Why Now?

The Challenge

The ability to offer a reduced hour working week is a critical factor for the retention of women progressing up into senior roles. However, global corporations increasingly operate round the clock and depend on their staff to be available and responsive to their clients' demands 24/7 and can find it impossible to agree practical reduced hour working solutions that are workable and commercially viable for the business.

Job sharing is seen by some leading organisations as a possible working option that enables the desired reduced hour working week while providing round-the-clock cover that is so vital in today's global marketplace. Although there are pockets of individuals job sharing in senior roles in most organisations it is not a practice that is encouraged due to the perceived negative impact on the business.

The Research

In September 2010 Capability Jane, a hybrid organisational consultancy/executive search firm specialising in flexible working, job sharing and diversity recruitment, launched “The Job Share Project”, a pioneering programme investigating the feasibility and best practice examples of job sharing with a particular emphasis on transactional, client facing and leadership roles within global organisations.

Founded in conjunction with Centrica, DHL, Deloitte, RBS, KPMG, Freshfields & Herbert Smith and supported by Cranfield University, Lancaster University Management School and Leeds University Business School the research investigated into job share feasibility and best practice examples in senior roles with the objective of developing practical, content-rich, toolkits for prospective Job Sharers and Employers wishing to understand and implement job sharing at senior levels.