While many industries have recently been plagued by rising unemployment, finance is suffering from a talent shortage. According to a recent report by Robert Half International, a global staffing service specializing in accounting and finance, 56 percent of managers surveyed reported difficulty finding skilled job candidates.

This is where part-time professionals could prove valuable to talent-strapped companies, and staffing services can provide a connection between the two.

Part-time schedules and temporary positions are widely appealing for both employees and employers. For employees, flexible schedules and more time at home can be very attractive, while employers can lower payroll cost by compensating a part-time worker rather than a full-timer.

Staffing services such as B2B CFO, headquartered in Phoenix, and Denver-based 10 til 2 LLC specialize in providing professionals for small to mid-sized companies that need to fill either a part-time or temporary position, ranging from administrative assistants to CPAs and CFOs. Both B2B CFO and 10 til 2 serve companies nationwide through local franchises or partnership arrangements.

B2B's Web site allows potential clients to browse its 94 partners in 42 states based on region, while 10 til 2 connects businesses with a local office that finds potential employees in the area.

"We have tapped into an unknown workforce that's very difficult to find without a lot of effort," said Ginny Teel, owner of the Northern Colorado 10 til 2 franchise. Tapping that workforce has been very successful for the 5-year-old 10 til 2, which saw its revenues grow more than 100 percent in 2007, landing it on Colorado Biz Magazine's list of Top 100 Women-owned Businesses in May.



Moms, dads, early retirees

There are many situations that prevent well-educated professionals from being able to or wanting to work full time. Teel said there are two main groups of people working for her service: moms (and a few dads) and early - or involuntary - retirees.

"Moms have kids in school, they're college educated with 10 to 15 years of experience, and they want to get back in the workforce" but are limited by their schedule, Teel explained. Retirees have "worked a long, long time and want a balance in life," and working part-time allows them to continue earning money while enjoying retirement. None of the employees that Teel placed have been hired full time, although the possibility is there. "Our focus is permanent part-time," she said.

Employers also benefit from the exchange. John Geiman, president of Top Line Growth, acknowledged the significant amount of time he has saved by using 10 til 2 to fill a marketing administration position. His main motivation was a lack of time on his part to conduct a thorough candidate search, but "second of all, it gives me an opportunity to have someone on the job without them being my employee." He said his experience has been positive, and for the right position, he would use a staffing service again.

Once a CFO has been in the business long enough to be very skilled, many companies are unable to afford his or her salary. At B2B, however, CFOs are provided to clients on an as-needed basis, and since each partner can work with multiple companies at the same time, being let go by one company has less of an impact on his or her paycheck.



Number of different clients

Steven Olson, a partner with B2B CFO, joined the staffing service because of the unstable nature of CFO positions at large corporations.

"I prefer working with a number of companies on a part-time basis," Olson said, rather than working full-time in a permanent position. Olson retired from the military 11 years ago and moved to Colorado "to fulfill a dream" that included offering his services to small businesses.

Before signing on as a B2B partner, Olson was self-employed, offering his services as a consultant through a recruiter. While consulting, Olson came across B2B and "realized it was exactly what I wanted to do when I started consulting."  

While B2B can cost its clients less than hiring a CPA, it is able to offer its partners a "far bigger" compensation than if they were to work with a recruiter. In Olson's case, the recruiter's services could take up to half of what he earned on a particular project.

Olson is currently working with two clients, which adds up to about 12 hours of work a week. By the end of 2009, he would like to be working with up to 20 clients for 35 hours a week.

"We have a vested interest in the success of our organization," Olson said, adding that he and the other partners enjoy doing their best to help small companies succeed. "We tend to have very exciting clients that we enjoy working with."