There is no denying that your employees are the most important resource at your business.
Where would you be without them?
At the same time, though, employees have the greatest potential to cause issues too, especially if they are not managed correctly.
Productivity levels can suffer if employees aren’t given the right training and tools.
You can also find yourself on the wrong end of an expensive employment tribunal claim if you haven’t drafted up a contract properly. These are just two examples of many.
With that being said, below we are going to take a look at some of the most common HR issues facing businesses today.
Recruitment
There is only one place to begin, and this is by hiring the right employees to begin with.
Recruitment is something many business owners struggle with today.
Perhaps you keep missing out on the best talent?
From mundane, copied job descriptions to reputational problems, there are many reasons why this could be the case.
Problems also arise from the fact that the way we are conducting our work is changing.
More and more business owners are working from home.
This presents many potential problems, from security issues and productivity problems to drawing up the right contracts for these workers.
Retention
Once you find the best talent, you need to hold onto it.
Imagine if you were to lose your star employee to the competition.
That would be a bitter pill to swallow, right?
Or, what if one of your employees were to leave and try to take all of your clients with them?
You need to ensure you have the right legal documentation in place to prohibit this from happening.
You also need to look at your efforts to retain your best employees. Are they effective?
Are you really making the most of your awards and benefits scheme?
Do you cater to your employees’ pain points?
Do you even know what they are?
The only way to find out is by talking to your employees and taking on board their comments, no matter how difficult they may be to hear.
Diversity and Discrimination
It’s sad that we have to include a section on this when it comes to HR issues, however, it is a severe problem and one that can be very difficult for business owners to deal with.
When an issue comes up regarding discrimination, it needs to be taken very seriously.
Of course, mainly for the person who is being discriminated against, but also for the sake of your business’ reputation.
Creating a policy should be viewed as a necessity.
This means you will always have something to turn to and there are no grey areas.
Health and Safety
There is no denying that health and safety is a major headache for most business owners today, especially those in industries whereby it seems there are 20 different pieces of legislation that they need to adhere to.
Creating a health and safety policy is compulsory, and you need to ensure you have an accident book, as well as supporting documents that form the basis of your policy so your employees can understand why these rules are in place.
Expert assistance is critical here because health and safety laws are changing all of the time, and you do not want to be viewed as non-compliant.
Productivity
Last but not least, productivity is a big HR issue.
After all, if your workforce is not productive, your business is not performing to the level it can and should.
However, the underlying reasons behind a dip in productivity aren’t always obvious. Why are your employees unengaged and demotivated?
What can be done to fix this?
Perhaps there is something fundamentally wrong with your processes or you are spending too much time on non-core activities?
This merely scratches the surface regarding some of the most common HR problems that businesses face today.
If you are experiencing any of the issues that have been mentioned above, Neathouse Partners can provide the professional help with HR issues you need.
We provide a comprehensive HR outsourced service, with all of our clients benefiting from a dedicated HR consultant with a minimum of five years' experience.
They will become an extension of your business, dealing with any HR issues and ensuring they don’t arise in the first place.
From employment tribunals to drafting policies, we can do it all, and the best thing is that we do all of this for a fixed-fee monthly cost.
