Is Advancement Possible in an Hourly Position?

As the needs and trends of the labor market evolve, you must adapt along with it to make a viable career out of your chosen field. Thanks to a robust labor situation in March 2017, there are plenty of open positions, and people who have hourly positions can look forward to encouraging trends with regards to promotions, training and benefits.

Job Seekers' Market

CEO Peter Harrison of Snagajob tells Business News Daily that the combination of low unemployment (under 5 percent) and huge amounts of job openings for hourly positions mean opportunities for advancement. Employers use their data to improve recruitment, keep employees happy and reduce turnover. Snagajob came up with some interesting trends among 16 business sectors using a survey the company administered to some of its clients.

Advancement

Climbing the career ladder may become easier in the future, even with hourly positions, because more workers want to learn the skills they need to earn a promotion. The workforce survey concluded that restaurant chains and retail outlets see a need for employees who want to learn more advanced skills. Rather than just flipping hamburgers or selling items off the rack, employees want to learn the financial, managerial and business operations sides of running a business.

The survey found that people in hourly positions are open to taking formal business classes to advance their careers and prefer this to on-the-job training. This gives employees the foundation they need to learn the specialized skills required to run teams of people, delegate tasks and complete important paperwork.

The survey also noted that restaurant workers tend to earn promotions faster than retail workers with hourly jobs. The top sectors for advancement in retail include beverage, crafts and furniture retailers. Consider working for these types of companies if you want your career to take off faster.

Quick Hiring

People who seek hourly positions want to start work quickly. Employers must streamline their hiring process since the average time to hire varies from 15 to 27 days in a restaurant versus around 33 days in retail. Information points to faster hiring times at sandwich shops, sports stores and casual restaurants. Look for these types of employers for faster hiring times.

Benefits

Part-time workers also want benefits. Seek out jobs offering health insurance, retirement plans and flexible schedules. Because part-time work is less expensive to maintain for companies versus full-time work, firms don't mind providing some benefits to attract top talent. In a strong labor market, you have plenty of opportunities to find a good job with some benefits beyond just a wage and chances for advancement up the career ladder.

Approximately 75 million American workers have hourly positions. As many as 40 percent of American workers may work part-time hourly positions by 2020. Despite this growing trend, you still have plenty of chances for career growth and prosperity if you know where to look.

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