Presenter – Julia Barnett,director of Performance HR. With over 20 years’ first hand managerial and consultancy experience, Julia has worked in and alongside companies from SME status to multi-nationals in a wide range of business sectors. Julia will be presenting on: “Employee #1 – The challenges” Taking on your first employee is a significant milestone in the life of any business, but ensuring you get the right employee can be a challenge for any size of business. With its first employee a business is establishing its culture, modus operandi and future success. The character of any organisation should come from the top, be clear from the outset and understood by every employee. Business success through effective staff performance is about setting the ground rules that offer your employees room to grow and to give of their best.

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IGNITE your…
Employees
The Challenges
Julia Barnett
Performance HR
01794 341053
julia.barnett@Performance-HR.co.uk

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Recruitment
Recruitment focus - on the individual.
Join a company as a result of their technical skills, qualifications and (possibly) experience.
Leave a company (early) due to mismatches of personality, company culture or expectations.

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Bear in Mind
Estimated cost of recruitment
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One third of annual basic salary of each new employee Estimated time to effectiveness
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Average of three months to find their feet
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Average of six months to make an impact Staff turnover
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The majority of turnover across all sectors is voluntary
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Difficulties recruiting increased from 55% in 2010 to 78% in 2013

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Employer’s view
If I’d known then what I know now I:
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wouldn’t have employed him/her;
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would have paid more attention to his/her non- technical and interpersonal skills;
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would have taken a more active role during the probationary period;
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would have been clearer about our unwritten expectations.

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Employee’s view
I wouldn’t have taken the job if I had known:
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what the company was really like;
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it wasn’t going to be challenging;
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the project didn’t actually exist;
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I would be working for the manager from hell. I had to get a job… any job

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Reasons why employees
Stay with an organisation
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Challenging / interesting work
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Good working relationships
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Flexibility
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Opportunities for career progression
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Opportunities for training
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Salary and benefits
Leave an organisation
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Manager and colleague relationships
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Boredom or lack of work
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Lack of faith in the organisation
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Poor communication
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Lack of training and development opportunities
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Location
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Salary and benefits

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The Challenges
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Culture
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Communication
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Consistency

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Organisation Culture
The culture is the work environment provided for all employees:
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core values;
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underlying assumptions;
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attitudes and behaviours.
It shapes commitment to work, enjoyment of work, work relationships and work processes.
Can be mismatches of perception within an organisation.

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Organisation Culture
Culture change is possible but an established culture is often difficult and time consuming to adjust.
Very few organisations make their culture clear from the start.
Culture is not sufficiently covered during the recruitment process.
Culture evolves for good and bad.

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Organisation Culture
The challenges for employers are to:
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Establish a culture that reflects the values and beliefs needed to meet the objectives of the business.
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Nurture and develop a culture which supports the organisation as a whole.
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Identify and employ staff who fit the company culture.

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Communication
Good, timely, effective and constructive two way communication is vital to ignite for employees. It:
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promotes commitment;
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builds creativity, teamwork, engagement and progress;
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generates trust in the actions, decisions and methods of the organisation.
“Informed and engaged employees perform better, are more innovative and more likely to stay with their employer.” CIPD 2012

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Communication
Keep your communications
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Relevant
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Appropriate
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Timely
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Use the right approach:
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face to face;
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Intranet;
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briefing meetings;
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bulletins;
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notice boards;
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full staff meetings.
Over communicate rather than under communicate.

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Consistency
Employee level:
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Introduction and induction
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Job offer (oral and written) reflected in contract
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Document discussions and decisions
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Treat employees with the same consideration

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Consistency
Company level
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Train staff appropriately
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Regularly review contracts, handbooks and policies
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Keep staff informed of changes in a timely manner

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Final thoughts
It is important to develop a culture which supports engagement and encourages loyal employees who understand the organisation's goals.
CIPD – Developing Organisation Culture 2011
Matching an individual’s needs and expectations with the culture of an organisation is an important factor in motivation, job satisfaction and longevity of service.
Talking, but perhaps more importantly listening, to employees are central to both the role of any good manager and to employee engagement, motivation and retention.