HR Tips for Small Business

Small business owners have to wear a lot of hats – there’s no doubt about it. When you’re running a small business, it’s often the case that human resources (HR) and employee management take a back seat. But if you do not take the time to set up your HR systems and processes properly, it can cause you headaches and hassles down the line. We have brought together some of our top HR tips for small business, aimed at new business owners who are looking to take a proactive approach to managing their staff and running their team. If you’re starting a new business or expanding, you don’t have to go it alone – contact Bramwell Partners for advice and service with HR – including employee contracts, performance management, compliance and so much more.

Call us today on (07) 3630 5695 to speak to our friendly HR consulting team, and in the meantime, enjoy these five simple tips for new business owners looking to smash their HR performance goals.

1. Take Your Time When Hiring Someone

When you have a vacancy in your business, you may want to rush to fill it because a vacancy means one less person making money for your organisation. Due to the demand that you may be feeling, it can be hard to make a rational decision, and you may find that you rush the hiring process.

We implore you — don’t rush things. You need to take your time and think about how the new hire you’re making will fit into the culture and environment of your workplace. When hiring someone new, it’s not just about hiring someone based on their skills and ability; you need them to fit your workplace and your existing team.

Focus on:

  • Finding someone who has similar values to your company and your existing team
  • Writing an accurate and precise job ad with a position description and selection criteria that people need to address in their application
  • Taking your time interviewing and finding the right person, because all things going well, this person will be part of your team for the next few years (at least), so there’s no rush!

2. Make Sure you are Paying People Correctly

In Queensland and elsewhere across Australia, there are specific guidelines for whether someone is an employee or not. And when someone is an employee, you need to be paying them superannuation, tax, and leave allowances, while with contractors, you do not need to pay their tax and other commitments. If you’re not sure whether someone is an employee or contractor, you can use this simple and free tool from the Australian Taxation Office.

Make sure you:

  • Check whether staff are contractors or employees and ensure you are paying them correctly
  • Contact us for assistance and advice if you do find that you should be paying superannuation.

3. Have Guidelines and an Employee Handbook

When you have employee guidelines and a handbook which outlines how you operate as a business, it means that things are consistent. People love consistency, and it shows your team that you are professional and committed to your organisation. If you take the time to work with an HR consulting agency and develop employee guidelines and a handbook, you’ll see great results both now and in the future. Bramwell Partners can assist you in developing the necessary resources, as well as provide a whole host of other resources to advance your business.

Make sure you:

  • Take the time to develop your employee guidelines sooner rather than later
  • Work with an HR team to make sure that all of your systems and services are up to date.

4. Keep Things Professional

It’s natural in small business for people to work closely together and to share things about their lives, but it’s up to you as a business owner to model the type of professionalism that you want to see in the workplace. If your staff see you being familiar and casual, then guess what? They’re going to mirror this because you’ve given things the silent OK without realising it.

Make sure you:

  • Model the right behaviour for your staff
  • Pick up on unprofessional behaviour and nip it in the bud.

5. Encourage Continual Improvement and be Consistent

A final tip for any budding business owners or managers is to ensure that you are keeping up to date with your performance reviews and that you are making an effort to keep people on track with training. Your team is going to feel valued and excited about their development if you remember their training, and if you make sure to be consistent with feedback and updates.

Make sure you:

  • Diarise and make a calendar with employee reviews, so you don’t miss anything
  • Reward positive behaviour.

Call us today on (07) 3630 5695 to speak to one of our friendly team, or get in touch online for a callback. We can’t wait to get started helping your business grow and achieve its goals. Check our blog regularly for more HR tips for small business owners.

Updated: Thursday, 20th February 2020