Managing a business is a daunting feat. Successfully managing the humans within that business is a carefully choreographed dance of planning, organising, leading, controlling and for good measure lets add advancing to the mix as well.
The function of Human Resources is an instrumental contribution to the success or failure of many a small business. A well-established HR function is much like a POLCA dance – in sync, fast-paced and technically sound. In reality, managing a pool of human assets is sometimes more reminiscent of a cat dancing on a hot-tinned roof.
Of course, not everyone can afford the technological innovation of high-end HR Tools like Sage, SAP or SalesForce.
Fortunately, there are aids, tools, apps and technology at your disposal to enable SME owners to work ON their business instead of IN their business.
Tools to a great POLCA
Carefully considering the available options is essential. Just as penny wise may be pound foolish so can pound wise be pound foolish. It is important to remember is that HR tools are there to assist you in managing your HR Function, not to manage your HR function for you.
Tool 1 – Candidate Pipelines (PLANNING)
Proactive recruitment is not the term that generally comes to mind in the SME environment where desperate hires and impulsive choices are often the norms.
Proactively building sufficient candidate pipelines provide immediate access to suitable candidates instead of sourcing talent from scratch each time.
- Matchimi has algorithms to match part-time jobs to job seekers automatically. Better yet, this process is search less saving hours of clicking through resumes on conventional job portals.
- Hello Talent taps into social media networks and you can get your staff involved to explore their own networks to find and evaluate prospective candidates with perhaps a referral fee to incentives them.
Tool 2 – Screening & Interviewing (CONTROL)
Screening and interviewing require time, a resource most SME owners have very little of. Use automation tools weed out the pool, thus only interviewing the cream of the crop.
- Orpheus is a low-cost personality profiling tool to assist in determining that all-important culture fit.
- Criteria feature an array of competency and technical skills assessments.
- Talview lets the bots do the first round interviews on your behalf with AI led video interviewing.
Tool 3 – Collaboration (ORGANISING)
Remember Pearl Harbour, a disastrous event caused by information too little too late? Collaboration tools for inter-staff communication provide platforms for the right information and the right time and to the right people.
- Examples of these tools include Slack, Podio and Asana.
Tool 4 – Motivation (LEADING)
SME’s may find difficulty in competing with elaborate rewards and incentive schemes offered by the corporates. Jazzing up the office vibe and creating a great place to work can be accomplished with simple easy to implement motivational tools what won’t cost you an arm and a leg.
- Workpoints offer a #doworkhappy solution with staff rewards, recognition and engagement made easy for the busy SME executive.
- Employee motivation takes continuous effort, and apps like Wooboard and 7Geese enable managers to create a culture of appreciation and celebration regarding goals and achievements.
From free to fee
There are literally thousands of solutions to choose from in the HR Technology market which at the beginning of 2018 accounted for a massive 15 billion dollar industry. Before contributing those hard-earned pounds and (ADVANCING) your HR department to the next level, take note:
- Free tools are readily available, but with either limited features or limited time frames which makes the choice of options even more tricky.
- Do not even consider a tool without a free trial option (demos don’t count as free trails).
- Enquire about after sales support; the cheapies may not always provide more than just a monthly invoice.
- Negotiate discounts for annual fee payments, they aren’t being advertised but will be given to you upon request.
- Opt for cancellation agreements of no more than 60 days.
- If you buy it, USE it and make sure the relevant employees follow suit.
5…6…7…8! Ready to POLCA?