Writer and Communications Consultant
Erika Lucas is a writer and communications consultant with a special interest in HR, leadership, management and personal development. Her career has spanned journalism and PR, with previous roles in regional press, BBC Radio, PR consultancy, charities and business schools.
The important role that SMEs have to play in driving economic growth is increasingly being recognised – and as a result there’s been a noticeable rise in HR circles of efforts to help small businesses manage their people more effectively.
As the employers of over 14 million people in the UK, it is important that SMEs get their HR management right.
In a small business, having a ‘happy ship’ is vital. There simply isn’t time for the minor spats, grudges and resentment that can so easily arise simply because someone has been misunderstood or hasn’t got their message across clearly.
Indeed research has shown that a negative interaction with someone has a real impact on productivity – it can take someone several hours to recover not just their good spirits but also their concentration after a difficult or unpleasant exchange with a colleague or their manager.
There’s a definite whiff of suncream in the air this week as the pace of work starts to wind down and employees get ready to head off for their summer break.
Research from the Institute of Leadership and Management suggests, however, that the lead-up to the summer holidays is actually one of the most stressful times of the year and that many managers won’t be fully switching off when they take their well-earned break.
Pressure to cut costs and an increased emphasis on flexible working has led to a rise in the number of employees working remotely. Many managers, however, still have a tendency to see virtual working as ‘second best’ and struggle to […]
Searching for the best HR software for your business can be a confusing business. Vendors will be falling over themselves to convince you of the merits of their products – and with a myriad of human resources management systems to […]
According to The Federation of Small Businesses, confidence among SMEs is at a three year high – and going by the buzz at last week’s HR Software Show, HR people are feeling particularly positive about the contribution they can make […]
Hands up who remembers when email first took hold in the 90s? It’s hard now to imagine life without it – but there was a time when it was all a bit scary and not everyone thought the speed and […]
Meddling business owners are the biggest barrier to their own company’s growth, according to some research from Cranfield that crossed my desk this week. Entrepreneurs, it seems, are finding it difficult to step away from routine, day-to-day tasks and as […]
The sheer diversity of approaches to HR within SMEs was one of the things that particularly struck me while listening to speakers at a recent CIPD conference. The businesses taking part had widely varying takes on everything from recruitment and […]
This week’s CIPD ‘HR in SMEs’ conference provided a fascinating insight into how businesses of widely varying types and sizes are tackling their HR challenges. The presentations highlighted some very diverse approaches – but what was clear was that pretty […]
