Snow and stress are just some of the things businesses need to think about as winter sets in. Having a plan in place can help to prepare for any difficulties the colder months may bring… whatever the weather.

Severe weather is a common inconvenience to businesses over the winter months. There is no current UK legislation stating how employers should treat employees who are unable to attend work due to weather conditions. “Without a relevant policy or provision in the contract of employment, employers should take care to ensure that their actions are fair and reasonable in the circumstances,” advises Sage HR adviser Sam Bell.

“Care should also be taken when withholding pay as a result of absence due to adverse weather conditions,” Sam continues. “Unless there is an explicit clause in the contract that allows for deductions in salary, any money that is withheld may be considered an unlawful deduction under the Employment Rights Act 1996.” Angela Baron, adviser at the Chartered

Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) adds: “There are certain jobs that just can’t be done outside of the workplace, so it’s vital to plan in advance.” She says that all employees should know who to contact if they can’t get into work, so plans can be put into action to keep the business running.

Extra workloads

While everyone might be preparing to wind down for the end of the year, it’s usually the opposite case for workloads, with looming deadlines and last-minute requests from customers. It’s therefore important to plan ahead and think about how many people will be required to keep things running smoothly. This should be communicated with everyone so they can plan ahead.

Recruiting part-time or temporary agency workers or, if there isn’t the budget for this, asking existing employees to work for more hours, could help. However, don’t forget the potential consequences of this, advises Sam. “Extra burdens and longer hours can often lead to stress – it’s important to consider the problems that this can cause.”

Spotting stress

To reduce the chance of stress affecting your workforce, employers should conduct a risk assessment with their employees, identifying and taking action against any potential stress factors. Things to look for when identifying stress include high levels of short-term absence, poor timekeeping and customer complaints. Employees should also feel they can approach their manager with any problems they may have, says Sam. Once any potential stress factors have been identified, steps to reduce the pressure can include prioritising work and providing ample warning for urgent activities, rotating jobs to encourage interest and develop new skills, and providing support systems for employees at all levels. Being able to openly discuss any concerns in the early stages will help to prevent any future stress-related problems developing further and worsening.

Offering bonuses or incentives for overtime can also boost morale and productivity. And, of course, team events such as a Christmas party shouldn’t be overlooked just because times are tight. On that note, what if some people get a little too merry at the work Christmas party? “Letting employees come in an hour or so later would probably pay off dividends in performance levels,” suggests the CIPD’s Angela Baron. “It’s all about give and take and treating people fairly.”

Melissa Beckett, SageCover Team

When call centres go bad

Bad call centre experiences have become a cliché of our times. It seems that for many companies, if it can go wrong, it will. Callers complain of long waiting times, endless transfers to different departments in different countries, convoluted menu choices, ill-informed advisors and technical issues. In recent years, those calling contact centres for information, advice and support have discovered a brand new tool to fight bad service: social media. Bloggers, tweeters and furious Facebook users have all vented their fury online, in the most public way possible. All the more reason then, to get it right.

Here at Sage we try to do things differently, which is why we were so pleased to receive last year’s North East Contact Centre award. (Shameless plug alert: We’re shortlisted in the European Contact Centre Awards. If you think we deserve to win, please vote for us!)

Howay the toon

Contacting our call centre is one of the many ways that our SageCover customers can get support from us with their software and running their business. If you’ve ever called us you’ll have spotted that we’re based in Newcastle, the home of Sage. Last year, a study by Sitel, a global outsourcing call centre provider, named the Geordie accent as the UK’s most friendly and most likely to put you in a ‘good mood.’ Even more significantly, Geordie was one of five top accents in the categories of helpfulness, efficiency and trustworthiness. But we like to think our customer service is more to do with what we say than how we say it, so what else makes a successful call centre?

1. Be friendly. It’s amazing how a positive attitude can set the tone for an entire conversation, as well as its outcome.

2. Pay attention. The importance of listening can’t be overstressed. By listening to our customers’ exact queries, asking questions if we’re unclear and clarifying their requests, we keep communications clear and productive.

3. Never stop learning. Our first priority for our Sage Support Team is to know our products and services inside out; and that’s why when they start at Sage they sign up to 6 months of training. Our products and services are constantly evolving as the business world changes.  For example, our people have just been training on the lastest version of Sage 50 Accounts 2012 and it’s mobile app. After all, it’s no good to release a new product and not have the support in place to help customers should they need it!

4. Be clear and easy to understand: When you’ve providing support for business software it would be all too easy to get carried away with bewildering jargon. Don’t, no one will thank you for giving garbled explanations. Once we’ve established how an issue can be solved, we talk our callers through what we plan to do, step-by-step.

5. Give a bit extra. At the end of a call we double-check that the caller is satisfied with our response. Do they require additional information to be emailed through to them? Can we direct them to anything specific on our website? Is there anything else we can do to help them use our products and services to their best advantage?

For us, how customer calls are handled is part of a larger overall commitment to outstanding customer service, a keystone of our philosophy.  Our customers are our business so it makes sense to look after them. That’s why, anytime you have a question, a technical enquiry, or just an idea for how we might improve things, we’d really love it if you gave us a call.

Sarah Woods, Small Business Team

Jim Scott, Head of SageCover

You don’t need me to tell you that HR and payroll is a major concern for businesses. That’s something your employees will do if you get it wrong! But you might not know that seven out of ten small businesses have needed to seek advice on HR and payroll issues that have impacted their business. 

The challenge for small businesses is the speed that the legislation changes. The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) identified that twenty significant changes have been made to the UK employment law since January this year.

Barometer for British Business

During May we carried out our Sage UK omnibus, this surveys 1,500 of our 800,000 customers to get a better picture of the challenges facing UK firms and provide a barometer for British business.

The survey found that only 22% of firms employ a dedicated specialist to deal with HR and payroll issues. But for the majority it’s a huge challenge to find their way around the complex legislative landscape by themselves.

Understandably, many are seeking specialist advice such as our HR Advice service.

Working with our SageCover team also gives me a clear idea of the issues facing businesses. This team provides help to our customers in the day-to-day running of their business, and they’d certainly agree with the survey; there are a large number of businesses struggling to get to grips with HR and payroll issues.

Critical to business success

There is no question that HR and payroll is about far more than pay, rewards and policies. It is about knowing your employees and understanding their needs in order to establish a long-term and productive relationship. Getting your company’s HR and payroll right is critical to the success of the business.

Firms need to be in the best position to take advantage of every new opportunity as we emerge from the recession, and having a highly committed and motivated workforce underpins that. People understandably have a low tolerance when it comes to errors in things so personal as their pay or paternity leave, so making sure your business has the correct procedures and support is vital to maintaining a competitive business.

Staying up to date with HR and payroll issues can seem daunting if you’ve not got dedicated resource in your business, but here are some things you can consider:

Getting to grips with legislation

Legislation affecting payroll changes regularly, so make sure you are always up to date with the latest developments by dedicating at least one hour a month to reviewing the HMRC website. The HMRC also runs EmployerTalk forums, which take place every week across the UK.  The sessions last for half a day and include three half-hour presentations on relevant topics and an ongoing exhibition.

If you’ve got SageCover with your Sage 50 Payroll software then you’ll already have access to expert HR Advice. But, if not, then you might want to consider signing up for our free HR legislation alerts or join our comprehensive HR Advice service.

How much is employee absence costing you?

According to the CIPD’s 2009 survey, the average cost of absence per employee per year is now £692.  Capturing your company’s HR information using software will help you to monitor absences and spot trends. This can help you identify potential gaps and plan ahead. You can also work out the cost of absence to your business and identify if this is an area that needs to be addressed.

Jim Scott, Head of SageCover

Andrew Redhead, Sage Payroll Support Team

For those of you that don’t know, Payroll Year End is an annual event where everyone who processes payroll has to send their P35 and P14 reports to the HMRC to show what they have deducted from all employees over the previous year.  All reports have to be received by the 19th of May or they will kindly send you a fine for every day it is late.

Days at Payroll Year End are much like any other except they start earlier, end later and are very busy.  Due to the longer opening hours we have people in the office from 8 in the morning till 7 at night to answer calls.  It’s very intensive, and I need a high level of concentration to make sure we support our customers to the high standards they expect and deserve.

Calls from our customers can range from an installation of the new version to make sure they are all ready for the new year or a problem with a P35 not balancing and needing to find out why.  We will also receive calls about the more standard issues for payroll like statutory maternity pay and holidays.

Throughout the day there are various things Sage do to make it go as smoothly as possible.  If we work half lunches we get a free sandwich delivered to our desk.  There is chocolate passed around to keep our energy up and the coffee machine is free for part of the day.  They may sound like little things but they all add up to make the day go smoother.

With a job based on the phone though the biggest thing that effects your day is the customers you speak to.  It’s a stressful time of year for our Sage Payroll customers and you’d expect some of them to be frustrated and annoyed, they are however not.  They are very nice to speak to and although they may mention how busy we are they seem to understand why we are so busy.  Depending on the type of call there may be time to talk about things outside of payroll.  This is always a nice change of pace and can make the day go much quicker.  On other calls there is no time for conversation so it’s just a case of entering the notes then onto the next customer.

At the end of the day it’s a case of finishing the call you are currently on before you go home.  It might be time to go home, but it’s not a matter of passing the call to colleague to finish it or ringing the customer back the next day; what matters is taking the time to help the customer no matter how long it takes.  Once you’re done and it’s off home to relax and enjoy the evening before getting up to do it all again.

For our customers I’d say don’t worry if things aren’t going smoothly for you. The important thing about Payroll Year End is to just not let it get on top of you.  Yes you’re busy, yes it can get stressful, but if you do have a problem there is someone like me at the end of the phone to help you.

Useful links:

• Visit our Payroll Year End website for updates and information
• You can find P60s, Payroll Year End training and Payroll software at the Sage Store

Andrew Redhead, Payroll Software Support Team

Andrew Redhead, Technical Support Advisor

I find the one to one communication of my phone based role to be the most satisfying thing as it allows me to really get to know the customer.  I have over the years really enjoyed the way calls have naturally flowed while working through calls.  If there is a section of the call that allows it I often have a conversation around how their business is doing, the challenges they face and what their interests.  I have heard about the good and bad parts of their life, we have laughed but thankfully never cried. 

The feeling of working through a problem with a customer to find out what has happened, and then giving a solution that the customer is happy with really makes me feel valued.  I also have the power to change someone’s day for the better. 

If a customer has been trying to solve a problem for hours before they ring us taking the time to get them back on track and make sure they know where they went wrong can save them from hours more problems that can be avoided.  

The thing that makes talking with customers interesting though is they are all different.  They have to be treated differently and have different needs.  You can never assume that you can answer the same question twice in the same way and get the same outcome.  This means no two calls are the same and there is always a new challenge just around the corner.

Written by Andrew Redhead, Technical Support Advisor