As a busy working Mum, I can guarantee that I will forget more things than I remember. I have a calendar on the kitchen wall and my work calendar on my phone, but both of these require me to actually add events to them first. If it’s not on a calendar, it’s not happening!
Practice owners are generally even busier than me and so I thought I’d outline a few general staffing matters that often get overlooked.
Contracts of employment
It is a legal requirement for all employees to be provided with the terms of their employment in writing. Often referred to as an employment contract, it should include details of their pay, working hours and holiday entitlement. Further details about the requirements of an employment contract can be found on the ACAS website. Also if a change to the contact is required it must be agreed by both parties and, if it constitutes a change in the terms of their employment, it must also be in writing.
Staff performance reviews
Lucy has previously blogged about whether your staff like working at your practice and highlighted the importance of getting the whole team together to create a good ‘company culture’ but it’s also important to ensure that an individual’s needs are being met. By undertaking regular staff reviews you are both given the opportunity to take a step back and review what’s working well, where improvements need to be made and whether individuals have all the necessary resources to do their job effectively.
Staff pay reviews
In an ideal world, these would be run separately from the performance reviews but still should be completed at least annually. The difficulty is finding that balance between rewarding staff for a job well done whilst keeping salaries at a cost-effective (but still competitive) rate. The result might be a simple cost-of-living increase across all staff members, or it may be more specific based on an employee’s progression or performance. Another consideration is the national minimum wage which is rising in April 2020 to £8.72 for those over 25.
Identify potential star performers
Keep your ear to the ground! Reward those staff members that are going the extra mile – a simple token of appreciation like a store gift card, bottle of wine or bunch of flowers are tax-free on both you and the employee provided they are less than £50 and will go a long way to making an individual feel valued. Think about whether individuals can develop their skills further for the benefit of the practice – FineCompany are running an advanced business manager training course in March 2020 and also several TCO workshops throughout 2020 that may be of interest.
If you’d like to find out more about our payroll services or would like some further information regarding the training courses that I’ve mentioned, please call us on 01872 300232 or email hello@hivebusiness.co.uk.
