Your team members are the life force of your company. However, it’s also important to recognize the issues that they can bring to your business model. If you don’t manage these issues the right way then they’re going to cause havoc for your company. For instance, they could lead to lawsuits or even trigger expensive bills that you won’t be able to fit in your traditional budget. In the long term an issue your employees cause might damage efficiency levels in your business or impact your overall brand image. So, let’s take each issue in turn and figure out the right way to handle it.
Embarrassing Social Media
First, you do need to think about issues with social media. Social media is a great tool for business owners these days. It provides you with an option that you can use to expand your reach and grow your company. However, it’s important to understand that social media can also be a huge liability for your business. This will be the case if an employee posts anything that is considered offensive or even dangerous. So, to deal with this, you should make sure that you are using a recruitment manager from day one. With a service like this, you will be able to check if a team member has posted anything worrying in the past before they were hired. You should also be keeping a check on social media profiles of employees who are associated with your business.
If they do post anything that could reflect poorly on your brand and your company image, then it’s important to make sure that you are taking swift action. It may require disciplinary action and in severe cases, you’ll need to think about letting that team member go. This will always be seen as the right decision by the general public.
Stolen Time
They say that time is the most precious resource and this is certainly true for businesses. If you think about it, the way you use your time is always going to have a massive impact on the functions of your business in the long and short term. So, how does this relate to problems that employees can cause in your business. Well, employees can end up stealing time from your company. Time theft occurs when team members are paid for time that they weren’t working for your business. Now it’s worth noting that while this can be intentional, it’s also possible that the time was taken by mistake. So, you shouldn’t immediately start accusing different team members of trying to get paid for nothing. It’s possible that they aren’t even aware of what’s happening. The easiest way to prevent time theft is always going to be by using the right software.
The best software will allow you to easily track when different team members are working and whether they need to be paid. Don’t forget that if you are hiring an employee on a salary then you will be under no obligation to cover the cost of overtime. So, it’s easier to know how much they are owed for the work completed in your business.
Harassment And Bullying
It’s also possible that your employees cause an issue in your business due to their behavior while they are working for you. For instance, you might find that a team member is responsible for bullying or harassing a team member or customer. This is a serious concern because as a business owner, you are always going to have a responsibility to keep your employees safe. This does include protecting their emotional wellbeing as well as their physical health which we’re going to discuss a little further down.
To deal with issues like harassment and bullying, you need to be aware that the problem exists in the first place. That’s why you should make sure that you are completing regular temperature checks in your business model. The right temperature checks will ensure that you are always aware if there is a problem and ensure that you can quickly correct it. Be aware that most employees and customers for that matter, expect a zero tolerance policy to be in place when it comes to cases of bullying.
Personal Injury
Over the past few years, there have been reports that businesses have been inundated with cases of personal injuries. The problem with an issue like this is that it can cost a business a fortune. In fact, depending on the severity of the injury, it’s possible for damages to be more than 150K. That might be manageable for larger companies but small businesses are always going to struggle to fit an unexpected cost like this into their budget.
So, how can you effectively ensure that personal injuries are not a problem in your business. Well, one of the best ways that you can do this is by using workers compensation. Be aware that there are a lot of places where you are required to have workers comp in place. Otherwise, if an employee gets into a workplace accident and doesn’t get a proper worker compensation program, he/she can contact a worker’s compensation lawyer from hansfordlawfirm.com/augusta/ to fight for their case. These lawyers will help them secure the compensation they deserve. As such, you should always check with a legal advisor to make sure that you are on the ride side of the line here.
Another point to consider would be training. If you want to avoid an issue with a personal injury, the best option is always going to be training your employees. This can help to reduce the problems caused by human error which can lead to an accident. Of course, while this training is instrumental in reducing workplace incidents, it’s also important to note that some accidents or incidents are beyond your control. As such, you should also strive to put preventative measures in place that will protect your team in the event of an emergency. For example, if you were running a security business, or hiring security staff, ensuring they have the appropriate uniform, complete with a AR500 Bullet Proof Vest, is a great place to start. These vests are not only highly practical but will also help your employees to feel more confident in the work they undertake.
You might also want to think about hiring a health and safety officer. A health and safety officer will check your business for any hazards that might lead to an accident or incident in your business. For example, they should be tasked with carrying out regular risk assessments on-site, especially if new equipment or technology is being introduced to the mix. Your health and safety officer should also know some basic first-aid so that they’re able to respond quickly should an incident occur, at least until medical staff arrive on-site. A health and safety officer can either be a full member of your team. Or, they can be hired specifically for the role. The right option will usually depend on the size of your business as well as individual requirements.
If you are worried about issues with personal injury claims, then you should also speak to a legal advisor. They can ensure that you are doing everything possible to protect your company.
Security Trouble
Security always needs to be a top priority for business owners these days. If you don’t get the right security standards in place, then your company is going to be in a world of trouble. It could even lead to damage to your business brand. Customers are unlikely to forgive a business that leaves them vulnerable and susceptible to dangerous situations involving their personal information. To handle this, you need to make sure that you are thinking about putting in a wide range of different types of protection.
One example would be making sure that your employees are trained to protect your company. Believe it or not, it is possible for hackers to use your employees as a weapon against you. This is exactly what will happen through phishing. Using a phishing attack it’s possible for criminals to gain access to sensitive files in your business. Do be aware that employees are often completely oblivious to the fact that they are being used as a target in a phishing attack. It’s also important to note that high level employees can be targeted who are likely to have more information and access to secure data that is valuable.
Brand Damage
Finally, it is possible for employees to damage your brand and cause issues with how your company is seen by customers on the market. Usually, this will occur because they aren’t providing the right level of service or support to your clients. So, you need to make sure that you think about how to help your team members improve. Again, training can be your secret weapon here. The right training will ensure that your team members can easily help people and ensure that your company gets the positive reviews that it deserves.
You also need to be ready to weed out employees that are not pulling their weight and that will be damaging your business brand. One of the ways that you can do this is by regularly checking standards of productivity. If team members are not hitting their targets and training hasn’t worked as you hoped, then it could be time to let them go.
Another way you can deal with this issue is by working to ensure that your employees are loyal to your business. Brand loyalty will give them more of a reason to always go the extra mile for your clients.
We hope this helps you understand some of the common problems that you can encounter with employees when you are running your business and how to solve them the right way. By taking the right steps here, you can make sure that you don’t have to worry about a problem with your employees impacting anything from your business reputation to your ability to fill key positions in your company. Do be aware that you can plan for most of the issues that we have discussed here. Taking the right preemptive measures will always put your company in a far stronger position overall.
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