HR Frameworks are not the most exciting thing to think or talk about for anyone within a business. So why then are we writing an article about it? Well because having the HR structure in place, including policies, procedures and guidelines, can enable your business to focus on the exciting stuff like growing your profitability and celebrating success.
How? Well let’s focus for a minute on what a business manager’s job description should include. Things like setting departmental strategy, managing budget, focus on growth or growth enabling priorities, reach kpi’s or targets and make an impact. These are all the value-add concepts that managers must perform in order to make the business successful.
The last thing you want is for your senior managers to be spending too much time on areas that don’t grow or improve the business. However, without a proper HR framework in place, this is exactly what happens. Your managers can end up being reactive rather than proactive, spending time sweating the small stuff and being bogged down in detail and repetition.
A lack of structure can mean that managers are dealing with lots of one-off individual requests that are not business enhancing i.e. single employee requests for pay changes or recruiting for a role becoming a big deal without an existing job description, role evaluation or compensation profile.
And for your employee population, a lack of HR infrastructure can have a detrimental impact on their performance. Having no or an out of date handbook impacts onboarding and settling in. Random policies or implementation of those policies creates a lack of clarity and the engagement of your employees can diminish if there is, or perceived to be, a lack of fairness and equity. For example, implementing a sickness absence process and not ensuring all managers’ following the sickness absence reporting guidelines.
Therefore, our advice is to get the basics in place as early as possible. Set the right tone for your business and define your employee value proposition right from the start. If your employees have clarity and consistency, they are more engaged, engaged employees perform better and if everyone is focused on their key tasks rather than wasting time on unnecessary activity then your business will be more productive.
It may seem simple but as you can see – having the right HR Framework in place can create the platform for growth and success for your business. Feel free to speak to one of our Consultants if your business requires support with this area: www.viewhr.co.uk