Helping Business Owners Resolve Difficult Employee Issues

“I Put the Human into HR”: Helping Business Owners Through Difficult Employee Issues

By Samantha Newton, Magenta HR Consulting

Most business owners do not contact an HR consultant when everything is going well.

They usually get in touch because something has happened.

An employee has raised a grievance. Someone has been accused of bullying. An absence has gone on for months. A member of the team is not performing, but nobody has addressed it properly. Or the business needs to restructure and the owner is worried about getting it wrong.

By the time they contact me, they are often stressed, frustrated and unsure what they can safely say or do next.

I’m Samantha Newton, founder of Magenta HR Consulting. I’m a Chartered Fellow of the CIPD with more than 25 years’ HR and Employee Relations experience, including senior roles with Williams Racing, Pets at Home and the NHS.

Based near Faringdon, I support owner-managed businesses across the Cotswolds, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and further afield.

I specialise in the employee situations business owners cannot afford to get wrong, including grievances, disciplinaries, workplace investigations, long-term absence, redundancies and appeals.

Every employee situation is different

No two employee situations are the same.

Every business has its own people, pressures and history. What first looks like a straightforward conduct or performance issue may involve unclear expectations, poor management, a health condition or a working relationship that has been deteriorating for months.

That is why generic advice and template letters are rarely enough.

I take time to understand what has happened, what evidence is available and what the business needs to achieve. I can then explain the options, risks and most practical way forward in plain English.

Sometimes a straightforward conversation is enough. Sometimes the business needs a proper investigation or a formal grievance, disciplinary, redundancy or appeal process.

The important thing is choosing the right approach before the situation becomes more difficult, damaging or expensive.

“Just give them a warning” is rarely the answer

When an employee issue is affecting the business, it is understandable that the owner wants it resolved quickly.

But acting too quickly can create a much bigger problem.

Giving someone a warning without properly establishing what happened, deciding on redundancy before consultation or dismissing an employee without following a fair process can lead to grievances, appeals and potentially Employment Tribunal claims.

It can also consume management time and affect morale, productivity and trust across the wider team.

Good HR advice should not make the situation more complicated than it needs to be. It should help the business owner understand what can be dealt with informally, when a proper process is necessary and what they need to do next.

Experience matters when the answer is not obvious

Businesses do not come to me simply because they need an HR letter or policy.

They come to me because they need someone who has handled difficult employee situations before and can help them make a sound decision.

As an external adviser, I can provide an independent view without being influenced by internal history or workplace politics. I listen to what has happened, identify any gaps and give the business owner an honest assessment.

That may mean telling them when their proposed approach carries too much risk. It may also mean reassuring them that they can take firm action, provided they do it fairly and have the evidence to support their decision.

I can advise a business behind the scenes or step in independently to conduct a workplace investigation or chair a formal grievance, disciplinary or appeal hearing.

My role is to bring calm, clarity and a practical way forward.

Putting the human into HR

I originally went into HR because I wanted to help people, and that has never changed.

I believe good HR needs to balance the needs of the business with the fair treatment of its employees. Those two things do not have to work against each other.

A fair process protects the business, but it also makes sure the employee understands the concerns and has a proper opportunity to respond.

That is what I mean when I say:

“I put the human into HR.”

That does not mean avoiding difficult conversations, automatically taking the employee’s side or preventing a business from making firm decisions.

It means making those decisions fairly, confidently and with the right process behind them.

In an owner-managed business, one unresolved employee issue can quickly affect the whole team. It can consume the owner’s time, distract them from running the business and leave them worrying about what might happen next.

Nobody should have to handle that alone.

Becoming part of the Cotswold business community

Running a business can sometimes feel lonely, particularly when you are dealing with an employee issue that you cannot discuss openly with your team.

That is one of the reasons I joined Cotswold Networking.

I value genuine relationships, honest conversations and the opportunity to share experience with other local business owners. I am looking forward to getting to know more businesses across the Cotswolds and becoming an active part of the community.

Not sure what to do next?

If you have an employee situation taking up too much headspace and you are unsure what to do next, start with Magenta HR Consulting’s free, confidential Employee Situation Check.

It takes around three minutes and gives you an initial view of what you may be dealing with, the key risks and the next steps to consider.

You can also download the free Employee Problem Action Pack, covering nine common employee situations that can become much more serious if they are not handled properly.

If you need individual support, visit Magenta HR Consulting to arrange a free 20-minute call.