According to Small Business Victoria:
- Over 70% of SME’s do not have a clear business plan or strategy and;
- Over 90% of SME’s say that people problems are their biggest challenge
When a small business does not have a clear strategy it creates a disconnect between their people and your cause (WHY)… This is an issue because from here stems disengagement and lower productivity. It is well known that employee’s who feel emotionally connected to their employer are much more likely to work harder!
However, most SME’s struggle to manage their people issues as they cannot afford to engage a HR Manager or HR resource in their business and fly blind when it comes to people issues. They also lack the structure or skills to create a real connection between the big picture and their people.
Small business owners also struggle to manage serious performance issues due to a lack of understanding of industrial relations laws and a fear of unfair dismissal and adverse action claims.
Our hot tips for ensuring you are protected from systemic people issues are:
- Speak clearly to your employees with your vision, mission & values
- Ensure these are integrated within your Induction, contracts of employment and Policies and Procedures
- Embed your values and strategy into your Performance Management Process
- Always manage according to values & behaviour – acknowledge effort not just outcomes
- Be a leader – Don’t accept mediocrity
- Be Humble & Be Honest when giving direction
- Give feedback and praise regularly and always with integrity
Most importantly invest in training your Managers on how to lead, don’t just dump good practitioners into a Management role and hope for the best.
If are experiencing people pain at the moment and need help to turn your people into profits, give HR Gurus a call.
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