Predictive Success Blog

For small to medium sized businesses, employees are often responsible for juggling multiple roles.  Associates of small to medium sized business take on roles ranging from public relations to marketing and even human resources. Having to juggle the tasks of various roles increases the likelihood of making mistakes.  In a demanding position such as this, Human Resources is often the area which seems to suffer the most!  The following are 4 easily avoidable mistakes made by small to medium sized business professionals.

1. Incomplete Documentation

Documentation is usually the first thing to go when you have a lot on your plate. However, documenting employee work history, such as performance evaluations, raises, disciplinary action and time off requests, are crucial and will come in handy in the future. For example, if you are not properly recording policy infractions, it may be difficult to terminate a repeat offender without facing legal issues.

2. Poor Onboarding Program

When you hire a new employee, you have to do more than just escort them to their desk and point them to where the bathrooms are.  These people are going to be the future of your business.  Good onboarding requires comprehensive training, a culture acclamation program and most importantly, establishing a strong employer-employee relationship. Unfortunately, most small to medium sized businesses don’t prioritize this, and – as a result – employee potential is often wasted.

3. Vague Job Descriptions

Job descriptions are important because it outlines the duties and responsibilities of the employee. Job descriptions can also be of great value to employers because they serve as a basis for interviewing candidates, orienting a new employee and evaluating job performance. Using job descriptions helps to be an effective manager, and not using them can lead to imbalanced workloads and employee conflict.

4. Failing to Keep Up with Legislation

Legislation has a nasty habit of changing at the drop of a hat and the excuse of “I never got the memo” doesn’t usually hold up in court. The human resources professional is responsible for keeping up to date with new legislation to ensure the business is operating according to law.

To learn more about how Predictive Success can help you avoid mistakes and improve efficiency, contact us.