Working from home has been a big discussion point within the business landscape for a number of years.  It of course was given extra prominence when businesses were at crisis point during and post-pandemic, and has seen SMEs having to adapt to new working practices.  

As a result of the new wave of working-from-home requests, according to the National Office of Statistics, 44% of people are working from home in some form, whether that be full-time or as part of a hybrid model approach.  

Of course, there are benefits of working from home when it comes to flexibility, employee wellbeing, and reduction of certain overhead costs on the face of it - however, it is important that we understand that it doesn’t come without its challenges in relation to the management of employees.  Here, we delve into some of these potential roadblocks.

Does it Create a Barrier Between Managers and Teams?

In short, yes it can.  As you would expect since it has been such a hot topic within the HR industry, there has been extensive research into the implications of working from home practices and how this could affect employee relationships.

According to a recent survey, 26% of managers responsible for hiring have stated that hybrid workers are less likely to get a promotion than those who are based in the office.  The figure increases if employees are fully remote.

The cause for this? It can be much more difficult for employees to be open and articulate the challenges they are facing within their role when there isn’t regular contact with their management team.  As a by-product of this, it could mean that employees aren’t in fact happier operating from a home environment and don’t get the same level of support as they would if they were office-based. 

Are there Psychological Risks to Remote Working?

Inclusivity is a big part of ensuring employees can work harmoniously with one another and as part of a team.  Different departments can have chats over the water cooler, and colleagues can grab a coffee during lunch or interim breaks which allows relationships to be nurtured, and bonds to be formed.  

Remote working can lead to psychological closure, where there are fewer meaningful conversations with one another, making it difficult to create those same types of relationships.  

As well as existing employees, we need to think about new employees that could be on-boarded into the organisation. It can be more difficult for them to become and feel part of the business.  Cliques can often be a result of these types of models, particularly if there have been members of staff who have been working with one another for a prolonged period of time.  

There is also vital experience that could potentially be gained from more senior employees that could be missed in a remote working environment. 

What about the Physical Welfare of Employees?

As well as the mental and psychological risks to this new normal, there are also potentially physical implications when it comes to the health and safety of employees.  

The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 ensures employers are obligated to ensure that there are adequate risk assessments taken of work-from-home environments to ensure their suitability. However, are the lines here blurred?  

If an employee has a strong desire to work from home, they will of course put in the work to represent their working environment as one that is adequate for the purposes of home working.  This could potentially mean that they aren’t as honest as they should be about their facilities and equipment so their request is met.

It could also mean that the costs that we often talk about being reduced for businesses are no more, as there could be a substantial outlay in order to procure the appropriate desks, chairs and IT equipment to make sure that each workstation is compliant. 

How Do We Mitigate These Risks?

Now that we have an understanding of some of the potential challenges that can be faced by an SME that implements work-from-home practices, we need to think about how we mitigate these risks to protect both the employer and the employee.  

In the first instance, there needs to be a management team in place that is receptive and open-minded about today's challenges, whether that be about mental or financial wellbeing or any other contemporary challenges within the workplace and have that desire to keep the lines of communication open.

During the pandemic, businesses and individuals alike were incredibly innovative in their communication channels and learning to stay in touch.  Employers need to continue to show such strategic innovation in how they engage their team, make sure they feel included in the organisation and have the same chance of promotion as everyone else.  Hybrid and remote working has become not just an interim, but a permanent fixture - therefore it needs to be treated as such.  The same level of effort that is put into place with these HR practices as it would any other.  

The culture of the business is paramount to making these processes a success.  There needs to be a clear balance that will prioritise health, safety and productivity. 

There is a lot of planning that needs to be put in place when developing a work-from-home company policy, surrounding compliance, wellbeing procedures, appropriate communication etc.  As such, you may need external HR support to keep you and your workforce protected. 

Working from home has been a big discussion point within the business landscape for a number of years.  It of course was given extra prominence when businesses were at crisis point during and post-pandemic, and has seen SMEs having to adapt to new working practices.  

As a result of the new wave of working-from-home requests, according to the National Office of Statistics, 44% of people are working from home in some form, whether that be full-time or as part of a hybrid model approach.  

Of course, there are benefits of working from home when it comes to flexibility, employee wellbeing, and reduction of certain overhead costs on the face of it - however, it is important that we understand that it doesn’t come without its challenges in relation to the management of employees.  Here, we delve into some of these potential roadblocks.

Does it Create a Barrier Between Managers and Teams?

In short, yes it can.  As you would expect since it has been such a hot topic within the HR industry, there has been extensive research into the implications of working from home practices and how this could affect employee relationships.

According to a recent survey, 26% of managers responsible for hiring have stated that hybrid workers are less likely to get a promotion than those who are based in the office.  The figure increases if employees are fully remote.

The cause for this? It can be much more difficult for employees to be open and articulate the challenges they are facing within their role when there isn’t regular contact with their management team.  As a by-product of this, it could mean that employees aren’t in fact happier operating from a home environment and don’t get the same level of support as they would if they were office-based. 

Are there Psychological Risks to Remote Working?

Inclusivity is a big part of ensuring employees can work harmoniously with one another and as part of a team.  Different departments can have chats over the water cooler, and colleagues can grab a coffee during lunch or interim breaks which allows relationships to be nurtured, and bonds to be formed.  

Remote working can lead to psychological closure, where there are fewer meaningful conversations with one another, making it difficult to create those same types of relationships.  

As well as existing employees, we need to think about new employees that could be on-boarded into the organisation. It can be more difficult for them to become and feel part of the business.  Cliques can often be a result of these types of models, particularly if there have been members of staff who have been working with one another for a prolonged period of time.  

There is also vital experience that could potentially be gained from more senior employees that could be missed in a remote working environment. 

What about the Physical Welfare of Employees?

As well as the mental and psychological risks to this new normal, there are also potentially physical implications when it comes to the health and safety of employees.  

The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 ensures employers are obligated to ensure that there are adequate risk assessments taken of work-from-home environments to ensure their suitability. However, are the lines here blurred?  

If an employee has a strong desire to work from home, they will of course put in the work to represent their working environment as one that is adequate for the purposes of home working.  This could potentially mean that they aren’t as honest as they should be about their facilities and equipment so their request is met.

It could also mean that the costs that we often talk about being reduced for businesses are no more, as there could be a substantial outlay in order to procure the appropriate desks, chairs and IT equipment to make sure that each workstation is compliant. 

How Do We Mitigate These Risks?

Now that we have an understanding of some of the potential challenges that can be faced by an SME that implements work-from-home practices, we need to think about how we mitigate these risks to protect both the employer and the employee.  

In the first instance, there needs to be a management team in place that is receptive and open-minded about today's challenges, whether that be about mental or financial wellbeing or any other contemporary challenges within the workplace and have that desire to keep the lines of communication open.

During the pandemic, businesses and individuals alike were incredibly innovative in their communication channels and learning to stay in touch.  Employers need to continue to show such strategic innovation in how they engage their team, make sure they feel included in the organisation and have the same chance of promotion as everyone else.  Hybrid and remote working has become not just an interim, but a permanent fixture - therefore it needs to be treated as such.  The same level of effort that is put into place with these HR practices as it would any other.  

The culture of the business is paramount to making these processes a success.  There needs to be a clear balance that will prioritise health, safety and productivity. 

There is a lot of planning that needs to be put in place when developing a work-from-home company policy, surrounding compliance, wellbeing procedures, appropriate communication etc.  As such, you may need external HR support to keep you and your workforce protected. 

Working from home has been a big discussion point within the business landscape for a number of years.  It of course was given extra prominence when businesses were at crisis point during and post-pandemic, and has seen SMEs having to adapt to new working practices.  

As a result of the new wave of working-from-home requests, according to the National Office of Statistics, 44% of people are working from home in some form, whether that be full-time or as part of a hybrid model approach.  

Of course, there are benefits of working from home when it comes to flexibility, employee wellbeing, and reduction of certain overhead costs on the face of it - however, it is important that we understand that it doesn’t come without its challenges in relation to the management of employees.  Here, we delve into some of these potential roadblocks.

Does it Create a Barrier Between Managers and Teams?

In short, yes it can.  As you would expect since it has been such a hot topic within the HR industry, there has been extensive research into the implications of working from home practices and how this could affect employee relationships.

According to a recent survey, 26% of managers responsible for hiring have stated that hybrid workers are less likely to get a promotion than those who are based in the office.  The figure increases if employees are fully remote.

The cause for this? It can be much more difficult for employees to be open and articulate the challenges they are facing within their role when there isn’t regular contact with their management team.  As a by-product of this, it could mean that employees aren’t in fact happier operating from a home environment and don’t get the same level of support as they would if they were office-based. 

Are there Psychological Risks to Remote Working?

Inclusivity is a big part of ensuring employees can work harmoniously with one another and as part of a team.  Different departments can have chats over the water cooler, and colleagues can grab a coffee during lunch or interim breaks which allows relationships to be nurtured, and bonds to be formed.  

Remote working can lead to psychological closure, where there are fewer meaningful conversations with one another, making it difficult to create those same types of relationships.  

As well as existing employees, we need to think about new employees that could be on-boarded into the organisation. It can be more difficult for them to become and feel part of the business.  Cliques can often be a result of these types of models, particularly if there have been members of staff who have been working with one another for a prolonged period of time.  

There is also vital experience that could potentially be gained from more senior employees that could be missed in a remote working environment. 

What about the Physical Welfare of Employees?

As well as the mental and psychological risks to this new normal, there are also potentially physical implications when it comes to the health and safety of employees.  

The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 ensures employers are obligated to ensure that there are adequate risk assessments taken of work-from-home environments to ensure their suitability. However, are the lines here blurred?  

If an employee has a strong desire to work from home, they will of course put in the work to represent their working environment as one that is adequate for the purposes of home working.  This could potentially mean that they aren’t as honest as they should be about their facilities and equipment so their request is met.

It could also mean that the costs that we often talk about being reduced for businesses are no more, as there could be a substantial outlay in order to procure the appropriate desks, chairs and IT equipment to make sure that each workstation is compliant. 

How Do We Mitigate These Risks?

Now that we have an understanding of some of the potential challenges that can be faced by an SME that implements work-from-home practices, we need to think about how we mitigate these risks to protect both the employer and the employee.  

In the first instance, there needs to be a management team in place that is receptive and open-minded about today's challenges, whether that be about mental or financial wellbeing or any other contemporary challenges within the workplace and have that desire to keep the lines of communication open.

During the pandemic, businesses and individuals alike were incredibly innovative in their communication channels and learning to stay in touch.  Employers need to continue to show such strategic innovation in how they engage their team, make sure they feel included in the organisation and have the same chance of promotion as everyone else.  Hybrid and remote working has become not just an interim, but a permanent fixture - therefore it needs to be treated as such.  The same level of effort that is put into place with these HR practices as it would any other.  

The culture of the business is paramount to making these processes a success.  There needs to be a clear balance that will prioritise health, safety and productivity. 

There is a lot of planning that needs to be put in place when developing a work-from-home company policy, surrounding compliance, wellbeing procedures, appropriate communication etc.  As such, you may need external HR support to keep you and your workforce protected. 

Job Title: HR Consultant

Company: The HR Practice Limited

Job Location: Hybrid

Job Type: Full-time

Purpose

As a HR Consultant at The HR Practice you will be a key member of our team, responsible for delivering expert HR support and guidance to our valued clients. Your success in this role will be measured by your ability to provide pragmatic HR advice, establish well-defined HR processes, build strong client relationships, and maintain personal credibility.

Key Accountabilities

• Provide expert HR advice and guidance to our clients, ensuring that their HR-related challenges are addressed effectively and in accordance with best practice.
• Develop and implement HR processes tailored to each client's unique needs, aiming to streamline HR operations, improve efficiency, and maintain compliance with relevant employment laws and regulations.
• Build and maintain strong working relationships with our clients, becoming a trusted partner who understands their HR requirements and provides solutions.
• Offer coaching and support to client representatives, assisting them with people management, performance management, and other HR-related matters.
• Ensure that client HR practices and policies align with applicable employment law and regulations, and provide guidance to clients on compliance matters.
• Stay up-to-date with industry trends and best practices, sharing your knowledge and expertise with clients to help them improve their HR operations.
• Provide HR reporting to clients on key HR metrics as required.

Knowledge, Technical Skills, Qualifications and Experience

• Degree in Human Resources, Business or equivalent experience
• Ability to work autonomously within an operational HR role, with experience of managing all aspects of operational HR
• Solid background in dealing with ER matters such as discipline, grievance and absence management
• In-depth knowledge of HR processes, employment law, and regulations
• Exceptional interpersonal and communication skills
• Strong relationship-building capabilities and influencing skills
• Flexible, can do attitude with the ability to deal with ambiguity and change in a positive manner

Our Values

Agile: We deliver fast and effective commercial results so that our clients can focus on running their business.

Customer-Driven: We put our clients needs front and centre of our business strategy and take time to understand their objectives to provide a seamless service.

Non-Judgemental: We’re all human and we understand that things happen.  The more honest you are with us about the situation you’re in, the easier it is for us to help you.

Outcome-Focused: We start with the end in mind and provide clients with the quickest and most effective commercial HR advice possible. 

Key Success Criteria: 

• Positive feedback from HR colleagues and clients
• Provision of pragmatic HR advice to clients
• HR processes well defined
• Strong client relationships
• Personal credibility and professionalism.

 HR affects businesses of all shapes and sizes, and it’s a critical part of running an organisation effectively.  It could be that you are a start-up, or a SME that isn’t quite at the stage where you are ready to employ an internal HR team - or it could be that you are a fairly large business that requires some tailored, expert advice.  

Wherever you fall within that spectrum, an expert HR consultant could be exactly what you need to drive your business in the right direction.  

What is A HR Consultant?

A HR consultant is a 3rd party expert who can provide you with specialist advice services that can improve the efficiency of the HR practices within your business.  A HR consultant is often required to gain an external, objective view.

It could be that they are brought in to address a specific issue within the business, however it is important to remember that they provide a wide range of services which could be hugely beneficial to the running of your company.  They can offer consultancy on issues including but not limited to the below:

• Defining people strategies where they will look at productivity, training and development, employee retention and succession planning
• Implementing processes and procedures for better workplace efficiency
• Creating reward and benefit schemes as part of an overall employee attraction and retention program
• Dealing with any level of transformational change including talent and success planning
• The creation of health and wellbeing policies
• Developing the culture and values of the organisation, and supporting the business on an ongoing basis from a people management perspective

How Does HR Consultancy Work?

HR consultants won’t be internal to your business, they are a 3rd party acting on your behalf.  

From our perspective, we start the process with a HR Audit to understand what is in place and what the gap is, we then provide a report with the gap and the priorities to bring the business up to date with legislation. We then start to create HR processes in areas such as absence management trigger points to ensure absence can be managed as a working example.  

Why Use A HR Consultancy Firm?

The biggest thing a HR consultant will bring to the table is a wealth of experience and insight that will protect your business, and ensure you are compliant with legislation. It can also be cost-effective in many ways.  Firstly, in the sense that you are not employing a full-time member of staff, and you are paying on a fractional retainer basis - so only for the time you need effectively.  

However, it can also save your business money in other ways.  By having appropriate retention policies in place for example, it can reduce turnover and costs associated with that.  The same in terms of health and wellbeing, the fewer absences there are in your business, the more money you will save on that.  

Our Retainer Service

At The HR Practice, we are flexible when it comes to our retainer service.  Whether it’s a half day a month, or a more dedicated service.  We can work to your business requirements.

We also offer an advice line service, which allows you to get HR support for your business on an ad-hoc basis. Get in touch, if you’d like any further information.  

Working from home has been a big discussion point within the business landscape for a number of years.  It of course was given extra prominence when businesses were at crisis point during and post-pandemic, and has seen SMEs having to adapt to new working practices.  

As a result of the new wave of working-from-home requests, according to the National Office of Statistics, 44% of people are working from home in some form, whether that be full-time or as part of a hybrid model approach.  

Of course, there are benefits of working from home when it comes to flexibility, employee wellbeing, and reduction of certain overhead costs on the face of it - however, it is important that we understand that it doesn’t come without its challenges in relation to the management of employees.  Here, we delve into some of these potential roadblocks.

Does it Create a Barrier Between Managers and Teams?

In short, yes it can.  As you would expect since it has been such a hot topic within the HR industry, there has been extensive research into the implications of working from home practices and how this could affect employee relationships.

According to a recent survey, 26% of managers responsible for hiring have stated that hybrid workers are less likely to get a promotion than those who are based in the office.  The figure increases if employees are fully remote.

The cause for this? It can be much more difficult for employees to be open and articulate the challenges they are facing within their role when there isn’t regular contact with their management team.  As a by-product of this, it could mean that employees aren’t in fact happier operating from a home environment and don’t get the same level of support as they would if they were office-based. 

Are there Psychological Risks to Remote Working?

Inclusivity is a big part of ensuring employees can work harmoniously with one another and as part of a team.  Different departments can have chats over the water cooler, and colleagues can grab a coffee during lunch or interim breaks which allows relationships to be nurtured, and bonds to be formed.  

Remote working can lead to psychological closure, where there are fewer meaningful conversations with one another, making it difficult to create those same types of relationships.  

As well as existing employees, we need to think about new employees that could be on-boarded into the organisation. It can be more difficult for them to become and feel part of the business.  Cliques can often be a result of these types of models, particularly if there have been members of staff who have been working with one another for a prolonged period of time.  

There is also vital experience that could potentially be gained from more senior employees that could be missed in a remote working environment. 

What about the Physical Welfare of Employees?

As well as the mental and psychological risks to this new normal, there are also potentially physical implications when it comes to the health and safety of employees.  

The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 ensures employers are obligated to ensure that there are adequate risk assessments taken of work-from-home environments to ensure their suitability. However, are the lines here blurred?  

If an employee has a strong desire to work from home, they will of course put in the work to represent their working environment as one that is adequate for the purposes of home working.  This could potentially mean that they aren’t as honest as they should be about their facilities and equipment so their request is met.

It could also mean that the costs that we often talk about being reduced for businesses are no more, as there could be a substantial outlay in order to procure the appropriate desks, chairs and IT equipment to make sure that each workstation is compliant. 

How Do We Mitigate These Risks?

Now that we have an understanding of some of the potential challenges that can be faced by an SME that implements work-from-home practices, we need to think about how we mitigate these risks to protect both the employer and the employee.  

In the first instance, there needs to be a management team in place that is receptive and open-minded about today's challenges, whether that be about mental or financial wellbeing or any other contemporary challenges within the workplace and have that desire to keep the lines of communication open.

During the pandemic, businesses and individuals alike were incredibly innovative in their communication channels and learning to stay in touch.  Employers need to continue to show such strategic innovation in how they engage their team, make sure they feel included in the organisation and have the same chance of promotion as everyone else.  Hybrid and remote working has become not just an interim, but a permanent fixture - therefore it needs to be treated as such.  The same level of effort that is put into place with these HR practices as it would any other.  

The culture of the business is paramount to making these processes a success.  There needs to be a clear balance that will prioritise health, safety and productivity. 

There is a lot of planning that needs to be put in place when developing a work-from-home company policy, surrounding compliance, wellbeing procedures, appropriate communication etc.  As such, you may need external HR support to keep you and your workforce protected. 

Owning a business isn’t just about focusing on sales, profits and revenue. You also need to consider the happiness and satisfaction of your employees. Sometimes, you might have to organise team building activities to boost engagement and keep up morale. 

If you feel like your business could use a spark, team building activities can be the perfect way to re-energise your workforce and get your team excited and motivated. We’ve listed some effective team building activities that you can organise in the guide below. 

The Benefits of Team Building Activities

If you want your business to be a success, having a workforce of employees who can collaborate and cooperate effectively and work towards a common goal is vital. The better your employees get to know one another, the better they’ll be able to work together. 

Team building activities can help your employees develop deeper and more meaningful professional relationships with one another. They’ll learn how to navigate new situations and overcome obstacles, using critical thinking and problem solving to achieve established targets and objectives. 

These skills are fully transferrable into the workplace and will prove vital when motivating your employees to reach new business objectives. 

If you want to help a new team gel or re-energise a stagnating workforce, we’ve listed a couple of ideas for activities that can help. 

A Quiz

A quiz is an excellent team building activity. This introduces an element of competitiveness that will motivate and spur participants on. You can offer prizes for specific finishing places, and even a joke prize for the last-placed team for a bit of humour. 

Break down the group into smaller teams, ideally made up of employees who don’t know each other or work together regularly. This can help your workforce gel as a whole and can prevent cliques from forming. 

Here’s a bonus tip: make the questions for the quiz related to your business. This can help you evaluate how much your employees know and can identify any potential knowledge gaps that need to be addressed. 

Egg Drop 

Egg drop is a classic team building activity that will help your employees develop collaborative, problem solving and even presentation skills. 

The premise of Egg Drop is simple. Divide your employees into at least two teams. Each of these teams will be tasked with preventing an egg from cracking after a drop from head height, using only a handful of paper straws and some Sellotape. 

Set a time limit, after which each team must present their creation and explain the reasoning behind their design and why they think it will work. Each team will then test their creation to see if it can prevent the egg from cracking, with the winning team or teams awarded with a prize. 

Conclusion

Teamwork is integral to any successful business. Team building activities can be a fun way to break up the working day, ensuring your employees don’t feel burned out or demotivated, and they can help employees develop more effective collaboration, communication and interpersonal skills. 

Employees are at the heart of any business. As a business owner, ensuring your employees are happy and treated fairly is critical and can be a key factor that determines success. Some smaller businesses may not have the resources required for a fully-fledged HR department, which is why a service like our HR advice line can be so useful. 

In this article, we take a deep dive into how exactly a HR advice line can benefit your business and discuss the unique advantages it can offer as you strive to maximise the performance of your employees and take your business to the next level. 

A more cost-effective approach

You won’t need us to tell you how important cost-sheet balancing and financial planning are. Running a business requires a solid understanding of how to manage finances and how to approach things in the most cost-effective way. 

All major companies have HR departments or use an external HR consultancy firm. A HR department serves as the link between employees and employers, helping to maintain relationships to ensure everyone is benefiting and no issues arise. 

However, for small businesses where profit margins are razor-thin, often the resources to fund or justify an in-house HR department simply aren’t there. Rather than go without, small businesses can instead opt for a HR advice line. Charged on a monthly retainer basis, a HR advice line can be a far more cost-effective option for small businesses looking to benefit from HR services. 

Rather than bearing the financial brunt of setting up, managing, and staffing an in-house department, you will instead be able to access a team of highly experienced HR professionals by simply picking up the phone. 

On-demand HR advice 

HR issues can arise at any time. Often, these are pressing matters that must be addressed urgently to ensure they don’t escalate and cause your business further disruption. 

Whether it’s workplace grievances, salary disputes, or clashes about hours and hybrid working, HR issues can see business operations grind to a halt and can become extremely difficult to deal with. 

Small-medium businesses without HR departments are left to deal with these incidents themselves. Without the proper training and experience, this is tricky, and can even see situations worsening.

By enlisting the services of a HR advice line, you’ll be able to access on-demand HR advice and guidance as and when you need it. If an emergency situation was to arise that required immediate attention, you can make the call through to the advice line and receive timely guidance as to the appropriate course of action. 

Stay up to date with employment laws 

Employment laws are designed to safeguard employees and to ensure they are always treated fairly by employers. These laws and regulations can be complex and difficult to follow, but doing so is absolutely essential. If you are found to be in breach of employment law, you could face serious punitive action, which could have both financial and reputational ramifications for your business. 

Changes in employment law can often be hard to keep track of, which can see you be in breach of regulations without even realising. Using a HR advice line can help keep you up to date with the latest employment laws and will ensure you are always adhering to the current regulations. 

For example, last month the UK government passed the Employment Relations Bill, also known as the Flexible Working Bill. This legislation stipulates that employees can apply for flexible working from day one of their employment. Where an employer can’t support a flexible working request, they must consult with the employee to try to find an alternative solution.

Flexible working patterns are becoming increasingly popular, with research revealing that they can offer both employees and employees a number of benefits, including improved work-life balance and increased productivity. 

However, making flexible working arrangements with your employees can be difficult and time-consuming. It’s a process of negotiation and compromise, one that you, as a busy business owner, simply might not have the time for. 

When dealing with flexible working requests from your employees, using a HR advice line can help you understand how best to come to an agreement that is satisfactory for both parties. HR professionals will guide and advise you to ensure you are always acting within the realms of existing laws while also guaranteeing that whatever agreement is reached is beneficial for your business. 

Conclusion 

If you own a small business, it’s easy to assume that you will have to go without the support of a HR department or external HR consultancy company. This simply isn’t the case. There are options available for small-medium businesses that don’t have the finances or manpower for a comprehensive HR program. A HR advice line can be a fantastic alternative. It’s a more cost-effective option that offers on-demand guidance on a range of HR issues and can help you address and deal with issues in a timely and effective manner. 

Having a high-performing team is key to building a successful business. As a business owner, you’re going to want the best team you can get behind you. While it’s possible to build a team yourself, often a more effective approach is to enlist the services of a HR consultant. They will work with you to devise a team-building strategy that can help you attract, retain, and effectively manage a high-performance workforce. Let’s take a closer look at the role a HR consultant plays. 

Talent Acquisition and Onboarding 

It’s only natural that business owners will want the best and brightest employees, but securing these candidates is easier said than done. A HR consultant can play an important role in the process of acquiring the skills you need in your team members.

A HR consultant can work closely with you and pinpoint talent gaps in your business and work with you to identify how you can bridge those gaps whether that is developing existing talent or looking at the market to buy in new talent with the required skills.

Diversify Skills

As part of this process, you can look into developing a broader range of skills in your existing team. This comes with a lot of perks. According to LinkedIn, internal hiring at UK companies has jumped by 20% since the COVID lockdowns – and it’s easy to see why. One benefit is the idea of bypassing the onboarding process entirely and instead nurturing the relationship between you and your team, saving you an extra salary.

Additionally, you will aid employee retention by offering your current staff members ways to grow in their position. They can gain skills which they can then take on into other roles in the company.

A HR consultant will be able to provide you with the resources necessary to get started on developing your employees’ skills, as well as identifying staff member that would make good candidates for specific skills or positions within the company.

Performance Management

Identifying and onboarding talented employees is one thing, managing them on an ongoing basis as part of a high-performance workforce is another. 

Thankfully, this is another benefit of working with a HR consultant. It’s important that your employees are managed in the correct way to ensure they are always performing well and that they are happy and motivated in the workplace. 

A HR consultant can work to establish goals and targets, both on an individual employee basis and in a wider business sense. This can help keep your employees motivated and ambitious, giving them clearly defined objectives that they can work towards and measure their progress against. 

Having a high-performance workforce also means you must have opportunities for your employees to progress and develop. A HR consultant can help you identify opportunities for development and build career progression pathways which can be used to maximise employee potential and promote the best candidates into more senior roles. 

Leadership and Employee Engagement

It goes without saying that a team needs a leader, however, being a leader takes more than a little charisma. A good leader needs to keep their employees engaged and motivated and when you hear figures like 48% of employees saying they feel 5 or less in motivation out of 10, according to Eden Springs, it becomes clear that this is easier said than done.

So, what will keep a team motivated? Well, part of it is salary, but good percentages of workforce have suggested things like positive recognition, feeling purpose in their role and simply an understanding of the goal of the business.

A HR consultant can help you build a high-performance workforce with a leader that can keep the team motivated. They can advise on effective communication, regular evaluation, and feedback.  

Conclusion

Building a high-performance workforce is difficult, but with the help of a HR consultant, you’ll be able to do so successfully and take your business to the next level. A HR consultant can offer support and guidance across a number of key areas, including diversifying skills, talent acquisition, and performance management. This will ensure you can build a high-performance workforce without having to divert time and resources away from other areas of your business.

Businesses are defined by the employees who operate them. As the owner of a business, you will naturally want only the very best employees in your team, as this will offer your business the best chance of success. Talent management strategies are vital; they allow you to both attract the top candidates and ensure they are committed to your business. 

However, knowing what approach to take can be difficult. We’re here to help and have written up a guide with some key talent management strategies and techniques that will allow you to more effectively manage your team and take your business to the next level. 

Talent Acquisition

The first and most important part of all talent management strategies is sourcing talented candidates. 

However, before you can do so, you need to identify skill and talent gaps within your workforce. Go over your business in detail, assessing each segment and department to identify areas that could see improvement. Use employee performance tracking and study key performance indicators across a range of metrics to get a sense of where the gaps in your business are. 

When advertising vacancies, ensure you are posting across various job boards and career portals. This will expand the reach of your listings and ensure you receive applications from a broad range of candidates. The job description in your listing should be clear, concise, and professional, and should reflect the values and ethos of your business. 

The interview process is critical. Research has demonstrated that structured interviews with preprepared questions and assessments generate better results, so take the time to plan your interviews if you want to find the best talent. 

Onboarding

Effective talent management strategies are all about ensuring your top employees are best equipped to handle their roles and responsibilities.

Onboarding is key to this. New hires must undergo comprehensive training and initiation processes to help them better understand the nuances of their position and to clear up any questions or queries they might have.

Onboarding should also work on an interpersonal level. The process should introduce new employees to the work environment and to their colleagues. They should be familiarised with the structure and organisation of your business and allowed to fully understand the managerial hierarchy.

All new employees can feel anxious or nervous when starting a new role. An effective onboarding process should help allay their fears and ensure they have the training and knowledge required to start performing at their best straight away.

Set Goals and Objectives

Owning a business demands excellent leadership skills. Even the most talented employees will look to you for guidance, and you must establish goals and objectives that give employees a clear roadmap to follow. 

Employees need to be clear as to what their role is and what is expected of them. Objectives are a fundamental part of talent management strategies; employees must be aware of short-term targets and long-term business goals. 

This will give your team something to work towards and will prevent them from becoming demotivated or distracted in the workplace. It can also give you a means to measure employee performance and track productivity. 

Employee Development 

Talented candidates are ambitious and will constantly be looking for ways to progress professionally. Talent management strategies are all about catering to the needs and desires of your employees in a way that also benefits your business. Offering employee development opportunities is one of the best ways to do so, it gives your employees a means to progress and allows your business to maximise their potential.

Ongoing training can be an effective employee development approach. Teaching your employees new skills can help them in their current position and allow for future role rotation. You should also offer opportunities for progression within your business. Promoting talented staff to more senior positions can further motivate them and see your business generate better results. 

Workplace Culture 

One of the most effective talent management strategies is to establish and foster a positive workplace culture. 

Communication is key here. Your workplace should be an open environment where employees feel free to speak their minds and air their opinions. Employees who feel they have a voice will be more engaged with the business and will display improved performance levels. 

It’s also crucial that you have an effective conflict management strategy in place. Conflict can cause disruption, which can negatively impact employees and your business as a whole. Practice active listening and work to identify underlying problems to address and rectify conflict issues before they get worse. 

The final and perhaps most important part of establishing a positive workplace culture is to have a zero-tolerance policy on discrimination. If you want to retain your top employees, ensuring they feel welcome and accepted in the workplace is crucial. Discrimination of any kind should be eradicated from your workplace, and diversity training can be used to teach employees how to better welcome colleagues from marginalised or underrepresented communities. 

Conclusion

If you want to attract and retain the very best employees, you must implement talent management strategies. By correctly managing your employees, you’ll give them the motivation they need to perform at their best. The relationship between your business and your employees should be symbiotic; they should help propel your business forward and your business should offer them a vehicle through which they can develop professionally and personally.