for an internal employee are also possible. So why not fill a position in tandem via PairToShare?

Anyone who is now curious can find more information at https://www.pairtoshare.com/de. Of course, interested applicants can also register there - and perhaps soon get started in tandem.

Who is behind PairToShare?

Svenja and Yannic, the experienced founding team behind "The Jobsharing Hub", a consulting company on the topic of job sharing. The two have already worked in job sharing themselves and have been passionate about the topic ever since.