Administrator, Author at Small Business Insider

Payroll Mistakes Businesses Make When Running Payroll That Can Lead to Unnecessary Tax, Penalties and Costly Staff Relationship

Posted on March 12, 2020 Written by Administrator

On the face of it Payroll should be simple. Once you’ve registered for PAYE and HMRC has approved your application, all you need is some software and you can start entering the pay details for your staff. Once all the data is in – voila! – you get a payroll summary and payslips to send to your employees. All that is left to do is to make payments to both your staff (net pay) and to HMRC (tax and national insurance.)

However, Payroll can be difficult and errors are costly in both financial and emotional terms. That’s why there is a whole professional body and exams (CIPP) behind payroll professionals.

Let’s review some commonly made payroll mistakes so you can get things right and avoid unnecessary stress and upset.

1. Failing to review and report tips and gratuities as earnings

A classic mistake some employers in the hospitality industry make is to assume incorrectly that they do not need to run PAYE on tips and gratuities. The tax treatment depends on the specific arrangement regarding the distribution of the tips.

Where the employer is involved in the distribution of the tips, then they need to include the amounts on the payroll. Where employees receive the tips directly from customers, then the employees would need to declare this on their own tax return and the employer does not need to run payroll. This is an area you will need to take further advice on.

2. Not declaring personal bills as earnings

Personal bills incurred by employees and directors (for example payment of credit card or utility bills) that are paid by the employer will normally be liable to tax and NI. The tax treatment depends on who the contract is with and how payment is made. So, where the contract is between the employee and the supplier, the employee pays the bill but then gets reimbursed by the employer, the full cost is treated as earnings (salary) for the purposes of tax and NI. And this needs to go on the payroll.

3. Forgetting to claim the £3,000 employment allowance

There have been cases where small businesses have missed claiming this allowance for a period of four years. That’s a lot of money to waste. If you employ staff, do not forget to claim the £3,000 cash off your payroll tax bill. This is not an automatic allowance and must be claimed by ticking a box or making an application depending on how you run your payroll.

4. Incorrectly claiming employment allowance

The employment allowance rules can be easily misunderstood. If you’re a sole director and the only person on the payroll, you cannot claim this allowance. So do not check or tick any relevant box on your payroll software.

Failing to appreciate these five payroll risk areas

The following five areas deserve an article on their own as they are known to cause major headaches and errors when it comes to running your payroll.

Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP)
Statutory Sick Pay (SSP)
Termination Payments
Share Schemes
Pensions and Student loans

With SMP, SSP and Termination payments, it’s really important to ensure that the qualifying conditions are met. Always seek specialist advice before proceeding.

6. Overpaying or underpaying staff

This is a very common and sensitive payroll mistake employers make. And where over payment has been made to staff who have left, it becomes impossible to get the overpayment back especially if the employee can show that they didn’t know they were overpaid.

To avoid this error, it’s important to use a checklist and do reasonableness check on net payments made to staff.

7. Breaching the minimum wage legislation

By not observing the minimum national wage, it’s not only the employee who is affected and might bring a claim; HMRC has been known to bring cases successfully against employers who pay below the minimum wage. HMRC do this because they too have a vested interest in the form of PAYE tax. So, the unsuspecting employer gets clobbered twice here.

8. Not reporting benefits and expenses

Most benefits you give to your staff get taxed. For example, car benefits, holidays, school fees, medical insurance and the like. At the same time some expenses you pay on behalf of your staff also get taxed and subject to national insurance. However, the way these get taxed is not through the monthly payroll but through the Benefits in Kind system. A classic mistake here is forgetting to report and declare these benefits.

9. Missing the filing deadlines

Where you’ve paid your staff but not sent in the payroll returns (Full Payment Submission), HMRC will send you a late filing notice. Unless you have a reasonable excuse for filing late, they may charge you £100 a month penalty if you have fewer than 10 employees.

10. Over reliance on payroll software

As mentioned at the beginning of this article, there is a reason why payroll people take exams and become members of the CIPP (Chartered Institute of Payroll Professionals) – any Payroll system used can only be as good as the person using it. Ensure that all relevant data is entered so that the system can calculate everything correctly. And do use a checklist and do reasonableness checks.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jonathan Amponsah CTA FCCA is an award winning chartered tax adviser and accountant who advises business owners on entrepreneurial tax reliefs. Jonathan is the founder and CEO of The Tax Guys.

www.thetaxguys.co.uk

Putting together a Wellbeing Policy

Posted on March 12, 2020 Written by Administrator

The UK’s old Health & Safety Act (1974) by the was updated by The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations (1999). In neither of these laws are there any real calls to action and, in my opinion, they are out of step with what is happening in our workplaces and what is needed to address current issues.

There are some alarming statistics in relation to wellbeing at work. Employees take over 13 million sick days per year as a result of work-related stress, depression and anxiety; and stress costs the British economy almost £4 billion per year.

And yet, despite the clear importance of looking after employee wellbeing, REBA (Reward & Employment Benefits Association) reports that only 8% of boards of directors actively drive their company’s wellbeing policy.

A wellbeing policy can help improve a company’s culture, environment and long-term productivity by supporting employees’ wellbeing.

Let’s look at steps that you can take to develop an effective wellbeing policy for your business.

Create a wellbeing team

Get people involved and have a collaborative approach. For example, you could have:

Wellbeing working group: Encourage volunteers from across the organisation to join a working group to design, publicise and monitor wellbeing activities.

Wellbeing champions: Encourage employees from different part of the business – those with enthusiasm, or a particular skill or sporting talent – to volunteer to organise and deliver parts of the wellbeing programme and sell the ideas to everyone. One volunteers can act as group coordinator.

Your brand and vision

It is important that your wellbeing policy matches your company brand and vision. Set out what you, as a company, are prepared to offer your employees that shows you are looking after their wellbeing.

3) Who is it for?

For example, some businesses have a younger workforce while others tend to attract older employees. Some businesses have more women or more men. Look at your staff demographic and design a policy to meet their needs.

4) What to include

There is a distinct difference between a Wellbeing Policy and an Occupational Health Policy.

A Wellbeing Policy aims to set out calls to actions for initiatives, activities and events that have a wellbeing focus to engage individuals.

Gather ideas from your wellbeing team and use them to develop the wellbeing policy document. The aim is a clear, concise document, so you’ll need to filter the suggestions and, as a group, decide what stays in.

You may need external help from someone who understands workplace wellbeing. They can help navigate through the ideas and ensure that a coherent policy is created that caters to all employees, and is achievable.

Every Wellbeing Policy should include:

A short introduction about why caring for wellbeing in the workplace is important and why the business is championing this

Clear advice on the three key elements to a healthy sustained lifestyle are Sleep, Diet and Exercise.

A clear description of what the company offers to help care for employee wellbeing. For example, free gym membership, weekly chair massages, a quiet space for relaxation, a commitment to offering a number of Away Days per year to help with employee wellbeing.

Whatever you offer – make sure it is clearly listed in the document and details of how to access the benefit are also included.

Show how you are going to create a fun, creative, collaborative and social atmosphere at work. Start by simply encouraging talking and then have e.g. a break – out area where people can talk and show their interest in others, what are they working on, outside interests etc.

5) Sanity check

It’s always good to get independent eyes to look over the document, offer advice on any changes or missing elements and to ensure you’re within the law.

Once your policy is in place:

Tell everyone!

Distribute the wellbeing policy to ALL staff. Then keep wellbeing messages alive with including employee newsletters, payslips, video screens in common areas etc.

Annual review

Once a year review the policy with your wellbeing team. Did it work over the last 12 months? Who took advantage of the opportunities? Did it cater to all staff needs? What could be improved?How could you expand it over the next 12 months?

Report on wellbeing

Include information about your Wellbeing Policy in your public-reporting, e.g. annual reports and accounts. This demonstrates to employees, potential employees, investors and other stakeholders that you are observing good practice and that this is having a positive effect on the organisation.

A policy that shows you put wellbeing at the heart of the business can help attract customers too.

Employment contracts

The Wellbeing policy can be an addition to the employment contract. A good policy gives a competitive edge to attract and retain the best talent – saving on recruitment costs. More and more candidates are looking at the working environment, company culture, and actions around employee initiatives. It would be prudent not to ignore the shift in what attracts candidates today

This is the way the world of business is going and must go.

As Suki Thompson recently wrote in the Sunday Times: “Successful businesses are fundamentally shifting from a time when process, tech and growth/EBIT at any cost were king, to, a culture with purpose, resilience and wellbeing at its heart, where people have become the drivers of sustainable growth and commercial outcomes.” https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/why-wellbeing-needs-balance-sheet-suki-thompson/

Overall, a good wellbeing plan will boost morale, create a more engaged workforce, increase productivity and improve company performance.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Craig Bulow is the founder of Corporate Away Days, a corporate wellbeing events company delivering engaging, inspiring and exciting events focussed on Wellbeing and Reward activities. Corporate Away Days also creates, designs and builds corporate wellbeing policies and provides leading experts for interactive workshops, seminars and talks on improving mental health and overall wellbeing.

Web: http://www.corporate-away-days.co.uk/

Instagram: corporateawaydays

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/craig-bulow-3b227721/ and https://www.linkedin.com/company/corporate-away-days/

How to win the battle against inefficiencies in your business

Posted on March 8, 2020 Written by Administrator

As business grow it is likely that inefficiencies will be found it their processes. If left untackled such inefficiencies can run a business into the ground. Customers will feel they aren’t getting good value, the company will struggle to be profitable, and employees will get frustrated and start looking for jobs elsewhere.

You need to go into battle against inefficiency which will require examining all your business processes. Businesses usually do this with the help of an experienced consultant. While more costly than completing this work in-house, a consultant will have the skills and experience to spot inefficiencies, the knowledge about what works to solve the problem, as well as both the methodology and objectivity to complete the process quickly and…efficiently.

If you are ready to start right away, however, you can being by identifying the three enemies of efficiency that may be lurking in your current processes. These are rigidity, variability and waste. Let us look at each of them.

1. Rigidity

In our fast-moving, tech-driven, globalised world, businesses need to be flexible and adaptable.

The same goes for their employees. Those who adapt to the needs of the business help make processes quicker and smoother while those who rigidly stick to what they know are likely to cause bottlenecks.

People within a rigid process may end up waiting for everyone else to make their contributions before making their own, for example.

If these employees are allowed more flexibility, however, then they know they can get on with other things while they wait for information. You may discover technology that allows different teams to work on a document simultaneously or a process that removes the need for multiple checks. Changing this process means greater efficiency, faster output, and happier clients and staff.

It should be noted, however, that flexibility doesn’t mean unstructured or seat of your pants. Employees need to feel confident and clear on how to manage their time/workload rather than being left entirely to their own devices.

2. Variability

Combatting overly rigid processes is the first step in managing resources ‒ allowing staff to better utilise their time. Expecting 100% utilisation, however, is unrealistic and impractical. ‘Stuff’ happens and your teams need to deal with it quickly or risk it turning into a bottleneck.

Even on factory floors, where there is very little variability, manufacturing managers may only plan their machines to operate at around 80-85% load. The other 75 minutes of the day are left unallocated to allow time to deal with unexpected ‘stuff’.

In the modern office teams can be pushed to work at near 100% load leaving little flexibility to deal with unexpected variability. By viewing workload across entire teams, however, you can introduce flexibility and improve your capacity planning.

For example, say your design team currently needs to make all changes to graphics within a document. Training other staff on how to make minor changes to graphics will alleviate bottlenecks.

3. Wastes

Waste can be broken down into eight branches: transport, inventory, motion, waiting, overproducing, over-processing, defects, and skills.

These wastes spell out TIM WOODS ‒ handy for remembering them. Let’s look at them one at a time.

Transport ‒ This can apply to the movement of anything from goods, to people, to documents. Even a small amount of transport waste can build up. Looking for ways to decrease movement, shorten the distance or reduce the item size can all help to minimise transport waste.

Inventory ‒ Anything you buy or produce in bulk can suddenly become redundant. For example, you print 50 new customer forms in case you need them, but then the forms need to change. Be as lean as possible with what you buy or produce. That way you can minimise inventory waste.

Motion ‒ People need to move around to do their job and this physical movement takes time, money and effort, quickly leading to waste. Say, for example, that your marketing team often need to meet your design team, one is on the 4th floor and the other on the 12th. This will waste time and money as people go up and down. Try to look for ways to rationalise the placement of people to help minimise motion.

Waiting ‒ This is connected to rigidity (see above). If people are waiting to proceed on a task until someone else has made their contribution, you create waste. When different teams have different priorities, you can end up with some very long delays. Introduce more flexibility into your processes to minimise the time wasted waiting around.

Overproducing ‒ If you produce more than you need, stock turns into inventory (see above) and is at risk of redundancy. Try and be as accurate as possible when assessing the needs of your customers and anticipating future orders. Improving this may require new technology or processes.

Overprocessing ‒ You want the document you produced to be incredible, but does it really require checking three or four times before it goes to the client? Is it really about improving work or about including people in the process? By providing clear briefs you will help to minimise the checking needed, the number of mistakes made and the number of people included in the process.

Defects ‒ Mistakes devalue your output, take time to correct, and are demoralising for staff. Some mistakes will always happen, but unclear briefs or communication, a lack of information, and poorly defined processes will dramatically increase defects. People need to know clearly what’s needed, what the intended outcome is, what’s important, and how to go about it. Otherwise, they will experiment with novel processes to achieve an unclear objective, introducing many mistakes and inefficiencies along the way.

Skills ‒ People need the relevant skills for the task. Sounds obvious, I know, but managers often misuse the skills within a team. For example, I’ve seen experienced copywriters being used for time-consuming admin tasks and I’ve seen interns being thrown onto sales calls. Misuse of skills is an inefficient use of personnel and also leads to mistakes.

By working through each of these potential areas for inefficiency, you will gain a good overview of the processes used by your business and a fair idea on how to improve them. However, thinking back to point number one, rigidity, it’s important to be flexible in your approach. In a startup, for example, it may not be possible to establish clear processes as people are managing multiple roles.

As the business expands, eliminating inefficiencies becomes increasingly important to growth. Upskilling employees can be crucial to keeping them motivated in the long-term, for example, and it will help manage workload if someone is ill.

Keep these points in mind as you grow and use them as red flags to be resolved when the business has the capacity. At that point, you can use a consultant to analyse your inefficiencies and suggest improvements in order to rapidly grow your SME. For example, you can post a question on Consulthon and ask for responses from a range of experts, and then book a one hour call with the one you feel best suits your business. This is a good way to keep your consultancy costs down, and ‘try before you buy’

Keeping inefficiencies to a minimum is essential if you want to grow your business and your profits, so start by doing as much as you can in-house and then look to bring in outside experts as the business expands.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Marieta Bencheva is co-founder of Consulthon,a UK Management Consulting Expert Network. Businesses can raise a Business Challenge and the network’s experts will brainstorm solutions. After selecting the answer they like the most, the business can book a paid one-hour advisory call and deep-dive session with that consultant. All the consultants are vetted by Consulthon and the platform offers businesses access to a wide range of skills, in a variety of sectors and countries.

Web: https://consulthon.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/consulthon/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CONSULTHON.CO.UK/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/CONSULTHON @consulthon

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/consulthon.co.uk/ @consulthon.co.uk

Benefits of office water systems

Posted on February 29, 2020 Written by Administrator

The law is clear, says Worksmart, you have a legal duty to provide your workforce an “adequate supply of wholesome drinking water” – in accordance with the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992.

You might choose to meet those regulations in a very basic way simply by providing access to tap water straight from the mains.

But any self-respecting company wants to go one better than that by offering filtered – and preferably cooled – water to drink. That led to a growth in the popularity of the office water-cooler. Older models continue to be in use throughout offices around the country today.

More recently, though, staff have moved away from drawing water from a common water cooler, where the water loses its freshness after being stored too long, and instead turn to pre-packaged plastic bottles of water.

The problem with plastic

More plastic water bottles are being sold in the UK than any time before, said the Independent newspaper on the 20^th of October 2019 – by an industry that is worth more than £3 billion a year.

Their use, and the pollution caused by their disposal, is contributing to a considerable environmental problem that is barely helped – and maybe made even worse – by attempts to roll out biodegradable and compostable plastics, said the story.

Your own inhouse bottling system

It doesn’t have to be this way. Your office can produce fresh, pure, filtered and cooled bottled water using robust reusable glass bottles filled from your own inhouse supplies.

With a touch of a button, you can banish the use of harmful plastic bottles throughout your office. The filtered water produced by such systems is filtered, pure, fresh, great-tasting and may be chilled, still or sparkling.

It will go down well with both staff and visitors to your offices – who are likely to welcome your corporate efforts in moving away from plastic bottles towards a system that is way more sustainable and environmentally friendly. By making the switch, therefore, you may also give a welcome boost to your perceived corporate social responsibility.

Filtered water systems

Some suppliers of filtered water systems also manufacture the reusable glass bottles which you can fill – and fill again.

They can often go a step further by personalising those bottles with your own company or organisation’s logo – together with a brief message confirming your commitment to environmental sustainability and underlining your corporate social responsibility.

So, you get the chance to boost your company image while delivering fresh, clean and great-tasting water to your boardroom tables and the desks of your staff – a constant reminder of you having chosen a sustainable solution to the supply of drinking water.

What’s more, water from your inhouse bottling system is designed to be more cost-effective than pre-packaged bottles of water – with still or sparkling water provided from your filtered water system at a typical cost of less than 5p per litre (versus buying bottled mineral water at a cost of more than 50p per bottle).

There is no better time than now to invest into a reliable water filtration system that not only reinforces your commitment to the environment but an investment into the health to your employees.

Choosing the best business bank accounts

Posted on February 28, 2020 Written by Administrator

Choosing the most suitable bank account for your business is important. You want a service that will be easy to use and manage, and one which provides the service you need – leaving you free to focus on running your business.

The good news is that there is plenty of choice out there. In recent years, the number of established high street banks – so-called “legacy” banks – has been joined by an even greater number of alternative “challenger” banks. The majority of the latter have no expensive branch offices to maintain but operate entirely online – and the savings achieved by the use of such technology may be passed on to you, the customer.

Choosing your business bank account

The growth of many alternative banks means that if you are looking for a business bank account, your choice is wider than ever before.

So, how do you find the best business bank account for you? The first thing to note is that the best business bank account for you may be completely different to the business bank account that is best for one of your contemporaries.

Choosing a bank account that is the most suitable for your business depends on your own personal preference and circumstances. So, how might you choose from the business bank accounts available to find the most suitable one for you and your business? What are some of the features you might want to compare?

Ease of set-up

all the high street banks offer business accounts, with the opportunity to apply online too. You may have a five to ten day wait until your account is open – while the bank conducts a credit check on the finances of your business;

many of the online, challenger banks, on the other hand, can set up your business bank account in a matter of minutes, since in most cases, no such credit check is performed;

Services

your choice of business bank account may also be determined by the range of banking services you are likely to require;

if you want to be able to discuss business decisions with a personal manager or have regular cash takings to bank, for example, you may almost certainly need to consider a bank with a physical, in-branch presence;

if your needs can be satisfied by conducting your affairs entirely online – usually with the benefit of being able to do so while on the move, though banking and mobile apps – one of the newer, start-up banks may meet all your needs;

Loans and credit

business loans and credit facilities (such as business credit cards) are also available from a wide range of banks – and the best rates may not be with the principal bank you have chosen for your business account, suggests the small business advisor Informi;

you do not need to put all your eggs in one basket, therefore, but might want to think about “mixing and matching” different banks to meet your various business needs;

Fees and charges

you are likely to encounter introductory offers which provide free business banking services for a certain period – typically this ranges between as little as three but also as long as 24 months;

after that period, there are almost certain to be fees and charges for some – if not all – of your business banking transactions;

the cost of your business bank account, therefore, is likely to be an important consideration.

While there are more business banking options than ever, if you are looking to open a business bank account, the services offered, and the cost of those services may differ widely. To find the best business bank account for you requires a careful comparison.

73% of freelancers feel more secure with insurance in place

Posted on February 19, 2020 Written by Administrator

Insurtech pioneers Dinghy – the creators of the world’s first on-demand insurance cover for freelancers – have just announced the results of a wide-ranging freelancer survey which discovered, among other things, that having insurance in place greatly increased how secure freelancers felt in their jobs. A whopping 73% of freelancers said that having insurance cover gave them a greater peace of mind when going about their work.

On a similar note, 5% of freelancers have, at one time or another, experienced the theft of a laptop or other important work item. 9% of that group had to fork out over £2,000 to replace the item lost. If only they had insurance cover which protected their valuable equipment in the first place…

The survey – sent out to thousands of the UK’s most prominent freelancers and self-employed workers – covered a wide array of areas related to all aspects of freelance life. ‘Freelancing in 2020: State of the Industry’ – the results of which are discussed in detail here – uncovered a number of other interesting findings too.

Finance and Flexibility

Nearly 1 in 3 freelancers, for example, have not received payment for the work they’ve done at some point in their careers. Of that 30%, well over a third had simply been ‘ghosted’ by their client once the work had been submitted. It’s a truly remarkable statistic in this day and age, and goes to show that recent calls for stronger and firmer legislation when it comes to late or non-existent payment were not misplaced.

Despite that, the overall findings painted a very positive picture. As one respondent noted, freelancing had provided them with “the life of a poet and the income of a banker” – not a bad situation to find oneself in. Indeed, 91% of freelancers found the move to freelancing had had a positive impact on their quality of life.

Almost half of all freelancers stated that the single greatest thing about freelancing was the flexibility it encouraged – the ability to work when you want, where you want, and with whoever you want being a huge bonus. Ultimately, it seems, freedom is what many of us aspire to most. As one freelancer said, their move to freelancing had allowed them to “become the master of my destiny” – something, we’re sure, all of us strive for.

Security and Success

From career security to future aspirations to preferred methods of procrastination, ‘Freelancing in 2020: State of the Industry’ applied a broad brush to the freelance lifestyle, and the resultant image was one to savour.

Ross Pounds, Head of Content at Dinghy, was delighted with the response: “Too often companies are fixated on their bottom line at the expense of what really matters to the customers they serve. We wanted to get a better picture of freelance life so that we have a better idea of where exactly the industry is heading next.

From their worries and foibles to the thing that gets them up in the morning (or at lunchtime, in the case of one respondent), our survey gave us a great picture of what it is that makes the freelance community tick.”

Julian New, Dinghy’s Marketing Manager, echoed that sentiment: “It was a privilege to get inside the minds of the UK’s freelance masses. Freelancing is the future of work in this country, and in the world more generally, and this survey highlighted both problems that need to be fixed and the reasons why so many workers are gravitating towards freelancing in the first place. We’re already looking forward to our follow-up in 2021.”

Ways for improving business processes and profitability

Posted on February 7, 2020 Written by Administrator

Processes not just formal procedures to be followed in order to get things done. Your processes reflect the culture of your business, including values, and why you do what you do.

Because of this your processes are fundamental to your business. By sticking to clear processes, you maintain consistent quality, service and brand experience. However, there is a danger that they get out of date. Processes need to evolve and grow with the business, and also adapt to external pressures. Processes that work for, say, a two person startup won’t provide what is required for a medium-sized business with a full product range.

Processes that do not work can lead to numerous problems, such as customers complaining about poor product quality or bad service; wasted resources, increasing costs, bottlenecks etc.

Correctly identifying problems is a challenge but also the first step towards finding a resolution and improving processes.

Here are two main methods to a) identify the root causes of the problems you need to tackle, and b) help you find the solutions and process improvements that are necessary.

Problem-solving session

Problem-solving sessions are ideal when you already know what the problem is but are unsure how to solve it.

Firstly, create a commonly understood/agreed description:

What the problem is ‒ a simple problem statement
When the problem has been seen
The magnitude of the problem
The impact/ consequence of the problem (why is it important)

You may end up with a specific description, e.g. “We have lost 20% of our clients in the past year”, or a vaguer one: “Our profitability is decreasing”. Make no assumptions about the cause at this point!

Once you have a clear description of the problem, it’s time to measure its extent. To do this, you’ll need a comprehensive list of value elements ‒ anything that affects your costs or benefits your clients.

Involve the wider team now, including a representative sample of people who experience the issue.

A fishbones diagram can help identify the possible causes of the problem. For each branch (i.e. each possible cause) list every element involved in that branch.

The reasons for problems can generally be grouped as 8Ps or 8Ms:

The Ps

Physical Evidence;

Personnel;

Place;

Product or Service;

Price;

Promotion;

Process;

Productivity & Quality

The Ms

Machine (technology);

Method (process);

Material (Includes Raw Material, Consumables and Information.);

Manpower (physical work) / Mind Power (brain work):

Measurement (data from reports, checks and controls);

Milieu / Mother Nature (Environment).

Management / Money Power;

Maintenance

Once you’ve clearly articulated the problem and discovered the extent of its impact, you need to identify solutions and immediate fixes.

A workshop where staff can brainstorm is a good way to do this. The outcome will be a range of potential solutions which you can test and implement. It’s good to prioritise the solutions based on their likely impact and the time/effort/money required.

Customer journey/value mapping

If you’re uncertain what the problem actually is, or want to be more comprehensive in your solution-gathering, or to improve processes in general, a customer journey map or value stream map can be useful.

A value stream map visually captures all your current processes down to the last detail.

First create a comprehensive list of your value elements ‒ anything that affects your costs or benefits your clients. Think of these elements as client touchpoints ‒ times when customers interact with your business.

Next gather data on the monetary and time value of each element; how much are they worth and how much do they cost? How long do they take? How much does this time cost you? As you go through each element, try to identify those that:

add value for the customer ‒ things customers are willing/wanting to pay for
are business non-value-added functions ‒ things your business needs to operate but which don’t add value, such as regulation and compliance costs
do not add value ‒ waste to be eliminated.

From this point, it should be straightforward to identify processes that aren’t adding or delivering value and begin investigating why they don’t.

Perhaps Sales are used to promising a two-week delivery timetable, but it is delivered after four weeks and the customer is upset. The customer may understand, and therefore not report their experience back to your company.

Get the whole team involved in this discovery stage to help uncover such hidden issues. You could even start with a customer survey to identify any loss of value from their perspectives.

When you have identified the problem(s) it’s time to get on with finding solutions. Again, a team approach is helpful – don’t reject any idea out of hand. Aim to make your processes as lean as possible, to ensure they add value, and are all completely aligned.

Another option is to combine the two methods above. Write your problem statement, then gather client feedback and complete your value-stream mapping. Then run a problem-solving session on each touchpoint in your value stream map to ensure that every touchpoint delivers maximum value.

Regardless of the method, the trickiest part is being objective enough to accurately identify the root issues. To help overcome this and make the process faster and more effective, organisations often hire an external consultant to analyse their current processes, identify issues and offer tried-and-tested improvements. They know all the little questions to ask and the steps to follow to drill into the minute details.

If you don’t have the budget for a full-time consultant, you can use platforms like Consulthon to get some free ideas around what the problem may be and how to approach the issue, from expert consultants. You can arrange follow-up calls or meetings with the consultant with the best approach, allowing you to check-in with an expert at key milestones along the way.

Over time it is inevitable that your business processes will need to change. Don’t put off tackling what needs to be done. Pick a method that is best suited to your current situation and find the solutions and process improvements that will give your customers the best service, support your business and grow your profits.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Marieta Bencheva is co-founder of Consulthon, a UK Management Consulting Expert Network. Businesses can raise a Business Challenge and the network’s experts will brainstorm solutions. After selecting the answer they like the most, the business can book a paid one-hour advisory call and deep-dive session with that consultant. All the consultants are vetted by Consulthon and the platform offers businesses access to a wide range of skills, in a variety of sectors and countries.

Web: https://consulthon.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/consulthon/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CONSULTHON.CO.UK/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/CONSULTHON @consulthon

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/consulthon.co.uk/ @consulthon.co.uk

How to get your staff truly engaged and motivated

Posted on January 30, 2020 Written by Administrator

Far from being a trendy buzzword employee engagement is an economic necessity. As data from Gallup shows the companies which have engaged employees outperform other business by 202%. In addition, the study showed that companies in the highest quartile of employee engagement ratings outperform those in the bottom quartile in customer ratings, productivity, and profitability.

Studies also show that only 13% of employees worldwide are effectively engaged in their work, with the global costs of unproductivity reaching a staggering $7 trillion.

This suggests that although companies need to focus on their clients it is equally important to make sure your staff are engaged. This means that they feel connected to the company / business and are motivated to do a good job.

A survey question by Gartner 2019 asking: ‘Which of the following factors are most highly linked to employee engagement in your organization?’ highlighted some interesting statistics:

Relationship with immediate supervisor: 79%

A sense of purpose: 75%

Organizational culture: 74%

Opportunities for career growth: 68%

Enjoyment of work: 68%

Relationship with colleagues: 67%

All this provides a very clear picture: engaged employees are happier, perform better, and provide a better experience to the end customer.

There is plenty you can do to improve employee engagement in 2020. Let’s look at some ideas that you can put into action.

Show you care

We all like to feel valued for who we are rather than how much money we make. Employees are no different. In fact research shows 83% of engaged staff say “my supervisor cares about me as a person” compared to just 3% of disengaged workers. (Source: Glintinc)

It’s clear getting to know people is worth it. So, if you want staff who care about their work you must first show you care about them as people. Get to know your employees. Find out what matters to each employee professionally and personally. Who’s their favourite superhero? Who broke a world record? What are their career goals? Ask and listen!

Empower Employees

Knowing someone and trusting them are two quite different things! So, as well as getting to know your team, have faith in their abilities. Engage employees by empowering them to take responsibility for their work and new challenges.

Give people the autonomy to get the job done in their own unique way. All this ‘trying and doing’ it for themselves develops employees’ skills through experiential learning. Remember that empowering employees means steering clear of micromanaging.

Warning: Other people’s way of doing things may be different to yours (but it just may be better!).

Including wellbeing training and learning

Businesses with a strong learning culture enjoy employee engagement and retention rates – between 30% – 50% higher than businesses that don’t. Offering career and development training that includeswellbeing topics would keep 86% of millennials from leaving their jobs. (Source: Glintinc)

Wellbeing training should cover evolutionary practices, the three main ones being: Sleep, Diet and Exercise. In addition, at work training on how to look out for signs of stress and burnout in our colleagues is helpful.

Engaging the services of leading professionals in wellbeing and mental health to offer interactive workshops and seminars to educate staff at all levels will help ensure the company’s workers mental and physical wellbeing is kept a high priority.

Investing in your employees with ongoing job training keeps them engaged in their chosen career path and therefore more committed to the company. Training and development also encourages’ communication and connection between colleagues who will share knowledge and experience.

Ideally, once started, keep this face to face communication going in order to build relationships and trust.

Encourage social connections

88% of employees rate connection with their colleagues important to their job satisfaction. However, 73% of employees working in an open planned office fail to talk to one another. (Source: Peoplemanagement.co.uk)

Over the last 20 years there has been a huge step forward in technology, which has changed the way we communicate both at work and socially. Face-to-face communication has reduced, and we’re at risk of losing the human connection – which is crucial to improving engagement at work.

After speaking with a number of professionals in the City it was striking to find the majority described their working day as containing little or no personal verbal communication with their peers; it’s always an email. Even if the person is just across the room – email was still the dominant form of communication.

One way to tackle this issue would be to remove individuals from the office and put them in a neutral, social environment. This can be done with an engaging and fun away day, perhaps one that the team has collectively chosen for itself.

Team bonding days have their place – but they are all about work! You are more likely to engage individuals with fun experiences and activities that they would choose for themselves. Imagine offering them a day out they would really love? The sort of thing that they’d happily pay for and organise at the weekends or on a day off in their own time? Imagine how much more impact that would have than something that felt like a ‘work’ day? The interest, excitement and commitment are already there as it is something they actually want to do and/or experience.

Clearly not everyone will have the same interest for every event / activity that is chosen. Perfect! This gives the employer an opportunity to engage different individuals from across the business who share the same interests, creating a common ground that’s ripe for breaking the ice.

For those who like to do other things then the next engaging Away Day can include those who share more of the same interests. Once there are several groups of engaged individuals talking about their Day, in the days or weeks before and after the event, am pretty sure they’ll be looking forward to the next one having already started to engage naturally.

Engaging your staff socially out of the office on inspiring and engaging events centred around wellbeing is a sure way to improve morale and in turn productivity for the company. A company away day with a wellbeing theme can generate up to 800% ROI.

Lead by Example

Belief in senior leadership is the No.1 factor in creating positive employee engagement. 58% of employees say they would start a job with a lower salary if they worked for a great boss. 85% of employees say they would stay longer in a company with an employer who shows a high level of social responsibility. (Source: Glintinc)

The best way to do this is by example. Don’t tell them about your great leadership – show them through your own actions. If you make a mistake; take responsibility. If you say you will do something; make sure you do it. If you set a deadline; meet it.

Offer flexible working conditions

75% of employees say they experience greater productivity when they are working from home. This also reduces commuting time, cost of travel, less daily stress and a comfortable environment. (Source: Glintinc)

The downside to this is isolation; employees risk losing even more connection with their colleagues / peers, especially if they are spending the majority of the week working from home with no human contact.

However, arranging social engagements can help to mitigate this by building relationships and ensuring that the people you are dealing with remotely on a day-to-day basis are not just faceless emails, but real people whose personalities you know. It’s much easier to build a relationship and trust when you share a common interest in an event or activity.

Fun at Work

84% of executives thought that employees with a sense of humour do better job than employees with little or no sense of humour. (Source: Linkedin)

Studies show 90% of people say a fun work environment is very or extremely motivating. (Source: Growth Engineering)

There are so many ways to have fun and everyone has their personal favourites. An away day for example on an inspiring, engaging and exciting event will build trust, resilience and connections across the workplace at all levels especially with a Wellbeing theme at its core.

A recent 2019 ‘Simply Health Survey’ monitored by CIPD found that those organisations who had wellbeing activities improved morale and engagement by 44% and lowered sickness by 31%. The survey clearly suggested that many private sector organisations would benefit from a more strategic approach to embracing wellbeing. And yet, R.E.B.A reports that only 8% of organisations at board level have a wellbeing agenda.

Individuals are more engaged whilst doing an activity which creates a better impact and therefore better results.

Doing what you can to improve employee engagement will support individuals, teams and the business as a whole. May you all thrive in 2020.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Every Corporate Away Days event and activity is chosen with wellbeing as its focus, helping to encourage employee engagement, foster connections and build relationships within the business.

Web: http://www.corporate-away-days.co.uk/

Instagram: corporateawaydays

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/craig-bulow-3b227721/ and https://www.linkedin.com/company/corporate-away-days/