Prompt action will lead to fewer claims…

Since setting up Turnstone HR it has been interesting working with lots of different clients encompassing a wide variety of size and sector. Two and a half years down the line, I have been looking back to see whether the range of people issues we have dealt with on behalf of clients differs hugely from those I experienced in my previous life as Personnel Manager and HR Director of a large PLC.

I also speak regularly with contemporaries who work in a variety of organisations and it is interesting to compare notes with them, too.

And the result of this retrospective? In reality, the same issues appear to arise in smaller companies just as they do in the larger, corporate organisations! At the end of the day, I suppose that people are people and wherever they work, human nature will dictate that broadly similar issues are raised and/or created regardless of the size or type of organisation.

The biggest difference I have found is that in the larger companies, issues tend to be dealt with and brought to a resolution much more quickly than in the smaller companies. This is, of course, primarily down to the matter of resource. The larger firms generally have their own HR/Personnel Departments that not only have the knowledge and expertise, but also the dedicated time to react and respond to issues that arise. In smaller companies that do not have their own HR/Personnel functions, people issues tend to be dealt with by the business owner or manager who, more often than not, is also busy dealing with the day-to-day running the business.

It is for this reason that a lot of the smaller businesses choose to outsource their HR. Interestingly, at Turnstone, we often hear the phrase “we do our own HR in-house” from businesses that we visit. Exploring that statement further, we generally find that by HR, these businesses mean monitoring of sickness and holidays and the preparation of data for payroll.

In reality, HR is much more than this. It encompasses all aspects of people management from recruitment, through dealing with grievances or disciplinary issues, performance appraisal and training to redundancy and dismissal – and everything people-related in between.

As a small business owner, outsourcing will certainly help you to manage your staff and will provide the support needed to enable you to focus on driving your business forward without having to worry about people issues. Some organisations do this remotely through a call-centre type service. However, I was adamant when setting up Turnstone that we were not going to follow suit. I am a great believer that, when dealing with people issues, it is so important to sit face-to-face and provide a very hands-on and personal support with all information and advice specifically tailored to each specific issue in each specific business.

By outsourcing, the smaller businesses can deal with people issues quickly and by following the correct procedures, meaning that situations will be resolved promptly and legitimately resulting in a more productive workforce and ultimately, in respect of issues that lead to termination of employment, fewer potential Employment Tribunal claims.