Tag: Managing people

1. The benefits of flexible working for employers

   January 7, 2020 9:00 am

   It’s widely recognised that flexible working can benefit everyone, not just employees. So it’s important that organisations not already offering it as standard consider adding policies that offer greater work-life balance into their business model.

   Common types of flexible working involve working from home, working part-time, job sharing, working compressed hours or a combination of these things.

   Here are some of the benefits of flexible working for businesses:

   A boost to employee morale

   Giving your staff flexible hours or the ability to work from home could be a real game changer for them. It will allow them to: better meet the needs of their family; reduce the costs of commuting; and feel more empowered about their professional life.

   All of this will have a positive impact on employee morale, which in turn will mean a boost for productively within your business.

   It reduces employee turnover

   Staff will be more inclined to stay in a job where they have the flexibility to work in a way that suits them. This means you, as the employer, retain top performing employees and spend less effort on training up new recruits.

   It increases diversity

   Flexible working will help you grow a more diverse work force. Employees with family or health conditions that mean a nine to five job is impossible for them to hold down will find they have a place in your business. With them they will bring a mix of skills and experience that will enrich your workplace.

   It enhances your reputation as an employer

   The best job candidates look for employers who can offer them something more than a stable job and a decent wage. They want to know your flexible working policies and whether these can help them balance work with their personal life.

   Promote the fact you allow flexible working and your reputation as a good employer will attract top candidates.

   Save resources

   If you manage it correctly, offering flexible working to your staff will mean long term savings for your business. Employees who work from home for a few days a week could share a desk and the costs of heating, lighting and equipping a large office with IT could be reduced.

   What about the disadvantages?

   Of course, the benefits of flexible working have to be balanced with a few disadvantages:

   • Some employees may not work well without supervision
   • There are jobs that can only be done in your usual place of work
   • There will be some initial cost implications for setting up IT for remote working.

   All of these things will be specific to your individual organisation but are worth bearing in mind when setting up flexible working.

   If you are looking to recruit within your affordable housing business then we can help. Ocean Edge has nearly 20 years experience helping the affordable housing sector find the top candidates.

   We have teams in Southampton and London who are ready to help you recruit to your organisation. Find out more about our recruitment consultancy services or call 023 8000 1153 or email info@oceanedge.biz.

2. How to create excellent working relationships with your team

   December 9, 2019 2:30 pm

   Did you know that half of people quit their jobs because they have a poor working relationship with their boss? You don’t need to be everyone’s best friend, but you don’t want to lose stars from within your business by taking your eye of what’s important to them.

   If you want to avoid being the reason why your best employees quit, then here’s how to keep them onside:

   Communicate

   Speak with your team and the individuals within in it regularly. This might be through team meetings, one-to-ones or ad hoc events to update everyone on things happening within the business.

   The more available you are for your team the less likely they are to bottle up issues or feel isolated from the management of the organisation.

   Foster skills

   No-one wants a job where they feel their skills are being overlooked. This breeds unhappiness and dissatisfaction, which could lead to good employees looking elsewhere.

   Play to your team’s strengths; create new roles where staff can focus on what they do best and then use this to your business’ advantage.

   Recognise and manage personality clashes

   People feel more satisfied at work if they have at least one friend among their coworkers. On the flip side, if there is one person making their life a misery it could be reason enough to quit.

   Keep a look out for personality clashes within your team and work with these individuals to manage their relationship. Getting human resources involved at the right time will help to give a neutral and balanced view on how the relationship can be mended.

   Empower your staff

   You will feel the benefits of a trusting work relationship if you give your team the freedom to suggest new projects and decide how they are going to work, whether that’s flexibly or from home.

   Staff will work harder when they are empowered to make their own decisions. And they will have more respect for you as their boss.

   Recognition

   Don’t let good work go unrecognised. Giving praise and reward where it is due is not just a motivator for the individual concerned, but also for the whole team. Staff are less likely to move on if they know their efforts are appreciated in their current job.

   If you take maintaining the talent in your business seriously, then also read our blog post about the ways to retain top employees.

   Are you an employer in the affordable housing sector? Ocean Edge can help you grow your team. We have offices in Southampton and London offering recruitment consultancy services.

   For more information about how we can support your organisation get in contact: call 023 8000 1153 or email info@oceanedge.biz.

3. Employee satisfaction – is it all about the money?

   November 6, 2019 1:59 pm

   With several high profile salary rows in the media at the moment you might be forgiven for thinking that employee satisfaction centres around the money.

   Rows at the BBC over gender pay imbalance have hit the headlines as female presenters highlight the gap between their salaries and those of their male colleagues in similar roles. However, the issue being raised is less about the size of pay packets and more about equality and fairness in the workplace, which are vital for employee satisfaction.

   At Ocean Edge we talk to many job candidates and employers each week, and know the key to a happy workforce and retaining top employees goes beyond renumeration.

   So how do you show your staff they are valued? Here’s some ways to improve employee satisfaction in your organisation:

   Listen to your team

   Giving your employees opportunities to share their ideas, requests and even displeasure will help to create a culture of trust within your organisation. Talk to staff about what would help them to achieve more as a team. Also make yourself available to discuss individual requests and issues.

   Be flexible about employee benefits

   One size doesn’t fit all when it comes to benefits and happiness in the work place. Depending on where an individual is in their career and personal life they may be more interested in financial benefits, higher pension contributions, more comprehensive health care or flexible working. The only way to be sure is to have the discussion.

   Invest in training

   Create a tailored continual professional development plan for each member of staff within your organisation. Investing in their personal skills will make them better employees and more dedicated to the success of your business.

   Mentor future leaders

   Identify staff with the potential to become the next generation of leaders within your organisation. Set them on the path to promotion with mentoring and project leadership opportunities that will motivate them to succeed. Read more about developing leaders within your business.

   Create a fair salary structure

   If gender pay imbalance is a legacy issue within your organisation then an internal salary review will demonstrate that you value all your staff and put things on an even keel.

   If you are an employer in the affordable housing sector looking to grow your team then Ocean Edge can help. We have offices in Southampton and London offering recruitment consultancy services.

   For more information about how we can support your organisation get in contact: call 023 8000 1153 or email info@oceanedge.biz.

4. Why you should encourage your employees to stop thinking about work

   December 14, 2018 3:30 pm

   Do you ever find yourself looking at work emails or talking about work to people around you in your free time? The answer is most probably yes for most of you and will most likely be the same for your employees. While this is fine on the odd occasion, many people do this on a daily basis and will end up technically working more hours than they are paid to do so. Having dedicated workers on your force is, of course, a good thing, but when does dedication become an obsession? And when does this obsession start damaging your business?

   Overworked employees are known to actually do more harm than good to your company. If your employees are using technology to carry on their working hours, it could lead to the build-up of unnecessary stress, costly mistakes and irrational decisions in the workplace. However, there are ways you can encourage your employees to stop thinking about work when they leave the office, which will allow them to return refreshed and raring to go.

   A great way is to encourage social events after work, but make it a rule not to discuss any work matters. If you show employees that you are relaxed when you leave the office, it will encourage them to have the same mentality. It is the work-hard, play-hard way of life that you should promote in your office, in order to get the best out of those who work there. You can also aim to make the workplace a more fun and exciting place to be. Providing different activities that take employees’ minds off of stressful or tiring tasks for a short while each day will allow them to return to their desks feeling reinvigorated and which will help them to return to the task with a more positive and fresh perspective.

   Another way is to schedule breaks in the working day. Make sure employees are doing something different and not working in their lunch hour. Try providing office activities or encouraging walks around the block. Short 10 or 15-minute breaks throughout the day may also help staff to stretch, relax and make personal texts or calls. If you show that you are an advocate of taking short breaks yourself, your employees will most likely mimic this behaviour and in turn not use work time to procrastinate. You could even reward employees when they hit their targets with shortened working hours on a Friday, which would lead them to want to work harder within the week.

   Whatever you decide to do within your workplace, if you make sure that there is a clear division between work and non-work time, employees are likely to become more productive, positive and more likely to represent your brand well, which will ultimately lead to improved business growth and development.