HR advice Archives - Page 3 of 3 - Blue Tree HR Solutions

Why is HR advice for small businesses important?

Posted on June 9, 2022August 17, 2023 by Blue Tree HR

There are many reasons to consider HR advice for small businesses. A key reason is that human resources (HR) management is key to the growth of your company. Understanding why and how HR advice for small businesses can help your organization is vitally important. It can be the difference between a smooth-running workplace and a chaotic one!

Here are some of the key functions that HR professionals employ to help support and sustain happy and healthy businesses and why you should consider expert HR advice for small businesses.

Expert HR advice for small businesses – keeping you out of trouble!

To run a company effectively, there are certain laws and regulations set in place that must be followed correctly. If you do not understand the legislation you can land yourself in hot bother. These laws and regulations are put in place to protect employees’ rights and fight against workplace harassment, discrimination, and other situations. Without these laws, employees are vulnerable to inequality and wage/hour wrongdoings. Non-compliance from employers can lead to financial loss, license revocations, and even imprisonment. Having a professional in HR you can go to for support and advice is essential. The smallest mistake can be costly.

Ditch the paper!

Organization is a huge factor in how successful your company is. Keeping sensitive documents and employee information safe and secure is a standard for all companies. Opting for a paperless system, like Blue Tree HR Solutions specialist HR software, reduces the risk of document and information loss. Being accurate, efficient, and secure with data is a standard in any company. The consequences of a data leak can land you in hefty fines.

We believe this is one of the most important pieces of HR advice for small businesses we can offer. Small and growing companies do not have the time/manpower to spend on internal admin. Owners often end up constantly buried in spreadsheets. This is where mistakes get made.

Turning to HR software not only keeps you and your employees protected, but it is also a faster, more secure, and more effective solution. Allowing an HR professional to step in and help will mean more time for owners to focus on company goals and build healthy employee relationships. What’s more, it’s environmentally friendly!

Hire help!

Small businesses can sometimes make the mistake of hiring too quickly. Suppose you find yourself stuck, needing to hire a replacement or extra staff urgently to ensure the smooth running of your company. In some cases, you can fall into the trap of hiring out of urgency and later regretting your decision.

Here at Blue Tree HR Solutions, we can help with job descriptions, job advertisements, interview questions, and follow-up documents. Ensure you are finding the right candidate for your job role.

On the contrary, if you do in fact need to start thinking about the difficult decision of firing people or making redundancies, specialist HR advice for small businesses proves helpful for these situations. For many small companies, making redundancies is not a common issue. If you do not know the procedures to follow, HR professionals can help advise and support you on the best ways forward. Make it as easy for you and your staff as possible and ensure legal compliance.

You support them, but who supports you?

Hiring an HR professional is one of the best ways to protect your company and employees. While having an HR team is standard for large organizations, small companies often do not have the resources for this. Hiring a professional in HR advice for small businesses, like Blue Tree HR Solutions, is a way to ensure your company and employees always have the correct HR help and support you need, while not breaking the bank.

Hiring an HR professional can save you both time and money, and sustain valuable employees. These all contribute to the success and growth of your small business. The HR world is a tricky one to navigate and that’s why Blue Tree HR Solutions are here to help. Please get in touch now to find out how we can help your company bloom with our expert HR advice.

How expert HR advice and guidance can help resolve potential issues before they escalate.

Posted on May 16, 2022 by Blue Tree HR

As experts in HR advice and guidance, we here at Blue Tree HR Solutions believe the way forward is through a proactive approach in HR instead of a reactive one. We believe being proactive in HR saves the company money and time and gives you the tools to stop problems from developing and arising. In turn, this means lower stress levels for your employees and more time for productivity.
Sadly, many companies struggle to make the switch from a reactive strategy to a proactive one. This is mainly down to businesses and management not having the tools and knowledge to recognize problems before they occur. This leaves them stuck in a cycle of putting out one fire, only for another to catch light straight after. Luckily, Blue Tree HR Solutions are here to offer some expert HR advice and guidance to help you develop proactive HR strategies and tackle issues before they escalate.

Here are a few examples of when an issue may arise in the workplace, and how a proactive approach can help your company tackle these issues in the most effective way possible.

Suspicious sick leave pattern

If somebody seems to have a habit of being ‘sick’ on a certain day of the week, it may appear to be a small problem, but it could quite easily escalate. The remaining staff may get frustrated and have increased stress levels if they are having to pick up the slack in order to keep the company running smoothly. Staff may be annoyed that management is overlooking the ‘skiving’ employee and not dealing with the issue. This can also leave employees feeling like they’re not valued if they’re continuously expected to be overworked and will create negative feelings towards management for not addressing the problem, this could result in increased staff turnover.

A proactive approach to this scenario would be to track absences efficiently by keeping absence records detailed and up to date, which you can do easily by using the HR software found on our HR Software page. This gives you the power to spot any trends or patterns and address these before it causes an issue for other employees. Having Return to Work interviews following any sickness absence will mean there is a record. Then, depending on the circumstances, you can consider performance management or offer extra support to the employee.

This is also an opportunity to step back and make sure that, if one employee was to suddenly leave, your company has all the resources to manage until a replacement is found. If an employee’s sick leave is causing issues among other staff, this could be a sign that more measures need to be put in place to make sure all staff are supported if this issue did occur, either by recruiting extra staff or offering more training to existing staff.

Maternity leave

A member of staff is pregnant and is due to go on maternity leave. She has given you six months’ notice of her maternity leave. This gives you time to plan and prepare for her absence, by perhaps offering additional support and training to other staff or by recruiting maternity cover.
This is a proactive HR approach as you have communicated with the employee, figured out the best solution for both you and other employees, and put this into action so that when the employee does go on maternity leave, there are no issues to address.

Manage the small things, before they turn into big things.

A common problem among managers is ignoring warning signs or not wanting to deal with small, insignificant issues that aren’t considered serious. Here at Blue Tree HR Solutions, we know that the small things almost always escalate into big problems.
If an employee is acting out or keeps making questionable mistakes or decisions but nothing is addressed, this will inevitably make your life and all employees around them harder in the long run.

For example:

Week 1 – Employee A was caught on CCTV sleeping – nothing was addressed.
Week 2 – Employee A left work an hour early without telling anyone – nothing was addressed, although the line manager is aware.
Week 3 – Employee A was watching a film on his phone instead of doing his work. He was caught by a visitor, and it was reported to his line manager.

Watching a film at work may not constitute gross misconduct and instead, may only warrant a warning. He could not be dismissed fairly based on this one instance alone.
At this point, the employee does not know what he is doing wrong as he has not been pulled up on his behaviour, management is not impressed with his behaviour and wants to replace him, and other staff will be growing frustrated with his bad behaviour, as it may be disrupting their own work.
A proactive approach would be to have managed his performance using the disciplinary process from week one. If he had been given a 1 written warning at week one, then a second written warning at week 2 – he could be dismissed (depending on your policy) at week 3. Alternatively, after his first warning, he may have changed his behaviour and shown that he is an effective member of the team.
Unfortunately, as this situation was responded to in a reactive HR approach, it means his behaviour was ignored and not addressed until it caused a significant issue. This could have been avoided.

Prepare for the future with our HR advice and guidance

It’s inevitable that issues will arise in the workplace, but recognizing these before they occur is fundamental.
Being prepared and dealing with issues right to the source when they do occur, to assure they will not re-appear, is key.
The best way to plan for the future is to make sure that you are working in line with Employment Law, have all the correct policies in place, and assuring all of those in management positions are trained in people management.
Having HR advice and guidance ready and prepared means you can offer the correct support needed in any situation to assure the best outcome. This gives everyone the confidence that every situation’s process is fair and legally compliant.

Are you ready for some healthy HR?

There are countless benefits in how changing your HR approach can benefit you and your company. If you would like to get more expert HR advice and guidance, or you would like to give your company’s HR a refresh, get in touch with Blue Tree HR Solutions for the best HR advice and guidance for your business.

Four-Day Working Week – What it is and What to Expect

Posted on March 18, 2022 by Blue Tree HR

The four-day working week has gathered momentum recently. With countries such as Iceland and Japan successfully implementing this new way of working. The UK is also set to follow suit. The trial for the four-day working week in England is due to start in June 2022. Scotland will start the trial in 2023, and Wales will likely follow.

What is the Four-Day Working Week?

There is a lot of confusion surrounding the four-day working week. There is concern from employees that they will need to compress their shifts, meaning they end up working longer hours. Employers are understandably concerned about the potential implications on productivity levels. The four-day working week means that employees work four days a week instead of five. The terms don’t change. They are paid the same salary and pension contributions but work reduced hours. The focus is on productivity rather than the number of hours spent working.

Benefits of Four-Day Working Week

We often hear people saying that they ‘never stop working, they ‘work 70 hours a week’ or similar. In our society, overworking seems to be a badge of honour. If someone tells us they only work 1 or 2 days a week, we naturally think of them as lazy or unmotivated. Of course, this probably isn’t the case, but, as a society, we have been programmed into thinking this way. Working hard means working over 40 hours a week while working less is simply slacking off. There is nothing to say that working longer hours means you are being any more productive than someone who works less, and in fact, there are many benefits to operating a four-hour week. Although the trial is yet to commence in the UK, we can gain some insights from studies on the new way of working in Iceland.

Higher Productivity

According to the report, the four-day working week resulted in the same or higher productivity. Employees working five days a week are more likely to be distracted throughout the working day by personal issues. Whereas, with the new way of working, they can take care of any personal tasks on their day off, making it easier to focus and concentrate on their work.

Improved Wellbeing

Another positive outcome of the four-day working week was improved wellbeing, including less stress and burnout and a better work-life balance. Fewer hours at work equates to more time at home and enjoying family life.

How to Cope with Four-Day Working Week

For a business, especially an SME, the prospect of a four-day working week being implemented may seem overwhelming. It may be that you are already struggling to get through your workload, which adds another layer of challenges. However, there are some steps you can take to ensure that you manage your employees and your workload, should the four-day working week come to fruition in the UK.

Reduce Distractions

Many distractions can corrode time, and by reducing these, you can also help employees manage their workloads more efficiently. For instance, you might consider reducing the number or length of meetings or switching phones onto voicemail at set times throughout the day. Distractions waste time and reduce productivity.

Manage Expectations

If you are worried about the implications of the four-day working week on your clients, be open and honest with them. Advise them of the hours your employees will be working and when they can expect to be able to contact you. Open and honest communication is always the best way of working.

Project-Based

The average person may only be productive for three hours a day. Ultimately, most employees spend a significant amount of time on pointless tasks, such as eating, social media, texting, or taking breaks. The idea of anyone working 8 hours a day and being productive for this period is an illusion. Instead of focusing on the number of hours employees work, use a project-based working method. Assign tasks to your employees that you expect each day, and in this way, the number of hours they work won’t matter.

If you want to discuss the implications of the four-day working well or think of implementing this before it comes into force and needs some expert HR advice and guidance or HR support for business, you can contact Blue Tree HR Solutions at info@bluetreehr.uk and 07516 335 419.

How to Manage an Employee Grievance

Posted on February 25, 2022 by Blue Tree HR

As experts in HR advice and guidance, we receive a lot of queries from managers regarding employee grievances and how to manage these appropriately. Grievances are essentially a situation where an employee feels that they have been mistreated. A grievance often occurs between two staff members, or it could be against company policies, such as working conditions. Businesses need to take any grievance seriously and document the entire process.

If you are unsure how to deal with a grievance, our step-by-step guide should help inform you.

Mediation

A grievance can quite often be managed through mediation. For instance, if an employee has made a remark that another employee is unhappy about it, it may be that the situation could be resolved informally. However, if it is a serious situation, for instance, if it involves bullying or harassment, this step may not be sufficient in dealing with it.

2. Grievance Meeting

If the situation cannot be resolved informally, you should hold a meeting with the individual who has raised the grievance. It will allow you to get some more information and discuss how the employee would like to take the situation further. You should advise them of their right to be accompanied by a representative at the meeting.

Example of Grievance:

Lucy feels she is being excluded by her manager, who is not inviting her to the weekly meetings with other team members. They have also been out for lunch, and she has been left out of this too. She has reached a point where she wants to raise a grievance about her manager’s behaviour. However, she does not wish for mediation as the situation has been going on too long.

3. Investigation

It is vital that you don’t just take sides when dealing with a grievance; you should only ever judge the situation by the facts. Grievances can often come down to hearsay, so getting all the information before you move forward is essential. For instance, if an employee has raised a grievance, find out if there is any written evidence of the exchange or witnesses who may have overheard.

Examples of Evidence:

Asking team members if Lucy has attended weekly meetings and lunches. Has there been any discussion about why Lucy has been missing from these? Has anyone raised concerns

4. Disciplinary Meeting

If an employee has raised a grievance against another employee, and evidence supports it, the next stage would be a disciplinary meeting to discuss the situation with the other party involved. You should also inform them that they can be accompanied to the meeting.

Example of Disciplinary Meeting:

At this stage, you would speak to the manager and find out why Lucy has been excluded and provide any evidence you have for this from your investigation. Consider it from the side of the manager too

5. Decision

The next stage is the final decision you have reached following the investigation and the meetings. Then, you should arrange another meeting with the instigator of the grievance to discuss the decision you have reached and the other party.

Example of Decision:

As there is overwhelming evidence to suggest that Lucy has been deliberately excluded, which is a form of bullying, you feel there is no choice but to dismiss the manager. You cannot employ someone that is exhibiting this behaviour.

6. Appeal

There is the right to appeal this decision. In this case, another meeting should be held, and if possible, it should be undertaken by someone not involved in the rest of the meeting.

If you would like to discuss an employee grievance or have any other issue regarding HR support for business, you can contact Melanie of Blue Tree HR Solutions on 01787 695084 or by emailing her at info@bluetreehr.uk.

How to Ensure Your Culture is Supporting Mental Health

Posted on October 28, 2021 by Blue Tree HR

The average person spends over 13 years at work. Let that sink in.

With the time we spend at work and our lives constantly moving at a staggering pace, it is no wonder that mental health is such a problem in society these days. We spend our time at work trying to juggle phone calls, emails, meetings, and that’s before we sit down and do some work. It is no wonder that many people end up feeling stressed and find that their mental health is suffering. That’s why it is so important to ensure that you are creating a culture that supports mental health. According to a report from Benenden, only 23.8% of employees said their employer speaks to them about mental health.

Listen to your Employees

If employees are telling you that they are overworked or struggling to cope – listen to them and take it on board. There is no point in piling work on someone if they are unable to get through it, as instead of increasing productivity, it will have the opposite impact and you will be dealing with employee burnout. If employees have any concerns, don’t just dismiss them, make sure you take them on board and try to deal with them positively.

Lose the Stigma

There is a lot of stigmas attached to mental health. If someone breaks their leg, they’ll get all the sympathy in the world. However, if someone says they feel anxious, depressed, or generally low, they will either be avoided or met with disbelief. As an invisible illness, it can be difficult for people to comprehend unless they have suffered from it themselves. It is important to lose the stigma attached to mental health. Make mental health a part of your culture, and actively use the words and introduce training so people are familiar with it. If an employee is off with these types of problems, make sure you speak to them on their return and find out what you can do to support them. If an employee says they are staying off with mental health issues, the chances are that this is true. Even if it is mental health problems relating to feeling anxious about going to work.

Recognise Employees

You should always show your appreciation for your employees, even a simple ‘thank you’ can go a long way to helping mental health. Your employees are people, they are not robots, and they need to feel that they are valued in some way. Employee recognition is key in any organisation. Employees don’t want to feel that they are just making up numbers, they want to feel appreciated. This is even more important if your employees are working remotely.

Provide Development Opportunities

Employees need to feel that there is a clear development plan in place. A structure that can help them meet their goals. If they don’t have anything to aim for, their mental health may suffer. For SME’s this can be more challenging, but there is no harm in setting out the potential areas of growth.

Awareness of Negativity

One negative employee can have a hugely detrimental impact on other employees, and it is important to be aware of this so you can deal with it quickly. Regular check-ins can help you identify any issues with negativity or poor morale within the company.

Mental health should be at the forefront of everything you do. An awareness of your employees and their mental health should always be a priority. If you would like to discuss changing or improving your workplace culture, or have any questioning regards to HR support for business then you can contact us on 07516 335419 or email info@bluetreehr.uk

Category: HR advice