Managing bank holidays
For stressed out workers bank holidays are a highlight, for an employer it can be a source of stress. Employees are likely to want time off in quick succession to stretch a long weekend into a week’s break. With the responsibility spread across a handful of people, SMEs can find losing just one person during this time, feels like losing a core part of the business. How can you ensure that the succession of bank holidays don’t disrupt the running of your business?
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The gig economy
The gig economy is thriving. With platforms like Uber and Freelancer growing the digital economy they are challenging existing business. Recent debates around the protection of gig economy workers have seen tribunals ruling in favour of the worker rather than the employer. There is a concern that this regulation will lead to changing the principle of the gig economy and threatens its innovation, freedom and flexibility.
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The candidate experience
The recruitment process is vital to the success of any business in finding new talent. Too often it is approached as a corporate process and not viewed from the candidate’s perspective. It is an opportunity for the candidate to evaluate the company and gain an insight into the company’s culture. It is the company’s opportunity to effectively recruit the top talent out there and increase their brand strength and referrals. Creating a good candidate experience is essential and not a complex task, read on for how you can improve the candidate's experience when you are recruiting.
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What can go wrong in a performance review?
Performance reviews are important tools for managers, they can boost performance and productivity and are key for talent retention and a positive working culture. These are all vital for the overall growth and productivity of an organisation. There are common mistakes and pitfalls to avoid when conducting reviews, if you don’t they can go very wrong leaving an employee disgruntled and disengaged. Read on for how to avoid these pitfalls in a performance review.
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What does the triggering of article 50 mean for your business?
This week we will see the momentous triggering of article 50, it will be one of the most complicated negotiations of political history. But what exactly does it mean for your business? Read on for areas that could see change and could have an impact on your business.
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How to have a constructive conversation about pay
As a manager and leader, you will face having challenging conversations with your employees. One of the most emotive conversations is around pay and people are likely to become defensive. When having a conversation with a member of staff about their pay, you will need to be able to manage emotions and manage the exchange to make it a constructive conversation. If you get it wrong you may find the employee goes absent, becomes disengaged and their performance suffers, or they may even resign. This blog gives advice on how to have a constructive conversation about pay.
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Achieving work-life balance as a business leader
Do you find yourself wondering where the day has gone? All the goals you’d set yourself at the beginning of the day have been pushed to one side dealing with unexpected issues. Maintaining peak performance at work is demanding and can be stressful. Business leaders can find themselves under enormous pressure with so many responsibilities and deadlines, which can easily seep into their personal life, with their work and personal life boundaries becoming blurred. This blog addresses the importance of achieving a good work-life balance.
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The feedback sandwich
The feedback sandwich approach has often been used to give negative feedback to employees. You literally sandwich the criticism between two pieces of positive feedback. But is it the most effective method to deliver negative feedback? We take a look at how it could be undermining not only the feedback you are trying to deliver, but also damaging your relationship with your employees.
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Organisational design for SMEs
Do you know what a well-designed organisation looks like? People often equate organisational design with organisational structure. However, it encompasses much more, it is about aligning all aspects of the organisation with the overall goals and objectives of the business. As an organisation evolves so must the organisational design, this will enable the business to work effectively, helping with communication, productivity and innovation. This blog examines organisation design and how it can work for small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs).
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