Are you a small business owner, perhaps only employing one, two or a few members of staff?

No matter the number of staff you employ do you know you are still legally required to put into place contracts of employment and a staff handbooks/policies. It may seem overwhelming and you are not sure where to start, this is where we can help.

At Simple HR, we have put together some compliant HR templates that can be tailored to suit your business and be used each time you take on a new member of staff.

It also outlines your Company’s policies covering everything you can possibly require, some examples are holiday policy, non-attendance processes and entitlement, parental rights and specific industry and company policies like non-competition or use of social media.

These policies will ensure that you are kept compliant when dealing with issues in the workplace and demonstrate your Company’s transparency to your team.

As a small business ourselves, we understand about budgets and measuring cost against what’s deemed necessary and you will find these HR Bundles to be worth their weight in gold with a starting price of £250 which includes everything you need to get started!!!

Each package comes along with free consultation time as well as a free of charge initial meeting to discuss your requirements.

For more information, please contact us on: frenouf@simplehr.co.uk or lmckenna@simplehr.co.uk

Simple Tips

There is nothing queerer than folk and at work there are always going to be personality clashes and difficult situations. Your approach to these problems can make or break your workplace.

How we approach the employee or employees can either calm or enhance the situation. Always remember that it is not a case of right or wrong but how to move forward. Establish what you both want and what will help you both move forward in a constructive manner.

Remember, difficult conversations are a chance for you to turn something unconstructive into something encouraging.

Here are some of our Simple tips to help you deal with those difficult situations:

Stay calm and composed:

Losing your temper or shouting means you can’t hear what they have to say. If you remain calm they are more likely to open up and explain what is really bothering them. Sometimes people just want to be heard, they are not looking for a resolution they just want to know that someone is interested in what they have to say.

Don’t presume to know how they are feeling:

There is nothing worse than someone telling you they know exactly how you feel; they don’t, no one can know exactly how you feel so let them speak first and listen. Most people are not out to be difficult, try and understand what is causing them to behave in this manner.

Be factual:

Explain how the situation is affecting other people or the business. They may be so caught up in their own issues that they have forgotten about the effects they may be having elsewhere. Remind them that their actions have consequences.

Forgive and forget:

If a colleague has made a mistake or not completed something get your point across then let go. There is nothing to be achieved by harping on about something that cannot be changed. Instead look at what could be done differently to ensure it does not happen again.

What’s important:

Sometimes we get led astray by the conversation, remember what is important and don’t get caught up in a blame response. Think about the outcome you want and how to achieve it.

Don’t react:

Sometimes people are just looking for a reaction, don’t bite! Sometimes it is best not to respond to negative messages or difficult attitudes, move the conversation on to the next point.

Think:

We’ve all had an email sent to us at one point or another, blaming us for something or dragging us into a negative situation. Naturally you are compelled to respond immediately to defend yourself. Instead wait and think, once you have had a chance to calm down, you can respond or choose not to. Email ping pong is a dangerous game! Far better to call a meeting with all involved than to interpret the tone of an email.

Confident Hiring

Finding the right candidate is difficult enough without also having to negotiate the discrimination minefield.

Hiring the right candidate can improve revenue and performance while the wrong candidate can damage your reputation and reduce profit.

Below we have listed some simple checks to help you avoid potential pitfalls:

• Think about your job advert, too vague and you could have a garden designer applying for a hedge fund assistant!
• Agree beforehand which skills are essential and which skills are nice to have; it is rare to get the perfect candidate so be willing to flexible.
• Check their eligibility, as an employer it is your responsibility to ensure they are eligible to work in this country. Check the original  document not a photocopy.
• Depending on your business, you may want to run a criminal check; you can do this by completing a basic disclosure online; there is   normally a small cost (approximately £25). This will show you any current criminal convictions.
• If the job requires an accreditation, ask for the original certificates;  Embellishments are becoming more common on CV’s and that is fine if they are talking about hobbies or how far they run weekly but when it comes to their graduation certificate you want to be sure!
• You have managed to sift through the CV’s and are ready to interview. Be prepared in advance, take time to read the CV again beforehand and note the questions you want to ask. Cover gaps in employment history and find out why they are interested in the role. Have a look at our “interesting questions” for some inspiration.
• Don’t talk too much, giving the candidate too much information will reflect in their answers. They need to impress you with their skills not the skills they think you want them to have.
• Avoid desperate hiring, an unsuitable employee will prove much more difficult than hiring a temporary employee to cover in the interim.
• Take notes on each candidate, design a scale for measuring each candidates skills against your requirements; this will help you remember each interviewee and their potential.

Talent Management

In a day and age where finding and retaining the right minds to power your business can prove something of a balancing act, the benefit that talent management can offer your business is not to be underestimated.

Talent management can include a number of different HR services under the one umbrella. From sourcing and attracting cutting edge talent to creating career development for promising individuals at every level within the business, talent management as a service covers a broad remit.

Simple HR have years of experience when it comes to talent management and ensure it brings measurable improvement to your business or workplace, simply.

So how did Simple HR fair when they were contracted by ClickNetherfield – a manufacturer of high quality glass showcases for use in museums and galleries – to provide talent management to the company?

The company

http://www.clicknetherfield.com/

The challenge

Help establish a global presence for the company, especially a Chinese division.

The solution

Simple HR began by facilitating a management retreat for thirteen members of ClickNetherfields’s senior management team. Amongst a number of outcomes that were achieved during the retreat, it was decided that a mentoring program should be initiated.

During this time, the board of directors identified the Far East as a significant market and started to plan a Chinese division of the business. One of Simple HR’s mentees, David Wallace, showed significant talent on the retreat and during the mentoring sessions it became apparent that he was ambitious and entrepreneurial. Following a discussion with the directors of ClickNetherfield it was suggested that David become a key player in facilitating the Chinese start-up as he was keen and entrepreneurial. ClickNetherfield agreed this was a good solution and followed Simple HR’s advice by making David a lynch pin within the new Chinese team.

The result

David is still in China today and the company is seeing great interest and opportunity in this emerging marketplace.

To find out more about how Simple HR’s talent management could help you identify and grow skilled workers within your team, contact us today.