21st April 2011 / Posted in: Business efficiency, Operational management, Planning and preparation, Priorities, Productivity, Staff engagement, Time management
In the days when I was young, and an employee, the prospect of 4 bank holidays in less than a fortnight was a dream. Now that I run my own business and advise others about running theirs I feel very differently. The prospect of a reduction in trading days in April and May, the distractions caused by Easter, the Royal Wedding and the recent sunshine, and staff wanting to take an extended Easter break will be bad news for many businesses.
Don’t take the defeatist approach assuming that business will be bad, but turn the situation around to limit the damage or even make it work in your favour. The most valuable commodities to your business are probably your staff and time so focus on making the most of what you do have during the next few weeks. Refocus everyone’s energies and priorities on what delivers your strategy and drives revenue into the business. It may even give you an advantage over your competitors. Finally, don’t forget to communicate these plans clearly with your staff, explaining why you are putting them in place and getting their feedback. Good two way communication and a few treats in the office will motivate your staff, keep them focused and make them feel appreciated.
'What gets measured, gets done. And what gets recognised gets done again, and even better.' Robert Crawford, Director, Institute of Customer Service
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22nd September 2010 / Posted in: Communication strategy, Human Resources, Social networking, Social networking policy, Staff engagement
The continual stream of questions and comments, from HR professionals, on LinkedIn and Twitter, expressing concern about the use of social media has prompted me to write a series of blogs, this being the first.
Amongst some HR professionals, and senior managers, there appears to be a paranoia about social media. They are concerned that staff are frittering away work time using social media, writing terrible things about the company and their colleagues, or looking for another job. Many companies block the use of Facebook and Twitter at work. However, if staff are spending work time doing personal things, such as social media, isn’t it an indication that management is failing to inspire, motivate and engage with their staff then making social media the scapegoat? If staff are disengaged then they won’t be productive and focus on the job in hand. They don’t see the point and they are likely to post negative comments on social media sites such as Facebook. Conversely staff that are engaged have mutual respect for their colleagues; they trust their colleagues; they value the organisation; they operate in line with brand values; and consequently are unlikely to bite the hand that feeds them through inappropriate or disloyal postings on social media.
Social networking isn’t likely to go away so organisations that are dynamic, and react to the changing world of communication, are more likely to get ahead of their competitors. As it’s people that make the World go round the first step to make social networking part of your communication strategy is to engage with your staff.
In the words of Dov Seidman, Founder, Chairman and CEO of LRN “Improving employee engagement does not require executives to don their motivational capes and work on improving employee engagement. Instead, the process begins with a simple question about the workforce, a query whose answer leaders should act upon: Are our employees inspired?”
The CIPD 2009 Recruitment, Retention and Turnover Survey showed that 72% of respondents said improving line manager HR skills is the most effective way of improving retention. A recent article in McKinsey Quarterly on “Retaining key employees in times of change” showed that employee retention isn’t a one off exercise – it’s continuous process. Staff engagement plays an important role in staff retention.
Remember, if it’s only your competitors, and their staff, using social media to talk about the market sector in which you operate – you are in trouble. Not only is your company invisible to your target audience, but if your staff are inspired by what they read don’t be surprised if they join the competition.
If you have concerns about staff engagement, or about guidelines for using social media, contact me, Sarah Matthews at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or on 01428 644010.
Future blogs will cover who, in the organsation, should be engaged in social networking and how you should manage social networking through policy and guidelines.
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5th July 2010 / Posted in: General, Human Resources, Management, Operational management, Planning and preparation, Policies & Procedures, Productivity, Staff engagement, Time management
For many individuals the luxury of not having to travel an hour or so to and from work each day translates into an extra hour or two at their desk at home and the ability to get through a huge workload without interruptions. But is that always the case? How do their managers and colleagues view it? How do they make home workers feel part of their team?
Allowing someone to work from home involves much more than trusting them to do as good a job at home as they do in the office. If you already have staff working from home, or you are considering it, the following tips should help home working run smoothly for both parties.
For someone to work at home effectively they probably need the following skills:
Employers have a duty of care for the health, safety and welfare of their employees when they work from home. They should: visit the home working environment to check its suitability as a work place; undertake a work station assessment for PC users; ensure the workplace is hazard-free; check the company’s insurance policies to ensure the necessary cover is in place for staff working from home; ask the employee to check and confirm that their mortgage/rental arrangement and home insurance policy do not prevent home working.
The employer should think carefully about whether any furniture, tools and/or equipment (eg a computer) are needed. . If so should they be provided by the employer or the homeworker? If they are provided by the employer then do they want to set down rules and restrictions about usage. For example, if staff aren’t allowed to use social networking sites or download material for personal use on an office computer then the same applies when that office computer is in an employee’s home. Also don’t forget to cover any computer provided by the employer under office maintenance contract.
Installing a dedicated phone line avoids conflict over bills and other members of the family wishing to use the phone.
If the employee’s job involves dealing with confidential or sensitive information, the employer should take appropriate steps: to ensure that all working arrangements are secure; any documentation to be held in the home will not be subject to breaches of confidentiality; no family member can access electronic or hard copies; and if the work involves personal information about individuals, the employee should understand and implement the requirements of the Data Protection Act 1998 relevant to data security.
Any arrangement with an employee regarding their place, hours etc of work should be in writing and signed by both parties. Employers may wish to stipulate fixed hours or core hours during which the employee must be available to answer the phone/respond to e-mails, and if they are unavailable, the process for notifying their line manager. If allowing someone to work from home is a new arrangement then agreeing a periodic review provides both parties with a mechanism to discuss whether the arrangement is working. Remember that the Working Time Regulations 1998 apply to home workers too.
The employer needs to think about how work will be delivered and collected from the employee’s home, how performance is measured and reviewed, how the line manager will manage an off site employee, whether there are security issues relating to lone working, how the home worker will integrate with other members of their team and other colleagues.
An employee working from home, either part or full time, will miss out on some or all of the camaraderie, banter and gossip which, for many staff, are an important aspect of team working. It’s more difficult to engage with staff if they work at home, especially if it’s full time. Using e-mail for the majority of communications is bad for both parties and won’t build a good, working relationship. Visual contact is better than phone contact and is achievable without needing to spend a great deal of money through services like Skype and i-Chat when used with a webcam.
Managing a member of staff that works from home full or part time may be more difficult for some line managers
It’s worth developing a formal request process to evaluate whether staff can work from home and review just as you would review a request for flexible working. That way you can be sure you treat everyone equally. Remember there are always some jobs that just cannot be done from home. Creating a check and action list based on the above
It may seem like a complicated and daunting process to manage properly, but the effort needed to develop a workable system will be worth it if you have happy, engaged, productive employees – working at home and managing them from the office.
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21st June 2010 / Posted in: Benefits, General, Human Resources, Staff engagement
In a recent survey conducted amongst 1,167 staff at PricewaterhouseCoopers the most highly valued benefit was found to be flexible working. It was first choice for 47% of staff surveyed, followed by 19% wanting performance-related bonuses and 15% wanting a good company pension scheme.
The main reason for the choice was work-life balance.
Currently employees who are parents of children aged under 17 or disabled children aged under 18 have a statutory right to apply for a change to the terms and conditions of their employment to have flexible working arrangements to look after their children. Employees who are carers of specified categories of adults have the same statutory right.
The government says it plans to extend flexible working to all but has not announced when. Employees who have chosen not to have children, or can’t have children, don’t have a statutory right to request flexible working so employers that do offer this group flexible working as a benefit may have more motivated and satisfied staff.
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