For dealing with staffing issues big and small

There has been a lot of talk recently about employment legislation: will the government be cutting employment red tape, what will the tribunal reforms actually do, will the extension of rights to claim unfair dismissal make a difference to employment?  The list goes on …

Firstly, I urge all employers to pause, take a step back and remember what employment legislation was originally introduced for!  Sometimes it is hard to believe, but the legislation was quite rightly introduced to protect workers from unscrupulous employers and business owners!  In subsequent years, EU influences and successive UK governments have over complicated the whole employment arena and introduced a baffling array of legal obstacles that can penalise the very businesses the original laws hoped to encourage and promote!

Despite these obstacles, I strongly believe that all you small business employers and family businesses out there should not despair. For you have a very powerful weapon at your disposal – YOUR COMMON SENSE!

From my experience, it is the companies that nurture good relations with their staff, promote transparent people systems and encourage open communication channels who run into far fewer employment problems.  When occasional problems do occur in these organisations, they have straightforward processes to follow that help them resolve most issues efficiently and effectively, in a calm and reasonable way.  There are no dark HR arts or alchemy at play, just a bit of forward planning and common sense.

To help Shropshire businesses get off to a flying start in 2012, I would like to share with you the KHHR Employer’s Common Sense Toolkit for dealing with staffing issues big and small (irrespective of legislative changes):

1. Set the Ground Rules – make sure you agree (and communicate) what people are expected to do and what systems they must follow, to reduce uncertainties
2. Write it Down – it may sound obvious, but whether you employ one or twenty people, don’t leave things to misinterpretation.  Ensure you provide all staff with their terms and conditions in writing and get into the habit of noting down conversations about performance or behaviour, to avoid doubt or confusion.
3. Keep it Private – even if you have a small business with few processes, make sure you keep any staffing issues private and confidential
4. Stay Calm – staffing issues and problems can easily become fraught and emotional, but it is important to remain calm and act with integrity
5. Nip it in the Bud – always deal with problems quickly, fairly and consistently (seek professional HR expertise where necessary – the earlier the better)
6. Know Your People – find out how and what makes your employees ‘tick’  so that you can find the most appropriate way of tackling difficult subjects with your people
7. Walk in Their Shoes – remember what it was like being an employee and be prepared to listen to all sides – this can help guide the approach you take with a specific employment matter (have a peek at my earlier article: First Impressions for some further ideas when taking on new staff)

Make a note of these 7 steps, give them a try and let me know how you get on!

If you’re new to my website, I recommend the following HR articles for more tips, ideas and practical advice, try:

Employee Engagement

Aren’t you Retiring Yet

and

Keeping it in the Family

I’m always happy to answer niggling HR questions – just give me a call on 05600 434 727 or email me: kay@kayhealdhr.co.uk

Yes, to start with I did feel a bit intimidated, but during my conversations with the other attendees I was reminded of Seth Godin’s excellent blog entitled ‘Small is the New Big’.  It wasn’t until that evening had I really understood how many advantages I had as a small business, over my larger competitors.

Building quality relationships with my clients was so much easier for me than it was for many of them!

Loads of examples kept popping into my head, but here are my favourite ones, which I know will apply to lots of other small enterprises:

Attentive – I listen to my clients and work hard to understand what challenges and emotional issues affect them, so that I can find the very best practical HR solutions

Flexible – I address my widely differing clients’ needs (and their budgets), from the micro businesses employing their first member of staff to the multi-generational business preparing to hand over the reins to a younger family member

Caring – I take time to learn about my clients and look for ways to make their lives a little easier and less stressful, from translating legal employment jargon into practical responses, to helping them build and develop better communications with their staff

Responsive to Change – I find practical ways to use best practice and technological changes to assist my clients, from helping them invest in their people, to embracing relevant social media to help them with their recruitment

Decisive – I can make decisions quickly, so that an escalating staffing issue can be dealt with in a professional and timely way

I may not have come away from Birmingham with a trophy this time (I came 4th!), but I have been blown away by the amazing local support I received during and after the awards, not only for my work, but my attempts in taking on the bigger professional service firms!

As my Mum always told me: ‘the best things come in small packages’

If you have any other advantages to add to this list, please do put them in the comments section below.

Seeing your business through the eyes of a new member of staff can be a very levelling, as well as an extremely valuable, experience.

Here’s a short story to illustrate:

Sidney the Snail started working for Flutterby two months ago.  Flutterby are a long-established family firm of butterflies, providing flights to non-winged insects and Sidney is their first non-family employee. (If you’ve not read about his recruitment, I hope you will make a short detour to look at Fluttering Rights).

This is what Sidney wrote down about his first impressions of Flutterby:

Well, it is rather different, that’s for sure – they all seem to know what’s going on, but never stay still long enough for me to ask more than one question at a time!  Frankly, I’m used to a much slower pace. Nothing is written down and everyone is far too busy to explain anything.  However, they did make me feel welcome by finding a cool, dark, damp corner to work in and I’m also allowed to help myself to their lettuces at lunch time!

I haven’t even met all my work colleagues yet!  Although I have spent a little bit of time with Petal (who used to do my job), she’s desperate to start flying again with her other brothers and sisters – so I feel I’m a nuisance.  I do think she feels a bit guilty for leaving things in such a pickle!

It’s certainly going to be a challenge – what is frustrating is that I know I can help them and even save them lots of money.  I’m worried that they won’t like some of my proposed changes, that is if they stay still long enough for me to explain anything to them!

Flutterby meant well, but they didn’t think about how they would help Sidney settle in their Company, other than where he would sit and what he would eat! Sidney was recruited because he had the very skills and experience that the Company lacked, but they did not take time to prepare for his arrival or consider his different working requirements.  Preparing a short induction programme would have helped Sidney:

• Learn about the Company, its aims and objectives

• Understand the Company’s way of working

• Meet all his fellow colleagues

• Understand how best to communicate with others

• Understand how his role fitted into the Company

• Discuss the job role in more detail

• Contribute to the Company much more quickly

The next time you take on a new member of staff, make sure you plan for their arrival and don’t be afraid to ask them for their first impressions.  Finally, always remember to seek feedback on your induction methods and how the process could be further developed and improved.

Please feel free to share any ‘new employee’ stories or experiences in the space below.

For practical ideas, checklists and help with induction programmes, just drop a quick email to: kay@kayhealdhr.co.uk

Look out for Sidney’s Solution early next year: Sidney finds out how to introduce his new systems to Flutterby, with a bit of professional HR help!

When would you like to leave?

Strange as it may sound, planning for the day you depart your own business can be a very valuable exercise. Retirement ages might not be that relevant to you and your family business, but ensuring there is an open dialogue about your preferred retirement options, has never been more important.

Understanding both your own long term aims and that of your business enables future staffing needs to be aligned with business strategy, ensures continuity of leadership and business stability.

You may decide to: partly or fully retire, handover the reins to a family or non-family member or even sell up. If you’re going to be replaced (at some point!), consider using a SUCCESSION PLAN to help ensure a smooth and organised transition, with minimum business disruption and emotional upheaval.

A good succession plan should provide answers to the following TEN key questions:

1. What type of succession will it be? eg complete removal or partial removal
2. Who will succeed you? eg a family member already in the business, a family member not involved with the business, a non-family employee or an external candidate
3. What is your timeframe for departure?
4. Will the succession create other job vacancies in the business?
5. What will the new organisation chart look like?
6. Will the chosen successor require specific training, development or coaching?
7. What legal changes will need to be made to the business?
8. What risks could be associated with the transition? eg impact of change on customers, clients, suppliers, other family members etc
9. What communication methods will be used to let all stakeholders know about the changes?
10. What are the financial implications of the transition? eg recruitment costs, training/development/coaching costs, remuneration and benefits packages etc

Setting timetables and milestones to review the plan will help keep it relevant and realistic.  It will also be useful in the event you need or want to leave earlier or later than anticipated.  Finally, without wanting to sound too pessimistic, don’t forget to think about a contingency plan – just in case your replacement doesn’t quite work out!

If you’d like help in drawing up your Succession Plan, or would just like to talk through some of these ideas in more detail, give me a call on: 05600 343 727 or email me: kay@kayhealdhr.co.uk.

For a more entertaining approach to succession planning, have a look at: Family Business Fairytale – A Royal Succession

If you’d like to see more material related to Family Businesses, try: Keeping it in the Family; Family Business Charter and Fluttering Rights

Guest Blog from Linda West of Clear Accounting

In my Accountancy role I see many small businesses feel that the minute they become employers and have registered with HMRC that they have to go and invest in expensive payroll software, technical support and training in the software.

However, there is an easier, simpler and much cheaper way for those just finding their feet as employers. HMRC for a few years now have supplied a CD Rom that calculated tax and NI – many people filed it away feeling it was inferior to the more expensive all singing all dancing packages.  Yet, for many people it could do exactly what they needed it to do!

HMRC have now moved on from the CD Rom to a free download which is available from the Business Link Government website.

HMRC Software Advantages

Once downloaded the software is easy to use – you just add your employer’s details and individual employee details.  As long as you are registered with the Government Gateway the software will not only produce the p45 or p46 for starters, but can be transmitted straight to HMRC.

The added benefit of using the free software is that if you have a problem you can ring the HMRC ‘new employers helpline’ and they will help you out, avoiding the need to sign up to sometimes very expensive technical support contracts. You also know that the data is always up to date as it gives prompts to tell you when to download updates.

HMRC Software Disadvantages

The one main downside of the free HMRC software is that you have to prepare your own wage slips. I have been told by a HMRC software trainer that this is only to stop the likes of third party software firms from suing them for providing free software! This isn’t really a problem as templates can be made on excel (see below) or pre-printed wage slip booklets can be purchased from most large stationers.

If you want a template of an excel wage slip, then please visit me on Facebook – click ‘like’ and leave me a message on my wall and I will send you a template you can use .. for FREE!

Another partial downside is that the HMRC software doesn’t automatically calculate SMP, SPP, SAP and student loan deductions; however, it does include simple calculators for all of these so they can be accurately calculated. I don’t necessarily think that this is a bad idea in itself, as I see quite a lot of businesses rely on automatic calculations, but when something incorrect arises they are unable to say why and all they can say is ‘that was the figure the system gave me’! By following the simple calculators you do get a grasp of how the figures are calculated and it is much easier to resolve problems as a result!

Word of Warning

The Free downloadable software isn’t for everyone. If you have more than 20 employees, then third party software packages are likely to be more effective for you.  If you do use third party software always look for the ones that have the HM Revenue & Customs Payroll Standard on them. If unsure always ask!

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If you need any advice regarding payroll, or want to outsource your payroll administration, then please do not hesitate to contact me.  You can contact me through Facebook , Twitter or LinkedIn, or you can email me directly at info@clearaccounting.org or alternatively call me on my mobile 07950 349150.

Everyone seems to be talking about employee engagement these days – the cure of all evils; the one-stop-shop for managing change; the way to ward off competitors; the solution to problems big and small – but what if you want to be a bit different, take things a bit further, what if you want to be an Extreme Engagement Employer?

So here goes, get ready for a bit of EXTREME ENGAGEMENT …

1. Smiley Happy People - How often do your people smile at work (or they smile at you)?
2. The Honey Pot - Do people like working for you?  Do they actually like being around you and working with you?
3. Hobby-Tastic - What do your people do out of work, in their spare time – who and what is important to them?
4. Push the Button – What pushes your people out of their comfort zone, what stresses them – do you know what really winds them up?
5. Cupcake King or Queen – How do you rally your team when the chips are down – a motivating comment, a word of encouragement or perhaps a sugary treat?
6. Light Bulb Moments – When was the last time you actively sought new and fresh ideas from your people?
7. Lay Down My Life - Are there people out there dying to work for you?  Do your people recommend you as an employer?
8. Walking, Tallking Adverts - Do your people promote your products and services, even when they are not on company time?
9. Corporate Branding - Are your people so dedicated to your company that they would willingly have your logo branded on their arm!

If you have any more suggestions – I’d love to hear from you – just pop them in the comment box below.

For more management ‘top tips’, you might also enjoy:

• The Art of Engagement
• Ways to Reduce Employment worries for the Small Business Owner

You may also like to subscribe to my FREE quarterly e-newsletter on all things HR and employment related for busy owner managers: Employment News for the Very Busy

Happy ‘Extreme’ Engaging!