Tag Archives: sme

Not Just there for the Nasty Things in Life

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Originally posted April 2014

When I arrived at a client recently, the receptionist greeted me cheerily with “hello Simon, nice to see you. I suppose this means we’ve got a staff problem!”

Now it’s true that for many smaller businesses, an “HR issue” means a problem with an employee – whether it’s sickness, disciplinary, work performance or something else. And it’s also true that in a small business these individual issues take on a much greater significance than in the large corporate world. Making sure they are handled correctly is important.

But it’s worth remembering that HR is “not just there for the nasty things in life”. Taking positive HR initiatives can help your business to grow and be more successful. For example in recent months I’ve worked with organisations to:

  • Support new first line managers to understand and develop their managerial roles
  • Integrate their HR systems into their quality management, allowing them to tender against much larger competitors
  • Review recruitment processes, enabling them to attract better quality candidates
  • Review their pay and benefits package, helping them to retain key staff.
  • Run team building sessions for work teams that weren’t gelling

So while I’m always happy to troubleshoot for a client, it’s very satisfying to help a business succeed by developing the people it employs.

If you’d like more information, please don’t hesitate to drop me an email or give me a ring. And as Ariadne Associates are accredited with both Growth Vouchers and Big Assist, as well as being Knowsley Council’s approved HR provider for its Business Growth programme, you may be able to get support with the costs

 

 

Back to Basics

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Originally Published in January 2014

Even in the smallest of businesses, there’s no excuse for not following basic employment procedures and for making what might be termed “schoolboy errors” when it comes to dealing with people. Recently I’ve been involved – at a very late stage – with companies that faced tribunal claims from relatively low paid staff.  In these cases, the potential compensation was more than doubled because they had got one or more of the following wrong:

  • Issuing a statement of terms and conditions. You have 2 months from the day the employee commences to give them this – and it doesn’t have to be a particularly complex or legalistic document. The excuse that “the employee never asked me for it” will not wash – this is your responsibility. Failing to do this, if coupled with another successful tribunal claim, means you could have to pay up to 4 weeks’ pay to the individual.
  • Giving out an itemised payslip. No matter how you pay the person, they are entitled to receive a pay slip before or around the time they are paid, showing their gross pay and any deductions from it (tax, national insurance, pension etc). Failing to do so could lead to a claim for….
  • Unauthorised Deductions from wages. You cannot (with a few limited exceptions involving shop workers) take money from someone’s wages or salary without them agreeing to it first, other than statutory deductions (tax etc). This applies even if the person agrees that they owe you the money. What’s more, if you do make an unauthorised deduction, then not only can the person reclaim the money but you lose the right to claim it from them another way (e.g. via debt collection)
  • Not giving notice. Someone who has worked for you for more than one month is entitled to at least a week’s notice (it increases by a week for each complete year’s service – 2 weeks for 2 years etc to a maximum of 12). If you don’t give correct notice the individual can claim breach of contract and be awarded compensation equivalent to the notice they should have received.  The only exception to this is a situation of gross misconduct, i.e. behaviour so appalling that you can consider the contract to have ended.

All of these situations are so easily avoided – and costly if they are missed. Moreover they’re areas where any employee, regardless of service, can make a claim to a Tribunal.

If you need further advice or information on this topic, contact me through the enquiry form here or find out more information here

The Value of Values

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Originally posted December 2013

My daughter’s primary school had its OFSTED inspection a few months ago and came out of it very well. What was particularly heartening from my perspective was not only that it was hitting good academic standards but that it achieved “outstanding” comments for issues such as pupil behaviour, cooperation and respect for others. There’s nothing particularly special about the school – it’s in what could be described as “working class” district of Liverpool and draws a significant number of pupils from socially deprived inner city areas.

But what is interesting, reading the OFSTED report, is the way it’s run.

  • Its whole ethos is based on a set of values (faith based ones in this particular case, but the important point is that it has values)
  • The school is led by a headteacher who ensures that targets and objectives are based in the context of those values
  • Teachers work within the values, set stretching but achievable targets and lead by example
  • Consequently pupils enjoy school, are interested in what’s going on and promote the culture themselves
  • And finally, as a relatively small school, communication is easier and there is less chance of individuals being “missed” or isolated.

So let’s try a bit of substitution. Change the words headteacher, teachers and pupils to Managing Director (or business owner), managers and employees. Sounds to me that it’s a successful recipe for building a sustainable and profitable business, with engaged and motivated employees. And it seems that smaller businesses may be more able to do this than larger ones – something which is also the subject of my contribution to the recent book of HR blogs “Humane, Resourced”.

If you want your business to be successful, then the question isn’t “why should we bother with values” – it’s “why don’t we have – and act on them – already?”

 

Edit: You might also enjoy this blog from HR blogger Helen Tracey on the same theme:

Are Values Valuable?

The £15000 question

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Originally posted October 2013

Here’s an interesting fact for those running a small business. The current adult minimum wage (£6.31ph) equates to an annual salary of roughly £13125 for a full time employee. When employment “on-costs” are added (National Insurance, Employers Liability Insurance etc.) this takes the figure closer to £15000.

Is there anything else you spend £15000 on in your business?

Whether the answer is yes or no, spending that level of money would normally be classed as a significant capital investment. You would spend time deciding exactly what was needed, compare the market for the best deal, and maybe seek specialist advice. You wouldn’t necessarily expect a return immediately, though you would over the longer term; and you’d spend time and money ensuring your piece of equipment was well maintained. What you almost certainly wouldn’t do is throw it away after 6 months and go and buy another at the same price.

Yet when it comes to staff, too many small organisations do the opposite. They recruit quickly, based on “gut feel”; expect the new employee to hit the ground running and produce the goods from day one; don’t bother with looking after the person (which can be as simple as giving constructive performance feedback); and if the person doesn’t seem to be working out they’ll terminate during the probationary period and go out and recruit someone else.

Is frittering away £15000 good business sense? Is it likely to lead to long term success for your business? And is a reputation for “hiring and firing” going to make you attractive to customers and clients, let alone potential recruits?

So stop thinking of employees as a cost. Start treating them as an investment decision, and you’ll suddenly find that hard headed business decisions and “touchy-feely” people stuff go hand in hand for business success. And if you think you need help doing this, why not check out our services page and get in touch?

You’re Fired

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Originallly posted March 2013

In the world of “Reality” TV, all Lord Sugar has to say is “You’re fired” and that’s the end of his relationship with a problem employee. However, as he’s finding out currently, in real life things just aren’t that simple. If an expert like him can apparently get it wrong, is there any hope for smaller businesses and organisations? Well, yes – just read on

Sacking someone is a big step and as an employer what you need to do is ensure that you have done everything properly – by having a fair reason and following a fair procedure.

“Fair” in this situation doesn’t imply any moral judgment (something employees often forget) – in the UK there are only 5 legally “fair” reasons to dismiss someone:

  • Capability (the person’s inability to do the job you employed them to do)
  • Conduct (the person’s behaviour in work)
  • Legal Restriction (some other aspect of law prevents you continuing to employ them – for example a  driver who is banned from driving by the courts)
  • Redundancy (you are ceasing to carry out the work the person undertakes, or need fewer people to do it).
  • Some Other Substantial Reason (I love this legal phrase, so vague that it can keep armies of lawyers in a job – but essentially it means a significant breakdown in the working relationship that doesn’t fall into the other four categories)

A fair process means that you must

  • Make the person aware of why you are considering their dismissal (and allow them to see any evidence that you may be using to support this)
  • Give them the chance to put their side of the story before making your decision
  • Allow them to be accompanied at any meeting by a work colleague or union rep
  • Give them the right to appeal if you do sack them

While this won’t prevent someone making a claim at an Employment Tribunal if they feel they have a case, making sure that you’ve got a fair reason and followed a fair procedure will ensure that you have a strong defence to any claim.