IPE Blog

Here at Investors in People towers we’ve been thinking about what we could suggest as our advice, or top tips, to help businesses to grow.

As it’s in our DNA to look at the role employees can play in making businesses more successful, the following list is unashamedly focused on how an organisation’s people can make a difference

1.        Take a step back from the day to day running of your business

Often it is all too easy for business owners to be sucked in to the day to day fire fighting going on in their business.  It’s not that these tasks aren’t important, because of course they are.  But if those leading the business have to spend time sorting these problems out, then this is time away from them looking at the longer term future of the company.

Empowering staff to take on more responsibly and ownership of their work, and to tackle these problems themselves, will allow those running the business to spend more time thinking about how the company can grow, or even survive.  (And avoid having a nervous breakdown with it!)

2.       Unleash hidden talent.

How many people in your business are underemployed?  Quite often we naturally focus on those who are not performing well, or who need help and training to get them to the required level of competence.  But how many of us look at what skills or expertise our employees have from previous jobs, or from outside work, that we could tap into.

Finding out what your people are good at, could unlock a latent talent which is vital to your business success.

3.       Engage your people for ideas

The best innovation often comes from the most unlikely of places…!  Look at how you engage with your staff and how often you ask for them to come up with ideas for improvements to the way they do their job.

Those on the front line are far more in tune with what your customers think of your business, and given the chance will come up with ways to improve that service.  You only need ask for their views and opinions and you could get a wealth of ideas that you might never have thought of.

4.       Inspire your employees

Are you passionate about what your company is there to achieve?  Do you share this sense of enthusiasm with your staff?

How many of us have come out of a meeting with a colleague who was both interested and enthused about the work they’re doing, and felt this sense of enthusiasm rub off on us?  Not every day is exciting; we’re not naive enough to pretend that it is, but every now and then having someone talk to you in an animated way about why they believe the work you do is important, makes employees feel valued and more productive.

5.      Celebrate your success!

If you don’t listen to the doom mongers too much, then even in these tough economic conditions successes DO happen!

Don’t just look at success on the macro level though – did the company make a profit this year..?  Look at success on a local level too – has a team continued to give excellent customer service when IT systems let them down? Did someone go out of their way to ensure an order was delivered to your customer?  Did someone implement a new system which made the team’s life easier?

These chances to celebrate will motivate staff & build stronger team relationships.  Financial remuneration is not always possible, but sometimes all it takes is recognition and thanks for a job well done.

These are just our views and a selection of options for what employers could do.  But what do you think? 

http://blog.investorsinpeople.co.uk/index.php/investors-in-peoples-5-top-tips-to-achieve-business-growth/

Well firstly informal methods such as recommendations from personal contacts are still a major way for people to find work. These informal connections tend to be built up over time and through experience of work, so young people are far less likely to have them.  Those that don’t are at a significant disadvantage.

Secondly employers really value experience when selecting candidates. But this can result in a Catch-22 situation: where young people can’t get work because of a lack of experience, and can’t get experience without having work.

Furthermore, young people are now less likely to have a part-time job while learning (the proportion of 16 and 17 year old full-time learners who study and work has fallen from 40% in the late 90s, to 20% today). This means that they are less experienced when they do enter the labour market.Many of the jobs that young people do (elementary occupations such as waiters and bar staff and sales and customer service occupations such as retail assistants) have been suffering from a long-term decline. They have been hit hard by the recession and are forecast to stagnate or decline further over the next decade.

How can we change this situation?

 There are significant benefits from recruiting young people:

• Help your business enter new markets
  • Young people can bring fresh ideas and approaches which open up new and emerging customers groups and markets.

• Reduce staff/recruitment costs
  • Young people are cost effective to recruit and to train.  Apprentices for example pay for themselves very quickly – see how here.
  • Work placements can often serve as an informal trial period, ensuring any commitment to a permanent position is well informed on both sides.

• Grow your own talent
  • Working with young people helps with succession planning – they learn the culture and the direction of the company, and it is often far cheaper to recruit from within than bring someone in from outside.

• Support business growth
  • Young people are flexible in terms of their work patterns and can be more willing to move an work in different locations around the country.  They bring creatively, innovation and a willingness to learn – which will all contribute to help your business to grow.

You may be thinking that, however enthusiastic and cheerful they are, young people will still lack the skills and attitudes necessary to make an effective contribution to your business. This perception is the reason why some employers tend to shy away from taking on young people. But out of those that do, the majority find their young recruits well prepared.

Investors in People could support you if you are interested in how to maximise the talents of young people in your organisation.  As discussed in our previous blog, we can work with you to ensure you have recruitment practices which allow you to attract the best talent in the market, and how you can then retain and encourage your people to be the best they can be – both for themselves and for your company.

http://blog.investorsinpeople.co.uk/index.php/what-can-young-people-offer-to-your-business/

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