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July 2014 |
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In THIS ISSUE
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Welcome to the summer issue of Inspiration. Life feels exciting and competitive at the moment, what with the World Cup and Wimbledon under way and the Commonwealth Games starting soon! Athletes train hard year round, always focusing on their next tournament, race or championship. Injuries aside, they take full control of their performance from every angle; diet, mental preparation and physical exercise. What can we do in our businesses to ensure we come out on top and reach our own goals?
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Employer Branding
We often say that people are an organisation’s most valuable asset, but what do we mean exactly? Surely cash in the bank and an impressive client list is more important? We would argue that without good people on board, solid finances and longstanding customers are harder to hold onto. This is where employer branding comes in! In the same way as products and services have their own customer brand proposition, companies can have an employee value proposition (EVP) to define their employment offer. The EVP is the balance of rewards and benefits an employee receives in return for their performance at work. The right proposition will attract, engage and retain your ideal candidates and staff. Here are some Inspira Top Tips for creating your employer brand:
- What differentiates you as an employer? Is it the culture, environment, mission, reputation?
- Build a company page on your website and incorporate current staff profiles to engage potential candidates and give them a taster!
- Create a careers page too
- Stay true to your organisation’s ethos – candidates will spot a lie!
- Be proud of who and what you are; don’t say what you think you should be!
- Offer unique perks; listen to your staff – it’s often not only a salary that makes an employee happy at work.
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Training & Development
Once you have developed a positive EVP, you will need to think about how you nurture and develop your staff, to ensure they stay fully engaged with the organisation and continue to work effectively. People often think that training and development schemes are only for large corporates, but in fact as a small or medium sized business, keeping your staff on top of their game is crucial. Firstly, continuing to nurture and hone your employees’ skills will ensure productivity and efficiencies for your business. Secondly, offering regular training opportunities is an excellent staff retention tool.
Not all training has to come in the form of an expensive, off-site experience. There are multiple free online training options available. You could also consider running internal training workshops run by staff to develop other staff. This is a great morale-booster too, as your staff feel valued and empowered.
‘Away Days’ are also excellent opportunities for you to come together as a team to review your organisation’s development, brainstorm for some new ideas and spend time with your most valuable assets! This could be a simple, local restaurant, held perhaps in a private room, or you could do a ‘team bonding’ exercise like cookery or outdoor adventures! This kind of activity is valued extremely highly by employees and often one sees a spike in productivity afterwards.
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Flexible Working
From June 30th, all UK employees who have been working for the same employer for 26 weeks or more have the legal right to request flexible working hours. This no longer applies exclusively to parents and carers. Read more about this here.
Flexible working can have a very positive impact on employees, helping to balance their life, boosting morale, giving them time for training and development and keeping them in longer term employment. In turn, employers generally see benefits in the workplace too. Happier staff tend to be more productive and stay with the company for longer. Many small and newer businesses already embrace flexible working. However more traditional employers may struggle with the concept and refuse their employees’ requests, seeing flexible working as bringing more administration and potentially losing business.
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"Your brand is what people say about you when you’re not in the room."
Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon
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Key Dates and Updates
5th July: Last date for agreeing PAYE Settlement Agreements for 2013-14 (if any).
6th July: Deadline for submitting form 42 or other relevant forms to report share-related benefits provided to employees.
6th July: Deadline for filing forms P9D, P11D, P11D(b), or substitutes for the tax year ending 5 April 2014.
6th July: Last date to give forms P9D and P11D to relevant employees.
19th July: Deadline for postal payments to reach HMRC Accounts Office for any outstanding Class 1A NICs for the tax year ending 5 April 2014.
22nd July: Final date for electronic payments to be cleared in HMRC’s bank account for any outstanding Class 1A NICs for the tax year ending 5 April 2014.
31st July: Deadline for second Self Assessment payment on account for tax year ended 5 April 2014.
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