CASE STUDIES
POLICIES & PROCEDURES
THE COMPANY
A health company based in Northamptonshire. Founded in 2010 they have experience significant growth in the past 2 years expanding their team to over 10 employees. They work with Ena HR & Training on a retained basis.
THE CHALLENGE
They had basic policies and procedures in place but they needed reviewing as they didn't know if they were compliant with current employment legislation. Their policies and procedures are the standards that they ask all employees to sign up to and are the standards they lead their team by. Their need was immediate as they were at risk of being of being non compliant and inconsistent leaving them open to financial and reputational risk.
THE SOLUTION
The current policies were reviewed and made fit for purpose: Compliant with UK employment law and created so that they fit in with the organisations culture and ways of working. New policies were created specifically for their business including Manual Handling, Equality & Diversity, Absence and Ways of Working. Policies had consistent language and were branded.
THE THOUGHTS
Creating policies is so much more than ticking the box of employment law, although that is critical. Policies and their interpretation are the building blocks for an organisations culture however small. They go a long way to supporting employee engagement and they can also help attract the best talent. If they are adhered to and embedded well they can keep business owners out of danger!
Are you policies compliant?
Do you implement them well?
Could they be better? Could you do better?
All integrated services come with a policy review.
WAYS OF WORKING
THE COMPANY
A well-established Local firm with less than 15 employees.
THE CHALLENGE
The organisation had seen recent growth in its number of employees so to manage workload each employee was requested to complete a weekly timesheet recording billable hours and the composition of administration time. The purpose of the timesheets was to monitor each employee’s workload. The intention was never to micromanage the team. However, a new senior member of staff felt this practice was detrimental to her own work life balance and requested she was trusted to complete her admin work at a time and place to suit them.
THE SOLUTION
Well, this was an interesting one! We advised the company that as things stood the employee in question would need to put in a written request for flexible working to change their hours or location of work following their existing policy. Legally all employees have the right to make a request after 26 weeks of employment but so many employers are now giving their people that right from day one.
However, my advice didn’t stop there. I asked the directors two questions:
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Were the weekly timesheets telling them anything and did they add any value to their organisation?
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What culture did they want to have in the organisation? Did they want to empower their team to deliver what was expected of them or did they want a controlled environment?
It transpired that the timesheets were not giving them any valuable insights and the practice evolved to a bi annual time and motion study. Brilliant.
Ultimately an empowering culture was absolutely what they were striving for as a business, so after a collaborative workshop we provided them with a policy that empowered staff to manage their own time and location of work within set guidelines. The ‘Our Ways of Working’ policy included core hours to reflect their customer base, it was linked to their existing lone working, expense, and capability policies, and it highlighted how work life balance and performance would be monitored and championed going forward.
THE THOUGHTS
A culture of flexible and remote working requires trust. A detailed policy is the best starting point, but it needs to be supported by planned engagement activities, good communication , clear objectives and regular reviews.
It takes time to implement change.
Take the time and make a positive difference.
EMPLOYEE HANDBOOK
THE COMPANY
A construction company in the midlands.
THE CHALLENGE
The company had a new employee handbook which held all of their policies and defined their ways of working and standards. It was a hefty 48-page document that was well written and encompassed their culture and expectations. The problem was they didn't know how to ensure all employees had access to it and the processes were followed consistently?
THE SOLUTION
We advised to have the handbook as an electronic version only, better for the environment and ensured the correct version was in circulation by having it on the company intranet. To be belts and braces all employees were to be sent a link and requested to confirm in writing they had received it and understood it.
We proposed an interactive 90 minute training course to upskill all managers on the key policies and processes they must follow when managing their people. This approach was spoon feeding the management team but in a small business when conflicting business priorities always take over it was the most effective way of ensuring understanding and consistency in following process.
The managers were then asked to follow up with all of their direct reports in their 1-2-1s, to ensure understanding and compliance. Essentially make the handbook live and breathe!
THE THOUGHTS
It's never just enough to have the documentation. Following a different processes for different people when it comes to allowing holidays, reviewing performance, reviewing pay, monitoring performance or even dealing with misconduct can lead to tribunal claims. Have you budgeted for that? We can mitigate that risk with policies and procedures that live and breathe.
NEW MANAGEMENT
THE COMPANY
A Warwickshire based company had delegated management responsibility from the business owner to a small new team of managers.
THE CHALLENGE
The newly appointed managers had a variety of management experience and styles. The risk was inconsistency of following process and reduced staff engagement from the change in management.
THE SOLUTION
We designed a bespoke management training series that could be delivered in bite sized chunks virtually at a time that suited their busy schedules. The series was spread over 4 weeks and had 4 modules:
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Managing our way – the key policies and processes that must be adhered to
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What it takes to be a great manager – most people leave a bad manager and not a bad job so how do we become great managers
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A walk through of the HR system that supports them doing their job
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A personal 1-2-1 coaching session - creating a roadmap of their management journey so far and what skills gaps and development opportunities there are going forward