In this week’s HR Bitesize:
5️⃣ 5 year contracts
💜 Purple Tuesday
🧑🏻🤝🧑🏽 Domestic Abuse
It’s Just Not Cricket
On Monday Linda, Laura and I headed up to Lord’s Cricket Ground in London.
Although many years ago, I was known to take a wicket or two, this visit was purely for business networking purposes.
We’d been invited to exhibit at the Asian Jewish Business Network (AJBN) annual Networking event.
We joined about 40 other exhibitors for a full day of networking and introductions.
While I love getting our business out there and making us visible to business owners, I also learn a lot from those I talk to.
I do admit, employing staff is not for the feint hearted. However, if you want to grow your business, then in most cases putting a team of people around you is the best way to grow. Don’t hire clones of yourself. Hire people with the skills you don’t have.
One delegate told me about a staffing challenge in their business which they were getting ‘expert’ advice on from their HR helpline provider.
After listening to the background and asking a few detailed questions, I proposed a solution. The business owner looked at me and asked why their HR helpline provider hadn’t suggested this as a solution. The answer is simple… you asked them to help you do ‘x’. They have helped you to do ‘x’. They never questioned you enough to understand whether ‘x’ was the right thing to be doing or whether there were better, simpler, more cost effective, quicker solutions.
In October alone I had 5 conversations with potential clients who wanted to use our HR support services and told me that their contract was up (or about to be up) with their current HR Helpline provider. After asking a few questions, I asked those potential clients to come back to me with confirmation that they had served notice and that they were no longer tied in with their current providers.
In all cases, they were.
In all cases, their original 5-year contract had been rolled over for another 5 years with no reminders.
In all cases, the original 5-year contract had given explicit notice that this would happen unless 6 month’s notice was given prior to the end of the 5-year contract.
I see this time and time again and it is heart breaking.
One client managed to get the term reduced to 12 months after I gave them a fightback strategy, but for others they were already part way through the extended contract and had been paying the fees, so had in effect accepted the terms.
In 2 of the 5 cases, the business owner moved to us anyway, continuing to pay the original fee as well until that contract expires. They have now given notice, in one case 18 months prior to the end of the contract!!!
The other business owners have said they will come back to us when they need us on an ad hoc basis as well as when their current contract lapses.
I give this advice to all business owners, not just those with horrific HR helpline contracts:
- Check what you are signing
- Diarise any notice periods
- Ensure that the service you are getting is what you actually need
- Ensure you have clear service level agreements and that if the provider fails to meet them, you have a way out of the contract
- Never tie yourself in for more than a year at a time – business and life changes, you need flexible solutions which can grow and change with you
Why would anyone who has confidence in the service they deliver tie you in for 5 years?
It’s just not cricket!
Purple Tuesday
This Tuesday was Purple Tuesday.
No, this isn’t a day I’ve made up.
Nor is it a day to celebrate all the great stuff we do for our clients at DOHR!
It is in fact an International Awareness Day, initially set up to raise awareness of the power of the Purple Pound.
Purple Tuesday is aimed at encouraging retailers to make their products, services, physical and online stores available to those with disabilities and their loved ones.
While we are not a retailer, we also believe that supporting those with disabilities is essential, whether as our service users or employees with us or our clients.
People with disabilities legally are protected from bullying, harassment and discrimination in the workplace, but not enough people with disabilities feel able to access high quality jobs.
While many employers do make reasonable adjustments to enable those with disabilities to work and take on meaningful roles, many employers are scared to do so for risk of ending up in an employment tribunal.
The same applies when an existing employee develops a disability or declares a disability for the first time.
Don’t be scared of those with genuine disabilities. While some will seek to weaponise their health, the majority of employees want to feel valued and be able to contribute to business, life and society.
There is a skills shortage here in the UK.
There are people willing to get into work, if people would give them a chance.
There is funding available to enable you to recruit, train and develop a disabled employee.
There is support available to help educate you and your workforce to enable you to support a disabled employee.
If you are willing, there is a way.
Call us on 01923 866040 if you want to have a conversation about how you can show your purple side!
Queen Camilla
On Monday night, I was exhausted.
Having been at the AJBN exhibition all day, I flopped in front of the TV – something I rarely ever do!
While flicking through the channels, I caught the words “Domestic Abuse”.
I stopped.
I checked out the TV guide to discover the programme was a behind the scenes with Her Majesty Queen Camilla.
To say I was confused was an understatement.
However, since next Thursday’s live training is all about Domestic Abuse and its impact on the workplace, I started to pay attention.
The programme was excellent.
It was following Queen Camilla on her mission to raise awareness of Domestic Abuse. She visited refuges, spoke to support workers, spoke with abuse survivors, spoke at public and private events and generally put a huge ‘elephant in the room’, right in the middle of the room with a large spotlight on it.
For more of my learnings, and those of a prestigious panel of experts, join us next Thursday for our monthly live webinar: Domestic Abuse and it’s impact on your workplace.
It’s free to attend, but please do register.
That’s it from me this week.
Have a great week and remember, if you need me, hit reply, call me on 01923 504100 or email [email protected]
Donna
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