Employing a team gives your business the skills and people power it needs to prosper.

But with human

resources come people challenges. Not only do you need to ensure your business remains lawful but
you must keep your employees engaged whilst ensuring your business flourishes. To help you focus on
what really matters, here are the top 10 HR issues entrepreneurs face with advice on how to deal with
them.

1. Recruiting the Right People

Number 1 of the top 10 HR issues: An unexpected leaver or an uptake in business can send operations
into a spin and put additional pressure on your team. It can be tempting to rush recruitment but hurry
to hire and you could end up with someone who doesn’t work out.

Solve your recruitment woes by setting up a hiring process. Invest time in writing quality job descriptions
and person specifications so that only the most suitable apply. This will reduce the number of CV’s you’ll
review and you’ll need to interview fewer, higher quality people saving time all round.

2. Deciding What to Pay

It can be difficult to keep in touch with the market rate for jobs, particularly in industries where skill sets
quickly go in and out of fashion. Underpay and you won’t attract quality, experienced candidates.
Overpay and you could cause internal rifts and end up paying more than you need.

If you’re carrying out your own recruitment, scan the market for similar job descriptions in the same
region to establish rates of pay. Alternatively, use an experienced recruiter with their finger on the pulse
so you can be sure you’re paying the going rate. They’ll also take away the pain of much of the
recruitment process.

3. Your Employee Handbook is Ancient or Non-Existent

Number 3 of the top 10 HR issues: Writing an employee handbook might seem like hard work, but
devote some time to capturing your people policies and explaining what’s expected from employees to
save a lot of pain in the future. Your handbook should also set out the right steps to follow if something
goes wrong. This will keep you on the right side of the law and reduce the amount of time spent thinking
about what to do next. For a quick, easy and legally compliant solution, use a Human Resources
consultant to write one for you.
4. Training Takes a Back Seat

When deadlines are looming, employee training and development often take a back seat. But advancing
your team’s knowledge and experience translates into more potential for your business. To maintain
your focus on this area, set up a people plan that identifies short and long term business goals and
establishes what you need from your employees to achieve them. Pinpoint skills gaps and fill them with
formal training, coaching or mentorship.

5. Employee Engagement is Ignored

Ensuring your people are engaged in their jobs is every bit as important for the health and wellbeing of
your people as it is for the productivity of your business. Employee engagement can be as simple as:

• establishing your company’s ‘why’ (see this link for more)

• organising occasional social events

• regularly expressing your thanks to your team

• creating a pleasant working environment with items such as stand up desks, fresh fruit or cake on a
Friday

Whatever you choose to do, ensure it fits with your company culture and is something your employees
are interested in.

6. Managing Performance

Establishing what good performance looks like, ensuring it’s written down, agreed on, measurable and
discussed are the cornerstones of performance management. However, all too often, performance
management becomes a tick box exercise, not a meaningful year-round conversation.

Make sure you communicate the performance management process and timescales so everyone knows
what to expect and what their responsibilities are. If worst comes to worst, and you need to dismiss
someone due to poor performance, you’ll have followed the right process and documented it to ensure
your approach is legal.
7. Managing Sickness Absence

Number 7 of the top 10 HR issues: If it hasn’t happened already, it’s likely you’ll need to deal with a
problematic case of sickness absence. Sometimes, it will present as a serious long term illness requiring
an extended period off work. At other times, an individual may take a large amount of time off at ad hoc
times over the year.

Either way, this can be very disruptive for a business and needs to be dealt with. But you’ll need to tread
carefully due to disability discrimination laws. Discipline or dismiss someone who has an underlying
disability and you could end up in a tribunal on the grounds of disability discrimination. If there’s any
doubt, consult with a Human Resources professional to ensure you take all the necessary steps.

8. Keeping Hold of Your Best People

There are certain people in your business you can’t afford to lose; from rising stars to your best
salesperson, or someone whose experience and guidance you trust and rely on. To keep hold of these
individuals, ensure they have the following:

• A good relationship with their direct manager

• Competitive salary and benefits

• Opportunity to use their skills and abilities

• Opportunity for advancement

Get these right for all employees and you’ll have a happy, engaged workforce who want to stay.

9. HMRC Requirements

There’s no doubt that tax is taxing. And, to add insult to injury, HMRC regularly move the goalposts. One
of the trickier areas of tax, particularly for those businesses that use contractors or freelancers, is the
classification of employees. The line between employees and the self-employed is a little blurry and
stepping over that line can be costly. Read our earlier blog post on this topic for guidance.

10. The Last Of The Top 10 HR Issues: Employment Law

There’s no escaping it – employment law is part and parcel of hiring people to work for you. From
discrimination and unfair dismissal to pensions auto-enrolment and new statutory pay levels,
employment law is hazardous to SMEs. And, with Brexit on the horizon, it’s a safe bet that there’s more
change to come.