Process

Inevitably, perhaps, a huge amount of HR time is taken up with process in one form or another – transactional HR or ‘employee services’. Depending on the size and nature of your organisation, these processes may be simple or complex but the key question is: are they appropriate? Do they deliver the required level of services as efficiently as possible? If not, you could use some help.

HR systems

From a business perspective, a key element of HR service delivery is the provision of accurate and timely information to senior management.

From an employee perspective, the key factor is whether the process works for them – is information available and understandable, are questions or complaints dealt with swiftly and fairly?

And from HR’s perspective, the issue is one of smooth, efficient and cost-effective administration.

There’s no shortage of software and/or outsourcing options these days to help you, but that’s an issue in itself.

How can we help you?
There are numerous issues to consider here, but two potentially very meaty questions are:

  • How much transactional HR could/should you outsource? To whom? Where? At what cost? Delivering what benefits? To what service levels? And how will you manage them?
  • Which HR software system should you use? With at least 150 on the market, how do you choose? Cloud-based, web or mobile? And which applications do you need – ‘core HR’ (benefits, personnel ‘tracking’ and payroll), ‘workforce management’ (time and attendance, shifts and scheduling, etc) or ‘strategic HR’ (recruitment, performance, learning and development, talent)?

We can help you with these and other questions, at whatever level suits you best. We can just help you get started or we can manage the whole process for you. Every client, every requirement is different, so we’re perfectly flexible.

Employee relations

Do you have a completely clear, transparent, up-to-date and legally compliant framework of practices and policies that governs the relationship between the organisation and the staff?

If you operate in a unionised context, are all the HR team (not to mention the managers) completely up-to-speed with collective negotiation and consultation?

Are your health and well-being practices as good as they should be? Are there other options that might be better value for money?

Are the HR team and the managers sufficiently well versed in employment law?

Are you completely confident that HR can deal with any employee relations issues that might arise?

If you answered ‘yes’ to all these questions, congratulations – you’re in a minority!

How can we help you?
We’re happy to advise on any of these issues although, to be fair, most HR teams are up-to-speed on most of them anyway.

  • Where organisations often struggle is in making sure that the line managers and staff are also up-to-speed. We are often called on to design and deliver training in an organisation’s own policies and procedures to their own managers and staff. This sometimes involves us in giving feedback on the policies as well. See HR training for sample course outlines.
  • The best approach to appraisals and performance reviews is often a vexed question – and one we can help you solve
  • One of our more popular training courses is ‘Workplace investigations’ and that’s a subject on which we can also offer additional support.
  • And some organisations have a need from time-to-time for mediation services.

Performance and reward

  • Does your pay and benefits structure properly recognise and reward the skills that are critical to your organisation?
  • Does it contribute to a high-performance culture?
  • Does it motivate?
  • Is it equitable?
  • Is it competitive?
  • Is it legal?

How can we help you?
We can advise you on all these issues by, for example:

  • Advising on performance incentives
  • Assessing legal compliance (our lead consultant in this area is an ACAS-appointed Independent Expert to Employment Tribunals on Equal Pay)
  • Auditing your current reward structure
  • Benchmarking salaries for different levels of jobs
  • Designing international and expat packages
  • Evaluating all your job levels and rates of pay
  • Reviewing executive compensation packages

If you have any questions at all about how a fresh look at any of these issues might help you achieve your objectives for your organisation, please just give us a call on 01582 463462 for an informal chat. We’re here to help!