10 Ways to Avoid Redundancies
If you’re looking for a redundancy policy because you think you need to restructure or make staff redundant then read this first!
Employees Trapped Abroad
Natalie Lewis2019-10-08T12:04:58+01:00Have you got employees trapped abroad? Thomas Cook has collapsed putting around 22,000 jobs at risk and leaving hundreds of thousands of holidaymakers trapped abroad. The UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said it has launched Britain’s largest peacetime repatriation to bring home stranded Thomas Cook passengers. The authority estimates that on top of the 150,000 trapped abroad an estimated million more have lost their future bookings. This is not the first time something like this has happened – remember the Icelandic volcano that [...]
Holiday – how to prepare your team for when you go away
Natalie Lewis2019-08-13T10:55:42+01:00For small business owners, taking a holiday, at least one where you don’t spend the whole time tethered to your smart phone or computer, may seem nearly impossible. Do you worry that if you do go on holiday you’ll need to spend hours hunched over your laptop in your hotel room or take endless business calls whilst you’re on the beach or sightseeing? As much as I’d love to tell you it’s possible to totally unplug yourself from your business while [...]
How to Manage your Team through Ramadan
Natalie Lewis2019-05-15T11:07:59+01:00Ramadan is based around the lunar cycle but falls around the same time every year. This year Ramadan runs from 5th May to 4th June. It is a time for reflection, contemplation and celebration of the Muslim faith. It is deemed the holiest time of the year and Muslims all over the world observe 4 weeks of fasting (no food or water during day light). This can be a difficult time for all who are involved; participants, business owners and colleagues. [...]
How to Manage Virtual Teams
Natalie Lewis2019-04-23T12:55:10+01:00Virtual teams are becoming increasingly popular in service and consulting driven industries. A virtual workforce is where you have employees who work out of the office rather than in it, for example from a home office or co-working space. The advantages of this type of business is reduced overheads which often means that pricing structure can be more competitive but also if provides employees with more of the flexibility that they crave these days. The disadvantage is that you need to [...]
How to avoid killing your company culture as you grow
Natalie Lewis2019-07-22T17:38:50+01:00Company Culture is so easy to destroy … That moment when your success is the very thing that threatens to destroy your business comes as quite a surprise and this is a common theme with my clients. I was having a catch up coffee with one of my strategy clients to review last year’s successes and got talking about this very subject. For him, ‘that moment’ hit him like a big slap in the face and it was the reason he came [...]
HR Grinch (Advice for Company Christmas Party)
Natalie Lewis2019-07-22T17:38:16+01:00‘Twas a few weeks before Christmas and the company party was being discussed…. Everyone was excited until HR made a fuss! The Company Christmas Party – always a subject of contention! Whilst many would agree that a Company Christmas Party can boost morale and be a good way to celebrate success, it can also bring managers and HR many headaches (not just ones from overindulging!) So without wanting to be a Christmas Grinch, let’s look at some ways to make your [...]
A Huge Recruiting Blunder
Natalie Lewis2019-07-22T17:37:46+01:00I really wish that recruiting managers (and recruiters) would treat candidates with more respect. Business owners wonder why candidates don’t turn up to interviews and when they do, they seem disinterested and lack motivation. If you’re in that position – perhaps ask yourself what you did to attract these candidates, how you engaged with them and how you sold your business to them. At some point, your employees bought into you as a brand and somewhere they wanted to work. You [...]
The workforce generation gap – are we really that different?
Natalie Lewis2019-07-22T17:36:12+01:00Let’s look at the workforce generation gap and dispel the myth that having a workforce with multiple generations is a nightmare to manage. I will give you a brief outline of each generation and what motivates them and then offer my top tips to management and owner/managers on how to get the most out of each generation and create a cohesive and harmonious workplace. The ‘generation gap’ or ‘intergenerational divide’ (if you want to sound posh) has become an interesting [...]
Why your Open Door Policy sucks and what you should do instead
Natalie Lewis2018-12-10T11:15:43+01:00“Do you have a minute?” I was talking to someone last week who had recently introduced an ‘Open Door Policy’, I raised an eyebrow and asked how that was working out for him. He said it was a nightmare. I had to chuckle. Open Door Policies are a total waste of everyone’s time, quite literally. I asked the chap what was happening since the policy had been introduced. He said that he was getting interrupted all the time by staff bringing problems [...]
