Hit me with your best shot!

Are you giving your business the best shot? Maybe, but maybe not - I had a client the other day 'interview' a candidate and it went a bit like this:

Candidate arrived - Owner seemed flustered and distracted - the interview was on the couch in front of the rest of the team...

Question one (and pretty much the only one) - 'what do you know about my business?'

Next thing said - with a point of the finger - 'that's where you would be sitting'

Rapport was good but no questions were asked about background or skills and the interview lasted just 20 minutes.

Now you might be thinking that the candidate must have been horrendous - well I can categorically say that she wasn't and that this was a missed opportunity. The candidate is hard working, has a great personality, can turn her hand to a wide variety of roles, has small business experience, can pick up new skills and struggles with having nothing to do.

So what did the candidate think of the interview process?

Nice guy - but wasn't focused on the interview. I didn't get to sell myself. I wasn't told anything about the role. I'm not sure I would take the role, even if it was offered.

The problem was that the owner did not sell the role, his business or vision and the first impression created was not a good one. I believe that one of the major success factors for any business is to not just get employees and fill a gap, but to attract and retain the best ones possible.

So was this a missed opportunity? I think so. As SME owners, it is critical to surround yourself with people that are flexible, willing to roll up their sleeves and get stuff done. Typically, people are not taught how to attract talent to their business and select the best people. I believe that this is a key skill for business owners to acquire, to survive and thrive.

Do you have any interview horror stories - either as an employer or as a candidate?

Download and read our free eBook on our Employee Matters Facebook page today to see how it can be done.

Natasha Hawker owns Employee Matters Pty Ltd; an HR Consultancy that assists small to medium businesses with their HR functions to make them more efficient and profitable. Their offering includes HR Management, Recruitment, Training, Coaching, and Exit Management – find them at www.employeematters.com.au

Are you sick of sick employees?

By: Natasha Hawker

As an SME, when you get the dreaded call that one of your team is sick - what do you do? Did they actually call or was it received by text? Most small businesses run a very lean team, so having a team member off for a day - or worse still a week - can make for a challenging time. If employees see or perceive a relaxed approach to the management of leave, you are likely to have everyone taking their full entitlements and then some. This is an extremely expensive outcome for the business.

Just to remind you sick leave is now called Personal Leave and this can be used for the individual or for them to care for members of their family such as a child or parent, amongst others.

Here are nine things SMEs need to do to actively manage absenteeism:

1. Keep a record of all Personal Leave accrued and taken - this is one of the greatest financial leakages to a business, where leave records are not accurate and you think an employee has taken eight days when they have actually taken twelve days 

2. Analyse leave trends - if it is increasing there is likely to be a reason for this - is morale low? Alternatively, if personal leave is reducing that's good and will have a very positive impact on your bottom line

3. Implement and adhere to a Personal Leave policy - stating leave entitlements, the process for a leave request and the potential requirement to produce a medical certificate

4. Be supportive of genuine leave requests - where employees require personal leave be supportive. It is a reality that people will be ill - some more so than others and some years will be worse than this one

5. Discourage a 'presenteeism culture' - the last thing you want is for sick people to come to work to spread their germs, it will increase the recovery time for the individual put others at risk and potentially reduce the quality of work produced over this period

6. Consider instigating an Annual Leave Purchase Program - this enables people to purchase additional leave - say they want 6 weeks away in Europe. Rather than risk a resignation make this cost effective and a 'win win' for both parties

7. Actively manage long term personal leave cases - keep in touch with the employee, keep them in the loop of what is happening in the office and actively work with their medical team to return the employee to the office in a way that compliments the medical advice. Remember you are liable from a 'duty of care' perspective, if you don't manage this carefully

8. Look to develop contingency plans - cross train employees so that leave can be easily covered. When completing resourcing planning allow for 8 weeks per employee to cover off annual leave (4wks), personal leave (2wks) and Public Holidays (11 days for NSW). Consider developing a temp pool of people that know the business and are cost effective and readily available

9. Illegitimate leave - if you have an individual that you suspect is taking illegitimate personal leave - take action, your other employees will thank you for it. No-one likes to be carrying an individual unfairly

Remember personal leave is there for a reason - however if it is not managed carefully it can be very detrimental to your business. How do you manage personal leave? Do you recognise any of the issues above?

Natasha Hawker owns Employee Matters Pty Ltd; an HR Consultancy that assists small to medium businesses with their HR functions to make them more efficient and profitable. Their offering includes HR Management, Recruitment, Training, Coaching, and Exit Management – find them at www.employeematters.com.au