Counting the Pennies- What Small Business Owners Can Do For Their Staff

 

 

While I’m on my hollibobs, today’s post comes from Jill Aburrow of jmhar.com.

Her mission is to advise and support businesses with managing their employees in a respectful, pleasant and professional manner, so that no matter what challenges the business is facing and the impact of that on the people who work there, those people are able to enjoy work and to feel they have been treated fairly and professionally.

If you employ people, you’ll find this post really useful! Salary is not the only way that small business owners can take care of their employees.

It is often something I’ve wondered about, and I found it a really interesting read. I’ll definitely be bearing this in mind when I start to employ people in my business.

Enjoy! We’d love to have your feedback….use the comments below to let us know what you think.


Are you giving your employees financial advice and support?

Your financial responsibility towards the people working for you shouldn’t stop with their pay cheque.

When people are struggling financially, they always hope for more income. They try to find an extra job.  They volunteer for some overtime, or hope to get a pay rise. This is all so that they can pay their bills and feed their families.

Many people have more than one job or work overtime, so they can bring in a bit more money.  As an employer, you are already helping them by paying for their services.  But is there more you can and should be doing?

For large employers, they can provide access to savings schemes  They can provide car loans, childcare vouchers, help with buying a cycle for someone to travel to work, or help with public transport costs or parking.  The list goes on…

But what can I do?

But what can a smaller employer provide for their workers to help with  individual finances?  Have you thought about providing access to a financial helpline? Or paying for debt counselling? Or paying for advice for your workers, either as a group or individually?  This does not need to cost you a huge amount.  It can be as simple as helping provide a signpost for people to find the help they need.

It is always nice to have a pay rise, but this does not usually solve the problem.  If someone has financial difficulties, just throwing more money at the problem will probably not solve it.

Human nature says we will probably just increase our outgoings to use up all of our extra pay.

“We will treat the family to a holiday or buy our kids some toys”

What people may not realise they need is some guidance and help to reduce their outgoings.

They may need to  tackle any debt which has mounted up or start a saving habit. 

Most people will want to do these things, but many will not have any idea about how to start because they cannot see beyond the financial hill they are already facing.

The benefits for your business

A small investment by you as an employer could pay you dividends.  If people are not so stressed about money, then they will be more productive.  If people do not need to work silly hours to earn a little bit of overtime, or work at more than one job to make ends meet, then they will be far more productive for you.

You may also see a reduction in sickness absence caused by stress and anxiety.

Providing some financial support and advice for your workers will also bring loyalty from workers.  It may also bring you  a little more trust on their part.  If they can see that you really care about them and their families, they will be more likely to “go the extra mile” for you.  It cannot do your reputation as an employer any harm, either.

A recent  UK Employee Benefits Watch report (released by employee benefits company Thomsons Online Benefits) found that 67 per cent of organisations did not offer any form of financial guidance.

Employers are more likely to support the physical health and wellbeing of their employees, but few tackle the financial causes of stress and related sickness. There has been a huge focus on pension schemes, but this is only part of the solution.

A caring employer who wants to benefit from a healthy, happy and productive workforce should be thinking about how to provide financial advice.

If you think this article is useful and you would like more advice on dealing with this  -or any other people-related issue in your business – please visit jmahr.com and join the JMA HR mailing list, or contact us for further guidance.


Thank you Jill!

Let us know what you think, and don’t forget you can come over to my Private and Free Facebook Group anytime for more money advice and chat. Also, if you’d like to write for The Female Money Doctor, then please message me with your money-related idea!

See you next week,

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