Three ways to rocket your team’s performance in the year ahead

So when you take a look back at how your business performed last year, are you satisfied with what was achieved? A little reflection is always useful, but now’s the time to start thinking about the future. No doubt you have big plans for the next 12 months - targets to meet and goals to smash?  And if you want to ensure that these plans become a reality, then you’ll be only too aware how important it is to give some serious consideration to making sure you get the most out of your staff.

Sometimes though, this can be much easier said than done. Every business owner knows that improving performance could be key to overall growth, but you’ll need some solid strategies to make this happen.

You’ll be pleased to hear then that we can help at The Human Resource. Let’s take a look at three ways to rocket your team’s performance for the year ahead:

1       Provide challenges that are stretching but achievable

No one ever achieved great things by just coasting along without a challenge. Your staff should be stretched, but there’s a fine balance to strike. Give them too much to handle, and you’re not going to get the desired outcome. It might be time to assess your staff’s performance objectives, and consider whether they’re really fit for purpose.

Your line managers will play a big part in making this a success. They’ll know their team members best, and so you need to make sure they’re capable of helping their people to set goals, and just as importantly, ensuring they believe that they can achieve them.

2       Outline the value of the work outside the context of the business

If you’ve done any reading or research into best practice when it comes to managing a team, then you’ll know that it makes sense to encourage everyone to realise how their work helps the business to grow and meet its objectives. In other words, your staff should understand how what they’re doing fits into the bigger picture.

You can take things a step further than this though. Are your people aware of ways their work makes a worthwhile contribution, profits and growth aside? Most businesses have some kind of social impact, and this can often be a great motivator for staff. Does your organisation make a positive contribution to the community? Are you changing the lives of your customers and clients?

3       Recognise achievements as part of day-to-day business

Most of us can take huge amounts of personal satisfaction away from simply knowing that we’ve done a good job. Often, this alone can encourage us to strive to be even better. But let’s be completely honest here. Most of us also enjoy being suitably rewarded for our efforts.

This isn’t necessarily about financial incentives, it’s about rewards that are proportionate to the achievement. It’s about applying the same principles across the board. It’s about considering your reward and recognition processes as a whole, rather than just worrying about budget restraints. And ultimately, it’s about getting to the stage where ‘the annual performance review’ isn’t a one-off activity, but part of an ongoing dialogue.

Team performance is important, and this is your chance to make sure that you’ve laid the right foundations for the year ahead. Are you ready, or are you lagging behind?

If you’re keen to rocket your team's performance this year by providing stretching challenges for your people, communicating the value of the work you do and recognising achievement,  or if you're concerned that employee motivation could be damaging your business, then we can help at The Human Resource. Get in touch today by phone on 07884 475303 or email enquiries@thehr.co.uk.  

Three Difficult Questions You Need To Ask Yourself Before 2016

By now, it’s highly likely that you’ll have asked yourself the big, important, and very obvious questions about how your business measured up during the past year. You’ll know how much you increased your turnover and profits, and how far you met the goals you set for the business at the start of the year.

Planning and reflection sessions can be hugely useful, but sometimes, it's easy to miss the less obvious measures of what you are and aren’t achieving. If you’re serious about making 2016 a success, you need to delve a little deeper and consider the questions that probably haven’t even crossed your mind.

Your planning for 2016 isn't complete until you've asked yourself these three 

important (yet difficult) questions: 

Are your line managers really capable?

It’s safe to say that your line managers are, in so many respects, the backbone of your business. They deal with day-to-day issues, they handle unexpected events, they make sure your policies are implemented and adhered to, and they keep things ticking over when you can’t be there. So it’s crucially important that they can perform to the absolute best of their ability.

Carefully consider where there’s room for improvement, then create a plan that will help you to get to where you want to be. This might involve training, coaching, or something completely different like re-allocating responsibilities. It’s important to note here that identifying problems when it comes to capability isn’t about pointing the finger. You need to avoid knee-jerk reactions. 

What mistakes with employees have you made in the past twelve months?

No one is perfect. Running a business is a steep learning curve, whether you’re completely new to entrepreneurship, or you’ve been in the game for decades. The world is constantly changing and adapting, and you need to make sure that you’re keeping up. What worked just a few years ago won’t necessarily bring about desirable results right now.

So what mistakes did you make when it comes to the people in your business 

during 2015? Think about operational issues, as well as the bigger strategic picture. Did you make any recruitment or promotion mistakes? Are your employees on board with organisational goals? Does everyone understand and embrace their role in achieving growth?  Only when you get really honest with yourself, can you start to work out how you won’t fall into the same trap twice.

What do you need to do to grow as a leader?

It’s easy to overlook your own personal development when you’re trying to grow a team. It’s crucially important though. How can you be expected to get the most out of everyone else, if you aren’t constantly improving and growing yourself? This should be a consideration throughout the year, but it’s easy to drop the ball, and now’s a good time to reflect.

Of course, there isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution here. You can’t just book yourself on a training course and assume you’ve ticked the box, or download a generic management book and promise yourself that you’ll get stuck into it. Your approach needs to be tailored to your needs, and it must be an ongoing process rather than a one-off task.

Asking the right questions can be a huge source of growth in your business. Obviously though, you need to get really honest with yourself when it comes to working out the answers. Jot down your initial thoughts. Then scrap them and work on being really truthful. It’s not necessarily easy, but the powerful tactics rarely are.

Top 6 Ways to be a great employer

When you hear that XYZ Company is known as a great place to work, you know they’re doing something right  - but what?  Find out here. 

It will only happen with a lot of leadership focus and time, but it’s well worth it.

If you get things right, over time your reputation for being a great employer will get out there and the pay-off is huge. Top quality people will beat a path to your door and fewer people will leave.  People will do their best in their job. You won’t have to pay a premium in salaries and bonuses because people know that time spent with your company will be enjoyable and rewarding in other ways. With the growing levels of commitment and enthusiasm in a great employer culture, you can expect to notice improvements in absenteeism, service levels and productivity, making a real difference to your bottom line.

So what characterises a great place to work? It varies hugely but generally it’s a bit more than a tablefootball and free fruit on Fridays, although they may be a small part of it.   For example, employees in the top 10 companies in Glassdoor’s Best Places to Work 2016 say:

·         Strong, friendly work culture - Work life balance is seen as very important by all - Very supportive management team - So many perks! Free breakfast once a month, travel, health etc.

·         I find the most important aspects of most jobs are (a) whom I work with, (b) what I work on, and (c) whom I work for—in that order. At Expedia, I've been happy with all three. My co-workers are fun, competent, and have a decent work ethic. The projects are technically challenging and relevant to the company. And the engineering department I work in is well-run, fast-moving, and the values are all in the right place.

·         Ethical and socially engaged. Good work/life balance. Technically challenging and fascinating work. innovation and proactivity recognised and rewarded. Very friendly.

In a nutshell it’s doing what you say you’re going to do, having a consistent set of behaviours that people sign up to.  If you want all the business benefits of being known as a place where people want to work, this is what you need to get right as employer:

· Treating people with respect. Not a soft option as that includes being open and honest and that can be tough, but most people can cope with proper feedback delivered well.

· Recognition. Everyone appreciates recognition for a job well done provided it’s warranted. Simply telling everyone they are “Great” is vacuous, doesn’t fool anyone and quickly becomes a joke.

· Trust. Most people want to do a good honest job. Yes you need to take sensible precautions against the one in a hundred who doesn’t, but don’t punish everyone in advance for the possible shortfalls of the few.  Deal quickly with anyone who doesn’t meet your standards.

· Work. The quality of work is critical. Give people good quality work that is right for them and they will generally flourish. Push people to their realistic limits and watch them grow. Most will surprise and delight, some will struggle and you recalibrate what they can do, but most people want to be challenged.

· Career growth. This can be tough in flat organisations but you can find ways of giving people scope for growth, for instance by representing the organisation externally or putting them on projects that build skills. Career growth doesn’t have to be hierarchical.

· Fairness. Not to be confused with equality; but treating all people by the same standards. There is no room for favourites or special privileges as that quickly leads to cliques forming and groups being set against each other.

If you get these right, over time your reputation for being a great employer will get out there.  Being known as a good employer isn’t some woolly nice to have.  It sets you apart in a crowded market and delivers tangible business results. It also makes life a lot more pleasant. What’s not to like?

For help with getting all these principles firmly established in your workplace in 2016, contact The Human Resource on 07884 475303 or info@thehr.co.uk

Weathering the winter storms

We’re having more extreme weather more often, from severe flooding, as in Cumbria and Lancashire this week, to violent winds, to deep snow.  These are dramatic times when public transport is cancelled or heavily delayed, the road system comes to a grinding halt and schools close.  The only people able to get into work might be those walking from their home round the corner.  

In the same way that we expect local authorities to have grit and spreading trucks ready before the roads are frosty, so making your contingency plans as an employer will head off future problems. 

Create a policy and communicate it clearly

If it’s difficult or impossible for your people to travel to work because of the weather, most problems are avoidable if you make sure they know what the arrangements will be in advance.

Now is the time to decide on your bad weather policy if you haven't done already. Then: make sure everyone knows about it, and implement it fairly and equally across all areas of the business.   An employee handbook written by The Human Resource will include your bad weather policy and will be useful to refer people to at such times.

Your managers will need to be clear about their responsibilities, and equipped to deal with questions and decisions consistently.  You could discuss the policy and its implications with your managers at your next direct reports meeting.

Review your working from home arrangements

Allowing people to work from home can be a great solution to disruptive problems like bad weather, especially for key people.  It can keep things going so that your business is able to keep up-to-date with essential work and meet minimum service level agreements.  

Whether this is realistic will depend on your operational requirements, employees’ job responsibilities and home set-up.  Many jobs adapt well to being e-enabled remotely, but for others it’s not practical.  We recommend that you delegate responsibility for agreeing who can and can't work from home in an emergency to your line managers, working within a pre-agreed policy. 

For people working from home in an emergency, organize beforehand:

•  How they will communicate with their managers and team
• How they will access their work email from their home PC
• Access to work databases, intranet etc
• How to divert office phones to the home or mobile number of people working at home
• Security measures for handling sensitive or confidential information outside the usual work setting
• How managers will ensure that standards are maintained

Decide whether to pay staff if they can’t get into work

The majority of your staff will do everything within their power to get into work despite extremes of weather.  But if travel disruption means that it will take someone over four hours, they’re very unlikely to be motivated and productive after travelling for so long in difficult conditions.  You may also have employees who could walk into work in about 15 minutes but who choose not to when they see a heavy blanket of snow. 

People working from home should be paid as usual.  But if working from home isn't practical, you could allow people to take the time from their holiday entitlement, or to make up the time later.  

In the last resort, if people can’t get to their usual place of work, the employer isn’t legally required to pay them.  When the only option left is to deduct pay, make sure you apply the same policy consistently throughout the company.  Consider business needs, but make sure that you’re also being fair and equal-handed.

Set up an emergency process to let people know if the workplace can’t open

Very occasionally the weather may be so extreme that it looks unlikely anyone will be able to travel into the office at all. 

Perhaps one of your employees lives round the corner from work and can act as key holder and open up the workplace, if you make arrangements beforehand?

If not, as the business owner you’ll need to decide early in the day whether or not to open the workplace, so that there’s plenty of time to contact people before they set off.  Cascade your decision down to your managers, and give them responsibility for contacting their team at home.  This means that your managers will need to ensure they have numbers for their people so they can phone them in emergencies like this.

I know of a determined employee who set off early for work one morning after a blizzard to walk to her office five miles away.  She battled her way along deserted snowbound roads, even the gritting lorries couldn't get through.  Eventually four hours later she arrived at the office.... to find it closed. No one had let her know the office wasn’t opening. She had to turn round and walk back....

Many potential issues can arise for businesses just because it's winter, and you can minimize their impact by taking time to anticipate what you might have to deal with and ensure you’ve done all you can.

If you'd like help with any employment policy issues like this one, give us a call at The Human Resource for a no-obligation chat on 07884 475303.

Tactics for a happy office Christmas party

Now it's December, plans for the work Christmas party are well underway by now.  Maybe the business is doing so well that it's an extravagant themed event at a top venue.  Or a bit more modest, inside the average company spend of just over £100 per person?  Or on a budget, where the party venue is a very large meeting room, everyone brings some food to share, the more senior staff chip in to buy the alcohol, there’s a quiz and some head-to-head physical games  - like races on swivel chairs or ‘eat the most jelly babies in a minute’.

As the business owner, your intention here might be to give people the chance to enjoy themselves and feel a sense of greater belonging to the company.  You might see it as a social gathering for people to let their hair down and get to know their colleagues a bit better.  Or even to celebrate that your company has managed to navigate its way through the choppy waters of your industry this year to remain in business.

What you don’t want to do is to lay on an occasion that creates toe-curling, career damaging embarrassment for anyone, where productivity is damaged by people taking sick leave the next day, or worst of all, where you have to dismiss someone. 

So here are some simple tips you can put in place to keep it a happy Christmas party:

Work with the party’s organizer – the brave individual who has researched, booked and fine-tuned your Christmas party, with tricks up their sleeve such as:

• timing the event so that the following day is a non-working day
• a fun quiz between competing tables to inject a little competitive spirit, with a few curve-ball questions to ensure everyone has the chance to be involved. 
• keeping the food flowing to absorb the alcohol, the stodgier the better.
• limiting the amount of alcohol the company pays for. When people need to buy their own, they’re less likely to over-do it.
• if there are feuds and factions, separating people on any seating plan.
• making sure people know in advance what the company is providing in terms of drinks, transport and accommodation.

Most important of all, give a big thank you to the organiser.

Be visible. If you’re the boss, attendance is practically mandatory. Make a point of staying as long as possible - even when the event is a bit dull. Being ‘fashionably late’ or leaving after half an hour will give people the impression that you don’t really care about the party...or them. Arrive with everybody else in the first 30 minutes and spend the first part of the evening mingling and socialising.

Spread the joy. The office party is your chance to meet people in different parts of your organisation who you might not see often. Keep moving and limit conversations to 5 minutes. When introduced to someone, like an employee you don't know, make it count. Christmas parties are a time to exude bonhomie and appreciation. 

Don’t talk shop. Avoid in-depth discussions about business and head off employees keen to talk shop by steering conversation towards parts of your personal life you’re happy to share. It might be hard to put a complete ban on office talk but remember to enjoy your Christmas party for what it is – a social gathering for your people to let their hair down and get to know their colleagues a bit better.

Keep the tone inoffensive Good-natured banter at the Christmas party, with inhibitions loosened by alcohol and laughter, can sometimes cross the line into grounds for a discrimination or harassment claim. Banter about race, sex, disability, age, sexual orientation or religious beliefs can land both the joker and the company in hot water if a colleague feels uncomfortable or intimidated - whether the colleague is the target of the joke or not. You and your senior managers will be very aware of the large financial penalties for such tribunal claims, and need to be ready to step in with a quiet word to the perp if you spot inappropriate or offensive jokes or teasing. If you turn a blind eye, you’ll be contributing to the wrongdoing. And no mistletoe.

Deal with punch-ups and threatening behaviour Every so often, rather than being the place for Christmas cheer and goodwill, fighting might break out.  Or afterwards, a complaint of sexual harassment or bullying might be raised. Readers may be surprised to hear that employees drunkenly telling their boss what they really think of them, snogging co-workers in cupboards and photocopying their bottoms have also been known to happen. Such behaviours will require investigation and if proven, disciplinary action taken. This applies whether or not the event is on your premises or at an external event.

Above all, make the most of the event. It’s a time to shine and be seen by connecting with your people, raising morale and helping to build relationships that will last... well, at least into the New Year!

We hope your Christmas party is incident-free, but if it isn’t, do contact The Human Resource for advice and practical solutions on enquiries@thehr.co.uk or 07884 475303. 

How To Reward Your Staff This Christmas On a Budget

Your staff are working hard over the festive season, but you can't afford to give out bonuses. Here are the alternatives:

Consider your total reward package 

Rewarding your staff doesn't have to be about money. Pay and financial incentives are just one facet of your employees' total reward package. There are many other tools that you can use to motivate and compensate your staff.

If you haven’t yet started to think about the bigger picture, now’s the time. Could you offer flexible working arrangements, either right now or after the busy Christmas period? Could you offer learning and development opportunities to those who are eager to progress? Have you thought about things like pensions, healthcare, and social initiatives? When you really get to grips with total reward, you’re likely to find that you’re offering plenty that you aren’t really showcasing. 

Team up with local businesses

You probably already have contacts within your local business community. You might have been introduced to other entrepreneurs at networking events, or just in the course of your day-to-day operations. Have you ever thought about teaming up with them to offer something a little out of the ordinary for your staff? 

A gym might consider offering some cut-price sessions. A gift store may offer a discount. The list of possibilities is endless. This approach could also open doors in the future when it comes to collaborative working opportunities. 

Never underestimate the power of ‘thank you’

When’s the last time that you stopped to say a genuine thank you to your staff? It might seem obvious, but when you’re busy, it can be really easy to forget to do this. Staff don’t always want something concrete that you can hand over to them. 

Many people take an immense amount of satisfaction away from simply being told that they’re doing a good job, and that their efforts are appreciated. Why not make it your mission today to ensure that you say thanks when it’s due?

Though our focus is on Christmas right now, it's important to note that regardless of the time of year, rewarding your staff for their hard work doesn't always have to be purely about financial incentives. More ideas here.

Do you need a little help when it comes to fine-tuning your reward strategy? If so, give us a call at The Human Resource on 07884 475303. We'll be happy to discuss how we might be able to work together.

All The Answers You Need To Your Christmas HR Questions

While most people begin to look forward to a little rest and recuperation over the Christmas period, it’s around about now that managers and business owners start to think about the nitty gritty, practical issues that they’ll have to contend with to keep their workforce engaged, motivated, and problem-free.

It’s likely that you’ve got some questions about how you should handle things. You’re in luck, because we’ve got the answers! Read on to get the lowdown on what you really need to know. We’ve cut away all the jargon and fluff, so you can work out the best course of action for your business.

Q. Do I have to organise a Christmas party or function for my staff?

A. Obviously, there’s no legal requirement for you to host a party for your workers. There are some wider issues to consider here though. Just because you’re not obliged to do something, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you shouldn’t. Organising a get-together could be a great way to thank everyone for their contribution.

If you’ve agreed to a Christmas party in your employment contracts though, it’s a whole different kettle of fish. As well, if you’ve offered this perk for many years, it could be argued that it’s an unwritten agreement.  

One of the key worries amongst leaders is always cost. You don’t have to splash out a fortune though. Think outside the box, work with what you have, and don’t be scared to try something a little out of the ordinary.

Q. Everyone wants to take time off. How can I manage this?

A. Getting this right all comes down to the finer details of your employment contracts. You must take the time to assess the precise terms and conditions that you’ve laid out regarding how holiday can be taken. Generally speaking, staff should know how to request time off, and how decisions will be made by the management team.

If you have certain busy periods, you may decide that you’ll only accept requests for time off between certain dates in exceptional circumstances. If you had a staff member who was getting married, for example, then you may reconsider your stance.

This issue comes down to making sure that your HR policies and procedures are fit for purpose, and very clearly communicated to your staff. If you think that you might be missing the mark here, it could be time to work us at The Human Resource - we'll be able to get you on the right track.

Q. Not all of my staff are Christian. What are the implications here?

Having a diverse workforce has a multitude of benefits. You do need to make sure though that you’re conscious of differing beliefs, and the issues that could be at play. Remember that Christmas is a national holiday within the UK, and it’s recognised among many religious groups (and the non-religious) as having a special status. If you have many employees from different religions, it may be worthwhile considering making arrangements to recognise other holidays that your staff may wish to celebrate.

This can seem like a minefield, but it’s very possible to devise an approach that will suit all needs. You may need some help though when it comes to understanding the relevance and important of various different holidays, and you could do this by consulting with your employees. Getting everyone involved in decisions that will have an impact on the workforce will ensure that they’re accepted.

Q. Should I give my staff a gift?

A. It’s the season to spread a little cheer, and you might decide to reward your staff with a gift. This could be a great idea. There are a few things to consider though to ensure that your gesture doesn’t end up backfiring on you.

First of all, make sure that everyone receives their gift. This includes anyone who may be away on maternity, paternity, or sick leave. You might decide to have the gifts delivered, if it seems appropriate.

As well, think carefully about the nature of the gift. A bottle of wine may seem like a good idea, though not so much if you have members of staff who abstain from alcohol. Use your common sense, and get a professional’s opinion if you’re struggling to find a way forward.

If you take the time to get things right, you don’t have to turn yourself into a Scrooge this Christmas with the worry of what to do for the best for your workforce.

To have an informal chat about your obligations and your opportunities, get in touch today with The Human Resource on enquiries@thehr.co.uk, 07884 475303.

Considering company pay rises for 2016?

Wages haven't been keeping up with inflation over the last 6 years. During this time many employers haven't increased salaries either because they can't afford to, or because they don't need to: wage inflation has been so low that they're still paying market rates.

But the forecast now is that pay will increase by about 3% over the next year. This is the highest increase since January 2009. Most economists expect that wages will continue rising at 3% p.a., slowly moving towards 4.5% by 2017.

Predicted movements in pay levels are only part of the story: affordability for the business is the first consideration with pay increases. The picture remains mixed depending on the fortunes of the sector: for example there are still wage freezes in parts of the manufacturing sector because of tough trading conditions, while rises of up to 7% are being agreed by construction firms.

There may also be specific market rate pressures, for example in skills shortage areas where you have to pay a premium to recruit from outside.

Average salaries shown in recruitment adverts have actually decreased over the past year. There are some indications that companies are channelling resource into salary increases for established middle managers and senior employees, incentivising them to stay rather than recruiting in from outside.

It’s so much better in terms of the psychological contract to award salary increases before and not after a valuable employee finds another job paying a lot more and hands in their notice!

An important principle with salary reviews is whether to award for merit – which will vary between your employees – or whether to give everyone the same rise. Within a budgeted 3% total paybill increase, a practical framework to differentiate could be:

• 5% for high performers and those who have taken on additional responsibility 
• 3% for the majority
• 0% for employees in their first 3 months with you, those working their notice and poor performers. You don’t have to give every individual a pay rise - and for poor performers, it can give totally the wrong message!

Protect your differentials! If you’ve had to recruit in at a higher salary than your existing people doing the same job, this is a good opportunity create pay parity.

At the lower end of the market, the increase in National Minimum Wage to £7.20 from next April will create more upward pressure on wages. Make sure there will be a clear step between people recruited on the National Minimum Wage and your experienced people who have learned the job.

Those on longer term career development programmes such as apprentices and trainee accountants need stepped increases planned in so they finish their training at the market rate salary for a fully trained person.

Mandatory Equal Pay audits for those with 250+ employees from next year are likely to extend down to smaller organisations in the medium term. Looking ahead, this would be a good time to analyse the gender pattern of pay in your business, and if there are any significant gaps, start to remedy them with this year’s pay review.

The Human Resource will be pleased to help your business with the salary review process: benchmarking salaries and advising on pay policy, equal pay audits, increase budget and the communication to your employees. 

Contact us today on 07884 475303 or enquiries@thehr.co.uk for a free informal discussion.

Motivating Your People on a Budget

Motivating staff isn't all about expensive initiatives: bonuses, salary increases, weekend conferences abroad, outdoor team building events, etc. There are plenty of other things you can introduce for little financial outlay that will motivate people too and will even be more effective in the long run:

1 Recognition

Recognition of employees' achievements and hard work is the single biggest motivator - and it's one that's available to companies of any size. Public recognition and communication of a job well done are what matters to people.

It may be something as simple as a sincere "Thank you" or "Well done" at the right time. For special efforts you might want to add a token of appreciation - such as a bottle of bubbly or a restaurant voucher.

Or take it a step further by offering high achieving employees additional responsibility or the opportunity to share their expertise with colleagues.

Ultimately, when you recognise someone for something they've done that's of value to your company, you'll make a positive difference to the way that person feels.

2 Invest in training

Investing in people is also crucial for motivating employees.

When someone comes back from a course with a new idea or new way of doing something, it injects energy as well as knowledge into the organisation. And it sends a clear message to people that you believe they're worth investing in.

It doesn't have to be expensive. For example it may be more cost effective to bring a trainer in-house for a day to train several people at once, instead of sending them on individual courses.

Or you could sponsor valued employees on college courses, relatively cheap training, to study for qualifications that support the work of your company and develop the person at the same time.

3 Improve and develop the business

Another way to motivate staff is to lead a culture of change.

Not change for change's sake: if managed effectively, change makes employees feel they are part of an organisation that is developing and improving, and where life will be different for them in a year's time. It keeps them looking forward to the future and mentally engaged with the company they work for.

4 Involve people

Sit down regularly with your people and ask for their ideas about how processes can be improved. Involving staff in this way makes them feel valued and appreciated, and that they have an active stake in the way things will be in the future.

The Human Resource will be pleased to advise on ideas for motivating within your work environment, along with other ways of making the very most of the people you employ.

Contact us on 07884 475303, enquiries@thehr.co.uk.

Top tips for encouraging your line managers to improve performance

Under your leadership, your line managers play a vital role in creating a productive and high performing company culture.  

Here, we share our five top tips for encouraging them to take an active role in improving performance - and to help your company to thrive.

1    Continually improve processes 

A recent study has shown that inefficient processes are the biggest contributor to dwindling levels of business performance.  And no matter how well work is being carried out, it can always be improved.

Encourage a mindset among your line managers to continually review processes and identify where tasks can be done more effectively, where costs and time can be shaved, whether customers can be handled better, where quality can be improved, where bureaucracy can be eliminated.

2   Emphasise follow up and progress chasing 

To make sure day-to-day work is carried out to the standards you set, be clear with your managers that you expect them to monitor their team's workflow, to have effective follow up processes in place and to progress chase.

They need to spot the highlights so they can thank the right people.  And if things go wrong, they need to carry out a post-mortem to make sure it doesn't happen again!  Be very clear about the level of their responsibility and authority to sort things out.

3   Communicate expectations clearly

In a recent study, over a quarter of staff say that confusion at work - unclear goals and expectations - repeatedly mean they waste time and miss targets at work.    

This doesn't happen in a productive, high performing business.  

Give your line managers the clarity they need about the company's goals and expectations to communicate them to their teams at every opportunity.  When people can understand what's expected of them in their day-to-day tasks, and why, they're much more likely to be motivated and perform to a high standard.

4   Encourage your managers to develop their people

If your employees aren’t being given the opportunity to work at their best and to develop their potential, they’re likely to switch off or start looking elsewhere.  Either way, your business will waste valuable energy that could be used to drive up a high performing culture.

Instead, encourage your managers to develop their people by providing opportunities to learn, coaching to pass on skills and knowledge, and planning experience in more challenging work when their people are ready for it.

5   Tackle issues with individual performance 

To create a high performing culture, your line managers need to be having regular quality conversations with everyone in the team about their individual performance and addressing areas of concern.

If line management capability is something that you want to improve, we can help. We believe that successful businesses are created when leadership teams are given the tools they need to excel.

For an initial discussion about how we could bring our practical approach to your business, give us a call on 07884 475303 today. 

It’s Time To Rethink The Annual Appraisal

Does your business run annual appraisals?  

If not, you might be feeling a bit guilty about it – after all, it’s a long-held wisdom that this is the best practice way to manage....

But things are changing, starting with the larger companies. 

Professional services giant Accenture announced recently that it’s scrapping annual appraisals, joining the likes of Microsoft, Apple, Gap and Expedia. Start-ups such as Google, Facebook and Netflix have bypassed them entirely.

Why?  The mood within many larger companies is that too often the annual appraisal had deteriorated into a ritualised, bureaucratic process, a distraction from the regular feedback conversations that managers should be having with their people.  It was hard to justify whether the time and effort involved really did improve performance management. All in all, the annual appraisal has been seen as just one of a number of processes encumbering organisations, without adding enough value.

Appraisals aren’t all bad. In a recent PwC survey, two-thirds of employees said they helped them understand how their performance shaped up and 48 per cent said they enabled them to think about their wider career. Where appraisals focus on coaching and not judging, people found them a useful way of knowing where they stand and letting them know periodically whether they’re on track.

Of course, those companies ditching annual appraisals aren’t abandoning performance management. Instead they intend to concentrate on developing practices that create a continuous feedback culture, with regular catch-ups concentrating on development.  By pointing out problems as they arise, employees have the opportunity to change their behaviour in a way that makes an immediate difference.  And because it happens in the here-and-now, continuous feedback is more likely to be honest and fair.

If you're a smaller company, what should you do?

Keep your eye on the bigger picture: in the context of your particular business, where do you need to be developing people and where would improving individual performance make the biggest difference? And how: what's the best fit in terms of practices and processes? 

Start with broad principles that are sensitive to your people.  If you want your staff to achieve great things, you’ll have to ensure that you’re giving them the right kind of support.   So, what will enable them to do the best job that they can and give them the opportunity to develop?  

Do your managers have the skills and encouragement for regular connection, engagement and feedback conversations with their people?

Are you able to have deeper periodic discussions with your managers about their development and growth opportunities? – so that they’re supported in sharpening their skills and progressing with you.

Is yours a company where people can have honest conversations and feel comfortable speaking their minds? Or do your managers think their job is telling people what to do?

"The future has to be a lot less about control, and a lot more about enablement." -Peter Cheese, Chief Executive, CIPD

It may be time to update your approach, and consider how you can make performance management really work in your business.  Need a little help with getting off to a great start? Get in touch. Email enquiries@thehr.co.uk, tel 07884 475303.

We’d be happy to support you in improving performance within your organization – and we’re experts on creating traditional appraisal schemes tailored to your business!

Keeping your people with you as the business grows

Once your business starts to evolve and grow, you’ll need to adapt your successful early approach.  As it transitions from a small, informal start up, what has worked to date will no longer be really effective for the business’s long term performance. 

So far, the company will have rested on your personality, your vision and values to guide where it’s going.  But as it becomes larger you won’t see people in person every day any more. Keeping that personal connection alive becomes difficult and you’ll need look to other people in the organisation to carry that mantle.  That's when the role of line managers becomes especially important.  

How do you maintain people’s connection and engagement with the original founding vision and values of the organisation?

How do your managers engage, inspire, motivate people in the same way that you did in the early days?

What could you put in place now to address some of those issues that are going to make your growth sustainable over time?

Looking ahead to anticipate what needs to be put in place now, how you can lead successfully through the transition, is going to make the growth more sustainable for the long term.  Here are the tips and techniques that really work:

Communicate clear goals and expectations to your employees.  Most of them want to be a part of a compelling future, to know what is most important at work and what excellence looks like.  Give everyone an understanding of the business strategy and how their jobs contribute to the big picture.

Share information and numbers.  When you keep your employees informed they tend to feel a greater sense of ownership. Let them in on what is going on within the company, keeping communication hopeful and truthful. Don’t be afraid to share bad news, instead be more strategic about how you and your managers deliver it. 

Encourage upward communication.  You and your managers can have an insight into what things are important to employees by being visible and asking people direct, using team meetings and even surveys. Be open-minded and encourage people to express their ideas and perspectives without criticism. Take every opportunity to demonstrate to staff how their feedback is being used.

Communicate important news in time.  Hearing about an important update from media, colleagues or family and friends can have a negative impact on employee morale. Ensure your people hear these messages from you and your managers as soon as possible.

Actively promote organizational effectiveness, reputation, values and ethics.  Employees want to feel good about their leaders, where they work, the products they sell and the reputation of their company. Be conscious that employees are constantly watching leadership to see how their decisions affect the strategic direction of the organization, and whether their actual behaviours are consistent with what they say publicly.

The Human Resource will be pleased to advise on techniques for continuing to engage with your employees as the business grows, internal communication and developing the skills your managers will need.

Contact us on enquiries@thehr.co.uk or 07884 475303.