One of our key principles when working with clients is about tailoring the advice, support and documentation we provide them to their needs. It’s one of the ways we differentiate ourselves from some bigger providers, particularly of the “helpline” variety. This is particularly true with employment contracts and policies.
While we have a huge documents database with many template documents designed to suit small businesses, we have several versions of many of these, and it’s important to remember each client’s needs are different.
While the tone and level of content required in many documents for small business clients is similar, which is where the documents database comes into its own, their individual needs may vary.
An example I frequently use is of two clients of mine, who came to me at a similar time, both of a similar size and in the same industry. One client operated in a way that involved a written procedure for most things within the business, had a preference for working that way and had an employee group that meant set procedures would be particularly beneficial. That client wanted a large number of policies and wanted a fair amount of detail in each about expectations of employees and the employer.
The other client had a very different approach to management in general, and a different group of employees with different needs, and wanted the minimum paperwork possible. The documents I produced for both met their own individual needs, and highlighted to me how crucial this aspect of our service is.
If these two clients had been signed up to a bigger provider, they might have been provided with a set standard contract and a set standard employee handbook that may have ticked a legal box, but actually would not have met their individual requirements for policies and contracts that suited their business and enabled them to manage their staff effectively, efficiently and in the way that worked for them.
If you’re interested in talking to us about becoming a partner with face2faceHR, do get in touch.