What questions are businesses asking about HR?

In Amy Blick’s previous column, she promised to return with some top tips for businesses, based on the questions she is asked online and by clients of exhilHRate. So, to kick off Agony Amy, here are the three questions that head up the leaderboard.

The four-day working-week – how can this work in my business?

Having made the headlines recently, with Labour promising improved flexibility, particularly for working parents and employees with caring responsibilities, the four-day working week is a hot discussion topic.

As an advocate of promoting flexibility in businesses, not least because it builds loyalty and can boost productivity, I would encourage you to investigate this with an open mind. A four-day working week may not be possible but thinking about ways to introduce more flexibility for your employees is time well spent.

When I ran a training session on this subject recently, it was clear that the initial barrier to the potential of a four-day week was fear – employers reacting rather than considering the concept. But when they spent a little time weighing up the pros and cons of offering employees a more flexible working week, they realised it was not such a big hill to climb. And for some there was a light bulb moment that it could be offered as a significant employee benefit that does not require additional funding.

Why not ask your team what they would like? You can do this informally, at performance reviews or an anonymous survey. Flexibility could just be the motivational tool that will propel your business ahead of competitors!

“Sexual harassment is making the headlines – what does this mean for our business?”

On 26th October 2024, sexual harassment law changed, and this brought with it some must-dos to your list as an employer. The Worker Protection (Amendment of the Equality Act 2010) Act 2023 introduces a proactive duty for employers to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace.

How will this impact your business? Well, you must ensure that you have a policy for your business specifically for sexual harassment. This must include steps to prevent sexual harassment by third parties. You must train your managers and leaders to prevent sexual harassment, and you must have a robust process in place that escalates appropriately, taking all cases seriously and promptly.

Considering this law, I would also ask you to think carefully about future Christmas parties. Too much alcohol can lead to inappropriate behaviour that can negatively impact on your business and the individuals involved. A maximum of two drinks tokens, with the focus on good food, can help ensure the celebrations are enjoyed by all. I would also encourage you to review any social activities in the light of this law to see what improvements can be made and to flag up areas of concern.

Day one unfair dismissal rights – what does this mean?

As you may be aware, the Labour government is planning to make unfair dismissal a day one right. This is one of my favourite topics to challenge business owners on. Many businesses have found comfort in the two years of ‘grace’ for dismissing employees, but I am yet to find a business that is concerned about this when they’re managing employees appropriately and fairly.

This is where performance management and investing in your managers or team leaders’ skills comes into its own – so much so that if you cannot say your processes around these are solid and consistently incredible, now is the time to fix them without delay.

Recruiting and onboarding employees should be a process that actively sets out your expectations, the role’s objectives and embraces your culture. Having a brilliant recruitment and onboarding process gives you confidence that your probation periods are set up for success, and they start the employee experience on the right footing every single time.

These two steps are key for creating a strategy for retention and development – and they keep on giving back! Culture cannot make itself! In other words, everything comes back to the performance and development processes in your business and how you look after your people – new to the role and longstanding. Whether you formally review your teams monthly or quarterly, thirdly – or my pet hate: only annually – empowering your people with the right skills is crucial! Treat them well from day one, and you will not be worried about day one unfair dismissal rights. It could be that this imminent change in legislation is an opportunity for you to cast a critical eye over your induction training and onboarding and to talk to those team members still in the early stages of their journey, so they can offer honest and constructive feedback.

Over the past months, I have noticed that agile and brilliant businesses prefer to use my ‘power hour’ to bring expert HR into their world. This is focused purely on your HR dilemmas on a one-to-one basis, at the time that suits you best.

It is like having a full-time HR professional, when you need it most, to deep dive into your challenges, arming you with confidence and expert practical advice. If you have read this and found yourself either scratching your chin in a “where should I start?” fashion or you know that your ‘people pillars’ are not where they need to be, the power hour is perfect for you!