Four Negative Workplace Factors Harming Retention
New research has identified the biggest negative habits harming employee satisfaction. Employees have been turning to Google for advice on coping with a negative working environment.
Let’s look at the four negative workplace factors that are harming retention.
Lack of career development opportunities
Over the last 12 months, there has been a huge increase in the number of google searches for ‘work progression’. Lack of progression and development opportunities at work can influence employee satisfaction and motivation levels. Some employees feel there is no more room to grow in their current role or opportunities to learn new skills which can negatively impact their well-being at work.
Employers should look to coach and develop their team’s skillset, building on each employee's individual strengths so they can reach their potential. Encouraging your team to develop their skills supports employee wellbeing, resulting in an engaged and motivated team.
Poor Recognition and Reward Systems
Google searches for ‘rewards in the workplace’ have increased by over 65% in the last year. Employees’ motivation can be increased with workplace rewards as they act as an acknowledgment of the employee’s behaviour.
Rewards don’t always need to be financial to be beneficial. A simple thank you or sharing news of an employee’s achievement can provide a team member with the recognition they deserve.
Limited access to health and wellbeing services
In the last year, there has been a 50% increase in the number of Google searches for ‘health and wellbeing in the workplace’. Employers need to place a greater emphasis on supporting their employee’s health needs. Whether it’s providing medical and dental cover or having access to mental health services through an EAP scheme, there are many ways employers can provide health benefits. In return, businesses will benefit from a healthy, happy, and motivated workforce.
Workplace Culture
A company’s working environment can have a huge impact on employee wellbeing, job satisfaction, and engagement. Negative workplace culture can be influenced by a lack of communication, a tense atmosphere, poor management, and a lack of work-life balance. Negative workplace cultures can lead to a higher staff turnover and impact your ability to attract and retain employees.
It's important for employers to listen to employees. Having focus groups or meetings with employees to get feedback will give you an indication of what your business is doing right and what needs to be improved.
Statistics have been provided by HR Director.
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Handling Workplace Complaints
Handling workplace complaints or grievances in the UK can be legally risky and expensive if UK employment laws are not followed. In this blog, we’ll discuss tips for employers on how to handle these complaints.
Tips for employers
Be proactive to prevent complaints
Encourage employees to raise concerns informally first with their line managers, many potential complaint/grievance issues can be resolved this way.
Have a written workplace complaint/grievance policy
This is required by law unless the complaint procedure is already set out on the employment contract. The policy should make it clear in a written procedure that an informal resolution should be considered before making a formal complaint/grievance.
Watch out for whistleblowing
Complaints that have a ‘public interest’ element may amount to ‘protected disclosures’ for the purposes of the whistleblowing legislation, and as such may be subjected to certain protection. Employees who are dismissed or suffer any detriment as a result of having blown the whistle can bring claims against their employer.
Complete an investigation
Failure to complete an investigation before making a decision on a complaint/grievance could make that decision unfair and leave the employer vulnerable to legal action. Once the investigator considers that they have established the facts surrounding the complaint/grievance, they will need to produce an investigation report that explains their findings.
Choose your investigator wisely
Don’t appoint someone who is personally involved in the matter being investigated, or likely to be influenced by the people involved, otherwise you risk arguments of a breach of natural justice.
Investigate a complaint/grievance sensitively
The content of an employee’s grievance should only be disclosed to the subject of the grievance, to the extent that it is absolutely necessary in order to conduct a reasonable investigation of the grievance.
There is no specific obligation requiring the employer to disclose any information or documentation that the employee requests during the grievance process. The employer should co-operate with the employee where possible.
How to Conduct a Risk Assessment for Remote Workers
Given the increase of remote and hybrid workers in the workforce, it is important to make sure you know how to conduct a risk assessment for remote workers. The usual health and safety duties extend to those working remotely and include identifying risks, ensuring workstation assessments are carried out and providing appropriate training.
Most people working from home are office workers which means it is a lower risk from a health and safety perspective, however, issues such as stress, fatigue, and poor posture can pose real dangers to homeworkers.
Risk assessments for remote workers
It is your duty as an employer to conduct risk assessments for remote and hybrid workers. The process of carrying out your risk assessment will be different. For example, you may not be able to visit the employees’ homes to carry it out, however, you may ask them to do a risk assessment themselves or send you a picture of their workspace.
Once your employees’ home workplace is passed as safe, it is their responsibility to ensure that it has been kept that way. However, the risk assessment must be reviewed periodically or whenever you have reason to believe that the risks may have changed.
Hazards to look for when conducting a risk assessment for staff who work from home
There are some risks that you should consider for most staff working remotely. Common risks include:
- Mental health risks such as stress and anxiety
- Risks associated with workstations e.g., the use of display screen equipment
- Electrical equipment
- Environmental issues such as noise levels, temperature, and ventilation
These are just some common risks homeworkers may experience, additionally you must keep an open mind to any risks specific to the work your employees are doing remotely.
Protecting the mental health of homeworkers
The following steps can help you reduce stress and mental health issues for staff who work remotely:
- Ensure that remote workers come into the workplace regularly so they can stay up to date with the business and stay connected with their colleagues
- Remember to include them in work socials to tackle feelings of isolation
- Have proper communication systems set up to stay connected with off-premises staff during the day. E.g., phone, email, instant messaging, videoconferencing, etc
- Provide helplines for IT support or equipment breakdown.
Health and Safety training for homeworkers
You must give enough health and safety training to all your staff to enable them to be safe at work, including those who work from home.
Regardless of where employees are working, all employers still have a responsibility for their health, safety, and wellbeing. Managers should be encouraged to regularly discuss this with team members, as employees should still take the first step in reporting any issues to their employer.
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Tips for Dealing with Underperforming Employees
Poor employee performance can affect not only their immediate team but also the wider business. When colleagues see an employee slacking, their own motivation can decrease.
In some cases, an employee may be genuinely trying but is struggling to hit their targets or meet the needs of the business. On the other hand, an employee may be more than capable but not as bothered when it comes to hitting their targets.
These tips may help you deal with underperforming employees.
Know what you want from the employee
To identify if an employee is underperforming you need to be aware of what you want from them. It’s important to know that the employee must be aware of the required standards of the business.
Informality
When addressing the performance issue for the first time, you should approach it informally with the employee. A simple conversation with the employee will make sure the issue is not unaddressed.
Let the individual know that there are concerns
The first practical step is to let the employee know that you have concerns regarding their performance in the workplace. This should be done privately with the employee. This isn’t a formal meeting so there is no need to formally invite the employee with notice. It’s best to approach this conversation in a friendly manner.
Identify the problem
There should be inquiries to the reason for the employee’s underperformance. This is necessary to establish what action you need to take. If they have the capacity to perform better but simply choose not to, they need to be told to improve.
If they’re trying hard to do the job but still can’t perform well, that’s the problem and you should identify how you can help them for example providing training or supervision. If it’s a medical reason, it may be necessary to obtain an expert medical opinion.
Make them aware of the consequences
Although you’re dealing with the issue informally, you should inform the employee that if there are no signs of improvement you may need to begin a formal procedure with them.
Revisit
If the employees’ performance doesn’t improve, the issue should be revisited. You should speak to the employee again, pointing out your previous discussion and any help that you provided and that it doesn’t appear to have any effect.
Formal Procedure
If no sufficient improvement or explanation is provided, you should consider implementing a formal disciplinary or capability procedure with the employee. Formal hearings should be held where the employee is permitted to respond to the concerns you have. Employees should be formally invited to these hearings, allowed the right to be accompanied and formal sanctions, e.g. warnings may be given where appropriate.
Additionally to these tips you need to remember to communicate clearly with each employee. Ensure the employee is clear on the objectives they’ve been set and on the consequences of their underperformance.
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What you need to know about Hiring Employees in the UK
There are a number of things to consider when hiring employees in the UK such as background checks, medical examinations, and the contract of employment all of which will be discussed in this blog.
Background Checks
Background checks are a standard procedure for a number of sectors in the UK. They are used to ensure that the candidate is qualified for the position and that they do not have any criminal records. When you are looking to hire someone, you should request a background check.
The Employment Background Check Act was introduced in 2008. It is a requirement for employers to conduct background checks on staff before hiring them. These checks can include criminal records, credit checks, and employment references.
Employers are legally obliged to follow the best practice when conducting compliance checks. This includes:
- Conducting a thorough check of criminal records and checking with the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) for any previous convictions.
- Checking employment references
Medical Examinations
Pre-employment health checks or questions are regulated under the Equality Act 2010. In certain circumstances, pre-employment questions of or about an applicant for work are prohibited before an offer of work to the applicant is made, or before his or her inclusion in a pool from which candidates for work will be selected.
Individual offers of employment can be made conditional upon satisfactory health checks, but a recruiting employer may then render itself liable to discrimination claims if it appears that an offer is not confirmed based on the information disclosed by the health checks.
Medical reports given by a medical practitioner responsible for an individual’s care are subject to the Access to Medical Reports Act 1988, which essentially allows the patient the right of sight and comment on the report.
Hiring of employees
Employment Contracts
There is no statutory requirement for a written employment contract however it is common practice in the UK for all employees to have a written employment contract with their employers that contains the following terms;
• the names and addresses of the employee or worker and the employer;
• the start date and the continuous employment commencement date;
• the job title;
• the place of work;
• the length of the temporary or fixed-term work;
• terms relating to work outside the United Kingdom for a period of more than one month;
• remuneration details;
• the hours of work;
• the days of the week on which he or she is required to work and whether working hours or days may be variable;
• any probationary period that starts at the beginning of the engagement, including any conditions and its duration;
• holidays and holiday pay;
• sickness and sick pay;
• any other paid leave (eg, family related leave such as maternity or paternity leave, or time off for public duties);
• the pension;
• any part of any training entitlement that the employer requires him or her to complete, including any training that it requires but does not pay for;
• any other benefits provided by the employer;
• the notice period;
• whether the work is temporary or fixed-term;
• collective agreements; and
• the disciplinary and grievance procedures
Bright Contracts software has everything you need to create and manage professional contracts of employment. It provides all the employment law knowledge for you so there is no experience needed.
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