It will be the case that many businesses will be looking to expand their operations in 2013. This will inevitably involve the hiring of extra staff and employees to help deal with the extra demand in workload. Unfortunately, this means that you will have to go through the potentially highly stressful process of placing a job advert and interviewing candidates. Hiring the right employees can make or break a business so it is important to make well informed decisions when it comes to hiring staff. The fact is that hiring staff will take up a lot of your time as you will have to review CVs and create document templates for the potential new contracts that you will have to sign. Here are some tips on how to hire the perfect candidate.
First of all, be specific in the job advert. There is no point in wasting someone’s time by not pointing out all the important elements of what the job will entail. If the person will be expected to work unusual hours then you should say so in the advert so that people who need a regular 9 ‘til 5 will know not to apply. Another trick when it comes to writing job adverts is to ask potential candidates to respond to the advert in a specific way. This will help test their attention to detail and exclude anyone who doesn’t follow the process set out in the advert. There is no point in employing someone who doesn’t take notice of instructions.
Once you have drawn up a list of potential interview candidates, it is time to start arranging interviews. It may well be that you have received applications from people all over the country. If that is the case then it may be more time and cost effective to have an initial chat via the video conference program Skype. This means that the candidates don’t have to shell out on expensive travel costs, and you can work out whether your potential applicants are comfortable working with computers or not. Skype is a very simple program to use so everybody should be able to work it no matter what their age or background.
It will then be time to narrow down the field of candidates again. At this point you really should have a contract of employment template available for the candidates to look at if they so ask. The fact is that there are some things that you can only learn about a candidate when you meet them in person. It is important to know whether a person has the right character and personality to fit in with the other employees working for your business. Listen to your gut feeling and choose the candidate that appears to offer the most to the company. When it comes to offering the job you will need a contract template to protect the rights of both the candidate and your company. You will hopefully hire the right people to move your business forward.
It is well known that all companies are required to use business documents if they want to stay in legal operation. After all, if you don’t protect your business against false claims you probably aren’t fit to be running a company in the first place. However, there is confusion about the many different types of business documents templates which are available to be used today. We believe that you shouldn’t have to pay the earth for over the top fees charged by law firms and solicitors when drawing up legal documents, which is why we offer a wide selection of templates to cover all of your business needs. Here is a quick look at some of the most widely used documents that we offer.
Business Documents
Our business documents consist of a massive range of professionally drafted and fully editable documents which are designed to help companies communicate and draw up contracts with their clients and suppliers in a legally acceptable fashion. When it comes to providing business services it is important that your company has a written service agreement which informs clients of their rights and obligations when they decide to invest in your products. It is also important for the majority of companies to have a Terms and Conditions document which informs people of their consumer rights.
Corporate Documents
Corporate Documents are designed to deal with legal issues such as drawing up partnership agreements or appointing company directors. You will need corporate documents in order to protect the business if things start to turn sour. For example, if a company director is refusing to do their job properly you will find it far easier to get rid of them if you can prove that they have broken the contract and agreement that they signed up for in the first place.
Employment Documents
When it comes to employees it is always better to be safe rather than sorry. Make sure that your company possesses a valid health and safety policy statement so that you are potentially covered in the event of a work place accident. You will also need to write employee contracts which protect the rights of both the individual and the business. The last thing that you want to happen as a business owner is for one of your ex-employees to sue you for compensation, so it is well worth investing in the proper legal templates.
Property Documents
No matter what type of business you run, the chances are that you will need an office or workshop to operate from in the first place. The majority of people choose to have dedicated business addresses rather than working from home, in which case you will need to make sure that you are covered by professional lease agreements. If you let out or rent a property it is essential to read through property agreement documents properly to ensure that you are happy with the terms and conditions. All our templates can be customised to meet your business needs.
If you are considering whether to start a new business in 2013, it can be slightly overwhelming when you realise all the things that you have to think about. The British Chamber of Commerce website has highlighted a larger than expected rise of new businesses in the last 18 months. Running your own business requires a lot of hard work and dedication, but with a little bit of luck and an awful lot of elbow grease you could make 2013 the year when you finally leave the rat race. Here are some of the most important things that you have to consider when starting a business.
First of all you need to decide what type of service of product you are going to provide. Research your intended market thoroughly and work out what type of niche you are likely to want to fill. There is no point in providing exactly the same services as another company – you have to find a unique selling point. What can your company offer which others can’t? It may be cheaper prices, better quality products, or an entirely new service. Whatever it is, make sure that people know about it!
Once you have decided on the type of business that you are going to run it is time to draw up a business plan. There are plenty of guides and legal templates available on the Internet which will help you through the process of writing your plan. A business plan should prepare for both success and failure. Nobody starts a business with the intention of failing, but it is important to be aware of the challenges that you may face on the road to success. You will also have to decide on where you are going to base the business. Wherever you choose to work you will need a health and safety statement to cover the workplace environment.
It is also important to choose the right type of name to represent your business and appeal to your potential customer base. One of the major considerations when choosing a name nowadays should be whether there is a related domain name available on the Internet. Many people use the Internet as their first port of call when checking out a company, so it is important to have a strong online presence. Once you have decided upon your company name you can start building a brand and marketing strategy around it to help attract as much new business and customers as possible.
Business contracts are part and parcel of any successful company and you will need to learn how to deal with them if you want your business to succeed. Always stay on the right hand side of the law and fulfill all your legal duties. The Tax Office will need to be informed of your new businesses within 3 months of it starting up or else you may face possible fines and benefit cuts. Use contracts as a way of protecting you, your business, and your employees and suppliers.
A new Acas Code of Practice on Settlement Agreements was introduced on 29th July 2013. One of the main changes – other than Compromise Agreements now being called Settlement Agreements – is that employers can now conduct pre-termination negotiations without having to worry about employees referring to these conversations as evidence in unfair dismissal cases. However, there are certain exceptions to this rule, so care must always be taken.
For further information on the new Settlement Agreements, see the Acas website.
If you would like to download a template Settlement Agreement, please take a look at the relevant section on the Simply-Docs website.
According to a recent survey conducted on behalf of Zurich, 42% of SME managers believe that stress had a noticeable impact on business over 2012, with a third finding that stress at work resulted in a negative impact on overall business performance.
Commenting, Richard Coleman, director of SME at Zurich Insurance said “It is perhaps not surprising that the fragile business climate has had such an impact on workforce stress and morale, and if these issues aren’t addressed they could have serious long-term consequences for business stability and performance.”
If you are concerned about stress at work, you may like to take a look at this template Mental Health and Stress Policy. It’s designed to enable employers to comply with their legal obligations to provide employees with a safe and healthy workplace.
