Jenny needs a holiday

Scenario:
Jenny has been running her business for the last 5 years. In those first years of trading her business has significantly grown, she is now providing a wide range goods and services to her customers, increased her staff force and most importantly made a great profit.

However with the success there has been some set backs. Due to public demand Jenny extended her opening hours which has meant that she is now working even harder, her manual bookkeeping and administration is behind, she is working late into the evenings and feels that she is unable to take a holiday.

Jenny is making great profits however feels that she has no work life balance.

In fact Jenny is not alone. The Bank of Scotland completed a survey of 1000 entrepreneurs and found that on average they are working 50 hour weeks.

The survey found a number of small business owners are neglecting holiday and a further 26% think they will work even longer because of the economic climate.

The survey found that 71% of small business owners claim to be stressed, up from 54% last year. The main reason for working 50 hour weeks was down to dealing with administration and regulations.

Jenny knows that it is not productive to be working that amount of hours. Therefore she changes her bookkeeping and administration from paper to computer, examines her existing workforces and identifies members of staff that she could train and delegate additional duties too.

Jenny now feels that she can take a holiday.

Jenny Does Business Part 4: How to Retain Valuable Staff

Scenario:
Previously Jenny offered Nicholas a new role within her business. Nicholas was recruited to replace Larry. Previously Larry had been poached by one of Jenny’s local competitors. Her existing staff did not have the right skills and experience to replace Larry at this time.

Before Nicholas joins her business, Jenny completes a number of employment checks to ensure that Nicholas is eligible to work in the UK and that the information he has provided is correct. Jenny is aware that there can be potential larges fines if she does not carry this out successfully.

On Nicholas’s first day, Jenny ensures that the existing staff give him a warm welcome. Jenny then completes a full induction and personal development plan with Nicholas to make sure that he is aware of his training plan and objectives.

When Larry advised that he was leaving, Jenny looked at her existing staff to see whether any of them could replace him. At that time they did not have the right skills and experience.

Jenny therefore needs to ask herself the following questions

1) What training does her existing staff require?
2) When should this training be completed?
3) What effect will this training have on her business?

The Leitch Review set out a number of goals for employers training their existing work force. Many employers need to increase their existing staff skill levels while also ensuring their career aspirations and goals are achieved. By employeers completing this, they can then be expected to improve and retain existing staff.

Therefore Jenny completes full appraisals with her existing staff to evaluate the progress they are making and also provide a framework to guide her existing staff to where they need to be.

Three months on, Jenny has a successful and happy work force. Nicholas is settled into his new role and has already improved her business performance. Danny, who only started six months ago, has completed his training plan and is now taking on new and exciting responsibilities.

Jenny is happy with her business and continues to support and train her staff. The last six months have been challenging for Jenny, however she now understands how crucial the planning behind recruiting, training and retaining her staff is to the success of her business.

Jenny Does Business Part 3: How to Identify Valuable Staff

Scenario:
Previously, Jenny has advertised Larry’s role in the local paper and also on a number of online websites. Two weeks ago Larry was poached by one of Jenny’s local competitors. Her existing staff did not have the right skills and experience to replace Larry. Therefore Jenny is looking outside of her workforce to find a suitable replacement for him.

Since Jenny has advertised Larry’s role, a total of 10 individuals applied for the job. Due to time and cost Jenny decided that it would not be wise to interview all 10 individuals. Therefore she used her Job description and Person specification to shortlist her candidates from 10 to 4.

Jenny then had to make the decision of what interview format she would use to identify which of the candidates would be best suited for the role. Jenny looked at the various interview methods, ranging from standard questioning to presentations and even a practical exercise.

Once Jenny had decided what interview method to use, she then needs to ask herself the following questions;

1) What information do I need to find out from my interview candidates?
2) Which questions should I prepare before the interview?
3) Are any of my questions illegal under discrimination laws?

Which? Consumer group advised in their CV and interview handbook which was published in 2008 that many businesses are still confused about what interview questions they can and cannot ask.

Many businesses are still asking inappropriate questions in job interviews. As a result their companies risk being taken to employment tribunals where they can face unlimited fines.

Potential employees are protected by legislation including the Age and Sex discrimination Act, the Race Relations Act, the Employment Equality Regulations and the Disability Discrimination Act.
As a result, employers are not allowed to discriminate against job candidates on the grounds of race, beliefs, gender, religion, sexuality or disability.
Therefore the following questions are not allowed to be asked
How old are you?
Are you married?
Are you gay?
Are you planning to start a family soon?
What political party do you support?

So what does Jenny do?

Jenny puts together a detailed interview script with pre-prepared questions that do not break any discrimination laws. She interviews the four candidates and based on their interviews offers the role to Nicholas. Nicholas is highly qualified and experienced and would be a great asset to Jenny’s team.

Find out soon how Nicholas settles into his new role….

Jenny does Business Part 2: How to Replace Valuable Staff

Scenario:
Since last week, Jenny has decided to look for suitable replacements for Larry. Larry who was her most senior and experienced member of staff was unexpectedly poached by her main competitor. Therefore Jenny only has four remaining members of staff, they range in various ability and include her new recruit Danny.

Jenny is concerned that she is unable to train and develop the existing staff in time for when Larry leaves. Therefore she has made the decision to look outside her current workforce and find a suitable individual to replace Larry.

Before Jenny looks for suitable replacements for Larry she needs to ask herself the following questions.

1) What skills and qualifications do I need my new member of staff to have?
2) Where and how will I advertise my Job?
3) How will I decide which candidates I need to interview?

In a recent survey by CIPD (Recruitment, Retention and Turnover 2008), it was found that the average direct cost of recruiting a replacement member of staff is £4667. This can rise to £5800 if recruiting, inducting and training is taken into account.

There are many hidden costs in association with recruiting a new employee. Therefore Jenny needs to accurately plan exactly how she will recruit her member of staff.

So what is Jenny to do?

Jenny decides that to find her new member of staff, she puts together a detailed job description and person specification to help her identify what skills and experience her new member of staff needs to have. She puts together a job advert which she advertises in the local newspaper and online job web sites.

Find out soon how many individuals apply for Larry’s job and how the interviews go….

Jenny does Business: Replacing Valuable Staff

Scenario:
Jenny runs a small business with five fulltime employees. Her most senior and seemingly happy, staff member Larry, has just been poached by your largest competitor, conveniently located across the street. Jenny’s four remaining staff members have various levels of ability with the newest recruit Danny showing the most promise within the business. She starts to panic because the likelihood of having someone trained to the same standard as Larry by the time he leaves, seems impossible.

Here are some questions Jenny needs to ask herself:

1. Do I have the talent available in-house to replace Larry?
If so, what training needs to be completed before Larry leaves?
If no, how am I going to go about employing a suitable candidate?
2. What happens if this situation arises again?
3. Do I have a suitable training plan in place to avoid a skill gap?

Jenny has a problem that needs to be resolved quickly. She is not on her own though, these are the problems faced by small businesses on a day to day basis.

Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu’s study, Aligned at the Top: Technology, Media & Telelecommunications Sector, shows that retaining critical talent is ranked the most important when dealing with the scope of management. Deloitte’s study also suggests that companies are most likely to find their most valuable employees from developing and training existing ones.

As seen with the scenario above and the views of the polled companies in the study, skill gaps in training and recruitment are the greatest challenges faced.

So what is Jenny to do?
Jenny decides that, in this situation, she is going to recruit someone new to replace Larry but is determined to not be placed in the same position again.
Jenny wants to make sure that all her existing and newly recruited staff members are adequately trained for

Jenny now just needs to find her new staff member and have a training plan in place to make sure this doesn’t happen again.
Stay tuned to see how she gets on……

Can You Keep A Secret?

There are many trade secrets that I’ve picked up in my 6 years as a trainer and if you promise not to tell, I’ll share some with you.

Secret number one is that there is more to training then standing in front of people and speaking!

To maximise peoples learning there are many things that a trainer needs to take into consideration, even down to dress code. One trainer I know told me of a time when she accidentally put odd shoes on, as expected this was quickly picked up by her delegates. Her argument was that they were both black and she was in a rush

This brings me on to secret number two. Preparation and planning. The training process starts long before the delegates walk through the training room door, with everything from the computers being set up, to having workbooks, refreshments and even checking the lighting and temperature in the room. Not to mention the research that will have happened to enable the trainer to run the course in the first place.

The reason I became a trainer was so I could help and support people gain new knowledge, skills and confidence in something that will benefit them, and there’s nothing better than watching the look on people’s faces as things suddenly click into place. No two days are the same even if it is the same course being delivered as the day before, and there is always an air of anticipation on what the day will bring.

Secret number three is that trainers have a ‘tool kit’ of experience, knowledge and ideas to help enhance the learning experience. You have to quickly read peoples body language and establish everyone’s learning styles so that they get the most from the session. Accelerated Learning techniques are also used-this doesn’t mean talking at twice the speed and rushing through things! It’s about how people learn and how the brain processes information. Smells, sweets, group exercises, toys and a variety of learning methods are all used to optimise the learning.

Secret number four is that training is not about teaching but about a fun, informative, supportive learning environment, the focus being on the learners and how they can get the best out of the day.

Truth be told training is pretty fun and in addition to the learning and support material that you get to take away you just may also find out the difference between a koosh ball and a tangle but Ssh that really is a secret.

I Wish I had that Job

A recent article on the BBC news website suggested that four in ten UK workers are thinking of quitting their jobs in the next year.

Why? What is it that makes us so unhappy in the workplace?
Is it the money? The travel in rush hour? That annoying guy who sits opposite you?
Instinctively, we all know we need to work to support ourselves and our families so we muddle through the week, the best way that we can.

It is human nature to always want something better than what we have – always trying to keep up with the Jones’ – but I think sometimes we need to look at what we currently have before we make the rash decision to jump ship.

We hear about “so-and-so” who works here and has this amazing job and often say “oooh, I wish I was them,” but the reality of it is, that a job will always be a job. In other words, we all need to work for our pay checks; there is no way to avoid it.

So maybe we should look at how we can improve our current working environment rather than automatically thinking that some new position you’ve heard about will ultimately be better.

Let’s discuss what it is about our jobs that we dislike so much. The aforementioned BBC article says that the main reasons for unrest in the workplace are:

• Unreasonable workloads
• Feeling underpaid
• Lack of career path

It is quite easy to blame the above entirely on poor management but this is insinuating that we have no control over our own futures. It is very easy to sit back and say, “There’s nothing I can do, it’s just the way things are.” Whatever happened to being proactive and taking the future in our own hands? Both management and employees alike need to look at ways to make everyone happy.

Here are some thoughts on the subject.

• There are always those daily tasks that take us longer than we would like; if we were adequately trained from the outset and provided with regular training workshops, we would be able to be productive throughout the day and hopefully minimise workloads.
  
• Help management to understand that although we may always put our gripes down to money; it is amazing how far a pat on the back goes.
  
• It is in our nature to learn so give us the chance to. This will not only help keep staff happy but it will benefit companies as well.
  

In short, there are small things that companies can do to keep great staff. Make them feel wanted by providing training options; the chance to learn and grow with the company. The best promotional tool a business has is its staff – keep them happy and they’ll do great things for you and everyone will want their job!