3 reasons why you should be using employee surveys in your business  I've heard from many fellow business owners who are hesitant to run employee surveys, worried they might unleash a storm they can't control. We've all been in those team meetings where one comment sparks a flurry of opinions, and suddenly, the room's temperature rises a few notches. It's enough to make any of us think twice. But here's the thing: employee surveys are a whole different ball game. They're not about sparking debate but rather, they're a tool for gathering focused, independent feedback online. What's more, t ..read more

Giving new employees a great onboarding experience is essential to their engagement and retention.  Yet, shockingly, around 60% of businesses skip setting any goals or milestones for their new hires. And only 12% of employees feel that their employer has a good onboarding program.  That’s why it’s important for you to have a killer onboarding plan and I’m here to help.  Here’s your new onboarding checklist:  Before your new hire starts Talk to the new employee's future manager to understand their aims and objectives for the first few weeks Get all the essential docu ..read more

Are you confused about what these even mean? As a business owner, it can be tricky to grasp the nuances of different generational cohorts. This blog will give you more information to untangle these terms for you! Generational cohorts are groups of people based on a person’s birth year. And they seem to be talked about way more than they ever have been before… Maybe because the world’s use of technology has skyrocketed in the last 10 years and cohorts like this are really important to big companies like Google and Meta. Why? Because different generations behave, think and feel in different way ..read more

In the increasingly connected world of work, boundaries between personal life and work are fading. Emails on work phones, WhatsApp team group chats on personal phones, and direct contact outside of the office via phone calls to business mobiles contribute to this blur. This is having an impact on the ability of employees, the self-employed and small business leaders/ owners to take time out and have proper rest whilst on annual leave. This blog considers the challenges of feeling unable to take a proper break and switch off during a period of annual leave in the ever-connected world we live i ..read more

Employee mental health is receiving more attention. As the value and benefits of positive and well-supported employee wellbeing initiatives are being realised, and an increased onus upon employers to support and make reasonable adjustments to enable employees to work to the best of their ability, there is new guidance on the topic that has been issued by ACAS.  This article outlines the statistics and information related to mental health in the workplace, including the associated costs. It will then outline the guidance that ACAS has recently suggested for reasonable adjustments employers ..read more

When your staff call in sick, it can cause a real headache. And COVID hasn’t made this any easier.  A recent report has shown that requests for sick notes from doctors are up 78%. And 52% of absence is related to stress, anxiety and depression.   All of this unplanned absence is costing small and medium-sized UK businesses in excess of £900 million, annually.  With that in mind, is it time that you took a serious look at the ways you can reduce absence in your business?  What is absence management?  Absence - or attendance - management encourages you to look a ..read more

Social media is a communication method which has grown exponentially in the last decade, with a global user base of 4.76 billion people, growing by 23 million users per quarter at current rates. It is important for people’s liberty and freedom of speech to be protected and valued. But where do business and HR draw the line between free speech and conduct? The potential damage to reputation from employees’ social media posts is an ambiguous and contentious issue.   Current stats and ideas about social media in the workplace Social media can play a part in an employee’s relationship with th ..read more

This topic will highlight the strategies many companies are utilising in order to create a family friendly culture for their employees and the benefits of doing so. If companies clearly set out their policies for supporting working parents, employees will feel safe and supported at work as they know there are measures in place which will support them growing their family. Below are examples of measures companies can take to support their employees, and how this, in turn, will benefit the company and its working culture. Maternity/Paternity Leave The rate of men taking paternity leave has ..read more

It goes without saying that the pandemic has created the greatest workplace transformation of our lifetime, quickly changing the way you and your team worked. Within a week, businesses like yours had to quickly adapt to working remotely. It was crazy, stressful, and, honestly, quite scary at times.  But on the whole, it’s likely that you and your team did an amazing job; quickly adjusting to working from home with surprisingly positive results.  The world is returning to normal, but going back to working in the office every day like you did pre-covid doesn’t seem to be quite so neces ..read more

With the cost of living rising dramatically, chances are your business needs to look at expenditure too.  Inflation rose to 6.2% in the 12 months to February this year, and that was up from 5.5% in January. It’s now at the highest it’s been for 30 years, and it doesn’t look like it’s going to get better any time soon.  So now is the right time for you to look at how your business could make savings and protect future revenue.  Believe it or not, HR can significantly help your business to save money. And no, I’m not talking about sacking everyone to save some money!  Instead ..read more