BUSINESS ADVICE
Jim Hughes
Founder Untamed
For more info: www. becomeuntamed. com
Emma Boatman
Founder Boatman Admin
For more info: www. boatmanadmin. co. uk
Emma Summers
CEO & Founder Juice Recruitment
For more info: www. juicerecruitment. com
Why do we need to‘ get ahead’? Who or what are we trying to‘ get ahead of’?
As a coach, I spend a lot of time talking to highly driven clients who have been asking themselves questions like this their whole lives, and they’ re tired. They’ ve been so busy running up that hill they don’ t stop to admire the view.
So, what top tip do I have to‘ get ahead’ this summer? Stop trying to get ahead in the first place. I used to spend my summers chasing shadows. Then, two years ago I decided if I can’ t beat them, I should join them. So, I took the entire month off completely. Not one client call, catch up coffee or book writing session. I didn’ t even open my emails.
Instead, I spent my time with family, exploring new places, reading, chilling, partying, swimming and generally mucking about. I even spent a night sleeping in a hammock on a riverbank! It was ace.
The upshot? I had missed very little workwise and returned to work with newfound levels of clarity and energy, so I suppose actually I got ahead!
It’ s not a strategy open to all, I get that, but it’ s more plausible than you may think. Try it.
At Boatman Admin Services, we’ ve already started to pull together events for the tail end of this year, and you’ ll be surprised that we were met with some unavailability already!
If you’ re thinking about an event in Q3 or Q4 of 2025, now is the time to start planning.
For a client event in September, we started to look at dates in March and it was already difficult to find a date to pin the whole team down! Even if you find a venue and lock in the date now, you can arrange the finer details much closer to the time.
With the economy growing, albeit at a slower rate than we would all like, the importance of motivating and engaging your team to maximise opportunities available in the market currently, is key to growth and success.
Based on this, the momentum and activity in the Juice households is currently through the roof. Being positive and excited for the future is of the utmost importance for Team Juice, no matter what the economy is telling us.
With this in mind, over the summer months, Juice’ s social exec team are working doubly hard to inject motivation and momentum into all our households. With themed days, the teams working across different branches, attending events, networking, talking to truly incredible businesses and candidates is what we are all loving! Positivity is paramount in order to drive through these times with speed and resilience being at the forefront. As we say every day, there is opportunity everywhere!
Kathryn Roynon
Director KR HR & Training Consultancy
For more info: www. krhrconsultancy. co. uk
From policy reviews to party planning, there are numerous opportunities to use the summer months proactively from an HR perspective.
Employee handbooks and policies:
• Review policies to reflect new legislation and any changes in your business. A well-crafted employee handbook ensures clarity, compliance and consistency for both new and existing employees. It should be easy to read, clear, comprehensive, concise and regularly updated, tailored to meet the specific needs of the organisation.
• Digitise if it’ s still paper-based. Modern handbooks should be searchable and accessible. If you have an online HR system this is the perfect place to store your handbook – and if you are still relying on paper files or spreadsheets, then trialling an HR system is the perfect job in any slump!
Christmas party planning:
Book early: Venues fill up fast. Booking in summer gets you better prices and availability
• Involve your team: Send out a quick poll to gather ideas and preferences. Consider hybrid celebrations if you have remote or hybrid staff, or ensure the venue is accessible to all. Consider location, ensuring team members will be able to get home safely, or whether you will provide accommodation.
• Set expectations: Ensure you have a Christmas party policy in place covering conduct and alcohol consumption. Clearly communicate rules and behavioural expectations ahead of the event to avoid misunderstandings and protect your business. Be clear on budget, including how much the company will pay( particularly on drinks) and whether any employee contribution is required.
Recruitment: If you’ re recruiting over the summer period, consider:
• Timing and flexibility in your recruitment schedule, with consideration for key school holiday periods and how this may impact your target audience.
• Reviewing job description and person specification. Has there been any changes since you last recruited, or is it a new position? Are the qualifications or experience you are asking for really relevant, or are they putting up unnecessary barriers to candidates? Ensuring your criteria are accurate and appropriate will help you to create a clear and objective shortlisting process.
• Ensure the advert sells the opportunity and provides a realistic and informative overview to jobseekers.
• Always include salary in advertisements to avoid wasting time or awkward conversations. Benchmark salaries against both the external market for competitiveness and internally for equity and fairness – and most important, think carefully about your budget. If finances are tight, perhaps part-time hours or a fractional arrangement may help you get the skills and talent you need for less money.
• Ensure your line managers have had appropriate training so they ask the right questions at interview to identify the best talent for your team and to protect your business by ensuring no unlawful questions are asked.
• Always remember to check right to work in the UK for everyone you interview. And if you’ re not recruiting, one thing you can do during any downtime is audit your HR records to ensure that there is authenticated proof of right to work on file for every single employee.
Contracts and agreements:
• Ensure contracts are legally compliant and updated when new legislation is introduced. If they haven’ t been updated for a year or so, they are likely to need a review.
• Ensure they are clear and easy for the employee to understand
• Ensure they are signed by both parties
• Ensure the employee has a contract by their first day of employment
• Ensure that when an employee has a change in terms, a new contract is issued and signed by both parties. For promotions, you may also want to review other terms such as notice period.
Reviewing staff benefits:
• Prepare for renewal season by talking to benefit providers now
• Survey staff to find out what is important to them, rather than management deciding what managers believe is important for employees. Different employee demographics will have different priorities.
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