HRM Coaching Blog

Changing jobs?  Small and Medium-sized Enterprises offer many rewards

On Sunday 2nd March The Sunday Times released its annual report on the Top 100 Best Small Companies to Work For.

Ambitious corporate professionals may wonder what working in a small business can offer, but it would be good to remember that the term SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) covers organisations employing up to 249 staff.   In a business of this size, not only can you progress quickly as there is less fierce competition for positions, but many offer real benefits to work within a company where you can make a difference.

This is clearly demonstrated in the survey, which shows that ‘there is not a single question in 66 on which the SMEs score worse than the mid-sized companies.  There remains a gulf between the performance of the 100 Best Small Companies to Work For and the 100 Best Companies to Work For.’  Companies were judged on Leadership, Wellbeing, Belonging, Giving Back and Personal Growth.

The report on larger companies is published in next week’s Sunday Times.

It seems it’s time to have a serious rethink about the way we work. According to a recent article in People Management Online (http://www.peoplemanagement.co.uk) working in an office may actually be severely hampering our productivity and passion for our careers.

While more and more businesses are becoming aware of this, and moving towards allowing more freedom to work from home as a way of getting more work done, not everyone is as forward thinking.

So what should you do if the people in the upper echelons of your business can’t see the way forward and still insist that everyone works nine to five at their desk?

While you may not have the ultimate power to be able to allow employees to work more freely, you can still have an effect on the way time is managed within your department. The best way to do this is to get everyone involved and seek suggestions as to what progress can be made.

It is not unheard of for the powers that be within a business to rethink their approach to flexible working once they see there is a real desire and need for it – so long as it can be proved that the business will not suffer as a result. If you can demonstrate that things may actually improve then so much the better.

There are two methods of asking people to input their own ideas into how the business – and more appropriately your department - can manage its time more effectively. Firstly you may wish to call a meeting with a view to discussing what people would like to change and improve. There may be methods of exchanging information and dealing with issues that are currently long winded, and could be made far simpler if everyone got together and hashed out a new plan.

Secondly, if a face to face meeting doesn’t seem to fit the bill you could put together a questionnaire for your employees to fill in. This can be anonymous if you wish – you may get more honest opinions if this is the case.

Opening up a dialogue with your employees can help in two ways. Not only does it help you to keep in touch with the everyday challenges and issues which arise (not all of which you may be aware of) but it also creates an open, two way method of communication with the people you work with every day.

This will lead to improved methods of working, better time management and better understanding of the roles everyone has in both the short and the long term.

And it may also raise a flag in favour of flexible working – one which the higher powers may see and take note of.

© Copyright Hannah McNamara 2008

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HRM Coaching specialises in helping organisations to get the best from their staff. For more information please see www.hrmcoaching.com or call 020 7939 9910.

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A recent article on the Human Resources Magazine website (http://www.hrmagazine.co.uk) pointed to the fact that workers in Britain’s best workplaces tend to be more loyal than those who work elsewhere.

But people have many different reasons for staying in a job for any length of time, and while we would like to think it’s because the company they work for is an excellent one, it’s often other more basic reasons which prompt a longer length of service.

Salary, security and laziness are probably the three top reasons why people stay in jobs longer than they intend to. How often do you hear people saying they want to look for another position – whether it’s within the same company or with new pastures elsewhere? And how many of those people actually start taking constructive steps towards achieving that goal?

It’s clear that people do react to how good their company is to work for however. Some companies put a great deal of time and effort into making sure they do all they can for their employees – from instigating flexible working arrangements to providing a wide selection of other benefits as well as a competitive salary.

As far as managers are concerned, it’s important to get the best workforce you can. We’d all like to think that a recruitment drive would bring in the best workers out there who are ideally suited to the roles and are dedicated to your company. In the real world however, things can be very different. Sometimes the best we can hope for is to get good workers who look at the hours and benefits we are offering and decide it will fit in with family life better than any other position they have seen.

In the final analysis, loyalty is really a two way street. For the co-worker to be loyal to the company they have to see that the company has their best interests at heart. For the company to be loyal to the co-worker they have to know that they are good at their job and they work efficiently and to the best of their ability.

In this sense loyalty and trust go hand in hand. When the company and the co-workers develop a mutual trust and respect of each other, big things can be achieved. Sadly this perfect vision doesn’t always happen in reality.

So what do those top companies which have succeeded at being Britain’s best workplaces know that the rest don’t? It’s usually the case that the best companies attract the best workers, in the same sense that you have to build the office block before you can fill it with employees.

It would seem that creating an environment which is beneficial for people to work in would be a small price to pay to achieve harmony and better results all round.

© Copyright Hannah McNamara 2008

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For more information on how to encourage staff loyalty at work, contact Hannah McNamara at HRM Coaching Ltd on 020 7939 9910 or visit www.hrmcoaching.com.

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To find out more about coaching, please listen to the series of short podcasts by Hannah McNamara (originally published on CD):

 

 Introduction [1:21m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 What is Coaching? [5:01m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 What is a Coaching Culture? [1:14m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 How is a Coaching Programme Structured? [6:58m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Choosing a Coaching Provider [8:00m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Taking the Plunge! [0:54m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Accessibility: This podcast is available as a transcript for deaf people.  Please contact us to request a copy.

© Copyright HRM Coaching Ltd 2007-8

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For more information about coaching, contact Hannah McNamara at HRM Coaching on 020 7939 9910 or e-mail info@hrmcoaching.com

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According to recent research by The Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health, at any one time one worker in six will be experiencing depression, anxiety or problems relating to stress.

The cost to business is estimated to be £26 billion, which is the equivalent of £1,035 for every employee in the UK workforce. Even small businesses should note that this is not a figure to be ignored because a 15-person company could see costs associated with stress of approximately £15,000 per year plus.

Here are just some of the findings highlighted in the report:

• “Survey evidence indicates that the great majority of employers seriously under-estimate the prevalence of mental health problems among their employees. Nearly half think that none of their staff will ever have a mental health problem: in fact the rate is at least one in six at any time.
• The importance of mental ill health as a cause of sickness absence from work is generally acknowledged but it is not always accurately measured.
• Much less is known about the importance of mental health problems as a cause of impaired performance while people are at work. The evidence that is available suggests that ‘presenteeism’, as it has now come to be known, has a significantly larger impact on worker productivity than absenteeism.
• Mental health problems in the workforce have other adverse consequences for organisations, such as increased staff turnover, which again are not always well recognised or recorded.
• Depression, anxiety and stress can contribute to the development of a range of physical illnesses, including serious conditions such as coronary heart disease. The work-related costs of mental ill health may be understated unless allowance is made for these wider health effects.
• Costs may also be understated if a fear of discrimination or even dismissal leads employees to disguise mental health problems and to blame absence or under-performance on ill-defined physical symptoms.”

The cost associated with work-place stress and other mental problems are made up of asenteeism (people calling in sick), presenteeism (people who continue to come to work but function at less than their normal levels of productivity) and staff turnover.

So what can be done?

The report suggests a number of options to consider:

• “Recognition by employers that work is on the whole very good for mental health, as it is for physical health (Waddell & Burton, 2006).
• Prevention of mental health problems which are directly work-related (accounting for around 15 per cent of total costs). This may include providing mentally healthy working conditions and practices in line with the Health and Safety Executive’s management standards on work-related stress.
• Awareness training for line managers, to increase their knowledge and understanding of mental health issues and their ability to respond confidently and in a timely fashion to employees in distress.
• Better access to help, particularly access to evidence-based psychological help which wherever possible enables people to carry on working at the same time as receiving support.
• Effective rehabilitation for those who need to take time off work, including regular contact with the employee during periods of absence.”

When examining the costs of continuing to ignore the problem at hand, the cost of safe-guarding the mental well-being of staff compares favourably.

The additional cost of ensuring a stress risk-assessment as part of the annual Health & Saftey risk assessment is slight and should be considered as part of the assessment as a matter of course - Health & Safety does not just relate to preventing physical injury.

Awareness training for managers is not costly and employers must take responsibility for ensuring that the actions of their own personnel are not contributing to unnecessary stress for others at work. Exit interviews with departing staff and regular performance reviews are simply ways to gather feedback from staff and respond accordingly.

Above all, people work best when there is open communication amongst staff and every member of staff knows what is expected of them and has the resources available to meet those expectations.

© Copyright Hannah McNamara 2007

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HRM Coaching provides advice and practical support for employers and employees who are looking to minimise exposure to workplace stress. For information about training for managers and support for individuals dealing with stressful situations, please contact us on 020 7939 9910 or via our contact page.

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