My services
Here’s where I’m a little different – I won’t sell you lots of policies and a big handbook with 100s of pages because small businesses really don’t need that. The time it takes to keep it up to date far outweighs the time taken up with the odd issue that might arise because you don’t have it. There are only a handful of mandatory policies legislation says you need – I can help you with those.
I also like to work flexibly with clients, tailoring my service to your business, with as little or as much support as you need.
Below are some examples of the services I can provide.
Employee investigations
- One of the key steps in ensuring a fair procedure is followed in a disciplinary process is carrying out a reasonable investigation to establish the facts of the case and whether or not there is a case to answer.
- Otherwise, even though there may well be a potentially fair reason for dismissal, an inadequate investigation can render any subsequent dismissal unfair.
- The investigator needs to be someone who will not be involved in any subsequent disciplinary decision. Small businesses won't necessarily have the resource for this in-house, and this is where I can help.
Appeals
- Appeals against dismissal should be heard by someone independent from the original decision maker and preferably a level higher in seniority. However, many small businesses don’t have the hierarchy for that.
- I can chair an appeal for you, to put you in the best position to defend a claim at tribunal.
Employment contract and the necessary policies
Only the ones you need, not policy for policy’s sake!
Guidance on the family friendly rights
There are a lot of statutory rights to be aware of, such as;
- Maternity Leave
- Paternity Leave
- Shared Parental Leave
- Adoption Leave
- Flexible working (changes imminent!)
- Time off for Dependents
- and many more!
Management Training
- Interviewing skills (it’s costly if you choose the wrong candidate)
- Employment Law awareness for line managers - not the boring detail but enough to know the pitfalls and how to avoid them!
- Introduction to managing people (ideal for those newly promoted managers with a team for the first time)
- Handling misconduct & grievances
- Addressing poor attendance/absence management etc
Introduction to leadership programme
Ask any new leader, and they'll say the hardest part of the job is getting the best out of their team.
This programme kicks off in the classroom but then follows up in the leader's workplace "coaching live".
It will cover;
- How to have those difficult conversations around underperformance or misconduct
- Questioning techniques, how to probe & get the answers
- Conducting a 1-1
- Providing feedback - negative and positive
- Ideas to recognise your teams & show appreciation (without spending money)
- Leading by example (behaviours
I then coach the leader back in the workplace "live" so the learning is embedded and sustained for the future.
People strategy
This sounds really fancy, but it’s just about understanding your goals relating to your people and having a plan to get there.
Individual leadership coaching
Leading your team effectively is one of the most challenging parts of running a business. I’ve been witness to some great leaders, but some not so great too! Your best employees will stay because of how you lead them.