BUSINESS ADVICE
Protecting the greatest assets in your business
by Jon Gratland , Chief Executive at Wiltshire Friendly Society
Do you have challenging targets for growth in 2018 ? Will your employees be there to support you ?
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Group Income Protection – that doesn ’ t need to cost you anything ! Your employees are your business ’ s greatest asset and business owners like yourself are getting wiser to the need to look after staff . Many are putting in place employee benefits to help attract and retain the right people to support their growth plans . A useful benefit is a Group Income Protection Scheme that provides replacement income to your employees if they are unable to work due to illness or injury .
Have you thought about this valuable insurance protection ? And if not , why not ?
You may be saying to yourself that you can ’ t afford it … after all you could already be
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paying for , or contributing towards , pensions and life cover .
Did you know there are a range of options that mean you can put a Group Income Protection Scheme in place from fully , to partially funded , to no cost to the business at all ?
You have options An employer-funded scheme is the traditional approach where the business chooses the level of benefits it wants to put in place for its employees , within its budget . There is now a new option where just your employees contribute , at a discounted rate , still as part of a group scheme that you set up for them . They choose the level of benefits that ’ s
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right for them and fits within their budget . Whichever option you take everyone can benefit :
• You deliver a really valuable benefit to your staff that can help retain them .
• Illnesses and absences can be more effectively managed .
• You , and or your employees , can choose the level of benefits and budget that ’ s appropriate .
• You both have the security and peace of mind that their income is protected and
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they have some financial security if illness or injury strikes .
Wiltshire Friendly Society is a local , specialist , income protection provider who can assist in helping you better understand how this insurance could be valuable to you and your employees .
01225 752120
For more info : www . wiltshirefriendly . com
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HOW DO YOU KNOW IF AN EMPLOYEE IS MAKING A DIFFERENCE ?
The bigger you grow as a company , the more staff you will take on but in some businesses , it ’ s hard to quantify what the difference they make to the company is . So how do you tell if someone is really making a difference to your company growth and bottom line ? Dan Barfoot , operations manager for CMD Recruitment shares some insights for employers .
When building a company , the equation for your return on investment per head is one of those officious sums you are required to make but it ’ s not always obvious how to quantify an employee ’ s worth to a business – so how can you find ways to gauge the value of someone ’ s work ?
KPS - Key Performance Indicators Now a staple part of a lot of appraisal measurements , having performance indicators gives everyone a clear idea of expectations , goals and what ’ s important against what is not . Sales offices are transparent with their Return on Investment for staff because the numbers are there in plain sight to analyse . Whether the performance is measured in reviews , bookings , time put in or markers in quality , develop a way to understand what good work looks like for your operation to run well .
What others see One way to get to grips with how an employee is doing is to understand how people within and outside the business judge the employee . This exercise can include your clients , customers , third parties and those in other departments . Add the snapshot impressions up and you may get a view of how someone is representing the brand . You may find that there is more to someone than meets the eye , or alternatively , your view of someone being amazing may be ‘ smoke and mirrors ’. There is a useful and increasingly popular tool called 360 degrees appraisal that ’ s used , which gathers together and presents everyone ’ s opinions involved with an employee , to demonstrate the difference between what an individual
14 THE BUSINESS EXCHANGE 2018 believes , compared to what everyone sees . This can help in highlighting areas of performance to improve .
Keeping the team going An employee who boosts office productivity can be invaluable to your business . This can be taken for granted but the people who make other people enjoy their daily work and prosper in their tasks , are key players in your team . It may not be a manager either , it might be someone who keeps everyone smiling , acknowledges colleagues for doing a great job – but someone who drives everyone ’ s positivity and a person that people connect to , look up to and respect . These individuals keep morale and motivation high .
Being a brand ambassador Everyone in your company IS your brand . They tell other people about it , they have opinions they share . If you have people in your company that say openly to anyone , what a great company it is , you are doing well but more than that , the people who champion your business from within , they do you a great service . Someone who is on your team and always championing your brand speaks volumes to anyone who is listening . Word of mouth is a powerful referral method .
The problem solver Often in a business , there will be someone who ’ s very slick at getting to the bottom of how to solve issues – cutting through the noise . A problem solver can be a huge asset . This is the person who is assertive rather than someone who sits at their desk counting the minutes till 5pm . A problem solver
in this respect , is the kind of person who does not always pull your sleeve and ask you a question every other minute when there are problems that they could easily sort out themselves with a bit of initiative . The problem solver will be working through the challenges methodically and get back to you when they ’ re solved , rather than flapping about , passing the buck or ignoring the problems when they occur .
The backbone of the company Not all the jobs in a company can be said to be exciting , cash generating , go-getter roles . Some are critical for administration , take away pain from the go-getters or simply free up time for the company to get on with business development . Every business needs roles in the workforce which help keep ‘ the machine ’ running . Don ’ t overlook people who are effective at the maintenance side of your business . Those staff , working away in the background , getting on with it , are often the foundations for your growth you can not do without .
CMD Recruitment has three offices in Wiltshire , based in Melksham , Calne and Devizes . They specialise in Commercial and Industrial recruitment .
For more info : www . cmdrecruitment . com
01225 805080