As we head towards our 10th Birthday celebration event this Thursday, we’ve been spending time as a team thinking about how a decade of sharing our wisdom has helped grow, shape and elevate the many businesses we’ve touched.

Today, we fly in the face of the usual wisdom of receiving birthday gifts, and instead, provide YOU with the ultimate 10-Point HR Birthday Gift.

This list should be at the core of your HR function, no matter whether you’re a start-up entrepreneur, a developing SME, or a multi-site corporate with hundreds of employees.

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  1. Start with the end in mind, whatever you are doing.

    By taking this approach, you can be sure that every undertaking will have an impact.

  2. As a business leader, you have to put your oxygen mask on.

    Do this, and you’re better able to serve and support those around you. There’s no sugar-coating the fact that the entrepreneurial path can be a rocky one, so have this in mind and you’ll be taking care of yourself, in order that when things are more challenging, you can take care of others where needed.

  3. If you cannot measure it then you cannot manage it – use the data!

    We love this tip and apply it all the time throughout our business. It can be applied throughout a business’s various functions, but in HR in particular, it helps you channel a better way of tracking elements such as staff turnover, sickness absence, and productivity.

  4. Be clear about what good looks like, then communicate it well.

    Having a comprehensive vision of success and articulating it to those you work with and alongside is the best way of being an effective team. How can people achieve if they don’t understand what ‘good’ means, and you don’t either?

  5. Focus on the right kind of retention – clients and team members.

    All businesses want high retention rates, but you want these consistent across both your staffing and your client base.

  6. Get help from the right people at the right time.

    As you scale, having the right resources and specialists is so critical. It will save you time, money and a great deal of stress.

  7. Celebrate successes.

    Staff like to feel they’ve played a part in success, but so too do clients. Make both feel part of your journey as it fosters a greater sense of mutual support in the relationship.

  8. Build capability and not dependence.

    This is another really important one. As a leader, you need to ensure that the team make the right decisions for your business otherwise it will be YOU who gets in the way of the growth of your business.

  9. Amplify the power from within.

    Leaders and managers do not have the monopoly on wisdom, so allow your team to shine. Draw on their skills, knowledge and experience.

  10. Always focus on the future.

    COVID provided many businesses with the opportunity to reset their businesses. With the advent of AI and tech generally, the skills you need in your team may be different to what you have now – how does that impact your recruitment and development strategies?

We hope our 10-point HR gift was a helpful checklist. If you’d like to delve into this further, we’d really value the chance to chat, and perhaps to conduct an audit of your business.