Sage Blog

No matter what size or type of business, from a high street florist to a multi million pound engineering company, your biggest asset is your people. Your people are critical to the success of your business and at Sage we follow these rules from getting the right employment law and HR advice, to building trust.

Rule 1 – Get the right people on the bus

Start as you mean to go on. Recruiting the right people with the right skills is essential. Set yourself up for success by deciding on the exact type of candidates you want to attract and settling for nothing less.

Rule 2 – Teamwork

It’s no use hiring talented people if they won’t work as team. Employing people who fit your culture can be just as important as hiring those with the right skill set. Some people may not suit the atmosphere and feel of your business and it can affect motivation and productivity. Consider introducing candidates to the rest of the team informally to see how they get on.

Rule 3 – Ask if you have the right people in the right places every six months

Every business goes through periods of evolution and change. Sometimes it’s organic, but sometimes you should make changes to increase your business’ effectiveness. Are any talent gaps forming, or are someone’s skills not being fully realised?

Rule 4 – Create the right framework and your team will be self-organising

Set clear goals and ensure each individual has a job description and knows their role, and the role of other teams, within the business as a whole. How they interact is crucial in your overall efficiency.

Rule 5 – Empower your people

Give your people the tools to do the job themselves. You’ve hired them for a reason and they will often appreciate your trust in them to fulfill their role. That said, always let them know they can come to you with concerns.

Rule 6 – Clear the route for your people so they can do their job

Take the time to ask your people if there are any issues stopping them from achieving their potential within their roles. Ask for honesty and be prepared to make changes if you need to.

Rule 7 – Trust

Open and honest discussions with your team can get the best out of everyone. If you’re facing issues, get them out in the open and work as a team to overcome them. It’s a cliché, but you really can’t buy respect or trust.

Rule 8 – Celebrate your team’s success

It’s always worth thanking your team for a job well done, and celebrating success as often as possible. Even if cash bonuses aren’t in the budget, sincere thanks and appreciation are valuable tools in forging strong bonds within your business.

Rule 9 – Be prepared to lose your best people as they grow

It’s inevitable that the career paths of some individuals may take them out of your business. Remember that no-one is irreplaceable, and make sure that no processes are reliant on just one person, in case they ever leave.

Rule 10 – If you need advice, make sure you know where to get support

HR and employment law is a large and complex area. Sage People Advice can help. We’ve got flexible options, from a single phone call to a 12-month contract to help support you with any employment queries. For more information call us on 0845 111 2450.

Matt Forrest, Small Business Team

Georgie Cragg-James is a Senior HR Adviser for Sage HR Services

You may have seen a recent news report, highlighting the findings of a Business Link survey. The results revealed that two thirds of SMEs are failing to implement employment laws.

There were three reasons why:

• A quarter didn’t think it was their job to implement the law.
• A fifth weren’t sure how to do it.
• A third simply didn’t know what their legal obligations as an employer were.

I’m always interested to find out more about why businesses struggle to meet their legal obligations, but most of our customers agree that it’s clear, expert HR advice that helps them avoid employment law pitfalls and takes the pressure off them.

Failing to implement employment laws? How can this affect your business?

From the initial recruitment process through to people leaving your business, the entire employment cycle is governed by legislation. For example, there are employment laws concerning:

• Pre-employment residency and police checks.
• Discrimination, from the wording of your job advertisement through to employment practices.
• Grievance procedures, if an employee has a complaint.
• Retirement and redundancy.

Yes, this is a lot to think about and unfortunately simply being unaware of your human resources responsibilities is no defence. In fact failing to comply with the law could have serious consequences for your business:

• Employment tribunals that can be time consuming and stressful.
• Paying out fines and compensation, causing a financial burden on your business.
• A damaged business reputation that can result in lost customers.

So what can you do to stay on top of employment law?

A lot of businesses are concerned that staying legally compliant is too time consuming and holds them back from managing and growing their business. But it really is simply a case of putting the correct procedures in place now, making it easier for you to implement the regulations, and protecting your business for the future.

For a start, consider if you have documented processes around:

• Confirming employee’s entitlement to work in the UK, by checking and copying certain original documents.
• Providing compliant contracts of employment, no later than two months after the employee starts work.
• Adhering to the national minimum wage, the minimum level of pay allowed by law to most workers over the age of 16.
• Creating and distributing your staff handbook, providing your employees with valuable policies and procedures.
• Providing equal opportunity recruitment, by objectively matching the criteria of the job specification to the competencies, qualifications and skills of each applicant.
• Successfully managing poor performers legally, fairly and consistently, by having a structured process in place.
• Sensitively handling grievances, providing structured informal and formal avenues of communication.
• Having a clear retirement policy to provide consistency and clarity to leavers.

It really is worth setting some time aside now to help  save yourself time and hassle in the future.

Georgie Cragg-James, Sage HR Advice Service

As well as translating the law into plain English, Sage HR Advice Service advises you of forthcoming changes to the law and gives you all the tools you need to remain compliant.