Testimonials

'As a small business, we are unable to justify (or afford!) a staff member dedicated to HR issues, and the minefield of employment law and employees' contracts had become of great concern to us. Christine Perrin at SME provided us with a perfect 'one-stop' solution to our HR needs, and continues to provide support on an 'as needed' basis.'
Gavin Marriott - Managing Director Marriott & Co Machinery and Business Asset Valuers
www.marriottco.co.uk

'SME HR has aligned our people processes to ensure they are compliant and best practice with minimum effort on our part - Helping us to protect and grow our business.'
Robin Robins Development Director
www.futurefuels.org

'Top qualities: Great Results, Personable, Good Value.'
John Coxhead Independent Business Consultant

'SME HR provides an excellent cost effective service.'
Lynn Hicks, Managing Director, MH Exhibitions & Display Ltd
www.mh-exhib.com

Case Studies

Performance Management

The client had performance issues with several long serving employees who had become disengaged and de-motivated in their roles.

SME HR spent time talking to each individual to find out their concerns and reported back to the client. Lack of communication and direction were the concerns identified by the employees although the client had been unaware of this and had felt that the employees were just being lazy...

SME HRs solution was to implement regular but short update meetings to ensure all employees were kept in the loop and felt valued and part of the team. In addition, a simple performance/appraisal scheme was implemented to monitor ongoing performance and provide a two way communication channel.

As a result performance and communication levels have improved dramatically, resulting in increased productivity and an engaged and committed team of employees.

Absence Management

The client had issues with several employees taking ad hoc sick leave often before or after a weekend. The business did not have an employee handbook or monitor sickness absence levels. The sickness absence issue was causing frustration and resentment with other employees.

SME HR’s solution was to provide the client with an employee handbook which was issued to all employees, this included a clear sickness absence policy which included the implementation of return to work (RTW) interviews for all employees.

The RTW interviews have a two fold effect, they are proven to reduce ad-hoc absences, but also protect the business and the employee by ensuring that employees are genuinely fit to return to work.

Since the implementation of these measures and the RTW interviews the adhoc sickness absence levels have reduced by 90%. This has also stopped the frustration and resentment felt by other employees and of course increased productivity.

Redundancy

Due to the recession the client needed to reduce their headcount within one particular division of their business. Several employees undertook the same role and the client was unsure of how to handle the situation. They were aware that if they did not handle it correctly they would be open to claims for unfair dismissal at an Employment Tribunal.

SME HR provided them with a step by step guide to the redundancy process, helping them fairly identify a selection pool and arrange the consultation meetings and supporting correspondence. In addition, we provided the employees selected for redundancy with outplacement support – helping them with CV writing, career counseling and interview skills.

Although the final outcome was difficult for the business and the employees involved, SME HR made sure that throughout the whole process, best practice was followed.

IT & Health and Safety Issues

These issues are a recurring theme and many clients have looked to SME HR for support in these areas.

A common theme with IT is that the business needs to purchase a software programme to update its capabilities, but no one within the organisation knows how to use it. SME HR can provide 1:1 bespoke training, so that your employee can sit at their own desk and learn what they need to in order to maximise your businesses benefit from purchasing the software. We can also provide training notes for future reference.

Health and Safety is paramount for all businesses regardless of their size. SME HR has provided clients with policies, procedures and training to ensure that they meet all the mandatory requirements required for their types and size of business. We can provide training courses in house to make sure all your appointed employees are kept up to date with current legislation.

Do these case studies sound familiar to you ? If so contact us on 01428 717667 to see how we can help you resolve your current HR, business and training issues.