New Year’s resolutions for your SME business

Wednesday January 4, 2023

2023 has officially arrived and we are getting into the swing of a new year.

Accompanying the new year for many are goals and resolutions. Perhaps you want to take on a new hobby or spend more time outdoors?

While we often think of such resolutions in a personal capacity, you may well have some resolutions for your SME business this year. Or if not, perhaps those listed below can provide some inspiration for the year ahead.

“I want to retain my best staff”

You’ve recruited the best possible talent for your team – so what’s next?

Retention.

Retaining your staff is far more cost-effective than recruiting and training new employees. So it’s important to focus on how you engage with them to create a high-performing, motivated team.

A variety of aspects can contribute to retention.

For example, offering ongoing development opportunities. Giving your employees the chance to improve their skillsets will make them feel valued. Additionally, upskilling your team will help you fill any recruitment gaps you have experienced from within.

Training and development are valuable employee benefits which can improve employee retention and entice your preferred candidate to choose your company over another.

If you’re looking to increase your employee benefit offering to retain top talent, employee benefits that put health and well-being first are a good place to start.

With energy costs rising, working from home may become less desirable. Inviting employees back to the office is a chance to reignite workplace culture and benefit from office camaraderie.

Encouraging good physical and mental health can work wonders. Investment in benefits like employee assistance programmes (EAPs) to help is a good long-term strategy and is very cost-effective.

“I want to improve diversity, inclusion and equality”

A workplace encouraging diversity, equality and inclusion (DEI) can reap rewards – from making your company more successful to being able to better serve a more diverse range of customers.

Improving diversity, equality and inclusion within your business needs to be a genuine shift in your culture and values.

You should be thorough when looking at your processes and ways of working.

A great place to start is with your recruitment process.

Thoroughly review the language you use in your job descriptions, and where you place your adverts. Ensure your pre-conceptions of “what fits” doesn’t exclude any candidates unfairly.

Bias should be removed by including various screening methods and structured interviews where candidates are all asked the same set of questions for the role.

Make sure people of all different backgrounds are made to feel comfortable and welcome from the start.

Another idea could be to introduce a strategic training programme for your team to help employees understand how cultural differences can impact how people work and interact with each other.

It is important that you communicate with your staff what you want to do and what you want to achieve.

“I want to boost productivity”

Productivity is essential to running a successful business.

If you’re looking to boost the productivity of your team this year, there are a few ways you could consider going about it. Some, of course, you may already be doing.

Introducing regular appraisals can be a great way to provide your staff with direct feedback on their progress and performance and can help keep them on track.

They are an opportunity to cascade your business strategy throughout the company to push everyone towards achieving its objectives.

Working environment will always play a role in productivity. Does hybrid working work for your business?

Working from home can give your employees time to work on projects without the distraction of meetings. Office days can also become more collaborative and productive.

Another idea which we have seen work well to improve productivity is providing time management training to your employees. It can help them to work more efficiently and get more stuff done.

“I want to improve my HR processes and procedures”

The beginning of a new year is the ideal time to hit the reset button, and one way you may choose to do this is by refreshing your workplace policies.

Having clear policies and guidelines for your business puts you in a better position to tackle any challenges you may face.

That’s why having an HR strategy is important.

It can help to maximise the positive contribution of your employees and address the longer-term issues of planning your human resources in line with business objectives.

The HR Dept can help you with strategic HR planning to align with your overarching business plan.

We are regularly updating our SME Insights page with up-to-date information on trends and issues that are prominent within the HR world, so we can tailor your plan to these.

For advice on adjusting and improving your HR procedures and any of the other ideas above, get in touch with your local HR Dept today.

Preventing People Problems

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