Future Proof Archives

The new year is always a great opportunity for a new start.

It is a time when most businesses set goals. But this year, your goal setting might look a little different.

2022 was a more challenging year than anyone anticipated. We were expecting it to be our return to normalcy and a time to find our feet again.

Instead, it was something quite different. Many of us reached the end of the year tired and burned out. 2023 looks like it may hold a whole new set of challenges, so let’s explore how you can future proof your business and your team by having a people focused approach for the year ahead.

Future Proofing And Upskilling Your Team For The Year Ahead

Set Your Focus

In previous years, your business goals were probably based on practical elements like growth and revenue targets. While you might still be setting these kinds of goals for 2023, it is also important to think about your key asset – the people element of your business.

Everyone has experienced a rough couple of years. While Covid restrictions have been lifted, life has not returned to the way it was before. As a result, people are tired and they are looking for more in their lives than simply going to work to earn a living. So, you’ll need to keep this in mind when setting your focus for the year ahead.

Your workplace should be a destination that people want to come to each day. Consider how you can make it a great, welcoming space and uphold a positive team morale. One way to do that is to build a focus on investing in your internal staff to retain the great talent you have.

Here are some ways you can do that.

Invest In Your Team

If you have amazing people in your team, your 2023 focus should be retaining and developing that talent. Why? Well firstly, you want to keep that great team!

Obviously, it is far easier to retain the amazing staff you have than it would be to hire new employees. Apart from the monetary cost to your business of advertising, hiring and training new staff, there is also an opportunity cost of losing great people. You may not be able to recruit others of the same caliber or those that work together as well as your current team do.

Plus, investing in your team is greatly rewarding. Not only do the employees you know, like, and trust gain greater skills and further their professional knowledge, but they also become more productive, loyal and motivated. This can only mean good things for them and for your business.

So, how do you do it?

Upskilling For All

In the last few years, it hasn’t felt as if there’s been much time for progression. The focus has been more about treading water and staying afloat to weather the current storm.

With many businesses starting to look to the future, what do you want that to look like for your team?”

The answer should be a happy, healthy, empowered team who enjoy their work. Some of that comes down to creating a great team environment to work in. But, another element is the chance for progression. Now, that doesn’t necessarily mean promotions for everyone. Progression of skills and opportunities is also really attractive.

Types Of Upskilling

This 2023, factor in how you can upskill your staff. This can include team-wide skills training via workshops, conferences and training days. But, it can also include encouraging your staff to pursue individual interests via short courses and study programmes. These could be both free and paid courses to support the progression and growth of your team.

A vital area to include in your training programme is financial literacy. While this might not be pertinent to an employee’s professional role, it will certainly help them in a personal capacity.

Current economic predictions are quite bleak, so helping your team navigate the impending situation is not only responsible, but helpful for maintaining a calm workplace that is free from as much stress as possible.

Training The Trainers

Much of the internal training within a company falls to leaders and management. So, don’t forget to factor in training for the trainers!

Of course, that means the usual forms of professional development that you would usually have in place for your leaders. But, it also means exploring what it means to manage a team in a post-pandemic environment.

Consider what new ways of working mean for your company. Things like handling hybrid working and leading a remote team might be new for some of your management team. They might have leadership skill gaps that need plugging.

Implement training and development to address these areas and support them to confidently lead hybrid or remote teams and everything that comes along with working in 2023.

Ready to tackle 2023 head on? As we mentioned above, this year is likely to be a lot more people-focused than in previous years. You may find you need to revisit your HR policies and procedures.

If you need help with policies and procedures, upskilling, engagement or any other HR related questions the Spice Gals are here to help you!

The Importance of Job Descriptions for Staff Retention and Performance

When was the last time you reviewed the job descriptions for your team? If it’s been a while, then you’re probably underestimating the importance of these often overlooked documents.

Every New Zealand business uses job descriptions (we hope!), as it’s a legal requirement to provide one for each employee. But many businesses fail to leverage them to their full potential.

Often, they end up tucked away in a virtual file, only to be dusted off and reviewed next time a position needs to be filled.

If this sounds familiar, it’s time to change the way you approach your job descriptions.

By keeping them up to date and using them as a management tool beyond the recruitment process, you can help shape your company culture, increase staff retention and performance, and future proof your business.

Here are some of the ways the not-so-humble job description can help level up your business.

Effective Recruitment

Job descriptions are most often put under the spotlight when it’s time to recruit for a role. So, this is the ideal time to ensure they are accurate and up to date.

This is your opportunity to attract someone who not only has the right skills for the job but is also the right fit for your company culture.

The more accurate the job description is, the better it will be at attracting high-quality candidates. This streamlines the entire recruitment process and makes it easier to select someone who will add value to your business.

Remember, cultural fit is just as important (if not more so) than skills fit. Skills can be taught or improved, but personal attributes are way less pliable!

Job descriptions are also important from a legal perspective. They can be used to demonstrate that there are legitimate, non-discriminatory considerations used in the hiring process.

Improved Staff Performance and Productivity

The recruitment process may be over, but the position description’s job is far from done! In fact, this is where the real spicy work begins.

We know that effective communication is vital to the success of any organisation. Well, your job descriptions are excellent communication tools. They clarify the expectations for employer and employee, leaving no room for ambiguity or confusion – if they’re honest and up to date!

Job descriptions help your team understand exactly what they should be doing, providing direction and meaning to their roles which help promote job satisfaction and increase engagement and productivity.

Beyond the day-to-day tasks, well-written job descriptions communicate how each team member contributes to the success of the organisation and outlines how they can continue to grow within their role.

They establish a set of expectations that assist with performance development and help prevent or resolve any grievances that arise.

Increased Retention

What happens when employees are confused about their responsibilities, mismanaged, or faced with tasks that lie outside of their skillset?

Frustration, decreased productivity, lack of engagement, conflict, and potentially, lost employees.

All this can result from outdated, inaccurate, or poorly written job descriptions.

However, nailing the job description ensures you attract candidates who are an excellent fit for the role. When your team are aligned with the culture and values of your business, they’re far more likely to enjoy and value their work and stick around for longer.

That means increased retention and reduced costs associated with recruitment.

Future-Proofing Your Business

Do your job descriptions reflect what is actually happening in your business as well as address the future needs of the business?

Is there a skill shortage now, or will there likely be one in the future? Are your employees already stretching beyond their job descriptions? Is there a mismatch between the needs of your business and the abilities of your team?

Job description reviews are a great way to answer the big questions that help you future-proof your business. They allow you to effectively structure and align roles within the business and pinpoint gaps that need attention, whether via training and development or specialist recruitment.

Is It Time to Review Your Job Descriptions?

If your job descriptions have been a little starved for attention of late, now is the perfect time to assess your team and identify any gaps. This leaves you plenty of time to come up with a plan of action for the new year.

Great job performance starts with recruiting the right talent. Alongside a well-defined job description, an Extended DISC report on potential candidates can help you identify new hires that are going to be a great fit for your role and culture.

Spice HR offer DISC Recruitment Reports that can assess how well candidates align with the role.