The HR foundations every growing business should have in place

Most businesses do not set out to get HR wrong. It happens in the background, while everyone is busy with the day-to-day work. A contract template is reused for years without anyone checking whether it still reflects the law. A policy is written once and then never looked at again. A manager makes a fair decision, but without a process behind it and nothing recorded, there is nothing to point to later.

None of it feels like a problem until one day it is.

Getting the foundations right is the least glamorous part of HR and easily the most important. It is also where the Growth HR Model®, our roadmap for getting HR right, deliberately begins. Before you invest in developing managers or consider culture and growth, the employer-employee relationship must be on solid ground. So, what does solid ground look like?

Compliant, current contracts of employment.

By law, every employee should have a written contract on or before day 1 of employment that outlines core requirements, including job title. Best practice is also to include or reference supplementary terms (things you would have in a handbook). Contracts issued years ago, or copied from an online template, or written in difficult to understand legal language, are among the most common gaps we see and among the most expensive to ignore if a dispute arises.

Policies that match how you really work.

A staff handbook is only useful if it reflects reality and is written in clear, plain language that everyone understands. For example, disciplinary and grievance procedures, absence management, family-friendly policies and a clear code of conduct provide your managers with a consistent basis to rely on and help protect the business if a decision is ever challenged.

The right paperwork, done properly.

Right-to-work checks, data protection for employee records, and clear records of key decisions are not exciting, but they are what separates a tidy file from an anxious scramble when something goes wrong.

Consistent, fair process.

Foundations are not only documents. They are the habits that surround them: handling issues consistently, keeping notes, and following a process that would withstand scrutiny from ACAS or an employment tribunal.

The reassuring part is that you do not have to work this out yourself or guess where you stand. Our HR Foundations service audits your HR documents and working practices, benchmarks them against best practice, and provides you with a clear, prioritised plan for anything that needs attention. It is the practical first step towards becoming a Fair Employer, the first level of the Growth HR Model®. Once the foundations are in place, our HR Protect and HR Protect+ services keep them in place, with expert advice on hand whenever you need it.

If you are not entirely sure your HR basics would hold up, that uncertainty is worth resolving now, while things are calm, rather than in the middle of a problem. We have a complimentary HR Healthcheck available, and we will help you find your starting point. To find out more, get in touch.