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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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Each month, we’ll focus on a different aspect of HR with a particular interest in supporting small to medium sized businesses and the particular challenges facing us at present. This month, we look at some ways to recruit and retain staff, valuing them through offering learning and development opportunities. One option is through using apprenticeship schemes, where funding is available. A second route is through recognising and supporting emerging leadership talent. I hope you find this useful. Do get in touch if you’d like to find out more. Apprenticeships - helping you recruit and retain staff One of the big issues for employers at the moment is how to recruit and retain staff. The CIPD reports that the workforce is on the move and that over a fifth plan to leave their jobs in the next 12 months. With high levels of employment and the cost of living crisis, it’s more important than ever to be able to hold on to good people and to attract highly-motivated starters while controlling wages across the business. Apprenticeships can help with this in a number of ways. The most obvious way that apprenticeships can help is in enabling you to recruit workers who are keen to train and learn new skills. As an employer, you benefit from lower staff costs because of support from the government: employers pay no Class 1 NI contributions on apprentices under 25 years of age (there are other criteria, so do check the link below). In most cases, you also pay only 5% towards the cost of the training and assessment of the apprentice. So, if you need to take on new workers who will benefit from training and their skills are covered by one of the many apprenticeship standards, this could be a great way to attract new staff in an affordable way. If apprenticeships don’t seem right for your business, the government has a few other funding options available to encourage you to take on younger workers. These include the KickStart scheme, Traineeships and T levels. All of these involve young adults on unpaid work experience with additional incentives for the employer. Apprenticeships aren’t just for new recruits however. Providing training through an apprenticeship scheme is an excellent way to improve staff retention by motivating staff through investing in their development. Apprenticeships run from level 2 to level 7, which is the equivalent of a masters level. That means apprenticeship training could be relevant for a huge cross section of your workforce. The government funds a significant amount of the training cost: in most cases you would have to cover only 5%. The results for you? Staff with new or enhanced skills who feel valued by their employer. A great way to improve staff retention and reward your people. Hayes HR can help you develop a strategy for recruitment and retention that includes options such as these government-supported schemes to help you navigate the current challenging market for businesses. Do get in touch to find out more. More information can be found at https://www.apprenticeships.gov.uk/employers/funding-an-apprenticeship-non-levy Leadership training for teams In June, Hayes HR ran a next generation leadership course for a group of emerging leaders of a small City based insurance company. The aim was to look at the team’s dynamics and how they might impact the overall effectiveness of the team. To help the team understand themselves and how they work best with others, I used a tool called DISC. This is a powerful model for describing human behaviour. It helps unlock the answers to why people behave the way they do and has been helping individuals, teams and organisations to connect better for over thirty years. Each team member completed their DISC assessment, giving them their own profile. We then looked at the profiles in the context of themselves and others in the team. We asked the question: “How might we need to adapt our style to build relationships with our team?” As we focused on the preferences as a team, we were able to identify the strengths and limitations of everyone's preferences and how they might serve or hinder the success of the group. It was a great way to help the group work more effectively together. We also spent some time looking at what it means to be an agile leader. As a certified trainer in DISC, I love running sessions like this and helping firms to invest in the future by building resilient teams. If you’re interested in training for your team, do get in touch. Did you know….… You need to assess everyone working at a computer, even if they're doing so from home? If workers use DSE (such as a PC or laptop) for more than an hour a day, employers must do a workstation assessment (even if the person is working from home). Hayes HR can do the assessment and provide your company with the completed assessments to ensure you are compliant. Just drop us a line to find out more. …and finally We welcome any feedback you may have and look forward to discussing any HR issues with you in the future. Working from home can be so much fun. After all you can sleep in instead of spending time commuting. You never have to get out of your PJ because no one cares if your pink top matches your yellow lounge trousers.
You always have it your way when discussing priorities on the to-do list with your dog. And the dpd deliveryman never gets to leave a “Sorry we missed you” note on your door. In reality, working from home actually needs more discipline in getting work done and ignoring the fridge humming away in the corner! On the subject of the fridge or the larder, here are some tips on how to prevent weight gain whilst working at home. Work out first thing in the morning Working out first thing in the morning has shown to be beneficial in multiple ways. It regulates appetite during the day. It gives your brain a jump-start so you can concentrate better during the day. It burns calories, It will give you a sense of accomplishment throughout the day as well. What is there not to like? You don’t have to join the early bird online Crossfit class. Just pop in a workout DVD and follow the instructions. You could even get the kids to join in too. When you get the munchies If you find yourself drifting to the fridge, an hour after having your breakfast, grab a big glass of water and down it. When you have done this, do it again. Research by Merlin Hearn and Nancy Hearn suggests that drinking water and brain function are integrally linked. Lack of water to the brain can cause numerous symptoms including problems with focus, memory, brain fatigue and brain fog, as well as headaches, sleep issues, anger, depression, and many more. To spark your brain another way, without munching away on treats, get up and walk. Surprise your dog with a visit. Do some dusting while brainstorming. When you get back to your desk you will see that this was almost as good as giving in to the food temptations. Food temptations Don’t have chocolate, crisps or biscuits sitting anywhere. Definitely not at your desk. Replace calorie bombs with some healthy low calorie vegetable sticks or nuts. Train your body while you work Try swapping your desk chair for a standing desk. You could also stack books onto the kitchen counter if you don’t want to invest the money. You could also spend your unspent going out money, on a stability ball as a sitting alternative. This also gives you the option to bounce around and train your legs. Do make sure you have the correct desk set up though. This is the most important thing to get right before looking at different seating options. Take breaks and take yourself outside The last tip is to remind you that our brain deserves some breaks too. Get yourself outside and breathe in something more refreshing than home office air. A change of location can spark some new ways of thinking. Research has found a strong correlation between depression and overeating and how both stress and eating poorly are linked to an increased risk for anxiety and depression. In these strange times, help yourself as much as possible. Exercise regularly, drink lots of water, keep off the snacks and breath in as much fresh air as you can. The now long-term nature of homeworking means continued isolation from colleagues and valuable work-related social activities, support structures and connections. Work-life balance and blurred boundaries between work and home may also become more problematic as homeworking continues.
Fears around job security are also likely to be prevalent for many employees, especially in those sectors that have been most affected financially. Many of the suggestions to support employee mental health set out above also apply to supporting long term homeworkers. Organisations may also wish to consider some of the following:
Organisations may also wish to undertake a listening exercise and survey their employees about their current state of mental health and wellbeing, and seeking feedback on the specific support they feel would benefit them in the months to come. Employee Engagement
Boost employee engagement by giving your staff a clear mission to engage with. Research shows that 73% of employees who report working for a ‘purpose driven' company are engaged compared to just 23% at ‘non-purpose driven’ companies. This shows communicating your company’s purpose plays a pivotal role in determining employee engagement levels. When people feel engaged at work they feel personally committed to the organisation’s purpose, values and goals. Engaged employees care about the company’s mission and will go above and beyond to achieve it. This is why it is so important to ensure staff understand the mission statement. Improves Productivity and Customer Satisfaction Research confirms that over a third of people work harder if they understand how their job contributes to the overall business goals and objectives. When employees support the company’s mission, they are more likely to communicate it to customers and boost customer satisfaction. Employer Accountability Builds Trust A strong business mission statement is a brilliant opportunity to build trust between employers and employees. By pinning your colours (or values, principles and goals) to the mast, you create accountability, as a company and employer. So ensure your mission statement speaks equally to external and internal stakeholders. When your employees see the message, it should communicate how the organisation will treat them, how it will benefit them and what to expect from working there. It means your employees can hold you to your word. A Strong Employer Brand Your mission statement also tells potential candidates what sort of employer you are. You can use it to create a strong employer brand that attracts talent. By encapsulating your values, culture and beliefs within the mission statement you will give prospective candidates a clear idea of who you are and what you expect from them. This encourages applications from people who share your values and your vision. Improves Learning and Development Understanding the business mission statement helps give employee training purpose and meaning. It helps each employee see how the course content benefits their personal career goals and the wider company mission. Give your training extra meaning by clearly communicating how it is tied into the company’s bigger purpose. How will the skills gained enable employees to achieve the company mission? By making this clear, learning will no longer be a tick-box exercise, but a meaningful development tool that people want to take part in. Aids Business Decision-Making People like to know what’s expected of them and with good reason. Clearly defined objectives help us focus and achieve our target. The business mission is the mother of all goals. It gives your employees’ short-term goals context and helps everyone stay on track to success. The mission statement also ensures strategic alignment across all levels of the organisation. So whatever day-to-day tasks each employee or team is working on, everyone is unified towards the company’s bigger purpose. This bigger picture can help guide decision making, prioritisation, strategies and goal setting. After all, if in doubt we can ask ourselves: “is what I’m doing right now helping achieve the business mission?” If not, it’s time to have a rethink and change our course of action. Improves Employee Retention Last but not least, a strong business mission statement improves employee retention. This is important because staff turnover is a huge concern for many employers. So give your employees a reason to stay! A clearly communicated business mission statement can help you hold onto top talent. Research shows that a strong sense of mission drives employee retention across generations. In fact, emphasising mission and purpose is one of the top two factors for keeping millennials, generation Xers and baby boomers in your organisation. Live Your Mission I can’t talk about values, purpose and mission, without mentioning the most important thing. Action! We hear it a lot in the business world but it can never be said enough – ‘Live your values’. Whatever, you claim to do or be in your mission statement – live up to your promises. This is vital because it doesn’t matter how eloquent, impressive or downright amazing your mission statement is, if it doesn’t resonate with your employees’ day-to-day experiences, they won’t connect with your message. My desire to undertake an executive coaching qualification was born out of leaving my permanent role as Group Head of HR in the City and starting my own HR Consultancy business.
Having worked in HR for 20 years, I fully understood the importance of building a confidential, secure environment for clients to feel they can open up and discuss issues in a safe place, as well as establishing clear roles, responsibilities and boundaries. The plan was that the executive coaching would be ‘another tool in my HR toolkit’ and the hope was that both sides of the business, HR and coaching would work well together. My HR experience gives me a good insight into some of the challenges the individual is facing, and within an organisational context. I believe coaching can have a transformational impact on developing leaders, and upon the culture and effectiveness of an organisation in the longer-term. Due to the nature of the coaching that I do, and my HR experience, my coaching clients often ask for my help, support and opinion of a situation that they are in. I am very used to giving HR advice at a senior level and although happy to give clients this input, it is also important to let the individual explore their own ideas first, as very often they find the answers without my contribution. Coaching is focused and directional and I feel I help to equip the client with the tools, knowledge and opportunities they need to fully develop themselves to be effective managers/leaders improving resilience and effectiveness, removing roadblocks to performance and enhancing creativity. I would describe my personal coaching approach as supportive, intuitive, sincere, and challenging. I listen carefully to the issues being faced and try to understand in the first instance, before responding, which makes asking powerful, open questions easier. I am a good listener and refer frequently back to previous comments made or past reflections, something that has been picked up many times by coaching clients in feedback sessions. It is important to me to write notes following the coaching sessions in order that I can personally reflect on what has been said. I have also received feedback suggesting that I am extremely easy to communicate with, putting the client as ease from the start of the session. I have gained a lot of confidence as a coach since the start of my coach training. There will always be room for further improvement, expanding my knowledge, asking cleaner and more eloquent questions. However, I have learned that it’s most important to focus on the quality of my listening and trust in the coaching process – this has had the greatest impact on my coaching style. Coaching is one of the key components of managing employees effectively. Coaching your employees and helping them progress is the mark of a successful leader. Here are 5 ways to coach your team to success and become a great leader in the process. 1. Emotional Intelligence Coaching isn’t just about the employee. A large part of coaching is also about the way you interact with each member of your team. If you can level with people, understand the issues they may face in their role, and be sensitive to possible opposing outlooks, you’ll be far better equipped to help your people overcome barriers and work together as a team. 2. Knowing Each Individuals’ Strengths Coaching isn’t a one-size-fits-all process. It’s important to tailor your focus to the person you’re interacting with. Each member brings something unique to your team. Your job as a manager is to find out what each person’s strengths are and help them develop these skills with a tailored coaching plan. Having a genuine understanding of the individuals that make up your team and what they need to work towards, will allow you to more efficiently plan and execute projects. People who use their strengths every day are found to be six times more engaged. 3. Ask questions Rather than creating a development plan for your people based on strengths, include them in the conversation by asking what it is that excites them, what they’d like to learn, and where they want to go in the future. While helping employees develop their visible strengths is key, don’t forget that they may have hidden talents which are yet to be discovered. Really listening to your employees' responses and tailoring the next steps around their answers shows you value your people and are prepared to help them reach their goals. The coaching you provide should aid them on their road to professional development process. However, the most effective strategy is ultimately to use these conversations to help them take control of their own development. 4. Empower them Once you know what your employees’ skills are and where they want to go, it’s time to help them put those skills into practice. Begin by giving each individual responsibility over tasks which will help them develop in their key areas. This can include providing stretch assignments, letting them take the reigns on a new project or pushing them to take the lead on a sales call. The best way to learn is by doing, and the more autonomy you give them, the more you’ll demonstrate your trust and confidence in their abilities. It’s key to make sure your people know that you’re not expecting them to improve instantly overnight. Development is a process and there will be setbacks on the way, but that’s why you’re there to help. Checking-in with them regularly will show that you’re available for advice and feedback, without encroaching on their sense of autonomy. 5. Feedback is key It’s impossible for people to develop without feedback. If your team isn’t aware of what they can improve, it doesn’t allow them to change or really build upon what’s going well. It’s not only important to be timely with your constructive feedback, but also in recognising and celebrating achievements. Coaching is an increasingly important part of a modern manager's job. It’s key to get comfortable with coaching people by building genuine, unique relationships with your team members, using feedback efficiently, and listening to people to find out what they want and where they feel they’re headed. Once you’re collaborating like this and leading your team in the direction they need, you’re well on your way to coaching a happy and motivated team to success. Executives and senior managers both have an important role in a business that should always be taken seriously. Being in a senior role comes with incredible responsibility, including handling employees, customers/clients, and the overall responsibility of running of the business. With that in mind, those who are seeking to develop their leadership and management skills will find that booking themselves individual coaching sessions will help enhance their leadership skills immensely.
What Is Leadership Coaching? Coaching doesn’t just teach you “how“ to be a more effective leader; it covers everything about leadership, from how to increase trust and appreciation, to optimising your professional and personal performance. In particular, coaching will help you manage conflict and work as a team more effectively so that resolutions are more effortless in the workplace. If you’re wondering how exactly a coach can assist you more than an online course or on-the-job experience, for example, then the list doesn’t end there. How will a Leadership Coach help? A coach will help you: 1. Develop new perspectives in a professional manner 2. Develop your individual leadership and conflict skills 3. Reflect on your management & outcome 4. Tolerate stressful encounters 5. Reflect on your personality & leadership style 6. Develop strategies to achieve your goals 7. Expand your professional behaviour 8.Target various levels of competence & improve on them Of course, how successful the coaching will be for you also ultimately depends on how much work you are willing to put in to get the results. Coaches are there to guide you, but they can’t create the skills and improvement for you. It’s also important to have an appropriate match between the individual client and the coach. Personal development is a crucial part of anyone’s life, whether it’s business-related or not. Having a coach to help guide you through this personal development will make sure your best skills are brought forward and will help nurture new ones that are vital to your growth. The Facts - Whether you are growing start-up or an established company, your business will inevitably require an organisational restructure sometime down the road. The good news is that change can bring a lot of benefits and spur the company success in the longer term. Is everyone in the right roles that play to their strengths, including the leadership and senior management team?Reviewing job descriptions, from the leadership team down should be the first port of call. Working with the business owners and the leadership team I would look to understand the future aspirations of the company and if there are any obstacles, in relation to lack of competency, in any role, or team that effects achievement in this regard. Are decisions are made effectively and collaboratively and cascaded down to staff clearly? Understanding in the first instance how decisions are made, by whom and whether this is an effective approach. Are employees kept well informed and do they understand what part they play in new initiatives, projects and the future success of the organisation? Is the workload manageable and appropriate for all levels of staff? Are employees drowning in too much work, or do they have capacity to take on more? Identifying whether employees are focusing in the right areas to aid the overall company goals and strategy. If not, why not? Does the company have efficient managers who delegate work and manage their team members effectively?Understanding the experience level of the managers is important. Have they received any prior or ongoing management training? What are the leadership team’s challenges, if any, with each individual manager? What are the personal obstacles, if any, that each manager needs to overcome to be more effective within their management role? I can provide 1-1 coaching to help identify the gaps and then help the individual manager to be more effective in their identified area(s) of weakness. Is each department appropriately resourced and are there plans in place to scale up to meet the needs of the business if necessary? Understanding the business goals more clearly in this regard is important in establishing a scale-up plan. Do you need more staff, or are the existing employees in the wrong roles or possibly not effective? Once established and in conjunction with a succession planning/talent mapping exercise, I would assist in identifying the gaps and recruiting new staff into the organisation, but only if necessary. Is there an effective talent mapping process is in place, which identifies star ability and a programme of development to retain these individuals in the business? A simple 9 box grid tool can be used to reveal the performance, talents, and potential of employees. In addition, it offers a way to better monitor these talents and develop them further. It is a tool that can be used for team and talent development and talent spotting. Is there an effective succession plan in place which identifies the successor for each role and identifies where there are gaps in skills and experience and how to plug these gaps? Where no natural successor can be identified, is there a plan to recruit externally, if required? Working with the leadership team to identify the successor for each role. Plans should be kept up to date to be effective and beneficial to resource planning. Vision and Goals If the vision and goals are clearly identified, you are much more likely to achieve them. With clarity and dedication, the new structure will be up and running more quickly, saving costs, improving efficiency, and delivering better service. The organisation will have retained the right people for the future. Shape the future culture The culture of an organisation is shaped by the behaviours that are tolerated, celebrated and rewarded. The performance management system, competencies, career progression and reward strategy should all be working effectively for the organisation. Tackle the difficult decisions There will be obstacles to success, there always is. These may include politics around senior employees, and possibly expensive compensation precedents which were put in to place during initial company set-up. These obstacles need to be tackled courageously from the outset. Celebrate success when it happens If business transformation goes on over a prolonged period, it is important to acknowledge milestones and celebrate success along the way, which will raise the level of employee engagement. Please see the link below to my Business Support Package. With the news of a second lockdown announced on Saturday, these are the key things we know so far:
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