Offering staff flexible working hours

There are many advantages to offering your staff the option of having more flexible working hours. It can play a significant role in reducing your staff turnover and also result in your staff being more motivated and productive. Flexible working hours can be particularly beneficial for staff who are attempting to juggle work and family commitments.

There are many different ways that you can try to accommodate your staff by allowing them increased flexibility. For example, if they have children who need to be picked up after school, then you could allow them to leave early several days a week in exchange for doing some hours at home. Allowing two employees to share a full-time role is another option worth investigating, and can be advantageous to employers as they will benefit from having double the creative input (where it is relevant to the role).

Reducing your staff turnover

A high rate of staff turnover is a serious issue for many businesses. There are many disadvantages to regularly losing staff members. It can disrupt the continuity of your customer service, wastes time and resources on retraining, and often brings about significant recruitment costs to your business.

There is no question that it is in your best interests to retain talented people. So what can you do to make continuing employment with your business a more attractive option?

Offering staff the possibility of career progression is important, because in general the more talented the employee, the more ambitious they will be. Getting remuneration packages right is also key to retaining staff. You should always try to be aware of what constitutes a competitive salary package, and reimburse staff accordingly.

If a staff member asks you for a pay rise, it is normal to be hesitant. However, you should seriously consider what additional costs you may incur if you lose this employee, as it may actually be in your best financial interests to give them that little bit extra.

Managing complaints

Allowing your staff members a clear avenue to express any complaints they may have is beneficial for a number of reasons. It will mean that you are in touch with what is happening in levels or departments of your business that you do not deal with on a day to day basis. Another advantage is that your staff will feel empowered and that management hears their concerns. This is likely to improve overall job satisfaction and promote a positive workplace culture.

Here are some tips for managing complaints:

-The system for dealing with complaints should have a clearly outlined time frame in which each complaint must be addressed

-You should always avoid entering into an argument with an employee who is presenting you with a complaint

-You need to gather your facts carefully and impartially. Let you employee know when they can expect a response from you

-Thank the employee for being open with you and encourage them to keep the lines of communication open in the future

Offering staff career development

One of the most common reasons for job dissatisfaction is staff feeling that their current role does not offer any options for career progression. This can lead to poor motivation that in turn can bring about underperformance.

For larger organisations, it is easy to offer people promotions and options for career development, whereas smaller businesses may not have the structural capacity to offer such incentives. There are, however, still a number of things you can do to allow your staff to learn new skills and take on additional responsibilities.

You can assign a staff member a specific project that will be their sole responsibility. It is important that when you give them this job you make the advantages clear. You can outline the different skills and achievements that they will be able to add to their resume. Emphasise that you have chosen them for this role because you have faith that they will be capable of completing it with flying colours.

Rules for efficient and effective meetings

Meetings are a great way to allow employees to generate and exchange information, however, they are also a major pain point for many individuals.

The key is not fewer meetings; it is more regular and specific ones.

Here are 4 rules for efficient and effective meetings:

Rule 1- Meet regularly

Good teams use meetings to discuss important decisions. Having regular meetings can remind employees that there is more going on in the workplace than their own deadlines and also encourage collaboration amongst employees.

Regular meetings also allow different areas of the business to align their priorities and goals, as well as keeping employees informed of any changes to the business.

Rule 2- Hold different kinds of meetings

Successful teams hold different meetings for different types of information. For example, a tactical meeting will only discuss new sales plans whereas an administrative meeting will discuss client meetings.

This helps employees stay focused on the one topic, instead of being confused by an overload of information.

Rule 3- Assign a moderator

It is quite common for a meeting to go off on a tangent, especially when multiple employees are contributing to the discussion. A moderator can help to keep the team on track, ensuring that time is not wasted.

Rule 4- Spend the last 5 minutes recapping the meeting

For productive meetings, the end is just as important as the beginning. It is important that everyone be on the same page when they leave the meeting to prevent any arguments in the future.

6 things every great boss should do

The fundamental values of good leadership and management will never change.

Great bosses are those who consistently inspire employees to perform well, which plays a major role in the long-term success of the business.

Here are 6 things that every boss should be doing in the workplace:

1. Acknowledge

Publicly recognising productive employee for their contributions shows how much their efforts are appreciated. This will also encourage outstanding and sustained performances.

2. Motivate

Set high standards for communication, productivity and professionalism throughout the business.

Enlist the help of the employees to identify blocking issues, focus attention on possible solutions, and strive to meet and exceed expectations.

3. Communicate

Communicate clearly, professionally, and often. Employees expect their manager to give an honest assessment of their performance, as well as constructive criticism when they are not performing to the expected standard.

4. Trust

Bosses who believe employees are capable and responsible encourage autonomy, whilst also creating a strong sense of community throughout the organisation.

To establish trust, bosses should create a safe, positive working environment with open, honest, two-way communication.

5. Develop

Bosses should ensure they set their employees up for success, not failure. Provide them with the tools and training they need to reach their full potential and to meet and exceed the standards set by the business.

Encourage them to identify their strengths and what motivates them.

6. Direct

Ensure that employees feel challenged with their job, but not overwhelmed. Delegate tasks appropriately and look for opportunities to maximise each employee’s strengths.

Getting customers to settle debts

Good credit management is an important business strategy to maintain cash flow and stable finances. A cornerstone of managing credit is not only making sure an invoice gets paid, but gets paid on time.

Before a debt recovery process commences, which may delay payment further and damage a relationship with a customer, it is worthwhile for businesses to put a few processes in place to avoid customer debt in the first place.

1. Prepare customers. Making sure the customers understand their payment terms from the start is the first step in training them to keep track of outstanding invoices and payment due dates.

2. Keep detailed records. Businesses should keep all customer records such as payment term agreements, customer limits and outstanding sales.

3. Follow up regularly. Starting following up procedures once a payment becomes overdue will help speed up the process. It is also very important to know exactly who to speak to about payment matters.

4. Implement payment-in-full. Most businesses adopt this policy in regards to payment procedures. This way the customer has a full amount to pay by a concrete due date. Sometimes ‘making it easier’ for the customer by staggering payments and due dates can confuse and delay payments even further.

5. Upfront payments. For labour and time intensive work, some businesses ask for a part payment or deposit up front. This works as a way of showing that the customer is financially committed to the project and also allows a business to better manage cash flow.

How to hire the right employee

Hiring a new employee to join the business is an important task that shouldn’t be taken lightly. Employers should scout out talent in the same way that a good sales person hunts for new clients.

Here are a few ideas to help employers land the right employee:

Screen for organisational fit

Successful companies believe that having a candidate fit into the organisational culture is more important than the candidate’s skills. This is because employers can teach job skills; however, they cannot teach character.

Screen for the right job skills

It is also important to screen candidates to determine if they have the necessary job skills. Companies should avoid screening candidates on outdated or generic job descriptions as candidates will be prepared for the standard interview questions, such as their strengths and weaknesses.

The best predictor of success is a candidate’s past behaviour and results, not their interview expertise. Ask about the candidate’s successes at past jobs and what they achieved after six months, one year and three years.

Verify credentials

A key step in hiring a new employee is to verify their credentials and ensure that they have achieved what they are claiming.

It is important to spend the time and money performing background checks and assessments as it will only cost more in the long term if the candidate is not the right fit.