Ask me anything: the common questions I get about business and recruitment

From the weird, to the wacky, to the common questions, I feel confident in saying there hasn’t been a question that I haven’t come across in the twenty years of being in the people business

However, there are some common questions that tend to pop up very regularly. Here are our top five most common questions answered.

1. I’m dreading having to do a performance review with a poor performer. How do I tackle it?

You would certainly not be the first manager or business owner to avoid bringing up poor performance like the plague, however the longer it’s avoided, the more it can become a futile, messy and mishandled task.

However, what if managing performance could be something you look forward to?

What if you were to transform poor-performance-talk into an opportunity to provide powerful feedback? What if both you and your staff member actually start to enjoy addressing poor performance?

This is absolutely possible.

It starts with making sure you’re approaching these conversations with the following in mind:

  1. It’s got to come from a place of trust.
  2. It’s got to come from a safe place.
  3. It’s got to come from a place of respect.

Practice and doing it regularly with an open approach is the only way to become better at doing it.

2. I have a team member that is continuously sick or taking days off. How do I approach this?

There are a couple of ways to approach this. As an employer and granting sick leave, you are fully entitled to requesting a medical certificate for the time that is being requested. 

You can also address this directly with the team member. Saying something like, “I’ve noticed you’ve been needing quite a bit of time off of work lately… is everything okay?”

This allows the person an opportunity to provide some more insight into their circumstances. 

If things continue and it’s affecting the business, you can use the ‘BIC’ Model. This stands for ‘Behaviour, Impact, and Consequences’. 

  1. Explain the behaviour you’ve been observing.
  2. Explain the impact this is having on the business and others. 
  3. Explain the consequences for the business and them if the behaviour continues.

3. How do I know I’m being compliant and paying people what they’re meant to be paid? It all seems so confusing. I want to do the right thing but don’t know if I am.

You are in good hands with Bespoke HR. This is the MOST common thing I get asked and what keeps business owners awake at night. 

There are many different awards, wage brackets and requirements that can come with having employees. However there are some simple ways to stay on top of compliance. 

One way is to check the FairWork Australia guidelines every financial year to check you’re paying your team fairly and legally. You can use their helpful award calculator here.

Or, you can book a time to have a one-on-one chat about your requirements with one of our consultants if you’re finding things difficult to navigate.

4. My team have some really good ideas, but they just don’t fit with our direction. Some go ‘rogue’ and do their own thing that aren’t actually contributing to our bottom line. How can I foster and nurture their creativity and innovation but keep them on track? 

It is important to balance business expectations with creative potential in your team without dampening the spirits of your well-meaning innovators. 

By regularly checking in and revising what the goals are as a team and using that as a benchmark against business activities, this can help to align people with injecting their own creative ideas into how that’s achieved. 

5. COVID has just completely disrupted our workplace. Many of the team have been working from home, but now they don’t want to come back to the office. What do I do? 

COVID has disrupted many workplaces and this has been a common concern and challenge for many. 

Are your staff getting a little too comfy? Are team members still effectively producing their work and working productively?

You may be open to developing a hybrid-style of working to your workplace, where there are mandatory days that team members need to be in the office, and other days they can work from home. 

However, if that is not viable for your business, you will need to communicate that it is time to come back to work. Although this may be an unpopular decision, explain your ‘why’ and rationale behind it. 

It is also a requirement to ensure you are providing a COVID-safe work environment. Ensure you are following SA Health guidelines for healthy workplaces.

 

Business training sessions with Bespoke HR

Want to learn more about our in-person training sessions and personalised workshops for your business?

Bespoke HR offer tailored packages with one of our senior consultants that are designed with your business and people concerns in mind. Email support@bespokehr.com.au to find out more or learn more about our training programs available here.