Reducing employment worries for small businesses is surprisingly easy, just follow these 10 steps!
1. Talk to your Employees
Introduce a short, but regular time when you can speak to your staff and keep them informed about what is happening in the business – ideally, face-to-face
2. Listen to your Employees
Make sure that your staff can talk to you too, whether it is giving you feedback, or making suggestions for how to improve the business – ensure they see you do something with their information
3. Put it in writing
Ensure all employees have their terms and conditions put in writing within two months of them joining you – make sure that other workers such as sub-contractors and freelancers also have written service agreements with you
4. Do it the right way
Make sure you and your staff know their statutory rights eg National Minimum Wage, working time rights, protection from unfair discrimination etc
5. Ensure you insure
Even if you employ only one member of staff, make sure you have the correct employers liability insurance to protect you against any claims from something that happens whilst they are working for you
6. Protect your people
Don’t think that Health & Safety is only for larger employers – even though they only have to be in writing if you employ five or more people, make sure everyone knows about your Health & Safety procedures
7. Check your procedures
Check that everyone knows and understands your key employment procedures (including yourself!) – as a minimum, make sure you have an equal opportunities, grievance and disciplinary procedure (not just a policy statement, but an explanation of what happens when action needs to be taken)
8. Monitor performance
Monitoring performance is not just a ‘big business’ activity – you need to assess your workers’ performance to ensure people are being treated both fairly and consistently, as well as enabling capability and behavioural issues to be handled correctly.
9. Invest in development
If you can provide varied training and development opportunities for your people, you won’t have to rely as much on large wages or salaries to attract and keep good people
10. Communicate some more
Find something to communicate even during the most uncertain of times – people are always stressed more by the ‘unknown’ than by bad news – remember that a breakdown in communication is one of the most commonly cited factors leading to an Employment Tribunal
What now?
Make it happen today!
You can do all the above by yourself if you invest some time. Alternatively, if you need a little help, please do contact us (details at the top of this page)
If you’d like a few more FREE management ideas, have a look at The Art of Engagement