The importance of an induction programme   Article include aspects to consider.

Succession Planning/Talent Management   Succession planning is seen as a crucial process by most major employers.

Benefits based on length of service   Avoiding the pitfalls of age discrimination.

Looking after your Lone Workers   The risks faced by employees

Could your company cope with the next increase in the minimum wage?   Next increase in October 2006

The importance of an induction programme

Research carried out by the CIPD has shown that an induction programme is key in increasing staff retention. 13% of leavers in the Companies surveyed left in the first six months. The reasons for leaving included poor integration into the team, low morale and uncertainty about their role.

When you take on a new member of staff, how you introduce them to your organisation will impact upon their first impression of the company, sense of belonging, their loyalty and how quickly they settle into their job and become productive. Whether you are a blue chip multinational or a small business employing a handful of people, a good induction programme will help get the relationship between you and your new employee off to the best possible start. A good induction programme would contain the following elements:

• Orientation – both physical, where the facilities are and organisational, how the employee fits into the organisation.
• Details of the organisations history, its products, services and culture and values.
• Policies and procedures such as how to report sickness absence, book holidays and email and Internet policy.
• Practicalities - How you order stationary, make an external phone call, the tea and coffee arrangements, informal arrangements etc.
• Health & Safety information such as emergency exits, evacuation procedure and first aid arrangements.

An introduction to their role along with any immediate training requirements. Social networks. Approaches such as providing a “buddy” for the new employee who would be a peer to help them with informal networks, who to go to for help New employees who get off to a bad start may never really understand the organisation or their role in it and this will have an impact on their morale and subsequently their productivity. In worst case scenarios they will leave. For help with planning a tailored and comprehensive induction programme for your business, please contact Picasso HR on 01473 890037.

Succession Planning/Talent Management

Succession planning or talent management – call it what you will - but who will fill the shoes of your key staff when they move on? Succession planning is seen as a crucial process by most major employers. It can help you ensure that your business has sufficient people of the right calibre and skills in place to take over the roles of senior managers as they retire or leave the business.

But that’s not all it’s about. Ideally it should be a plan to replace people in every level of the organisation from top executives to key support staff by creating a talent pool to help the Company grow and evolve smoothly and efficiently. How can succession planning help you and your business?

• It encourages senior management to identify and develop leadership talent in the workplace.
• It avoids transition problems when key staff leave or move within the Company.
• It ensures continuity of leadership.
• It can help identify the right time for promotions.
• It can allow management to focus on business development and the bigger picture, knowing the day to day running of the business is being taken care of.

How you approach succession planning will very much depend upon the size of your organisation, so it would be difficult to prescribe an approach. Picasso HR can help you develop a tailored succession planning programme and help you identify and then manage your talented individuals. Call us on 01473 890037.

Benefits based on length of service

Joe Smith has been with the Widget Production Ltd for 20 years. It has been generally known that after 21 years of service employees get an additional days’ holiday although there is no reference to this in anyone’s contract of employment.

Joe wants to know what his rights are to have this additional days’ holiday as it is not in his contract.

• The employer wants to know whether:
  this ‘benefit’ could be withheld and,
• how this ‘benefit’ which is based on length of service could be discriminatory of the grounds of age?

The question here is whether the additional holiday would amount to a term of the contract which is implied through custom and practice. The test which the courts use is to ask whether the term is “reasonable, notorious and certain” which means it must be fair, generally established, and clear-cut.

If the employer withholds this extra holiday then the employer could face a claim but this would have to be made through the civil courts because it doesn’t lie within the jurisdiction of an employment tribunal.

When the age discrimination regulations come into effect in October 2006, any length of service criteria will need to be restricted to 5 years or less otherwise they will be indirectly discriminatory. However, often benefits based on length of service are used to attract, retain and reward loyal and experienced staff. Benefits that are based on longer than five years service will only be discriminatory if the employer cannot show that the benefits have been awarded to motivate and retain experienced staff. Of course this could be difficult in practice. The employer would need to have evidence, maybe through an employee satisfaction survey to demonstrate the rational behind the choice of length of service for their benefits practices.

Looking after your Lone Workers

There’s some truth in the old saying that there’s safety in numbers. It’s well known that there are special risks facing people who work on their own.

And of course, all employers have a legal duty to protect employees from foreseeable risks.

Who are lone workers?

• cleaners or security guards working after normal hours
• sles representatives, estate agents, home helpers
• one person working on their own – in a shop, petrol kiosk
• delivery drivers

Find out about the risks and action you can take in the full article.

As the employer what do I need to do to ensure safety of lone workers?

Basically you have to carry out a risk assessment. The first step is to find out what kind of risks the person may be exposed to.

Some of the special risks faced by lone workers are:

• violence
• abduction (Suzy Lamplugh worked for an estate agent and was murdered after arranging to show someone round a house)
• robbery
• becoming ill or having an accident where there is nobody to give assistance

It is always best to consult with the lone worker and get their ideas on how to make the job safer.

What type of safeguards can be used?

• visits to the lone worker by a supervisor
• povide an alarm system, which is operated manually or is automatic based on whether the worker has been in communication or by absence of activity
• making regular calls to the worker to check they are OK.
• ensure the worker reports in when they reach the base or home safely
• always letting someone else know when the worker is due to meet someone they don’t know
• security screens and panic-buttons (e.g. in petrol kiosks)
• keeping external doors locked

Once procedures and controls are in place you must ensure that they are reviewed for effectiveness and not forgotten about.

Could your company cope with the next increase in the minimum wage?

The next rise in the minimum wage is due in October 2006 and although the TUC welcome it has to be a concern for small businesses.

The rise will see the hourly rate for:

• 22 year old + rise from £5.05 to £5.35
• 18-21-year-olds rise from £4.25 to £4.45
• 16-17-year-olds from £3.00 to £3.30

The information in this newsletter is of a general nature and is not a substitute for professional advice. You are recommended to obtain specific professional advice before you take any action.

For further information, advice or assistance on any of the matters raised in this newsletter please contact Picasso HR on 01473 890037.

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