Author Archives: debbie

1. How staff attitude affects bottom line

   Friday, 26 January, 2018 7:04 pm Comments Off on How staff attitude affects bottom line

   I strongly believe that every company needs great staff to be a great business. Take the John Lewis Partnership. They treat their staff with respect.  It shines through in the way the staff treat their customers. As a result, customers go back time and again.  My mission is to help my clients to have great staff and therefore, a great business too.

   This month I’ve been a customer of two local businesses. I think the way the staff treated me speaks for volumes about their employers.  It also has a direct effect on where I will be spending my money in future.

   The florist…. 

   

   I bought some flowers for a friend. I thought the bunch I picked was lovely but the lady at the till was not happy.

   Before selling the bunch to me, she looked at the contents and decided two stems were not as fresh as they should be. She could have easily made that sale.  Instead she asked me to chose another.  Had the flowers quickly died, I probably wouldn’t have gone back to complain.  What I would have done is complained to others and chosen never to go back there.  Instead, I know that I will go back again and again in the future, confident the bunch I buy will last.

   I throughly recommend Welwyn Florist.

   The restaurant….

   Contrast that to the local restaurant.  I wanted to book at table for 6 people.  I was told politely but firmly that they only took bookings for 8 or more.  I asked what time the restaurant was likely to get busy.  She told me that “in January, you should be able to walk straight in”.  I said “if you won’t be busy, could you take a booking for 6 people?” “No” she replied.  “The minimum booking number is 8”.

   You won’t be surprised to learn we went somewhere else.  I don’t plan to go there again – why would I?  It does not matter what the food is like, if the staff put you off, you’ll go somewhere else.  There are plenty of other places to eat after all.

   How do your staff become great?

   I know that the florist I met was not the business owner.  I suspect the lady in the restaurant wasn’t either.  The difference is, one was motivated to do what was right for the business in the long term. The other was not.   Your customers base their decisions on their interactions with your staff. If you don’t have great staff, it will affect your business.  It will affect your bottom line.

   If you want to learn more about how motivate people, provide constructive feedback and have great staff, come to our next “Managing challenging employees” course.  The course will be held at Novotel Stevenage on 22nd March 2018.  For more information or to book at place, please click here or contact me.

2. Fantastic CV or Fraud?

   Thursday, 28 December, 2017 9:03 am Comments Off on Fantastic CV or Fraud?

   January to March is the traditional peak time to look for a new job. That means you may soon be looking to recruit.  Should you believe everything you read in a CV?

   

    

   The CV is a Sales Document

   A CV tells you what the candidate wants you to know.  It doesn’t tell you what they would rather you did not find out.  Pro-active candidates will tailor their CV to your job.  Studies have consistently shown that around 60% of people exaggerate or even lie on their CVs.

   David Scott joined Mech-Tool as Managing Director, earning more than £120,000 per annum.  The Company is a leading heat and blast protection company in the oil and gas sector.  His CV claimed he had three degrees, to have written a renowned academic paper and described him as a “seasoned executive”.  In reality, he didn’t have a degree, the paper was written by an American Professor with the same name and he had never held an executive role before.

   Mech-Tool recruited David Scott to oversee two new multi-million pound contracts in Kazakhstan.  It soon became clear he was not up to the job and the Company started digging into his CV.  As a result, David Scott has just been convicted of fraud and jailed for 12 months.

    

   What to look out for on a CV

   When every CV in front of you looks great, what are the warning signs you should be looking out for?

   • Lots of short-term jobs
   • Gaps in employment
   • Odd jumps in job title
   • Things that sound too good to be true
   • Vague details – improved customer service – what does that mean?
   • Vague dates – 2014-2015 could mean two years or two months.
   • Check on line reviews for their current employer.  Are there any clues there?

   If you want to know more, speak briefly to the candidate first on the phone.  If they will be talking to your customers, it’s a great way to test their telephone manner.  If you decide to interview, be sure to drill down into anything you are not sure of.

    

   How to Manage CVs

   You may have lots of CVs land in your inbox but do what you need to do to keep on top of them.  After all, these candidates have put time and effort into contacting you.

   Always let candidates know if they have been unsuccessful. Not only is this common courtesy but in these days of social media, how they are treated can soon get around to the very candidates you want to recruit.

   If you are employing directly, send your candidates confirmation of the interview date, time, location and interviewer’s name.  Tell the receptionist that they are coming so they feel welcome when they arrive.  If this proves to be your ideal candidate, you want them to believe you are going to be a good and thoughtful employer.

    

3. Hitting the Target

   Thursday, 30 November, 2017 5:08 pm Comments Off on Hitting the Target

   My target for 2017 was to talk 10,000 steps every day. The end of the year is fast approaching and I haven’t missed a day yet. If I had missed one day, I know I would have missed the next. Targets are just as important to motivate your team so they can judge for themselves how they are doing.

   

   Setting a SMART Target

   It’s no good setting a target if it cannot be met. If my target had been to walk 10 miles every day, I would have not lasted a week. Likewise, if I had said that I should simply walk more, that wouldn’t mean very much and would soon be forgotten. Every target you set needs to be:

   Specific

   Measurable

   Achievable

   Realistic

   Timebound

    

   A target of “increasing sales” means very little.   One additional £ is an increase in sales. Instead, be specific: sales to X customers, to be increased by Y%, within Z months.

    

   Agreeing targets

   If you want your staff to achieve a target, you need to get their buy in. They need to understand why it is important and want to achieve it too. What support do they need from you?

   You may need to break it down into manageable chunks. My one year target seemed a long way off at first. I broke it down into the first month, the first quarter etc. This gave me little milestones of achievement along the way.

   If your targets are not going to be met, think why. What has gone wrong? Do you need to set a new achievable target? Your team will be demotivated if they think that, no matter how much effort they put in, they are not going to achieve what you expect of them.

   Think about how you will recognise that targets have been met. That could mean commission. That could mean a thank you meal. Whatever it is, you need to show it’s all been worth it.

    

   With my end goal in sight, I’m thinking how to reward myself. After all this walking, it could be with a new pair of trainers!

    

   If you would like help setting your targets, please do contact me.

4. Confidential – Do Not Read

   Monday, 30 October, 2017 10:35 am Comments Off on Confidential – Do Not Read

   Intriguing, isn’t it? The word – confidential. What is about that word that makes you want to read it even more?

   You probably have a lot of confidential information about your employees.   As a minimum you should have their bank details, their passports, contact details and salaries. You may also have medical details, appraisals or planned pay rises. Would you want a complete stranger to have that information about you?

   My gym has a bank of computer screens on show. This is so you can book the next session. I was shocked to see one screen displaying their payroll. There is no surer way to upset staff than leaving confidential information for others to see.

   

    

   How to keep confidential information just that

   Always:

   • Look at it in a private area.
   • On a screen that no one can see if they walk past.
   • Turn it over or close your screen if someone comes to talk to you.
   • Put away the information or shut down your computer when you walk away from your desk.
   • Keep in a locked/password protected place, away from prying eyes.
   • Limit the access to only those that really need it.
   • Be careful where you send it to print.
   • Double check email addresses.
   • Double check printers and photocopiers.
   • Don’t put it in the recycling bin. Shred it.

    

   Medical Information

   Health information is extremely sensitive. Most people won’t be upset if someone found out they once had a cold. They might be embarrassed by tummy problems but we all get them. There are some conditions that people may want very much to be kept quiet.  You should respect this.

   Medical information should be kept in a separate file. It should be treated as your most valuable secret. If someone reveals a serious medical condition, always ask permission before you share it. Those with a life threatening condition will understand that they need to make their colleagues aware.  They are likely to be pleased you are taking it seriously.

    

   It’s not just your employees who will be upset with you for sharing confidential information. Every company should now be looking carefully at the GDPR legislation due in May 2018.

    

   Please contact me, in confidence of course, to discuss any issues further.

    

    

5. A new type of “leave” for employees?

   Monday, 2 October, 2017 4:17 pm Comments Off on A new type of “leave” for employees?

   Everton Footballer Wayne Rooney, was allegedly going to ask his employers for “sympathetic leave”. Is this a new type of leave and are they obliged to agree?

    

   In addition to annual holiday, your employees may be able to ask for:

   • Time of for Dependants
   • Parental Leave
   • Adoption/maternity/paternity/Shared Parental Leave
   • Time off for Training (Companies with over 250 staff).

    

   Time off for Dependants

   Time off has to be given when a dependent has an emergency such as:

   • An urgent situation at school or school closure.
   • An accident or hospital admission.
   • A child falling ill.
   • A pet is not a “dependant” but do consider whether your employee’s request is reasonable.
   • Broken boilers and household deliveries are not “dependents”!

   Employees should only take a “reasonable” amount of time off to deal with the emergency or put other care arrangements in place.  Usually no more than a day or two.

   Emergency time off for Dependants is unpaid. Your employee does not have to have any service to be able to claim it.

    

   Parental Leave

   If the situation is likely to last longer than a couple of days, and your employee has at least one year’s service, you could suggest they take Parental Leave.

   Up to 4 weeks’ per year, per child, Parental Leave can be taken.  It must be used in whole weeks, unless the child is disabled.

    

   Sympathetic Leave

   There is no such thing in UK law as “Sympathetic Leave”. It’s down to you as the employer to decide whether you are able to allow your employee time off to deal with a personal matter.

   If you find their personal life is distracting them from their work, a few days off can do wonders. If you they don’t have any holiday left to use, unpaid leave can be an option.

   Pressures of work may mean this is not possible to offer this. Is there a compromise you can come to? For instance could you give them some time off if they agreed to be contactable?

    

   Compassionate Leave

   Surprisingly, there is no legal requirement to give paid compassionate leave to an employee when they lose a loved one.  Most employers will give a limited amount of paid time off for close relatives.  I think we will see this change in future years.  Suggestions have quite rightly been made about paid time off for those who lose a child.   That said, if all employers acted with humanity, maybe new laws would not be necessary.

    

   Just remember, how you feel you were treated when you were at rock bottom, tends to be memorable.  Wouldn’t you want your employees to remember how you treated them with respect and compassion?

    

    

6. Zeroing in on Zero Hours Contracts

   Wednesday, 23 August, 2017 1:25 pm Comments Off on Zeroing in on Zero Hours Contracts

   Zero hour contracts have their critics, thanks largely to their mis-use. For employers who urgently need short-term cover, they are an essential tool.

   

    

   Who uses zero hours contracts?

    According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), around more than 800,000 people in the UK have zero hours contracts. Used properly, they offer both parties flexibility. The Company does not have to offer work and the worker does not have to accept it.

   Employers keep their costs down, having trained staff when they need them but no cost when they don’t. Workers can choose not to work if they have other commitments.

    

   Working for another employer

   If you haven’t much work to offer, your workers may find they don’t earn enough to pay their bills. A zero hours contract must not contain an exclusivity clause.  In other words, you must not stop them working for another employer.

   Part of the deal is that each party has very little commitment.  Don’t expect these workers to hang around if something more permanent is offered elsewhere.

    

   Holiday pay

   All workers are entitled to holiday pay. In the past, this could be added to the hourly rate.

   Some however, were on a zero hours contract but often worked full time. When they went on holiday, they were not paid. The law was changed so that holiday pay could not be rolled up into the hourly rate. It must be paid when the worker takes time off.

   To calculate holiday entitlement, multiply the number of hours worked by 12.07%. For instance:

    

   100 hours worked X 12.07% = 12.07 hours of holiday entitlement earned.

    

   This change in the law was great for those working full time. However, those people never should have been on zero hours contracts in the first place. For those using zero hours contacts properly, it has become a logistical nightmare. I don’t think this was fully considered by law makers.

    

   The future of zero hours contracts?

   Following some high-profile cases surrounding the “Gig Economy”, the Government commissioned a review of modern working practices. The Taylor Review “Good Work” has just been published. Among its recommendations it suggests:

    

   • That individuals be given the right to choose between holiday pay being rolled up into their hourly rate or paid time off.
   • That individuals on zero hours contracts be given the right to request a permanent contract after 12 months.

    

   While there is no guarantee that these proposals will be adopted, I hope they will. I will keep you posted.

7. Why Equal Pay = BBC Headache

   Friday, 28 July, 2017 8:51 am Comments Off on Why Equal Pay = BBC Headache

    

   If you’ve felt under pressure at work recently, spare a thought for the BBC’s HR Department.  They are currently in an equal pay storm.  Forced to publish the salaries of their top earners, serious questions are being asked.

   

   BBC salaries make the news

   Breakfast News announced that top salaries were being published.  Dan Walker joked about the “fun day ahead”.   Dan Walker earns up to £249,000 per annum.  His co-host, Louise Minchin was not on the list.

   The published facts have caused much comment. Highest paid employee, Chris Evans, earns more than four times as much as Claudia Winkleman, the highest paid female.  No one with a black, Asian and minority ethic (BAME) background appears in the top 20 earners.  Two thirds of those on the published list are white males.

   From the comfort of my sofa, it’s hard to see why male and female presenters of the same shows have different salaries.  There may be some justification.  Equally, some serious questions have to be asked.  This list only looked at those earning over £150,000.  Is this just the tip of the iceberg?

    

   Will your company be making headlines?

   If you have 250 workers or more, from 5^th April 2018 you will need to publish your own gender pay reports.   Workers will include contractors and some self-employed people.

   You will need to publish the following:

   • average gender pay gap as a mean average
   • average gender pay gap as a median average
   • average bonus gender pay gap as a mean average
   • average bonus gender pay gap as a median average
   • proportion of males receiving a bonus payment and proportion of females receiving a bonus payment
   • proportion of males and females when divided into four groups ordered from lowest to highest pay.

   Expect further headlines next year!

    

    

   Not Paying Equal Pay = Discrimination

   Failing to pay equal pay is a form of discrimination.  There is no upper limit on the award in a discrimination claim.

   A person cannot be discriminated against on the basis of sex, race, age, sexuality, disability, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy or maternity leave, religion or beliefs or gender reassignment.  These are known as the ‘protected characteristics’.

   To pursue an equal pay claim, the worker needs a comparator with a different protected characteristic.

    

   Equal Pay for Work of Equal Value

   If you have several staff doing the same job, at the same level, they should receive equal pay.  That’s straightforward.  However, the law goes further.  For an equal pay claim to succeed, the work does not have to be identical.  It has to be of equal value.

   In October 2016, a Tribunal found that supermarket workers at ASDA could proceed with a claim that their work was of equal value to those that worked in ASDA’s warehouses.  The supermarket workers are mainly women.  The warehouse workers are mainly men.

   If this case is lost at a Tribunal, ASDA may face claims for back pay and benefits for up to 6 years.

    

   Equal pay is rightly not going away.  Take a close look now at the salaries you pay your staff.  Are you paying equal pay for work of equal value?  While you are at it, are you paying salaries competitive to the market?  If you don’t pay your talent fairly, someone else will.

   Think how much upset the BBC could have saved if they had only looked ahead.  Save yourself your own HR headache by reviewing salaries now.  If you need any support, please contact me.