10 HR challenges for small businesses

10-HR-challenges-for-small-businesses

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As a small business, especially if you’re only just getting started, it’s safe to say that there are going to be a few challenges that you’ll face. As well as facing potential cash flow issues, and generating new business and marketing opportunities, there may also be several HR challenges to face. In order to try and stay ahead of the curve, it’s a good idea to recognise the HR obstacles you might face so you can be better prepared when it comes to dealing with them.

Not acknowledging the need for dedicated HR services

One of the biggest mistakes that small businesses make, especially in the first few months of operating their new business, is not recognising or acknowledging the need for dedicated HR services within the business.

While it’s not essential for you to have a dedicated human resources team within your organisation, it is important to know that you will likely need some help with HR issues at some point, so failure to acknowledge this from the start could result in untrained staff, compliancy complications and more.

Members of staff (usually managers) doubling up on their roles

Following on from the point above, one of the biggest issues that small businesses face with regards to their HR is that many line managers or superior members of staff tend to double up on their roles and take on HR duties, even if they have no prior experience or qualifications.

This can lead to shoddy work and could even get your business in trouble, so it’s always best to outsource any HR work that you need, instead of trying to make it up as you go.

Finding the right people to hire

Finding the right people to hire is essential to the success of any business, but arguably even more so for a small enterprise as you need to be sure that the people who are working for you are genuinely on your team.

Outsourcing this task to a dedicated HR specialist can help you vet applications for the role you’re hiring for to ensure that you only hire the highest quality staff.

Training and retaining staff

Similarly to finding the right people to hire, another common HR mistake amongst small businesses is not being equipped with the necessary skills or equipment to train new staff effectively.

This also applies to staff retention as well; in order to keep the best staff on board as possible, it’s imperative to ensure that they’re fully trained and treated fairly so that they want to keep their job.

Conflict resolution

Conflict between members of staff or employees and managers can be a tricky thing to tackle. Not knowing how to handle conflict within the workplace could prove to have unpleasant consequences, so it’s important that you know when and how to seek professional help and guidance when it comes to conflict resolution.

You should endeavour to ensure that your employees feel supported and valued by their manager so that no conflict issues may arise. You can obtain the necessary training for managers so that they know how to handle any workplace conflict issues and how to address them should they appear.

Workplace diversity

A workforce comprising people from different ethnic backgrounds, cultures and generations is a sure-fire way to bring an eclectic group of individuals together to create a dynamic, fresh and engaged team.

However, unfortunately, there will always likely be intolerant people within any workforce, so in order to avoid potential lawsuits and financial consequences, it’s important to know how to deal with these kinds of situations and failing that, you should be prepared to outsource a HR expert who can assist.

Employee productivity and work ethic

Keeping your staff well-trained and well-equipped with the necessary skills required to carry out their job effectively is one thing, but ensuring employee productivity and a good work ethic is another.

If you’re not sure of the best way to engage and motivate staff, you might want to seek external help from HR experts (such as Rosa HR) who can provide you with guidance on the best way to increase employee productivity.

Reward and recognition of staff

One of the best ways to help increase employee productivity is to acknowledge the need for reward and recognition of your staff’s work.

By making your employees feel like they’re a valued member of the team, you can help to increase staff productivity which in turn leads to a more successful business.

There are many ways you can incentivise staff and by making bonus schemes available to your employees and ensuring that they’re accessible, inclusive and achievable, your employees are much more likely to feel the rewards and thus increase their output.

Dealing with long-term sickness

When employees are off sick, this can cost your business a lot of money, depending on how long someone is off work and whether you have to hire someone else as a substitute for the lack of workforce.

It can also cause delays in efficiency and productivity and when one person is off sick, it can have an effect on the entire team. Knowing how to handle long-term sickness in a compassionate and sensitive manner is an important part of running a business, regardless of how big or small the organisation is.

Legal and regulatory compliance

There are several consequences that a company can face if they fail to comply with the likes of employment laws such as those that govern wages, hiring of staff, taxes, sick leave and workplace safety, so in order to avoid hefty fines, it’s important to know the proper rules and regulations when it comes to legal and regulatory compliance.

While of course you’re not expected to know everything about legal compliance, especially as a small business, you will be expected to know what to do should an issue arise, which is why you should consider hiring HR help to ensure that you’re keeping abreast of any changes within employment law.

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