HR ADVICE BLOG
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Alison Schreiber is an experienced HR professional who provides practical and pragmatic outsourced HR support to SMEs in the Durham and Darlington area.
The HR Dept specialises in Employment Law, contracts of employment, disciplinary and grievance, appraisal, performance management, absence management, dismissal and redundancy, TUPE transfers, employee surveys, training and development, payroll, recruitment, health and safety.
Alison’s areas of expertise also include job evaluation, compensation & benefits, leadership, change management, employee engagement, coaching and diversity.
For more info, visit HR Dept Durham and Darlington or call Alison on 01325 526036 or 07535 853226.
BLOG POSTS
HR ADVICE: Why creativity in the workplace is an important tool for business growth
Why it’s so important to inspire creativity in your business A common misconception of creativity is that it requires a specific time and place to materialise. For example, a planned brainstorming session or in a design studio. Whilst these environments can be...
read more
HR ADVICE: Who can be called for jury service and what happens when an employee is selected
You’ve set your sights on an exciting new project, got your people in place and are ready to hit the ground running. Then it happens. A key member of staff informs you that they have been selected for jury service. “You’re joking!” is quite possibly the reaction you...
read more
HR ADVICE: Do you have a bad apple in your team?
How to manage a negative employee Negative employees can be real energy zappers. Their negativity can be contagious and halt productivity for the wider team. Blaming others for incomplete work or poor performance, holding up projects, criticising company procedures...
read more
HR ADVICE: Could you be paying the price for incorrect payroll?
A reminder for payroll cut-off pops up in your calendar. How does it make you feel? If you have someone in place to manage PAYE for your business, you might dismiss it without a second thought. But, if you are managing payroll yourself, it could be an unwelcome...
read more
HR ADVICE: How to address poor time management with employees
“There just aren’t enough hours in the day!” “Something more important came up” “I don’t have time right now. I’ll do it later” Sound familiar? If employees are providing these common excuses when you ask them for an update on a task or project, you may need to...
read more
HR ADVICE: How would you rate your workplace wellbeing?
How well is your workforce? The UK has been ranked 24th out of 25 comparator economies for work-life balance in the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development’s (CIPD) second Working Lives survey. This suggests that workplace well-being in the UK needs...
read more
HR ADVICE: Managing maternity leave
You’ve signed the card and waved an employee off into parenthood. But what happens next? Perhaps you hadn’t thought that far ahead yet, especially if the employee is taking the full allowance of maternity leave which is one year regardless of how long they have worked...
read more
HR ADVICE: What to do when an employee asks for a pay rise
What to do when an employee asks for a pay rise Just when everything seems to be ticking along nicely, you get a request from an employee asking for a pay rise. Sigh. It could be right on time, perhaps you have been reviewing wages. Or, it’s caught you off guard and...
read more
HR ADVICE: How do you ensure you communicate effectively with your staff?
What is the key to effective internal communication? One employee missing your important email and asking questions could be brushed off as an honest mistake. But when the second, third or fourth person does the same thing, you may find yourself exhaling sharply and...
read more
HR ADVICE: Making the most out of Mondays in your business
There are times throughout the year that you may wish to reward your hardworking employees by hosting a party or a fun team-building activity. Work events such as the annual Christmas or summer party can be a great way to boost morale. They bring everyone together in...
read more
HR ADVICE: How to celebrate Christmas and keep your staff happy
During December it can be easy for some to get caught up in a flurry of festive cheer and carried away with Christmas. Depending on the nature of your business, you could find employees in high spirits or beaming more than usual since December 1st. Or, you could be...
read more
HR ADVICE: Four ways to improve knowledge sharing in your SME busines
It is not uncommon for a small business to be fuelled by multitaskers who wear various hats throughout the day. As the leader of such a team you may even read this and say, “Oh certainly, I myself have at least five hats to choose from!” Whilst creating a team of...
read more
HR ADVICE: How to spot and stop bullying in the workplace
Bullying in the workplace is sad but true that bullying is still a significant issue in many organisations. The TUC reported in 2015 that nearly one third of people are bullied at work, with women being more at risk than men. If left unaddressed, workplace bullying...
read more
HR ADVICE: It might be the easy option, but is it the ethical one?
Have you ever made an executive decision on impulse and then recited that famous, reassuring phrase “it will all be alright” to justify your decision making? You may have even felt good about the time saved by making a quick and easy decision. Because effectively,...
read more
HR ADVICE: Automation meets HR – sure-fire shortcuts to get things done
Unless you have buried yourself in offline processes for the past few years, you have probably heard that automation can be a great tool for SME success. From lead generation to real-time marketing, slick e-commerce to prompt customer service; automation can not only...
read more
HR ADVICE: Is it time to upgrade your space?
If you are reading this at work*, take a look around you. Are you inspired? Are you motivated? If you struggle to feel inspired by your surroundings at work, it’s fair to say that your staff members could be feeling the same way. So, if your answers to the above were...
read more
HR ADVICE: How to manage the employee who keeps calling in sick, and the one that won’t go home!
Not again! From being too hungover to work, to calling in “dead” only to return the following week as though nothing had happened, employee absences can be a pain for employers. Especially if one particular employee is a repeat offender and keeps calling in sick. This...
read more
HR ADVICE: Your team’s attention span is decreasing! Or is it?
Ever heard the phrase “Humans have a shorter attention span than a goldfish”? Perhaps you have quoted it yourself. This attention-grabbing headline has spread like wildfire in recent years as many have nodded, shrugged and added “Well of course, technology and smart...
read more
Home Office reveals Brexit toolkit for employers
The HR Dept, which provides HR advice to small and medium businesses across the region, has highlighted that the Home Office has launched a content toolkit to help employers communicate important Brexit processes to their EU national employees living in the UK. The...
read more
HR ADVICE: Six steps to preparing for an intern
If you’ve never had an intern before, you could be forgiven for thinking you hire one to pass on your wealth of business knowledge, so your legacy lives on after you retire. That, and to have some extra hands on deck to order your lunch when the going gets tough. To...
read more