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Welcome Welcome to the September edition of our newsletter from Hayes HR. This month, we look at another way to help you recruit and retain staff: by creating clear career pathways in your business. We also look at why HR software can save you time and money. Finally, I’ll fill you in my latest challenge. I had some lovely feedback on the first edition of new-style newsletter. Do get in touch if have any thoughts or you’d like to find out more about any of the topics I cover. Jo Retaining and recruiting staff through demonstrating clear progression One of the common reasons given when an employee leaves is that they could not see a future for themselves at a firm: “There’s no progression”, “I hit a ceiling”. These are common expressions we hear when people choose to move on: that they cannot see their future with the company and that the only way to progress is to leave. When recruiting, it’s common for the interviewer to ask “Where do you see yourself in three years’ time?” but we should never forget that the interviewee may have a similar question in their own head. From the interviewee’s point of view, the question might be: “Where do you see me in your company in three years’ time?”. Being able to demonstrate career progression within your organisation will make any role you are trying to fill more attractive to the kind of candidate who is looking to develop and improve. You won’t be able to hold on to all your best employees. However, by supporting them to understand exactly what they need to do to progress, you will have a strong chance of retaining those highly-motivated, driven employees that you have worked so hard to recruit and train. The cost of recruiting the right people, in terms of both time and money, is high but the cost of losing your best people is even higher. So, how do we go about creating those opportunities and retaining the most valuable assets in your business? How does your organisational structure align with your business plan? If you’re planning on developing new products, for example, have you included the roles required to do this within your people plan? Make sure the plan shows where you are now plus where you want to be in the future. The next job is to reflect on the skills profile for each role. Do you have the skills and experience needed within your organisation for your future growth plans? With all these elements ready, you can now map out job progression with your employees. This may change over time, but it will form a key part of each employee’s development plan. Having a clear people plan helps give your employees a sense of purpose and allows you to attract high achievers. You will increase the cumulative skills and ability of your staff through their continued development and be able to compete more effectively in the jobs marketplace. Do get in touch if you’d like to find out more about developing clear pathways and how it can help you retain existing staff and attract great new candidates. Why HR software can save you time and money There comes a point in the life cycle of a business where implementing a dedicated HR software solution has to be done. There is often a point well before this where not having a dedicated system in place starts to cause serious headaches, delays and problems. And problems with HR can make your staff very unhappy, especially if it ends up affecting pay or holiday entitlement. HR software systems are not always the most thrilling of topics but in the 21st century, they are as essential to a growing business as spreadsheets and WiFi. A business of five or six people can probably make do with storing documents in folders and keeping track of salary changes, signed contracts, holidays and sickness with a few spreadsheets. But as soon as a company gets bigger, and you have employees on slightly different terms (part-time, hybrid working, bonus and commission schemes), keeping track of entitlements, annual leave and so on soon becomes a challenge and the potential for mistakes increases. Dedicated HR software is built to deal with the complexities of employment. Good systems include high levels of security to allow for confidential information to be accessed only by those authorised. They can even provide staff with quick, secure, access to their own HR documents. All this saves employees’, line managers’ and the HR team’s time to concentrate on the more important work that can’t be automated. It also allows for far easier reporting to give you a far better overview of your biggest cost (and your most valuable asset!). I am a consultant for BrightHR and would be happy to discuss the benefits of introducing a system like this into your workplace. For more information on how HR software can help your business, drop me a line. Wish me luck! I’m joining Damhurst & Co on 17 September on a fantastic challenge to raise money for the Altzheimer’s Society. We will be taking on a triathalon at Dorney Lake in London. If you’d like to sponsor the team, you’ll find all the details here. …and finally
I’d welcome any feedback you may have and look forward to discussing any HR issues with you in the future. Jo Hayes
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