For most businesses, the end of the year provides some quiet time. Usually this is due to a Christmas break, or companies you work with operating a shutdown period, in turn reducing your workloads overall to a much steadier pace. So when it’s quiet your mind should be too, right? Well this isn’t always the case. A quiet period can easily turn into a time of reflection, resulting in you considering what has worked well over the year, what hasn’t, what could be improved/removed, etc. keeping your cogs turning. Usually not at full pelt, just ticking over.
So, if you have done some reflecting recently, or plan to look back at your previous year(s), now is better than ever to start discussing your thoughts and implementing effective plans. Obviously anything big should be carefully thought out and well planned, and any contractual changes would need to be agreed by staff (following the appropriate process). But, for all the times which you have said ‘we need to do something about this’ for the small issues which continue to crop up, and could be easily changed, why not look to do this now. Little complications have a negative impact on your day to day running, and can eventually turn into something much bigger than anticipated. Most of the time it’s the little things that count most to staff, and so is always best to provide clarity on these matters. For example, if you experience an abundance of holiday requests for the same dates year on year, you could introduce a holiday board for staff to see available holiday dates. This way they know when they can book holiday, and reduces the likelihood of any issues and holiday clashes.
The start of a new year provides a refreshing time to start introducing some simple new changes, to make the new year (hopefully) a better one. However, for further HR tips and guidance, telephone Howarths on 01274 864999 and speak to one of advisors.
