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Transcript to video

Do I need HR in my business?

Do you employ people? If so, the answer is yes

People are your biggest asset but also your biggest risk.

HR policies and procedures help to manage the risk.

They provide structure, direction and consistency.  Once you have the policies and procedures in place you need to manage, interpret and adhere to them, this can be the tricky part unless you have expert advice and council from an HR professional.

Fairness and consistency is essential to managing a motivated workforce.  Why is this important?

The key to business performance is having an aligned, effective and engaged team all working towards a common goal.

It is crucial to Resolve employee issues before they escalate. Avoiding any unnecessary litigation and generating an open culture where employees feel that they can discuss issues before they turn into bigger problems.

Whether its employee number 1 or 100 you need to think about HR in your business.

We can help you to grow your business through your people.

Give us a call to receive your free consultation.

 

 

Transcript to video

This is one of the biggest issues that we have to resolve for our clients!  Recent stats suggest that sickness absence costs UK businesses on average 5.6 days per year per employee.

Many Small medium size businesses have a real struggle when one of their team is continually off work sick and this can cause significant problems for your business.

Business owners often believe that it is impossible to do anything and that the law is on the employees’ side, leaving them with the problem being ignored and putting them off recruiting staff to expand their business.

The belief that you can’t manage sickness absence is simply not true.  Although it isn’t that straight forward and good HR advice is critical to manage it effectively.

Prevention is the most important 1^st step to removing this issue.  A safe working environment, a positive, open and supportive culture and effective communication are all methods to help you do this.  In addition, clear sickness absence policies and procedures consistently followed by the company helps to manage expectation and reduce overall absence.

Unfortunately, people do genuinely get sick! And we need to accept that as an employer this will happen from time to time and it is your duty to support the individual to the best of your ability in order to facilitate a return to work as soon as it is practical.

You do however have people that will take advantage.  For that reason it is important to be clear on what your approach to managing absence is.  Managed through effectively you can reduce the level of sickness absence and fairly terminate the employment of those individuals who regularly take advantage whilst supporting those individuals that genuinely need it.

It is not impossible; you just need help to manage the issue.  If you want our help please give us a call  for your free consultation.

 

 

With World Mental Health Day on Thursday, there is a celebrated focus of attention on recognising and supporting mental health. However, I’m interested in the less-acknowledged impact of ‘difficult’ employees on their colleagues’ mental health.

Recently I had an interesting conversation with a lawyer. She was understandably complaining about a colleague who was making her life hard. She described behaviours that the colleague presented at work and it occured to me that these aren’t unique:

• Talking badly about other people in the company
• Refusing to take responsibility for their actions
• Failing to complete their work
• Claiming their style of working wasn’t compatible with others’
• An unwillingness to cooperate with expectations/ requests
• Being unable to hear others’ viewpoints, to empathise and to compromise

Sound familiar?

What’s getting in the way?

Concerns about doing or saying the wrong thing to people stops many managers from tackling problems. I’ve spoken to a number of HR professionals who agree that managers often defer to them rather than have any sort of conversation with employees they have concerns about. The idea that things could get worse, that employees could ‘play the mental health card’ or, as a last resort, the time and effort to follow performance procedures, puts managers off. I’ve heard senior staff claim that it is simpler to ‘let it go’ and hope that things will change.

The Impact

But, hoping for change can be wishful thinking and in the meantime, the bad egg impacts on the rest of the team. We need to consider the wellbeing of colleagues experiencing negativity and disengagement. I listened to the lawyer talked about the workplace with a sense of heaviness and despair. She was stressed, overworked and felt frustrated at being powerless to change the team dynamic. The behaviour of the individual meant the lawyer was carrying her colleague’s workload to avoid the team appearing incompetent to clients.

Taking Action: Employees

My advice to the lawyer was to address the issues in two ways. Firstly, she needs to have the confidence to speak up to her colleague when she is experiencing behaviours that are unacceptable. For example, telling the individual that she does not feel it is appropriate to be bad-mouthing other members of the team. Using “I” statements shows ownership of feelings that can’t be disputed, rather than “you” comments that sound critical. For example,

“I feel uncomfortable when you talk about X like that as I don’t share your views. I’d appreciate it if you wouldn’t talk that way in front of me.”

The lawyer also needs to be clear about her work boundaries and focusing on her own workload, no longer taking on work from her colleague. She needs to communicate her own achievements and what there is that remains outstanding, that is the responsibility of others, with the manager, colleagues and where appropriate, clients.

Secondly, the lawyer needs to be clear with her manager about the impact this individual is having on her and the wider team.

Taking Action: The Manager

The manager has a responsibility to take issues around mental health and performance seriously. And if they don’t, it is worth having a conversation with HR. The manager should explore what is driving the employee’s unhelpful behaviour (for example, insecurity) and consider what support might be helpful. Looking at aspects of the role the individual is finding challenging and skills that might be underdeveloped, such as emotional intelligence, is essential.

As well as being supportive, the manager has the right and the responsibility to set clear expectations about performance, for the whole team’s sake. The manger themselves may benefit from training and support, such as how to have ‘tricky’ conversations. We know that people who trust their team leader are twelve times more likely to be engaged at work. Imagine if the lawyer’s manager had that trust by helping everyone understand what’s expected of them; listening to employees and understanding their concerns; encouraging employees to offers ideas and suggestions; and following through on commitments. It could transform her working environment.

It is always worth identifying the ‘bad egg’ and addressing the issues. It’s not easy but it’s essential for the wellbeing, engagement and performance of your whole team.

If you would like more information, please get in touch.

Written by Lisa Lloyd

“We are the HR solution, for visionary business leaders, who understand the invaluable power of their workforce to create success”.

The real secret to success is actually no secret.  It’s been well documented for over 100 years and captured in some of the most influential books, such as “Think and Grow Rich” by Napoleon Hill (if you haven’t read this book then buy it and read it now!).

The recipe for real success is tangible, can be easily understood and without exception can be directly correlated to the actions and behavioural traits of the large majority of successful business leaders.  So, if it’s so simple and there is a proven recipe, then why doesn’t everybody follow it and be successful?  Well that’s simple also, like with all things in the world, it’s one thing understanding something and deciding to do something and it’s an entirely different challenge actually following through on your desires and doing it! (a bit like a diet!).

It’s the “just do it” attitude and commitment to delivery, that separates the really successful people from the nearly successful.  It’s the relentless drive and effort to turn visions and dreams into reality that makes it all happen.

So, imagine the following; you as a business owner, or leader, have a clear vision and set of goals for what you have decided you want your life to look like in 5 -10 years.    You also have a business plan that clearly lays out the key activities and financial targets that you need to hit to deliver that life for you and your family.  The only barriers to your future success are your own making through fear, however, you now have no fear as everything in life is possible.

Then add to this, a team of people who work for you and have also been helped to clarify their personal life goals and have (maybe with help from you) identified their personal plan on how to achieve their goals.  As their employer you understand this and have fully embraced their plan by understanding their motivators and drivers and fully transferring that commitment and energy into your business.

This combined energy is a recipe for guaranteed success!  Don’t forget, it is not easy; if it was everybody would be doing it.  In fact, only around 1% of business leaders actually understand the recipe for success themselves and only a small % of them actually do it!

It is the lack of belief and energy to follow up, that the average human being has, that is the foundation of the mass diet industry business plan!

If you want to understand more about how you become successful then just let us know!  We can’t wait to unlock your potential.

 

 

The Law of Attraction

Whilst to many, the law of attraction is seen as fluffy nonsense, to me it makes perfect sense and understanding it and adapting your approach to improve your levels of attraction will transform your life and business.

Now let’s be clear, this isn’t about getting ready for the next series of Love Island (for me that ship sailed 20 plus years ago! although the principles of the law of attraction can provide you with more success on finding your ideal partner), this is about creating a positive energy around yourself and your business that attracts people, potential customers and like-minded people to it.

Individuals who project this positive energy can be mislabelled “lucky”, whilst those who project a negative energy can be classed as “unlucky”. Whether you are a believer in luck or not, sometimes things happen that are sadly out of our control. 99% of your life is, however, controlled and dictated by you, and the number of positive things that happen to you can be heavily influenced by the law of attraction.

We all know those colleagues or friends that always have a bad news story! Nothing ever seems to go smoothly for them. They could win the lottery and would moan that if they won it the week after it would have been £10m and not £1m. They go on holiday and it rained for 3 days solid; rather than had 10 days of glorious weather and 3 days of refreshing rain. Their lawnmower, toaster and car break down in the same week and this is due to their bad luck rather than them all being ready for change. Now also consider their work and personal life. Have they also been unlucky in work? Never getting that big promotion? Always the one to be selected for redundancy? Never got the break they feel they deserved? Now look at their relationships. Have they been in and out of relationships? Never finding their true love?

To summarise, these individuals are either not aware of, or are not embracing the law of attraction!

What about that individual that seems to have all the luck? They’ve had a great career and always seemed to land that great job never having to interview for it. They started their own business and it just seems to have taken off! They have a buzz about them, an aura and people take notice when they walk into a room. They seem to have all the luck! You never hear about their bad luck or failures. Life seems like a breeze for them and they are fully embracing it. Don’t even get me started on their lifestyle! All over Instagram with their huge house, great cars, nice watches and fab holidays! Their relationship and family look perfect!

This individual, whether consciously or unconsciously has embraced and practices the law of attraction!

So, do you see these people in the same room together? If you do, it won’t be for long as they will wind each other up! For the negative nelly their positive colleague will only make them feel inadequate and even more unlucky! For the positive individual they will find negative nelly a drain and difficult to be around, as they feel they have to adjust their positivity down to form some sort of connection.

Ultimately these individuals stop mixing and instead they mix with like minded people. People are like magnets. Our energies are attracted to similar energies. Have you ever heard the saying, “if you want to be a millionaire then start hanging around with millionaires”?

In summary, if you’re a negative nelly and you want to effect a positive change in your life then there’s no better start than to familiarise yourself with the Law of Attraction. Whilst there are lots of books on this subject my personal favourite (due to ease and speed of read) is Law of Attraction by Michael J. Losier. (ISBN 978-0-446-40618-5).

You do of course have to add in a personal desire to change and the effort and hard work to deliver on whatever plans you have created, but without understanding this it is 100x harder!

With, 1 in 6 people experiencing a common mental health problem (such as anxiety and depression) in any given week, it is important that we take steps to understand issues surrounding mental health.

Harwood are delighted to be working with Lisa Lloyd from It’s Time for Change to ensure that our clients get expert help, advice and training on dealing with mental health, employee wellbeing and much more.

Lisa is a qualified chartered psychologist and psychotherapist. Her business ‘It’s Time for Change’ enables people to thrive and increase their capability by focusing onresilience, emotional intelligence and wellbeing. Lisa works with individuals, groups and organisations within the public sector and the corporate world; to develop knowledge, skills and processes to help people achieve their full potential by being emotionally and socially smart.

Using a combination of psychological, therapeutic and coaching tools, Lisa’s approach is underpinned by the premise that putting good emotional health and skills first improves outcomes at all levels. Lisa helps to enable organisations to work in an emotionally intelligent way that promotes a positive sense of team, culture, purpose and wellbeing; alongside being confident to support colleagues experiencing mental health problems. Her holistic, collaborative approach is based on establishing strong relationships and understanding the needs of those that she is working with in order to develop appropriate support.  Lisa offers a diverse range of support including psychotherapy, group work, training, consultancy and project development with adults and children. Lisa was awarded Psychologist of the Year, Oxfordshire by GHP Healthcare and Pharmaceutical Awards in 2018 and had her business journey featured by OxLEP, ‘Building a Business from a Part-Time Start-Up to Winning Awards’.

If you would like to know more, please contact us.

26.2 miles completed and over £3,000 raised – I could not be happier. I finished in 4:26. Not too shabby for a first attempt.

The London Marathon was certainly a challenge, but I loved every minute. The crowd were exceptional and kept me going throughout – what a wonderful experience.

A massive thank you to everyone who supported me with training and fundraising; we have raised a fantastic sum for a deserving charity.

It’s true what they say…. If you want something enough and are prepared to put the effort in, you WILL succeed!

So, I have just had a PT session and they made me run around the block, during rush hour, in front of many, many, maannnyyyy people whilst I had a heavy sandbag on my back. When I say run, I mean “run” and when I say “run”, I mean barely drag myself up and down the road trying not to fall over my own feet. This was then followed by rowing, burpees, push-ups and many other torture techniques.

However, it’s all in the name of fitness and when someone is encouraging me to better myself and meet my goals, I find that I am able to find that little bit extra oomph, I push myself harder to make them and myself proud (even if it means sweating pools onto the gym floor and nearly throwing up…). I always feel better after the PT session is finished and I’m happy I managed to make it to the end, having made one more step (or stumble) towards my goals.

If you’re managing someone, make sure you are on their journey with them, they will almost always give you better results when you’re as invested in them as you are in the results you want!

(P.S. Written by Yasmin Kelley)
(P.P.S. Well done on running the London Marathon on Sunday, Zoe!)

There has been a lot of new legislation this month so here’s a recap in case you have missed anything.

1st April:	National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage Increase See our blog for more details: https://harwoodhrsolutions.co.uk/blog/national-living-wage-april-2019
	Government Equalities office move The government equalities office made the move to the Cabinet Office. This move is to give the office “more influence and leverage within government, working with the Race Disparity Unit, and the Office of Disability Issues, to drive meaningful progress on equalities,” Minister for Women, Penny Mordaunt said in a ministerial statement. The gender equality strategy will change focus away from women on director boards to lower paid and part time women in smaller businesses – hurrah!
4th April:	Gender Pay Gap report deadline. Check out our blog for more details: https://harwoodhrsolutions.co.uk/blog/gender-pay-gap-report-deadline
5th April:	Pregnancy protection consultation closes
6th April:	Employer penalties in force for breach of the ‘Good Work Plan’ Pay slip changes come into force Tribunal compensation limit is increased for unfair dismissal Statutory sick pay and lower earnings limit increase
7th April:	Statutory Maternity, Paternity, Adoption, and Shared Parental Pay increase. Check out our blog for more details: https://harwoodhrsolutions.co.uk/blog/statutory-payment-increase

Gender pay gap reports for the private and voluntary sector in England, Wales, and Scotland are due today, 4^thApril 2019. Employers with at least 250 employees are now required by law to publish reports based on a ‘snapshot date’ of 5^thApril every year. This is the second year this law is in force, 2018 being the first that reports of this kind were published.

Under the Equality Act 2010 (Gender Pay Gap Information) Regulations 2017, employers must report on the difference in pay and bonuses between men and women in their workforce.  While the Northern Irish Employment Act 2016 reflect that of the Equality Act 2010, they also impose fines of up to £5000 for employers that do not comply.

For more information on the gender pay gap reporting for businesses, please visit the gov.uk on: https://gender-pay-gap.service.gov.uk

If you or your business would like any information on how the gender pay gap reporting will affect you, please get in touch with us.