We hear it all the time and the stats back it up. Being a business owner is hard! Staffing issues are the number 1 issue holding SME’s back.
You should be working on building the business but instead you’re back on the tools, on the frontlines, because you can’t attract or keep employees. Not just any employee mind you, employees with the right skill and capability to drive business outcomes.
And I’m about to tell you why.
So let me ask you this, why did you start your business? Because it’s something you are technically good at and the idea of working for yourself was more fulfilling than working for someone else right?
So now you are the boss, and working for you are a bunch of unfulfilled, disillusioned people just like you were. And when people aren’t getting their needs met they leave……. or never join you.
The default action for most leaders is to offer a WOW! gesture. Think high wages, employee outings, Friday BBQ’s. But guess what? Without meeting the basic needs of employees all the money you invest into gestures like these will give you little ROI.
HR hygiene factors are the basic needs in a workplace that prevent employee dissatisfaction. Think of them as the essential elements that keep your team from feeling frustrated or unhappy at work. These factors don’t necessarily make people love their job, or feel motivated, but if they’re missing or poorly managed, they can create a lot of problems.
Here’s a simple breakdown:
Pay: If employees feel they’re not getting fair (fair, not high) compensation, it can lead to frustration. Decent pay is a must to keep dissatisfaction at bay.
Workplace Safety: Everyone needs to feel safe at work. This includes physical safety (like a safe working environment) and emotional safety (like being free from burnout, harassment or bullying). This is also positive duty legislation, you need to be actively working on meeting your obligations under the WHS Act.
Company Policies: Clear and fair company policies are crucial. When rules are confusing or inconsistent (or don’t exist), it can lead to frustration, lack of trust and resentment. We like to take this a step further and create behavioural expectations that align to the type of culture you want to create. Clarity is paramount.
Job Security: People want to know they have a stable job. If they constantly fear layoffs or uncertainty, it can cause stress. Yes, starting people as a casual as a form of probation compounds this stress.
Work-Life Integration: If employees feel overworked because you haven’t thought about logical job design, or are unable to integrate their personal life with work demands, they’ll likely become unhappy. And unwell. And won’t come to work.
Relationships with Supervisors: Good, respectful relationships with managers are vital. A bad boss can make even the best job unbearable. Shifting from a technical position to a leadership position is a whole different ball game. Leadership training should be high on your list of priorities if you have employees, even if you have just 1 employee.
Work Conditions: The physical work environment matters. If it’s too noisy, too hot, has old or insufficient tooling, too far away, or just generally unpleasant, it can lead to dissatisfaction.
In a nutshell, HR hygiene factors are like the foundation of a house. They need to be solid and in good condition for the rest of the structure (like job satisfaction and motivation) to stand strong and weather the environment.
If you would like a strategic approach tailored to your specific business needs contact us to arrange an obligation free chat about how we can help.Through impactful HR we create a positive employee experience every time.We aim to create future-focused, people centred HR solutions to accelerate organisational and employee wellbeing, engagement and performance by making HR easy.
THE PEOPLE & CULTURE OFFICE SUPPORTS HR TEAMS AND ORGANISATIONS AUSTRALIA-WIDE TO TAKE A FRESH APPROACH TOWARDS THEIR PEOPLE AND CULTURE FUNCTION.