Earlier this year—or perhaps toward the end of the last—the FrogDog leadership team sought to add experienced marketing staff to the roster.

We found it a challenge:

• Houston today has a highly competitive market for qualified, experienced professionals.

• We hire fits with our culture, services, and purpose—so we’re picky.

• We need marketing strategists—and Houston doesn’t have many.

Epiphany: What about part-timers?

Qualified business professionals who left the workforce—whether to rear children, take care of ailing parents, or something else—and who still couldn’t work full-time for one reason or another might relish opportunities to keep skills fresh and hands in the marketplace.

Right?

So I contacted a couple friends active in mommy’s groups. Also, I let my business networks know about part-time opportunities at the firm.

The result: A great response from a solid candidate pool.

To date, FrogDog has hired two part-time staff members—both mothers of young children. They have great credentials and have fit right in, set to work, gotten things done, and brought creative ideas. In addition, a limited number of work hours means they work efficiently.

Our internal processes easily shifted to accommodate these different schedules. However, clients tend to expect constant availability. We hope to shift clients’ expectations and still provide the great service that’s given us happy customers for almost two decades.

So far, so good.

What experiences have you had with part-time team members, if any?