Did you know there are around 5.2 million SMEs in the UK economy? No? Well, here’s another interesting fact: last year SMEs employed 60 per cent (15.2 million) of UK private sector workers. There’s no arguing with figures like that; clearly small businesses are increasingly important for the country’s economic health. So, if you're a small employer read on to find out my top five tips for employing staff...
So, I just Googled the definition of an SME: "The category of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is made up of enterprises which employ fewer than 250 persons and which have an annual turnover not exceeding 50 million euro.” Personally speaking, I’m not in the 50 million euro league (I can dream), but I have come across plenty of SMEs that would sit in the micro or small category. What often surprises them is the level of bureaucracy and legislation that applies to them once they start employing staff. Making sure you are compliant with all that paperwork can be truly overwhelming, so here are my Top Tips for making sure your micro business is doing what it should when it comes to employees:
1. Do your staff have a contract of employment? As a minimum they should have a written statement of terms and conditions which should be issued within the first two months of employment
2. Do you have any policies and procedures in place? Often known as Staff Handbooks, these are the key policies, rules and expectations that you would expect employees to comply with
3. Do you have a method for monitoring sickness absence? You’d be surprised how many businesses feel they have a problem with sickness but don’t have anything in place to record and monitor it
4. How do you share feedback on performance? An annual, half-yearly or even quarterly appraisal process can help you keep a track on how staff are performing as well as getting important feedback that can be ploughed back into the business
5. What do you do to reward staff? And if your answer to this is, “I pay them, isn’t that enough?” then think again! What do you do to celebrate birthdays, successes, special occasions? You’d be surprised how far a simple thank you and bunch of flowers/bottle of wine can go…
So there you have it. If you want your micro/small business to carry on growing, having an increased awareness of the importance of people management can be of real benefit. And the good news is, most of the suggestions above are fairly simple and quick to introduce.
2. Do you have any policies and procedures in place? Often known as Staff Handbooks, these are the key policies, rules and expectations that you would expect employees to comply with
3. Do you have a method for monitoring sickness absence? You’d be surprised how many businesses feel they have a problem with sickness but don’t have anything in place to record and monitor it
4. How do you share feedback on performance? An annual, half-yearly or even quarterly appraisal process can help you keep a track on how staff are performing as well as getting important feedback that can be ploughed back into the business
5. What do you do to reward staff? And if your answer to this is, “I pay them, isn’t that enough?” then think again! What do you do to celebrate birthdays, successes, special occasions? You’d be surprised how far a simple thank you and bunch of flowers/bottle of wine can go…
So there you have it. If you want your micro/small business to carry on growing, having an increased awareness of the importance of people management can be of real benefit. And the good news is, most of the suggestions above are fairly simple and quick to introduce.