Running a growing business is exciting, but it comes with new challenges, especially if you don’t have an HR team. Learning a few basic HR tips can help you handle these challenges. Here are key HR lessons that we think every small business owner should know to manage their team, keep their business compliant, and create a positive workplace.
1. Make Your Recruiting Process Simple
Without an HR team, you need to be smart and efficient when recruiting team and with the potential new laws on unfair dismissal this October making it even tougher to exit people from your business when you have made the wrong decision, it is even more important to spend time on getting your recruitment right. Here’s how:
- Write Clear and honest Job Descriptions: Clearly explain the skills and qualities you’re looking for. This will help attract the best candidates right from the start
- Keep Interviews Focused: Focus on understanding whether the candidate has the most important skills required for the job and how well someone fits into your company – do their values match your Company values? Use a set structure for interviews using behavioural based interviews to keep things fair and avoid any discrimination claims.
A simple, clear hiring process helps you find the right people who can help your business grow.
2. Build a Positive Company Culture
A strong company culture keeps employees happy and loyal. Even without an HR team, you can:
- Lead by Example: Show the values and behavior you want your team to follow. Remember, your actions set the tone for everyone.
- Encourage open communication: Create an environment where your employees feel comfortable sharing ideas, concerns and feedback. You can do this through regular check-in meetings on a one-to-one basis with each team member making sure that everyone feels valued.
- Celebrate Wins: Don’t forget to recognise and celebrate both big and small successes, something that is easy to do when you are knee deep in the challenges that come with running a small business. Regular praise boosts motivation and morale within your team.
- Promote work-life balance: We think that it goes without saying that a healthy work-life balance is essential for creating a positive company culture. Wherever you can offer flexibility, set reasonable expectations and encourage time off when needed. This goes a long way to showing your team you care about your team's personal lives as much as their professional performance.
Creating and maintaining a positive culture helps you keep great employees, drives better performance and makes the workplace more enjoyable for everyone.
3. Manage Employee Performance
Good performance management not only keeps your team productive and helps you deliver your business goals, it also helps to keep employees motivated and more committed to delivering great work. Make sure that you are:
- Setting Clear Goals: Every employee and member of your team should know what’s expected of them right from the start. Without clear goals, people may be delivering great work, but it may not be supporting your business goals. Review the goals regularly to keep everyone on the same page.
- Give Regular Feedback: Offer helpful feedback and support. Regular performance reviews help employees improve and stay on track. The most important point to remember is not to shy away from having that difficult conversation when things are not going so well otherwise this can lead to more difficult and longer-term problems that you need to deal with, potentially costing your business more money.
Managing performance is essential to keeping your team motivated and focused on reaching your business goals.
4. Follow Employment Laws
Even without an HR team, it’s important to follow employment laws to ensure your business stays compliant. Not understanding your basic obligations can result in lots of wasted time and expense in your business. Set some time aside to:
Remember, spending time working “on” your business, planning for growth helps you manage your team more effectively as your business grows.
So, there you have it, our key tips on what to think about if you do not have an HR team when it comes to people management. And of course, if you need some help in understanding what you need to do, or putting some of the above activities in place, we are always here to help.You can reach us on +44 (0)1233 627 275 or email us at hello@dakotablueconsulting.com.
If you not quite ready for fully outsourced HR support, you can always check out our new membership platform that is packed full of great tools, guides and templates that will help you to quickly get up to speed on everything you need to know about effectively managing your team.
If you need someone to help you with your HR needs, we’re here to help. Call us at
+44 (0)1233 627 275 or email us at hello@dakotablueconsulting.com.