We know that sometimes it's not possible to have an entire human resources department at your fingertips to handle issues, payroll, and anything else that comes up.

 A lot of the time, it's the owner that has to take on this role.

Now we know that you might not necessarily be a human resource professional, and that's okay.

We're going to go over some of our biggest tips that you can implement starting today to improve your business, practice, or anything else in between.

Especially when you are dealing with a smaller business, it is important to be open with your employees. This kind of transparency and openness is normally appreciated by everyone working there and helps them understand the standpoint of the business.

 It should be exciting for you to be able to express the goals that you are moving towards and the success of the business’s growth patterns. So you should be able to express that same kind of excitement to your staff. 

Of course, some things are unnecessary to express to your staff; however, it is important to make that judgment call when necessary.  If you are open and transparent with your staff, it is appropriate for you to expect the same back.

 Just as you are expected to be open and transparent with your staff about important things, you should expect them to be open and transparent with you about important things. Cultivating a healthy and open communication-based environment is crucial to the success of a smaller business.

If your employees are noticing issues that maybe you do not see because you're not as hands-on in certain departments as they are, it's important that they feel comfortable coming to you to discuss those issues for the betterment of the business. These kinds of concerns should be rewarded because they are encouraging the employee to speak up and contribute to the success of your business.

These issues don't necessarily have to be strictly related to departmental and procedural issues. You should encourage your staff to speak with you if they have any issues with another employee that makes them feel uncomfortable or is putting them in a difficult position in the workplace.

This openness will show the staff that you are on their team, as much as they are on yours.

Just because you don't have a human resources department doesn't mean you can't have policies in place that they would commonly create.  

The first of which is clear policies established for working at your place of business. It's important to establish these in the beginning, even though they may feel a little too formal, to set the standard before actually starting. These can range from going over the code of conduct, the position’s core responsibilities that need to be accomplished, to the disciplinary ladder and grounds for termination.

Establishing these in the beginning is not being a difficult boss. It is, however, making sure that everyone is on the same page when it comes to the operations of your business.

We know that sometimes as a smaller business, you may fall into the trap of just wanting to replace that individual very quickly when someone leaves. This could potentially leave you in a much worse off place than where you started.

 One of the most expensive decisions to make is to hire the wrong person and invest your time, energy, and resources into that individual only to realize they are not a good fit. You should always feel confident about bringing on an individual for a full-time position, not wondering how they are going to be once you hire them.

 Believing in the person that you are hiring will also come through in your interactions with that new hire. That individual will feel much more confident going forward to their position, knowing that you believe they will be successful.

While we will not provide any form of legal advice regarding what documentation is required by the state or which documentation is more necessary than others, we do suggest checking out the United States Department Of Labor’s website for any questions on documentation that you may need.

 The takeaways that are across any documents that would be necessary are to make sure to respect the employee’s privacy as it pertains to their documentation. It's also important to make sure that all documentation is in a safe place. This place can vary depending on how the documents have been submitted. Whether you keep physical copies or digital copies, the point remains the same.

 Also, make sure that you document performance checks for your own record-keeping of an employee’s performances. These can be both positive and negative, but it is still important to have a standard of measurement in which you measure the success of an employee.

 These should also be kept confidential from those employee’s peers, out of respect for the employee and their privacy. 

Creating this checklist to go through whenever you bring on a new hire can potentially increase your business's retention rate and ultimately lead to more success for your employees that are staying. Having these processes laid out will allow you to spend time with your business's operations while moving through the list that you already have established.

 This kind of planned-out uniformity allows all of your employees to go through the same equivocal amount of training and procedural explanations.