Even for small businesses, Human Resources is very important. To make sure you run your business successfully and avoid any potential pitfalls with your employees, there are some basic steps you should take. Here are seven simple steps for successful small business HR:
Recruiting an employee
Understanding the need of your business is the first step in the recruitment process and the next step is deciding upon the qualities and qualifications you will need in a person to fulfil that role. Once established, you will then need to place advertisements for the position. Finally, you will need to interview staff and select a candidate. A good understanding of employment laws will help in this process running smoothly, so taking some advice can be wise.
Settling in a new employee
Recruiting staff is just the start. It is important that each member of staff receives sufficient training and a good induction process to make sure they can fulfil their role effectively. You should have a standard procedure for this and human resource software can help you to devise a training pack. However, you will also need to tailor the induction process to the needs of your new employee as some people may need additional support in some areas.
The new employee’s contract
Every employee should have a contract as this protects both you and them. It should outline what their role involves, what your responsibilities to them are, the salary they can expect and information about sick leave, maternity leave and any other absences from work. Both you and the employee should be clear about the contents of the contract as this is legally binding.
Managing a complaint at work
Complaints are a serious issue, regardless of whether they are about you, another member of staff or about working conditions. It is important that you have an appropriate complaints policy in place and that your employees are aware of this. It is also important that you follow the proper procedures and you will need to remain professional and not show bias. It is essential that you listen to the grounds for complaint and not act in a dismissive or defensive manner. Suggest simple steps that can be taken to resolve the issue fairly.
Managing staff absences
First of all, you should check out the laws with regard to staff absence, your responsibilities to staff when they are absent and their requirement to keep you informed with regards to their absence and providing sick notes for leave. You should have a policy in place that covers short-term absence, long-term absence and repeated absence. Human resource software can help you to keep track of sickness and holiday accruals.
Getting the most out of your staff
One of the key elements of getting the most out of your staff is making sure they know what is expected of them in the first place. Another is treating them fairly, letting them know they play a valuable role in your business and praising good work.
Handling redundancies
In the unfortunate event of your business not being as successful as you had hoped, redundancy may be necessary. It is important that you get professional advice regarding the redundancy selection procedure, the amount of notice you need to give, voluntary redundancies and redundancy packages.
Using these steps should help you to improve your human resources in your small business. To improve them further, take advice on HR systems as these can make a significant difference to the way your small business performs and can help you to avoid potential problems that may arise in the future.
