THE GUIDE
to People and Payroll
CONTENTS
FOREWORD
By Jonathan Dowden
3
PART 1:
MANAGING PEOPLE’S PAYROLL SUCCESS 4
CHAPTER 1 Developing and sustaining a winning business culture
5
CHAPTER 2
Using staff incentives for business victory! 7
CHAPTER 3
Cheatsheet: Zero hours contracts PART 2:
USING PAYROLL FOR A WINNING BUSINESS
CHAPTER 4
Why winners invest in payroll 10
CHAPTER 5
Common payroll stumbling blocks and how to avoid them 11
CHAPTER 6
Cheatsheet: Auto Enrolment 13
PART 3:
GROWING THE EXTRA MILE
CHAPTER 7
Healthy cashflow, the lifeblood of a winning business 16
CHAPTER 8
Conquering business growth 18
CHAPTER 9 Boosting productivity
20
8
9
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ABOUT SAGE AND PAYROLL22
2
FOREWORD
By Jonathan Dowden, Global Product Manager, Sage One Payroll
The UK’s small businesses have growth
and expansion in their sights.
According to Sage’s last Business Index, which polls around 14,000 small and
medium sized businesses globally, nearly half of the UK’s businesses were planning
to hire new staff in 2015. More than one in four had set 10 per cent growth targets
for the year - ambitious goals that reveal a winning attitude to business.
Hiring and expansion plans rely on one factor: people. They are the single most
valuable asset in any business, and should be the top priority of any company.
At Sage, we help thousands of businesses to pay their people and triumph over
pay day - over half of UK businesses in the private sector! We’re re-imagining the
business of doing business, and our goal is to equip firms with the tools, insight,
and guidance required to build and grow winning companies. Recognising that
this starts with people and the payroll process, we have developed this e-Book: The
Guide to People and Payroll.
We address some of the most important factors in ensuring your team – and
therefore your company – has the right approach, information, and tools for
winning. Alongside advice and guidance from Sage, a number of chapters have
been co-authored by leading business experts, who relay their own experiences
and best practice.
We know that if you look after your people and their pay, they’ll help you to achieve
a winning edge and become a winning business.
PEOPLE.
They are the single
MOST VALUABLE
asset in any business
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PART 1:
MANAGING
PEOPLE’S PAYROLL
SUCCESS
The foundation of a successful business is its people. This is
particularly true for small and medium-sized companies, where
one person can have a bigger impact on how the company fares
than they might in a major enterprise. Winning businesses
recognise this and use it to their advantage.
From business culture to incentives to working hours, prioritising your staff pays dividends.
You’ll end up with a happier workforce, better talent management and greater productivity.
4
CHAPTER 1:
Developing and sustaining a winning business culture
Jonathan Dowden, Global Product Manager, Sage One Payroll
The world of modern business is competitive and cut-throat. Everyone is vying for a slice
of the pie, and the marketplace is becoming ever more crowded. Gone are the days when
someone would join a company and stay there for years. Moving to a new company every 3-5
years has become the norm for most workers, and this can be challenging, particularly for a
growing business. You don’t want to invest time and money in training up your staff, only for
them to take their skills and experience to another company or, even worse, a competitor.
How do you encourage your staff to stay with you? What’s more, how do you ensure that you
continue to enjoy working at your company? In short, you need to have a winning business
culture. This doesn’t just mean a culture of success – your team needs to be inspired and
want to work at your company more than anywhere else. Company culture has a huge impact on this.
Developing a culture that fits the company’s persona and the industry you work in can be
challenging. But it can be done with winning results. Building and sustaining a bulletproof
business culture is complex, but here are some of the most important areas to focus on.
Encourage innovation
It’s an over-used word, but ‘innovation’ really is vital. The traditional understanding of the
word conjures images of Silicon Valley start-ups and programmers. For any business though,
a culture of innovation means nurturing new ideas – providing an environment where people
can think differently. This can work for everything, from new products and business strategies
all the way through to how to organise the office layout and manage the recycling. Building a
company where new ideas are encouraged and every employee feels that their opinions are
listened to is critical.
One way of encouraging this is to have an ‘ideas board’, whether that’s a physical board or a
virtual one on your company intranet. This will allow your team to learn and share, whilst also
making sure there’s a non-judgemental approach. If you want to create more discussion, try
an online forum, or allocate some time in a meeting to discussing new suggestions, whatever
they may be. Nurturing innovation takes time, so whatever you do, be prepared for gradual
change if you want the culture to stick.
Celebrate and reward success
Business achievements should be celebrated! Make sure you encourage teams and
departments to frequently share their successes with the rest of the business. Everyone
wants to work for a company that recognises achievements, both large and small, and people
are more inclined to go the extra mile or try something new if they see this.
To boost innovation and ‘extra mile thinking’ even further, why not set up an incentive
scheme? This can encourage creative thinking on a day-to-day basis and you’ll also be able to
guide this new thinking to the company’s benefit – incentivise the areas you want to change
or improve. A more tightly-knit or innovative business culture can be the end-goal, with any
staff member rewarded for an idea that contributes to this.
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Take care of the fundamentals
All businesses have some basic ‘hygiene’ factors – processes that need to run smoothly, and
the most fundamental is pay. All staff expect to be paid accurately and on-time, making payroll
the lynchpin of job satisfaction and the unsung hero of a winning business. According to
Sage research, 35 per cent of UK workers would look for a new job if their employer paid them
incorrectly just once. A further 51 per cent would lose trust in their employer and half would
even resent them. Basically, make sure you’re payroll runs like Swiss clockwork to avoid serious
effects to morale and business culture. Be the Pay Day Hero.
Payroll isn’t the only fundamental area that you just need to get right. Others include clear and
constructive people management and comprehensive training for any new staff. If you want to
make sure you’re on the right track, sit down with a small group of different people from your
business and listen to what they think about your core practices. Be open to feedback and act
on what you hear!
More freedom, less hierarchy
As companies grow, they add more systems, processes, and policies. These may feel necessary,
but they can result in your team losing sight of your business’s culture. Preserving a company’s
culture throughout growth is difficult at the best of times, and there’s no quick fix. However, one
of the best ways to keep a positive, innovative business culture alive is to have fewer restrictions
and less hierarchy. Creating an environment where staff can speak with their colleagues at all
levels helps to spur creative thinking, motivate junior members of the team, and keep senior
members in touch with all areas of the business.
If you’re considering a new direction, process, or policy, ask yourself if it is absolutely necessary.
If you feel it is then keep in mind your over-arching business goals, but also two more questions:
1. Will this limit the freedom of any of my employees?
2. Will it add more hierarchy or management layers?
Evaluating your decisions like this will keep you focused on your staff - the single most
important contributing factor to business culture, and your business’s biggest champions!
If you’re still keen to go ahead with the change, then the vital final step is talking things through
with your team. In the same way that you would evaluate your core practices, gather a small,
varied group of employees to get their honest thoughts. You may decide to go ahead regardless
of what they say, but they’ll still appreciate you speaking with them.
Embody the culture you want to see
Finally, make sure that you – individually – take accountability for your company’s culture
yourself. Whether you’re the founder or the latest junior recruit, everyone has an impact.
Embody the way you want the company to work and act. Make yourself the internal Business
Culture Champion.
All staff expect to be paid
accurately and on-time
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CHAPTER 2:
Using staff incentives for business victory
Jenny Garrett, Founder of Leadership Consultancy, Reflexion Associates
Many small business owners and managers face
a frustrating problem: They’re close enough to
daily operations to see where efficiencies can be
made, but too busy to micro-manage others to
make the improvements needed. There’s nothing
worse than seeing inefficiencies and watching
profits go down the drain, so how do you tackle
them? One option is to incentivise your staff.
You may think that your staff are already being
paid handsomely, or at least fairly, to do their
job. Luckily, incentives don’t have to be financial.
Research has actually shown that staff are more
motivated by challenges and a sense of belonging
at work than they are by their pay cheque, so don’t
get hung up on money.
Some alternative incentives include:
• Recognition - this could be as simple as a hand
written note from the CEO, to a wall of fame of
the most efficient staff member each week.
• Employee Assistance - work place counseling
or other services can help employees manage
life outside of work, in order to be more effective
within it.
• Flexi time - always appealing as an incentive,
giving the staff member more control over how
and when they deliver their work.
Inefficiency comes in many forms, but some of the
most common are unfocused meetings, a culture
of ‘email overload’, overly complicated processes,
and a lack of uniformity in how data is saved and
accessed. If any of these sound familiar, here are
some tips on how you could create an incentive
scheme to tackle them.
1. Reward the right thing
First and foremost, ensure you reward the right
behaviours. For example, you may want to cut down
the amount of time your staff spend replying to
emails. That doesn’t mean encouraging them to
hurry through all customer email correspondence,
increasing the chances of typos or even mistakes.
Instead, the efficiency might be investing in training
on inbox management or agreeing set times for
email checking. Work quality is still key.
2. Group rather than individual
incentives
Be careful to avoid unnecessary and potentially
disruptive competition by providing individual
incentives. Group incentives enhance the sharing
of information and best practice, creating better
ways of working, encouraging collaboration, and
breaking down silos that may exist.
They can also help to improve individual
underperformance. For example, if the inefficiency
you want to correct is time-consuming, poorlyrun meetings, the person who always arrives
unprepared and late will now be corrected by the
other members of the team, who see him/her as
standing in the way of group achievement.
3. Fairness and promotion
Any incentive you create must of course be fair and
be promoted well, so that everyone understands
the process and no one’s at a disadvantage. If a
new database is implemented, everyone must
understand why and be given a reasonable timeline
for adding their data.
One final thought: Make your incentives long term.
New behavior is then more likely to become a habit
and stick, even when the incentive is gone. Be
creative and have fun with incentives and your
staff will too.
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CHAPTER 3:
Cheatsheet: ‘Zero-hours’ contracts
Kevin Poulter, Employment Lawyer at Bircham Dyson Bell LLP
The zero-hours debate is a contentious topic that continues to ruffle feathers across the UK.
Although not specifically defined in law, ‘zero-hours’ contracts are employment contracts
between an employer and a worker. The employer is not obliged to provide the worker with
any minimum working hours, and the worker is not obliged to accept any hours offered. Those
in favour argue they provide businesses and employees with flexibility but critics claim they
deprive people of employment rights, financial stability and security.
With an estimated 1.8 million people in the UK employed on zero-hours contacts, as a business,
what do you need to know?
The issues:
The lack of mutual obligation has led to widespread uncertainty and allegations of exploitation,
particularly given many of these contracts previously tied zero-hours employees to a company
under an “exclusivity” clause, preventing them working for anyone else.
However, since 26th May 2015 (when the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act came
into force), exclusivity clauses have been banned. This means any provision which prevents
zero-hours employees from performing other work are un-enforceable. What hasn’t been made
clear is what the penalty will be for businesses who go against the new rules. It’s probably best
to avoid being the ‘test case’, so following the rules is the way to go.
The opportunity to only use employees when they are needed is attractive to small businesses.
However, a lack of security on both sides can lead to reduced motivation and engagement in
the workforce – which of course you do not want. The good news is that zero-hours contracts
can work to serve the interests of both employer and worker if, and when, used properly.
How to create a happy relationship with ‘zero-hours’
employees:
Be fair to your employees and avoid disagreements by treating zero-hours workers as you
would other employees. This will help you to avoid formal complaints, and therefore potential
employment tribunals. Where claims are upheld, workers can now be awarded compensation so don’t risk having to pay out for this.
Communication and mutual understanding are key. Agreeing and explaining the terms of the
contract at the beginning and detailing expectations from both sides should prevent any tricky
future situations.
Ensuring that you have the right people on the right contracts will not only boost productivity
and staff morale but also encourage loyalty and commitment from an increasingly mobile
workforce. Flexibility continues to be a driver for many small businesses and employees, so
communication, accurate recording of terms and clarity are essential to a happy working
relationship.
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PART 2:
Using payroll
for a winning
business
If people are the heart of a company, payroll
is the fuel that keeps that heart pumping.
It may often be overlooked when doling out the credit for success and growth but it underpins
everything that happens. Many people think it’s all about complex legislation and numbers on
spreadsheets – it’s much more than that.
Paying staff on time and correctly means happy people and a happy business. Pay day needs
to be right every time. Get it right and you’ve taken arguably the most important step in
building and growing a winning business.
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Chapter 4:
Why winners invest in payroll software
– Blue Eyed Sun’s story
Jeremy Corner, Co-founder and Director, Blue Eyed Sun
My wife and I started our greeting card business, Blue Eyed Sun, back in 2000. Years on from
that, I can still remember taking on our first employee like it was yesterday. It felt like such a
big step and we were filled with a mixture of fear and excitement about the whole process.
Along with all of the other jobs small business owners do on a daily basis, before our first
team member joined us we also did all of our own bookkeeping. Having started on a manual
system entering our numbers into a hard backed ledger in pencil, a year later we upgraded
to Sage Financial Controller (as it was called then) to manage our general accounts, but
without payroll software.
When we took on our first employee it seemed to us to be a big expense to pay extra for
payroll software to manage our accounts. As we were trying to keep costs as low as possible
back then I decided to manage our payroll manually, like we had done with our accounts
at the start. I pored over grids, tables and charts of National Insurance figures and PAYE
numbers and had to read so much to keep up with it all. It was awful. I remember being on
the verge of tears late one night before a deadline, trying to get my head round it all. Within
six months we invested in payroll software and have never looked back.
We now have 16 staff on our team, ranging from full-timers to flexibly working part-timers.
Payroll software makes managing their employment so easy. With real-time requirements
from HMRC now mandatory, all of the info can be sent to the tax office at the click of
a button. We pay for the Sage Extra cover to ensure that we’re up to date with the legal
requirements and changes each tax year. It also makes year-end processes and statutory
reports a doddle, with easy-to-follow, step-by-step instructions.
Software these days is incredibly easy to download and install. There are wizards to guide
you through your set-up and useful tutorials on YouTube for most problems, as well as
good training programmes from the providers. Doing tasks like processing leavers or new
employees is also simple and we can even track holiday, sick pay, maternity pay, bonuses, etc.
I’m not worried about the new auto enrolment pension requirements coming through from
the government as I know my payroll software will take care of this for me. The upshot of it all
is that I save time, I save money and I save a huge amount of stress. These days I no longer
look after the books myself and I know that our bookkeeper is grateful that we have up to
date payroll software, along with help and support on the phone if she needs it. With Sage,
we’ve triumphed over pay day!
I save TIME, I save MONEY and I save a huge amount of STRESS
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Chapter 5:
Common payroll stumbling blocks and how to avoid them
Dan Docherty, Payroll Specialist, Sage UKI
Payroll is an essential cog in the business machine. It is indispensable, a fundamental process
you must ensure runs like clockwork if you want to build a winning business.
However, like any business function, it’s not always glitch-free. Payroll can be complex and
comes with a raft of administrative challenges and regulations. One of the secrets to success is first understanding the pressures and challenges facing payroll representatives.
At Sage, we explored the top gripes of payroll representatives and found three stand-out issues:
ensuring accuracy, making sure employees are paid on time – and are therefore happy, and
keeping up-to-date with legislation.
So how can you swerve these potential issues and make sure you’re a payroll hero? We’ve
broken it down into three key steps:
1. Set winning goals: ensure accuracy and compliance
The goals of every payroll champion are two-fold: accuracy and compliance. Information must
be correct so that employees are paid the right amount and tax obligations must be taken care
of on time.
Businesses are liable for their staff’s pay. As a result, you simply cannot risk payroll going under
the radar until something goes wrong! Bringing payroll into the spotlight and ensuring the
right processes are in place will help to conquer any inaccuracies. For instance, most systems
provide information on the number of entries processed. This can be a valuable indicators of
pressured periods and trends, as well as shedding crucial light on the entries that are more
time-consuming or prone to error. When it comes to payroll software, automated calculations,
secure data, and direct links to HMRC can make paying your people a breeze.
Precise payroll is also a question of morality. Employees work hard to help your business run
smoothly. As your most important asset, it’s vital to reward staff and ensure they feel like a
valued part of the team. Paying your team accurately is key to achieving this. What’s more, it will foster higher levels of employee engagement and deliver significant business benefits, from boosting profitability and productivity to reducing employee turnover and enhancing job satisfaction.
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2. Reward your team: pay staff on time
Failing to pay employees on time can be a business disaster. Employees must be able to rely on being paid consistently without delays. Failure to do so risks impacting everything from staff morale to the financial stability of the company. It is not just about pay – it’s about people
and perception.
To guarantee long-term success, attracting and retaining the best talent is fundamental. In this
respect, payroll may be the secret to success - challenging the traditional view of payroll as a
back-office process.
The latest Sage survey highlighted that payroll activity can actually be the lynchpin for talent
management. Results revealed that for over half of consumers paid late or incorrectly would
cause resentment and lead to a lack of trust in their relationship with their employer. What’s
more, it would also cause a third of employees to look for another job.
3. Get clued in: stay on top of legislative developments
To be a payroll hero, you must stay attuned with developments in legislation. For instance, RTI
has been the biggest shake up to PAYE reporting for over half a century, whilst the introduction
of Auto Enrolment has had a substantial impact on the payroll department.
Small business owners should make best use of the tools at their disposal. Using the latest
payroll software can take the heavy lifting out of payroll maintenance and ensure your payday
processes are seamlessly updated to comply with the latest legislation.
To learn more about how payroll solutions can help payroll representatives conquer common
payroll gripes, read more here.
Using the latest payroll software
can take the heavy lifting out of
PAYROLL MAINTENANCE
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Chapter 6:
Cheat Sheet: Tackling Auto Enrolment
like a winner
Steven Watmore, Payroll and Auto Enrolment Specialist, Sage UKI
Auto Enrolment legislation means a fundamental change to workplace pensions for small
business owners. As part of the government’s campaign to ensure UK employees are
adequately prepared for retirement, the scheme will combat the demographic and economic
challenges of an ageing society. The goal? Encourage a retirement savings culture and
empower workers to better save for their futures.
Being staged over six years, Auto Enrolment means businesses of all sizes will have a legal
obligation to start paying into employees’ pension funds. Employers must automatically
enrol eligible jobholders into a workplace pension scheme that meets the conditions set out
in the legislation.
Thousands of the UK’s largest employers have already done this. For over 14,000 of the
UK’s smallest businesses, the time to act has arrived. As of the 1st June 2015, small and micro
employers with fewer than 30 employees started being phased into the scheme and will begin
to grapple with the complexities of employer pension schemes for the first time.
To help you prepare and tackle Auto Enrolment like a champion, our Champions Cheat Sheet
provides a must-follow guide on how employers can get organised. A winning formula for any
business owner to triumph over Auto Enrolment. Here’s what you need to know:
1. Don’t delay: find out your staging date in advance
It’s tempting to put it off, but Auto Enrolment can be complex.
For small businesses, HMRC warns it may take as long as 12 months to get a compliant scheme
up and running. The trick? Get prepared early. Find out the date your Auto Enrolment duties
come into effect as soon as possible by visiting the Pensions Regulator website and work
backwards from there. If you don’t pay your workforce through a PAYE scheme, your staging
date will be 1 April 2017.
Factor in the time required to plan finances, and do the admin, as well as integrating payroll
into a pension scheme. The tasks themselves may not be huge, but they take time - particularly
when dealing with pension providers or third parties. Every part of the Auto Enrolment puzzle
needs to come together at the right time if it’s to run smoothly.
the time to act has arrived for
OVER 14,000
of the UK’s smalest businesses
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2. Find a winning Pension Scheme
As the deadlines for Auto Enrolment roll closer, demand for pension providers is going to rise
exponentially. Ensuring the right pension scheme is in place is paramount to offering a quality
benefit to employees, while reducing administration time and costs. Investing time to research
options will pay off in the long term.
Seek guidance from an independent financial adviser, an accountant or a payroll provider who
will be able to advice you on ensuring your business is fully compliant with the new rules. Firms
should also seek a pension provider that enables them to manage the process online and which
integrates with their payroll system to make the whole process smother.
3. Avoid an administrative headache with up-to-date payroll software
Good news, as help is at hand for small firms navigating the complexity of Auto Enrolment. Your
Payroll team will a key champion for Auto Enrolment but with up-to-date payroll software, you
can alleviate the administrative burden and reduce the time and cost issues associated with it.
Using software which is automatically compliant with the latest HMRC legislation can make
the integration between pensions and payroll seamless, and easier for you to be compliant than
ever before!
4. Plan future finances
Auto Enrolment can be expensive for a small business as employers must pay a regular
contribution into their staff pension scheme. The starting threshold currently sits at 1 per cent
of an employee’s qualifying earnings, which will rise to 3 per cent by 2018 as contributions ramp-up year-on-year.
Financial forecasts should be undertaken as soon as possible to establish the impact pension
contributions may have on future cash-flow.
5. Communication is key
It’s now a legal requirement for employers to inform staff about Auto Enrolment - how it will
affect them, what their contribution is as an employer, and their rights as an employee to opt-out of the scheme. This should be communicated in writing via letter or email, and could
also come from a pension or payroll provider.
However, employers must be careful to not influence staff in any particular direction, such as
offering incentives to opt-out of Auto Enrolment. Breaching these rules may incur financial
penalties from The Pension Regulator. 14
PART 3:
Growing the
extra mile
There are a thousand and one different strategies for
growing a business, but what underpins all of them?
What are the fundamental components in developing
a company into a productive, winning business?
By addressing a few key areas you can prepare your business for sustainable growth on
your terms, and ensure this growth continues long into the future.
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Chapter 7:
Healthy cash flow: the lifeblood of a winning business
Mark Duncan, Product Manager, Sage UKI
Cash is king and managing cash flow effectively is critical to business success. The key to
keeping cash flow fit and strong is ensuring that there is a careful balance of funds coming into
and out of the business so that you can pay suppliers and invest in new ventures.
It doesn’t have to be challenging. But we do understand the burden late payments can bring. It’s
time to take control and streamline your cash flow. To help you do so, here are our 5 top tips:
1. Know your customers like the back of your hand
Familiarise yourself with all your customers. This is the first step in knowing where your funds
are coming from and going to. Knowing your customers’ liability can help you understand what
type of organisation they are and the strength of their business. Tracking when your funds are
due to come in and out of the business on a monthly basis provides clarity of when payments
are due. This will enable an efficient working relationship with your customers and combat late
payments occurring in the first place.
2. Always be prepared
Prior preparation and planning prevents poor performance. In a perfect world, your business
will always run smoothly. But if unforeseen circumstances occur, make sure your clients and
suppliers understand that they can trust you to ensure their finances remain in good hands.
Step one here is making sure you have credit insurance in place, in case a customer does not
pay. Insurance companies and brokers offer tailored credit insurance to help protect against
non-payment by customers. Get an understanding of whether your customers are at risk of
failure and be sure to consider the business impact of late payments, especially by your most
important customers. Don’t let other business’ failures be a barrier to your success.
3. Agree your payment schedule
It’s time to take control and
STREAMLINE
your cash flow
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The average small business might currently be owed up to £12,000 in outstanding invoices, but
this doesn’t mean your business has to be one of them. Plan your payment schedule to prevent
any cash flow headaches. Ensure that you formally agree terms in advance with partnering
companies and provide clarity in all that you do. For example, making the payment due date
clear on invoices, and having a written and signed confirmation of the agreed payment terms,
can ensure all parties are aware of the schedule.
4. Save time and simplify chasing
Businesses spend almost 350 hours a year chasing late payments – hardly a fast-track to
success! There are tools out there to help you with chasing payments, so use them. For
instance, Sage 50’s Credit Hound Express aims to save businesses up to ten hours a week in back office administration and helps improve customer relationships.
5. Play fair with your suppliers
Good business karma starts with treating your suppliers fairly. Treat your suppliers the way you
would like to be treated as a business. Late payments from your side could result in damage to
their business and paying them by the due date leads to a happy supplier relationship. This is
one of the simplest quick wins for business success. Being a fair, responsible business might
also play in your favour in the future. Good relationships can mean better price negotiations,
priority on your orders and preferential treatment generally.
Businesses spend almost
350 HOURS A YEAR
chasing payments
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Chapter 8:
Four small steps for your business, one giant leap for
conquering business growth
Deryck Shepherd, Head of Commercial, Start-up and Small Business Division, Sage UKI
Business confidence in the UK has reached a four-year high, and business owners are looking at
ways to unlock further growth. For 2015, more than one in four UK businesses set an ambitious
10 per cent growth target, according to Sage’s Business Index, and nearly 50 per cent of firms
have plans in place to increase their workforce.
These figures bring into the spotlight the ambitions of Britain’s small and medium-sized firms. To realise these aspirations, it’s vital for business owners to adopt a winning approach. Here’s
four key strategies for burgeoning organisations to conquer future growth:
1. Technology is an enabler – embrace it!
Technology is levelling the business playing field. Small and medium sized firms must take
advantage of this and harness the value cloud and mobile technologies bring when it comes to
enabling them to compete with their larger rivals. Capabilities that used to be exclusive to big
corporations with large IT budgets are now accessible to businesses of all sizes. This should be
taken advantage of to maximise agility, boost employee productivity and access new customers
and markets.
By pre-empting rapid growth you can actually put the systems in place to help shift your
business up a gear. Technology can manage surges in demand and allay potential growing pains.
What’s more, arming your workforce with the right tools is fundamental to sustainable growth.
You can then empower your staff to work flexibly, manage your business on the move and
respond quickly to new opportunities. If you aren’t prepared to move fast, you’ll miss out on
chances that could boost your bottom line.
2. Your business is fuelled by People Power
Business is about people. Your employees are your most important investment. In the quest to
scale up, their value cannot be overlooked. Attracting and retaining the best talent is crucial for
success. Having trusted employees in place to act as strategic partners and advisers is essential
to unlock future opportunities for growth.
When it comes to people planning, don’t take a short-sighted view! As a business owner, you
have to plan for the type of talent you need to employ today, in 12 months and beyond. Step one
is clarifying the direction you want to take your business, and understanding exactly what talent
you need to make this a reality.
Start by identifying the talent already in your business. Do you have people already board who
could become that talent with guidance and training? Hiring in new recruits is often the first
instinct, but helping an existing staff member to evolve into a new role can be simpler and more effective. If you still feel you have gaps, identify the skills and traits you need to hire in, then go for it!
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3. Customers are the heart of your business
No matter how fast your business grows, or how vast it becomes, try not to lose sight of your
customers. Estimates suggest it can be up to 10 times more expensive to acquire a new
customer than to retain one. To fuel business growth, you need to remain focused on what both
your existing and potential customers want.
This doesn’t require you to reinvent the wheel. Success is about first understanding your
customer’s needs, reacting to changes in demand and delivering the best possible customer
experience. By knowing your customers well and personalising your service, your business will
shine out from your competitors, and ensure customers keep coming back!
4. Seek an objective opinion
For small and medium sized businesses, a mentor can be a champion for business growth! Did
you know that using a business mentor could double your firm’s chance of increasing turnover?
What’s more, research has shown 70 per cent of small businesses that receive mentoring
survive for five years or more - twice the rate compared with non-mentored entrepreneurs.
You should tap into this valuable resource. As a business owner, it’s easy to become buried in
the day-to-day running of your businesses, and get trapped in an ‘inside out mentality.’ A mentor
can assess your organisation from a fresh perspective, identify things you cannot and give you
an impartial opinion on how best to grow your business.
Research has shown
70 per cent
of small businesses that
recieve mentoring survive for
five years or more
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Chapter 9:
The Champion’s Edge: Boosting Productivity
Michelle Embleton, Sales Incentive Specialist, Sage UKI
Productivity is a challenge for all businesses. Since 2008, we’ve seen no increase in output
per worker in the UK – productivity levels have actually been consistently lower than they
were before the economic crash! Major economic forces are undoubtedly at work, but small
businesses everywhere still need to take the bull by the horns and look at productivity on a day-to-day, person-by-person basis.
You can turbo charge productivity in your business, both for yourself and your staff, if you
address some critical areas. The change might not happen overnight, but working on
productivity right now is a sure-fire way to set you on the path to business greatness.
Michelle Embleton from Sage suggests five areas to focus on for improving productivity and
gaining an edge on the competition. Not all of them will be appropriate for your business, but
each of them has a proven record in improving productivity - combine them and you’re really on to a winner.
Boosting staff productivity
Flexible working hours – The traditional 9-to-5 is a throwback to the early twentieth century – a thing of the past, particularly for small business owners and managers. Flexible working
policies can be transformative, bringing any number of advantages. One of the most important
factors is providing your workforce with the opportunity to take control of their work/life
balance, as well as helping them to save both time and money by avoiding peak commuting
hours or saving on childcare. You’ll also be allowing them to work when they’re most productive.
The net result? Higher levels of staff morale, job satisfaction, reduced absenteeism and better
productivity. Win win.
Remote working – Straightforward benefits of remote working include lower office overheads
and savings on IT infrastructure, but there are plenty more. As with flexible working hours,
providing your staff with the chance to work from any location – particularly from home – means
a more engaged, motivated workforce. Your business will also be seen as a progressive place to
work, making it easier to attract and retain the best talent, wherever they’re based.
You can also improve customer relationships, as your team can visit them at the drop of a hat,
wherever they might be. Business opportunities can be won or lost in a matter of minutes, and
having employees who aren’t tied to their desks means you can be more responsive - a major
business advantage, particularly over larger, less agile competitors.
Fewer meetings – If you’re honest with yourself, how much time is wasted during internal
meetings? Arranging and attending multiple 30 minute or hour-long meetings throughout
the week can eat up large chunks of time, and often the main points could be condensed into
five minutes, so why not do just that? First thing each morning, get your team(s) to meet for a
maximum of five minutes to catch up on what they’re working on, what their priorities are, and
any potential issues. If you have people working remotely then use a conference line. This keeps
everyone focused on the most important things, and means you can avoid sluggish, hour-long
afternoon meetings.
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Boosting your productivity
Minimise distractions – This may seem obvious, but think of how many sources of potential
distraction you have around you on a daily basis - ringing phones, emails, TVs, the internet, to
name just a few! You can’t avoid them all, but you can take steps to minimise their impact on
your day. Turning off your email alert noise, avoiding facing any TV screens, and not permanently
having your web browser open are all small changes, but they can add up to a big impact on
your productivity levels.
You may want to run a buzzing, collaborative company, but one of the other major distractions
in an office can be your colleagues. If you need to get through a specific job, consider having a
subtle sign on your desk that lets people know that you need some uninterrupted time to get
something done, or maybe move into a meeting room to focus. You could even have dedicated
time in the diary when people know you’ll definitely be available to talk – this works whether
you’re in the office or working from home.
Take breaks – You can’t stay 100% focused, 100% of the time. Your body and mind need breaks
to ensure they can continue to operate at their full potential. Get away from your desk at least
once every two hours, preferably every hour, and don’t eat lunch in front of your screen. It may
feel like you’re limiting the time you spend working, but you’re actually helping to make sure
you’re able to focus properly when you are at your desk.
Finally, and arguably the most important factor in personal productivity – make sure you get
enough sleep!
Your body and mind need breaks
to ensure they can continue to operate at their
FULL POTENTIAL
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About Sage and Payroll
All employees need to be paid accurately and on time,
making payday an important day for all organisations.
Growing legislative demands also mean that small and medium businesses need
straightforward solutions they can rely on to make sure they’re compliant.
At Sage we pay a third of all employees in the UK, and over half of private sector businesses use
Sage to pay their people.
You need to be confident that your payroll process is happy, accurate, time efficient for all,
and always compliant with legislative requirements. Thanks to our award-winning support team
and market leading payroll software products, we continuously support businesses to triumph
over Payday.
About Sage One
Payroll
About Sage 50
Payroll
A simple, online solution to help small
businesses with up to 15 employees
with their payday needs, and no payroll
experience is required. Managing Payday
couldn’t be easier, as Sage One allows you
to process pay in four simple steps.
An intuitive solution to support growing
businesses. Payday stress is reduced by
automating payroll processes and providing
the extra detail you need. Thanks to simple
installation, set-up wizards, and a built-in
help centre, small and medium businesses
can be up and running quickly.
You’ll always pay the correct rates, thanks
to automatic calculation of payments and
deductions, and you’ll be compliant with
the latest legislation, including Real Time
Information and Automatic Enrolment
(workplace pensions). Plus you’ll have free
access to 24/7 email and phone support.
You don’t even need to be in the office
to process your payroll, as Sage One is
online software!
Learn more about Sage One Payroll here.
You’ll be in complete control of your payroll
processes, and customisable reports mean
you can make sense of your payroll data,
drill down into information easily, and
quickly spot any mistakes. The solution also ensures you stay up to date and
compliant with the latest legislation,
including workplace pensions - Auto
Enrolment and RTI.
Learn more about Sage 50 Payroll here.
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CLICK to find out more
Sage (UK) Limited
North Park,
Newcastle upon Tyne,
NE13 9AA
Tel: 0800 33 66 33
Fax: 0845 245 0297
www.sage.co.uk
© Sage (UK) Limited 2016 registered in England No.1045967
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