The Blog

HR Advice

An open and free to use resource offering advice and articles that any business owner or company principal might find useful.

We believe in sharing our experience & know-how, and in doing so we aim to help create a positive attitude to our business, please feel free to browse the pages and call if you need any further help.

What should you consider when restructuring? Do you know how to structure a probationary period? Flexible working in 2024 – what’s new? Summer is over, how do you keep your employees motivated? Have you checked what holiday is left to be taken for you team? Did you know April is Stress Awareness Month? Find out more on how to help you and others Identifying your key roles and assess the skills, knowledge and aspirations of your employees. Succession Planning – What is it and why do we need it? Did you know that this Saturday, 17 February, is Random Act of Kindness Day. Here’s how to set your goals, the smart way! Brew (Blue) Monday Do your employees know what you expect of them at work? Can holiday be carried over into next year? Christmas Jumper Day: Thursday 7 December Where do you start with job descriptions? So what is the right way to write a job advert? Chat GPT and the Future of Human Resources. We’re All Being Replaced by Robots. Or, Maybe Not. Timing is Everything: When to Hire an HR Consultant How do you manage a successful probationary period? What should you consider when looking for the perfect candidate? Have you considered an onboarding process? How can you do to help make your workforce healthier? Can an employee cancel their holiday and come to work? Have you allowed your employees to carry over their holiday? What next? What happens if an employee is late for no fault of theirs? Can you pay an employee in lieu of annual leave? Are your objectives still relevant? How are you getting on with your year end focus? Are you ready for year end? Do you want to know how to structure a grievance hearing? Is there a difference with an employee complaining and a grievance? We are half way through August; have you employees been using their holiday allowance? We are in the middle of the summer holidays, so what do you need think about? What do you do after you find a great candidate and they accept? How do you Encourage a Better Work-Life Balance in Your Employees So, what is a probationary period, is it worth having in a contract? Do you want some steps for an appraisal? Read on… What is the key component in managing your Workforce? How do you ensure your employees have read and understood the Employee Handbook? Is your Employee Handbook up to date? Are you sure? Do you want the final three KPIs? Of course you do Here are three more KPIs you may wish to consider within your business! Do you want to know three KPIs for your business? Are you using KPIs to move your business forward? Do you engage with your employees? How do you do this? With Employee Engagement, why are the role of the Line Manager so critical? Is Employee Engagement Important? How can you make your working life easier?  Do you like simples processes? Do you find that you create a process, and it is not followed? What are pre employment checks and why are they so important? Does everyone know what they are doing in the recruitment process? Where do you advertise for candidates? Did you know it is currently an employee’s market? Do you regularly review your job descriptions? Do employees appreciate their company benefits? If not, what can you do to promote them? Do your employees need a lift? Here is an fun idea to bring them together Five common mistakes managers make in reward and recognition What do you do when one of your employees are not reaching the standard you want? When you hear performance management, do you always think it is poor performance? Appraisals, do you find them daunting? Do you do one to one’s? How do you engage your employees before they start? You are making changes, don’t forget to talk to all your employees! When do you tell employees what they can expect to be paid if they are made redundant? How do you approach consulting with your employees? Have you closed your minds to alternatives to the changes you are intending to make? Decision made, changes are happening. Have you got a communication plan? Do you support your managers when they are undertaking changes and redundancies? How do you approach a change in the workplace or a redundancy process? We need to focus on moving forward, but before you do….give us a call to check What is the cost of asking the wrong interview questions? How do you encourage your employees to become fitter in these times? Are you looking for a great way to start your New Year? Please tell me, how do you pass on praise from colleagues and customers? How can we spread happiness in the workplace? How do you conduct a successful interview? Are you ready for a flexible working request? What should you do BEFORE the appraisal? Are you any good at delegating? Do you have time for appraisals? If not how about this…. Time is precious so how can you make your meetings successful? You do a to do list, have you thought of a not to do list? Have you lost your focus? What do you do about dress code, especially in this hot weather? Why is communication so important and why should you prepare? Why aren’t they doing their job what should I do? Performance Management or Disciplinary Procedure? How much holiday have your employees used so far this year? None…then you need a plan. Do you want some simple steps on how to conduct a successful one to one? What do you need to consider when doing an induction virtually? Is your Employee Handbook up to date and have you thought about return to work guidelines? Do you need some direction on how to manage change? How do you manage your communication with your employees? How to communicate with employees who are working at home How well do you communicate with an employee when they announce they are pregnant? When do you take time out to say thank you and explain why? How are you at communicating? Job Descriptions, what else can it be used for? Job Description Case Study Should employees have visibility of all the job description? What should be in a job description? Do you document everything in the job description? Should an employee write their own job description? Where do you start with job descriptions? Should everyone have a job description? An employee announces they are pregnant, what do you do? How can you gain trust from your employees? Should you conduct an exit interview? Can you pay your employees for holiday not taken? Have you considered a secondment? Who doesn’t need succession planning? Non-starter Syndrome, what is it? Do people apply to work for you to do just that job? When you interview do you explain the company’s values? Do you have a rotten apple in your team? Do you have a person that is really hard to manage and they keep interrupting you? What should you do? Are you giving your employees clear direction and responsibilities? An employee is leaving, could it be down to boredom? What do you need to ensure the induction is right Here’s some ideas on how to focus your employees Are appraisals working for you and your employees? How should you handle vaping in the workplace? We all know about Health and Safety in the work place, but what about Health and Wellbeing? Incentives and bonuses good or bad? You have a new business, do you need HR and what would they do for you? Are you and your team going to achieve your half year goals? Organisation Culture, which one is your company? Here is why you should integrate well-being into performance management What is a benefits package and what should it include? What is an annual leave policy and what should it include? How to manage time off in lieu for your employees Five things you should consider when giving a Christmas bonus How to avoid staff burnout What are pre employment checks and why are they so important? Should you be honest with your employees? How do you create a feedback habit? What to do when you have an employee off sick with stress? How to maintain company culture as you grow How do you manage a successful probationary period? What role do leaders play in embedding company culture? Here is why you should update job descriptions….regularly Presenteeism, what is it and what is the impact? What is the impact of a workplace politics and a toxic culture? The 12 steps to consider before you have your difficult conversation Did you know employees with money worries are 50% more likely to report signs of poor mental health that affect their performance at work? How to have a difficult conversation with an employee The summer holidays have arrived, so what do you need think about? Can you change a toxic culture? Yes, read how to So what should you be wearing in the office in the summer and hot weather? Are you avoiding having a difficult conversation? You’ve found the right person, here’s how to get them to say yes Remember they are interviewing you too! So how do you prepare as an employer to interview a candidate? How You Use Your Network What is happening to childcare vouchers? How To Create Your Network How do you help an employee that is grieving? How do you manage a successful probationary period? What happens if your employee decides they don’t want to work their notice? How to run successful induction for your new recruits? So what can you do about the office grapevine? Seven ways to set a positive example Here are five reasons not to contact an employee whilst they’re off sick Here are four ways you can avoid staff pulling a sickie It’s time to look back and then look forward… what does 2018 hold for you? It’s a new year, so how do you support a healthier workforce? Do you have a sickness policy? Here is why you should have one. Should we be letting our employees carry over holiday to the next year? We are coming to the end of the year, have you employees been using their holiday allowance? What do you do if someone hands in their notice and then wants to use their holiday as part of it? You do a to do list, have you thought of a NOT to do list? Is this a major cause of many an email sent in your office? Mental Awareness Week, we can all help, here is how you can do your bit….. Should you be honest with your employees? Do you want to know how to calculate staff turnover? Overweight workers cost the UK Economy Billions – how can you help reduce the bill? Did you know employees with money worries are 50% more likely to report signs of poor mental health that affect their performance at work? How do you create a feedback habit? Oh no the summer holidays are ending, here’s how to keep your employees motivatated? How to stop your office becoming a hotbed? How to stop being a pain to your employees? Five common mistakes leaders make in reward and recognition Excited about going on holiday? Don’t forget how important a proper handover is. Here’s how to become a good leader? The answer is in the picture What do you with the information you gather in your one to one meetings? One to One’s – here are some easy steps on how to make them successful and not just an exercise Bored to tears at work, what should you do about it? The summer has arrived, so what do you need think about? Probationary period, what does that mean? What would you do if an employee refuses to work with a colleague? Writing a whistle blowing policy and procedure, what should you cover? So what protection do you get from being a whistle blower? So what is whistle blowing? The investigation has been conducted and you receive the report, what do you do next? An investigation at work…. where do YOU start? Personal Development, what you need to know How does YOUR attitude impact your Personal Development? Personal Development, here’s how to get started Personal Development…. the next steps Personal Development, it’s time to take ownership of it. Do you review your benefits? Company benefits, do they work for you? Have you thought what your employees want most? What are flexible benefits? What benefits should you provide your employees? Encourage Happiness and stamp out the negativity It’s that time of year for goal setting, here are five steps for great goals Research has found trust in middle managers is low, so how do we improve the situation? ‘Black Friday’ is coming…. do you have an IT policy? Did you know developing your staff can help your company be successful? Do you set goals for your employees? It could make a difference to your profit…. Should you communicate with employees that are off on long term sick? Do you want to learn about the barriers you can overcome to make communicating more effective? It is that time of the day, how do you get over the dip in the afternoon? What to do about employee sickness? How do you grow responsibility? Time is precious so how can you make your meetings successful? Do your employees actually take a break at lunchtime? Why has it all gone quiet suddenly? Let’s see the service you provide from a customer’s point of view! Yes, it is that time of year…when we need to talk about dress code Five Key Differences Between a Job Description and a Job Advert So the fourth element in engaging employees is ……Trust The third principle of employee engagement is …..Voice So what about line managers when it comes to employee engagement? Following on from my blog last week when I asked …. Do you know there are four simple principles of employee engagement? Do you know there are four simple principles of employee engagement? Do you need to have a difficult or challenging conversation with someone at work? Are you a good leader? Do you recognise any of these traits in you? How do you deal with conflict positively? Do employees appreciate their company benefits? If not, what should you do? Is workplace engagement just another corporate fad I can ignore? So what happens after the first interview? Planning for an interview, are you ready? STOP! What should you do before advertising your vacancy and the interview? Are you ready to challenge your team to pull together and they have fun too? How are you dealing with an aging work-force? Bugs, colds, flu, do short term absences ever stop? Low cost ways to improve staff satisfaction in your small business Does team building have to be all about outdoors activities and jumping through trees? The difference listening can make to you and your career Do happy employees work harder? How do you deal with poor hygiene? Are you required to pay employees who cannot make it into work because of severe weather conditions? So what should be in an Induction Process? Why is a good Induction Process critical to your business? WHO DOESN’T NEED SUCCESSION PLANNING? Understanding the role of a companion IT’S YOUR APPRAISAL, WHAT CAN GO WRONG? Why did you start your business? Are you talking to your employees regularly? Great, but do you give them time to talk to you? Has the summer come and gone? Have you thought about offering your employees a Recruitment Bounty?

Subscribe to Top HR Tips
& download our FREE eBook...

Read our Privacy Policy