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Employees can provide your business with innumerable benefits. They can ensure that you offer prompt and friendly customer service, that your admin is completed on time, and that you always have the right amount of stock on the shelves. They can solve major issues for you, as well as contribute new ideas that could revolutionize the way that your company is run. On the other hand, there are some unique issues that you might only encounter when you are employing team members for the first time, and here are just a few of them.
Absenteeism
Some absences cannot be helped due to illness or emergency. However, you might find that some of your employees are off work more often than they need to be and do not have any mitigating circumstances, such as chronic illness. This can put stress on both you and your other employees as they try to pick up the slack and maintain the smooth running of your business. It can be difficult to know what to do about absent employees. You cannot exactly appear at their home address and drag them to work yourself. Not only this, but you do not want to penalize people who have a genuine reason for being off work. This might mean that you start to look further into absence management to help you cope with the demands of your workforce and the gaps that are beginning to appear.
Bullying and Harassment
Bullying and harassment, as well as discrimination, can be devastating to those who previously thought that they were able to get their dream job at their dream company. These issues can make your employees’ lives a misery and can even force them to leave your company. This could be a great loss for you, and you might struggle to find reliable and skilled people to replace them. Not only this, but this bullying and harassment could also damage the company culture that you have tried so hard to nurture. If this is the case, you should dedicate time to writing an anti-bullying and harassment policy that lays out the steps that you will take when it is reported to you. This document should be made available for your employees to read and can act as a warning and reassurance for anyone placed in a difficult position.
Low Productivity
Your employees might be physically present within your business, but this does not mean that they are mentally so. If your employees are not well-motivated, you might find that their productivity suffers and that your business misses deadlines or is unable to fulfill customer orders at the pace that you would wish. To boost productivity, you should make sure that each individual is aware of their responsibilities and that you have trained everyone up. You should also make your office environment warm and welcoming and ensure that you plan ample breaks within the working day. It is also vital that your technology and equipment is working well and that your employees have all the tools they need to do a good job for you.
Lack of Skills and Knowledge
Although you might have employed your staff under the belief that they had the right skills and knowledge, this does not always come to fruition. Whether they never had the correct knowledge or whether times have simply changed, and your industry has moved on since their schooling, it is paramount that you boost the skills levels of your team. You can do this through continued training opportunities for all and by supporting their own advancement ideas, such as paying for different, industry-relevant courses and qualifications for your team. If you are struggling to provide this training yourself, you should look into whether outsourcing is a possibility. This will mean that everyone is able to enjoy a level playing field before long.
Poor Communication
You might find that your employees do not get tasks done or that they do not know what is going on within your business due to poor communication. Communication within your business should be a two-way matter; you need to inform your staff what is going on and they should feel free to give you feedback and ideas that could boost your company’s prowess. To do this, you should consider sending out an employee newsletter regularly while also setting up an employee WhatsApp group and online portal. As well as this, you should plan frequent open meetings, as well as private one-to-ones where your team can share what they have to say in a safe and comfortable environment.
