2018 is now here and with the merriment of Christmas a distant memory, the New Year is the perfect time to set up your HR to ensure optimal productivity from the get go.
There are a number of simple yet effective ways to make your HR work for you. Here are some great tips on how to start your year with a bang!
Policies, Processes, Performance oh my!
Without effective processes in place, businesses are doomed. Too often as HR Specialists we see such a lack of systems, processes and policies relating to the most important assets in your Company – your staff! Get out a notepad and start to write down what you have in place and what you haven’t – for example, when you hire new staff members do you have Employment Agreements? Position Descriptions? Induction Checklists? Do you have up to date Policies and Procedures in place detailing how you expect your employees to work? Do you have Performance Management and Disciplinary Action resources at the ready? These are all critical resources that if in place, can save you so much time and angst in the future.
Performance Management
The New Year is a great time to map out and lock in staff performance reviews and appraisals. Appraisals can provide much needed opportunities for great staff to feel valued along with offering a one on one platform to express their ideas for the future. For underperforming staff, appraisals are a great opportunity to address issues and concerns while providing you with a formal and structured setting to offer advice, training and individual improvement plans for the year ahead.
Goal Setting
Look upon 2018 as a fresh start. Put the past to bed, learn from any mistakes, improve on what you did well and set some new goals. By involving your team in your future goal setting can help to create a sense of ownership, better engagement and hopefully renewed energy for their job. If you have the budget, perhaps you could organise a night away with some motivational guest speakers and fun team building activities to re-engage your team and get the creative juices flowing. If your budget doesn’t reach that far, a casual clothes Friday where it’s ‘tools down’ except for planning for the year ahead along with some yummy lunch delivered to work can be just as effective. Don’t underestimate what your staff can bring to the table- often it’s the simplest of ideas that can prove to have the biggest impact over just looking at the bigger picture.
Training
When was the last time you offered your staff some training? Gone are the days where University’s and Tafes were the only ones that offered effective training solutions. Time consuming and costly, along with at times being quite monotonous, many businesses have shied away from going down this path. These days however, we are spoilt for choice with the variety of Training and Workshops on offer. From Customer Service 101 to Leadership and Development, How to Motivate your Employees to Building a Professional Workplace, there are now energetic and tailored training solutions to suit any business or budget. Face to Face workshops or via online Training portals, offering effective training to your staff increases skills, knowledge and improves staff engagement.
So there you have it. Simple yet effective ways to set you and your business up for a successful and prosperous New Year. Let’s do it together!