Management Challenge-Part time employees

This one should be easy but it turns out it is not.

The situation is this- you have someone who, for any number of reasons, wants to work part time. You like the person and they have proven to be a valuable employee. Perhaps the person is new to you and you like what you have seen thus far but a full time arrangement is out of the question. Do you agree to a part time arrangement?

The challenge is multifaceted. First, you could get a good am out of productivity out of this person even though you do not have them full time. They like what they do, they are energetic but have other responsibilities. Perhaps they are willing to take a pay reduction in order to facilitate the arrangement. If you agree you will make them happy and get a good employee as a result. The bad news is you may build up resentment on the part of other members of your staff. "Why does she/he get to work part time and I don't?" might be something you hear. As a practical matter you can ill afford to run your group or operation with a whole staff of part time employees. The other issue turns out to be an accounting/HR one. A name on an org chart typically counts as a head count whether they are full time or part time. When it comes time to "adjust" headcount you will be faced with the issue of cutting a Full time or Part time person. It will come down to a question of productivity at that point. It is sad to say but there are situations where you might be getting more from a part time staff member than you do one that is full time.

Obviously there is no clear cut answer in this situation but it is an interesting situation and one that will require all of your skills in management and diplomacy to work through when the time comes. With the population aging as it is, creating more need for caregivers, you may be dealing with this sooner than you think.