HR in Small Business
You may not think HR has a role in your Small Business, but you would be wrong!
The definition of a Small Business is a business with fewer than 20 employees. There are over 2 million small business operating within Australia, and around 60% of these are non-employing businesses (sole proprietorships and partnerships without employees). Small businesses make a significant contribution to the Australian economy, however almost a third (31%) of these businesses are having difficulty finding suitable employees, keeping them, and are struggling with scaling and maturing.
The realities of managing a small business can be overwhelming. Some of the most common struggles that small businesses face include: a lack of time, finding good employees that fit your business culture/values, and an inability to balance business growth with product/service quality.
At FiveSeven we have been there; we have done it. We understand that HR is not at the top of the priority list for most small business managers/owners. However, as a small business manager/owner you often play the role of your own Human Resource Manager and there are some significant benefits in refocusing and revaluing HR.
Some of the benefits of revaluing HR in your business are:
When you aim to be the best – you often attract the best. Being more attractive to the higher skilled work force will allow you to attract top talent within your industry. To do this you need to look at your Strategic Plan (no matter how small you are you need to have one!), your Values and the culture you are trying to create. Hiring well is important!
Keeping good employees saves you so so much money! Improving your employee retention will not only keep valuable employees happy within their role, but you are more likely to attract better potential/future employees. Loosing an employee is not just sad or frustrating it also costs you a lot of money. It is better to spend that money keeping the good employees you have, rather than spending it replacing them.
Develop your employees and their loyalty and new skills will likely pay you back three fold! By developing your employee through either a personalised or business wide development program, you help employees meet their personal goals for their career within your business, rather than looking outside for development/career advancement.
Letting go of a bad/underperforming/toxic employee is better done quickly! One of the hardest things you will do as a small business manager/owner is let go of an employee. In so many cases we see small business manager/owner holding on, thinking they can turn it around, or just being frozen, not sure what to do. Every day a bad/underperforming/toxic employee costs you money, may cost your reputation and may erode your culture.
A HR professional is expected to know the rules of employment. They are expected to have knowledge and understanding of best practice and be able to implement and monitor these things within a workplace. As a small business owner however, you too are expected to have this knowledge and ability. Not only does that seem unrealistic, it is also how compliance issues and strategic HR can slip through the cracks.
Having a HR expert at the end of a phone, to not only do these for you, but also someone you can learn from and ask advice of is invaluable. Your load as a business owner is already heavy, and expectations are high, the introduction of someone to support you to manager your HR can help you in so many ways. And don’t just think about the basic functions of HR, what about those extras? The little things that are often overlooked but can elevate your business to be unlike the rest.
If you want to talk to someone about taking some of the load, helping you to upskill and become the manager/owner you want to be, or even taking your business vision to the next level. Give us a call and take advantage of our FREE 30-minute phone-a-friend, and see if we can help you to achieve more.
