A Guide to Keeping Employees Happy and Fulfilled

Finding good employees takes time and investment, so once you get the right people in your organisation, you really want to hold onto them.

Money may seem like the obvious lure in this respect, but this won’t always be possible, and in fact there are things that can mean a lot more to your staff. Here are some ideas to help you retain your star workforce.

Offer Incentives

As the saying goes, little things mean a lot, and outside of salary, bonuses and benefits, there is plenty that can go a long way to making employees feel content and valued. How about the odd duvet day, or an afternoon off? A fruit basket on a Friday, or a longer lunch break on a Monday? Use your imagination and see what you can come up with. The gift of time is often something that is much appreciated, and always remember that rested employees are productive employees.

Be Flexible

Employees value flexibility, it is a proven fact. Allowing home working, longer hours on one or more days a week that allow for a half day or day off and good old flexi-time where hours can be staggered to allow for getting the kids to school or starting the commute once the peak hours are over can go a long way to showing your appreciation of each staff member as an individual.

Provide a Sense of Purpose

The majority of people naturally seek out a purpose for their work and their life. If you feel that you are not really offering any benefits through your work, you can feel like there is little point in doing what you do. The feeling that you are contributing to a good cause makes your work and life feel worthwhile, so if you can give your staff a sense of feeling that they are really contributing towards something, it could make a remarkable difference to their motivation.

So how to do this? You need to give people a good reason to believe in your business. So for example you could promote the benefits of the work that you do and how it is appreciated; you could get involved in community or charity work and include your staff in your efforts, or adopt a positive environmental policy.

Always Listen

The final piece of advice is to always listen to what your employees have to say. Asking for input will, above anything else, make people feel valued. Ask for ideas about marketing the business, about how to get new customers and about how the company could run more efficiently. And don’t forget to ask them what they value from their employers!

If you need some help coming up with staff incentives, or working out how perks might affect your bottom line, speak to your bookkeepers for advice.

Why You Need to Take Care Over Employment Advertising

If you are recruiting in 2016 you will need to heed the recently released advice of the Committees of Advertising Practice (CAP) when putting together the wording for your advertisements.

CAP is in charge of writing and maintaining the UK Advertising Codes. These are administered by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). CAP has in the past few weeks issued guidelines for recruiters to help attract the right people staying in compliance with the CAP Code.

Here are the key aspects of the advice:

Post, or ‘Opportunity’?

Is the role an employed position, or is it a business opportunity? You may call an invitation to collaborate on a project a ‘post’, but candidates could confuse this with salaried permanent role rather than something offered on a shared profits basis.

Financial Investment Required?

Will the job call for financial investment by the candidate? If they are expected to buy stock for example then the amount they will be expected to invest should be clearly advertised.

Does the Position Actually Exist?

You may think taking the opportunity to test the market to see if there is any interest in a position or project is a good idea, but this is not permissible under the CAP Code. If no position actually exists then this must be made clear in the advertisement.

Is the Advert Misleading in any way?

No advert of any kind is allowed to mislead, including recruitment adverts. Candidates must not be deluded by promises of fixed salaries that in fact will vary due to seasonal peak and troughs, or that are commission based or performance dependent. If the advertisement is for a training course then it must be quite clear as to whether there will be a job at the end of it.

Are Contact Details Clearly Displayed?

CAP says that the employer’s contact details should be displayed clearly in the advertisement so as to reassure the candidate.

What Happens When a Complaint is Made?

If a potential candidate makes a complaint to the ASA about an advert and it is upheld, then the ad will have to be amended or withdrawn with immediate effect. The ASA is more focused on educating advertisers rather than penalising them, however if there is a complaint and an advertiser fails to take action, then there are various sanctions the ASA will impose, such as making it impossible to purchase advertising space.

The CAP Advertising Codes for all types of marketing communications can be read in full here.

Is Your Business Prepared for the National Living Wage?

April 2016 will see the introduction of the compulsory national living wage.

The new minimum wage of £7.20 per hour is set to become law for all working people aged 25 plus. The National Living Wage (NLW) will have to be paid as a minimum by all employers, and the Government aims for it to rise to £9 per hour by 2020.

The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) has said that the estimated cost to businesses will represent 1 per cent of profits. But the costs will be offset with a cut in corporation tax in 2017 to 19 per cent, and further down to 18 per cent in 2020. National insurance contributions for smaller companies will also be cut in an attempt to balance the wage rise.

“From 2016, our new Employment Allowance, will now be increased by 50% to £3,000,” announced the Chancellor George Osborne. “That means a firm will be able to employ four people full time on the new national living wage and pay no national insurance at all.”

The national minimum wage rose to £6.70 in October 2015, and the over 25s will see a 50p per hour pay rise from April 2016. That is a hike of 11 per cent for employers.

The Living Wage Foundation set a rate of £7.85 as the figure they deem appropriate, and the rate of £7.20 would seem a step closer. However, Rhys Moore, director of the Living Wage Foundation, said it was “delighted” that more than 2.5 million workers will receive a much needed pay rise, but then asked, “Is this really a living wage?

What Business Organisations Think

John Cridland, director-general of the Confederation of British Industry, said: “This is a double-edged budget for business. Firms will welcome measures to balance the books and boost investment, but they will be concerned by legislating for wage increases they may not be able to deliver.”

Chief economist for the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development Mark Beatson said, “This policy will only deliver higher pay without significant job losses if it is accompanied by a drive to increase productivity in low pay sectors such as retail, hairdressing, hospitality and the care sector – and that will need more than delivery of apprenticeship numbers or employment subsidies via the national insurance contributions system.”

If you are concerned as to how the new National Living Wage will affect your cashflow and profit, don’t delay in discussing it with your bookkeepers who will be able to put you in the picture with forecasts and practical advice.