Freelancing has never been bigger in Ireland – just over 10% of the 3.2 million Irish working population now describe themselves as ‘self-employed’.

Ireland isn’t alone in this trend either. In 2018, the US reported a rise of 7% in freelancing, while the UK experienced a 31% surge. In fact, freelancers contribute approximately £145 billion to the UK economy – a valuable asset for any organisation.

Now the norm rather than the exception in a multitude of industries, freelancer management is becoming yet another challenge that businesses and HR teams are faced with. As the saying goes, businesses up and down the country are asking themselves how they can get ‘the best bang for their buck’; how can they identify the best freelancers for their projects?

This article will delve into the ‘Do’s’ & ‘Don’ts’ of freelancer management for your HR team.
 
Managing the Freelancer
The clue is in the name… ‘free’-lancer. The whole purpose of being a freelancer is to escape the boundaries that often come with the traditional 9-5, office-based job. You’re free to work where you want to work, be it in your bedroom, a local café or a hotdesking space. You’re free to work the hours that you want to work, and once you are successful, you can decide which clients you want to work with, not who your boss has got on contract.

This might be great news if you are the freelancer, but for the business, this means growing a level of trust within this relationship. It means having a level of faith in your freelancer and a belief that they will deliver what they say they will within the given deadline.

However, it shouldn’t all rest on a game of faith. Here are some tips for managing your freelancers:

1. DO Your Research 

There is nothing worse than finding out that a hired freelancer cannot deliver on what you need. You might hire a marketing professional expecting someone with up-to-date graphic design skills, or a software developer that perhaps has too much other work on. Regardless, research is key.

Whether you search for reviews online or ask around your LinkedIn network, research freelancers, the skills they have on offer and past experiences will help you to separate the best from the adequate.

With the rise of freelancing, a popular alternative to finding the right contractor talent has emerged: freelancer comparison platforms. Giving your business access to an array of local freelancers for you to try, these platforms, like Toptal, are proving invaluable for businesses under tight deadlines and pressure to find the right person for their projects.
 

1. DO Communicate Effectively

Once you have hired your freelancer, it’s crucial that you keep communication high on the agenda. While they might pop into the office now and again, most freelancers will work remotely.

From video calls to monthly meetings at an agreed location, keeping in regular contact with your contractors will let them know that you value their contribution, keep them in the loop around project developments and make them feel like they are part of your team, regardless of employment status.
 

1. DO Make Yourself Approachable

Approachability for any manager is key, regardless of who you are dealing with in your workplace. However, it can be a particular challenge for a freelancer; they haven’t had the time that your employees have had to develop their relationship with you.

Ensuring that you remain available for any queries from your freelancers will help to boost your approachability and develop these relationships, a key element for effective and strategic communication.
 

1. DON’T Allow a Lack of Accountability

Your freelancers may work remotely and during their own working hours or schedules. They might have different lifestyles or different styles of work.

However, this should never go before accountability. If you feel a freelancer isn’t pulling their weight, or isn’t working cohesively with the rest of your team, step in. Alongside your HR team, ensure that this freelancer has the right equipment and knowledge to deliver the project effectively. If their work doesn’t improve, ask why.

You might feel tentative to approach a freelancer in this way, knowing that their work style may be so different from your own. But the work needs done – make sure that is happening.
 

1. DON’T Expect Freelancers to be Anything Else

Part-timers, temps, full-time commitments and the freelancers; we get it, it can be hard to juggle everyone, their contracts and their working patterns.

However, remembering what exactly a freelancer is, what is expected of them, and what is expected of you is important for your freelancing relationships.

You should not expect freelancers to report to your place of work daily or take the same lunch breaks as you.

Instead treat your freelancers as just that – freelancers. This will build positive working relationships and provide you with the bonus of having a list of talented workers you can rely on when you need projects completed and your own staff need a helping hand.
 
Freelancer 101
Utilising your HR team, ensure you manage your freelancers effectively. Communicate with them and remain approachable at all times, treat them as freelancers and ensure you keep them accountable.

​Your business will boom, you’ll meet your project deadlines and most of all, you’ll expand your talent pool. 
​

​In business, we’re often in a rush for results – it’s time to go back to basics.
 
As your company grows, everything becomes accelerated and that can mean losing sight of the bigger picture.
 
With 18% of workers reporting workplace absences due to stress, anxiety and depression, we must look internally to find the inner workings of the workplace which contribute to undue pressure.
 
The business process is the backbone of every company and if all levels of staff are not adequately in tune with what that is, it is liable to disrupt your staff’s well-being as well as your business prospects. 
 
What state is your Business Process Management (BPM) in? How can HR help?
 
 
The In-Betweens of the Business Process  
 
A business process is a set of linked tasks which culminate in the delivery of a service or product to a client.  
 
Due to the connected nature of the business process which joins employee to employee and department to department, staff communication is key to upkeeping its fluidity.
 
Process maps are outdated in that they don’t draw attention to one of the best opportunities for communication; the hand-off.
 
Variation in the way processes unfold will require effective communication between the sender of the information and the recipient.
 
To avoid the inevitable frustration of lacking information, a hand-off agreement, devised by your HR department is advisable.
 
This is a document which clearly states what Person A should send to Person B to effectively communicate information which is essential to the completion of a task.  
 
Planning
 
Curating all stages of the business process will protect your staff from excessive agitation and ultimately optimise your company productivity.
 
One way to plan the business process effectively is supplying staff with formal documentation which will act as a model for effectively managing tasks they undertake and pass on.
 
Creating a digital repository with information on all stages of work and the associated documents relevant to that activity offers clarity to staff about their allocated tasks.
 
By creating a shared space online where interactive resources are made available to staff, process ‘black holes’ in which the company is dependent on one individual for specific information are less likely to occur.
 
Having one authoritative source on the business process complete with a search option to locate specific information, your staff will have a key resource to draw upon in times of confusion. This will free up your HR team to focus on what really matters – your personnel themselves.  
 
​Strategic Leadership 
 
Strategic Leadership begins with a holistic approach to your business process.
 
Your vision can become intangible in the flurry of day-to-day work activity if it isn’t articulated effectively. 
 
Clarifying your vision and setting short- and long- term objectives will help your staff engage with your process with your overarching business objective in mind. 
 
You could consider writing a mission statement to make it easier for staff to keep your vision in mind during the business process, thereby improving its efficacy.   
 
Leadership is about active involvement with the business process, but it is also about allowing others to take responsibility.
 
The business process is a stepwise operation for a reason; delegate to staff that you trust.
 
Rather than sending a request to an employee directly, delegate to the manager of the department to pass on the workload as they see fit.
 
They are likely to know more about the current strengths and workloads of employees and allocate tasks with those variables in mind.  
 
Consider setting up a system of anonymous feedback or monthly one-on-ones between employees and managers; make a review of your business process management the norm.
 
 
In Review
 
The business process is the lifeblood of your company and requires care and attention to upkeep the quality of the product or service you wish to produce. Your HR department can help to deliver an effective process in line with your business strategy.
 
To avoid undue stress and tension among staff, create online resources which adequately explain the business process for staff.
 
By compiling a hand-off agreement, you can manage the transition of tasks between employees and forestall miscommunication and delays.
 
Finally, with great leadership comes great delegation; pass on responsibility to appointed managers to ensure that tasks are in the hands of those most equipped to complete them at any given time.
 
Updating your business process consistently will not only pay dividends for your productivity levels but also for your staff well-being.  

When any staff member leaves, it can be a difficult time for a company. If an employee leaves under negative circumstances, it can prove much more a challenge.

In this age of social media, high profile employee exits have the potential to dominate headlines, local and global. And with an increasing number of employees making cases against former employers, businesses need to prepare for resignations.

Preparation, procedures and a willingness to hear feedback can ensure effective employee exit management.

This article will explore the risks involved with an employee’s departure and how businesses can effectively manage both amicable and negative employee exits.
 
Employee Exit Risk: Loss of Talent
Employee departures can be difficult to manage for any company, but particularly for SMEs. With limited resources, this loss of talent can sever an enterprise’s ability to perform.

This can damage its reputation, as a business will struggle to keep up with their workloads for their customers or clients.  
 
Employee Exit Risk: Workplace Dynamics
By nature, workplaces large or small, rely on the teams that work on their behalf.

In other words, when an employee leaves, particularly from SMEs, remaining staff members have to take up the shortfall, leading to heavier workloads and a deterioration in workplace dynamics.

Resentment towards a company can increase, leading to higher staff turnovers. Again, this can spell trouble for small businesses, as they balance the need to meet tasks with keeping their staff content.
 
Managing an Amicable Employee Exit
While a hostile employee exit can be extremely difficult for a company to tackle, both during and after their departure, a cordial departure can also be a challenge.

While their exit may not be confrontational, they will have their reasons for leaving. Take measures to ensure such departures remain amicable and your relationship with former employee remains positive.

• Feedback

Take time to discuss your employee’s reasons for leaving, by asking for feedback.

Their honest thoughts about the company, its management and processes, will help you improve your working environment for remaining and future employees.

This approach also helps you to maintain a positive relationship with the former employee, while demonstrating a commitment to improve the workplace for existing staff. This can help prevent further staff turnover, ensuring your business continues to perform.

• Exit Interviews

A business can manage an amicable departure effectively by conducting exit interviews.

Such measures can ensure employees feel that their contribution to the company was valued. In turn, an employer can also improve their brand.

It is only natural that that employee will discuss their previous employment with their new colleagues, friends and family. If an employee were to feel undervalued by you as an employer, this could damage your reputation and brand with other publics.

Exit interviews will help to form lasting positive relationships between an employer and a departing employee, as well as provide a further opportunity for a business to improve their culture for remaining staff.
 
Managing a Negative Employee Exit
High profile, negative employee departures can severely impact an organisation, its reputation with stakeholders, and the workplace dynamics among remaining staff.

Not only can such exits damage an employer’s branding, but they have the potential to generate talent shortages as a result of higher staff turnover. Clearly a company’s ability to manage these hostile departures effectively is crucial.

While ensuring the departing employee provides feedback and received an exit interview is also crucial during more confrontational departures, an organisation must effectively plan legally for negative departures.

• Notice Periods

A business can conduct employee exit management effectively, by ensuring all staff are aware of notice periods, and their legal requirement to work for the full notice period.

• Company Materials

A business should plan ahead, ensuring that company materials can be effectively protected during the negative departure of an employee.

Ensuring employees have not taken confidential data, records or materials by checking hard copy materials as well as computers, businesses can protect themselves throughout these negative departures.

• Fulfil Legal Obligations

A company can protect themselves from possible legal challenges by ensuring that it fulfils all legal obligations to a departing employee.

Whether it means that all wages owed are paid efficiently, employees are aware of all required legal notices, and/or all benefit packages are met, companies can attempt to reduce the hostility of an exit, while meeting all legal obligations as an employer.
 
Plan Ahead for Effective Employee Exit Management
Whether an employee’ departure is amicable or not, a business can best prepare and conduct effective employee exit management by planning departure procedures ahead.

​This will ensure a company can protect themselves legally, ensure that its brand or reputation is not damaged amongst internal and external publics, as well as ensure optimum performance is continued.

With Irish childcare costs rising by €770 a year across Ireland, parents returning to work face more pressure than ever.

This is reflected in “working parent guilt”, experienced by 66% of men and 60% of women.

Regardless of gender or reason for parental absence, all working parents should feel adequately supported by their workplaces when returning to work.
 
Why is it Important to Support Working Parents as they Return to Work?
Returning to work after a prolonged period of time, for example maternity or paternity leave, can be exciting but daunting.

Employees come and go, while working tasks change over time. Returning parents have to learn new names and faces, while getting to grips with new tasks and managing their new work-life balance.

It is crucial workplaces support returning working parents as they navigate this new territory. Such support will prevent feelings of resentment creeping in, while large staff turnovers can be avoided, retaining returning talent and using this experience to develop new staff and improve the workplace.
 
How Can Businesses Support Working Parents when they Return to Work?
Returning to work can be a challenge, particularly for new parents, as they acclimatise to the responsibility of juggling a new baby alongside their existing workloads. Working parents with multiple children will also face new challenges.

A study has revealed just 14% of male working parents had never had a request for leave turned down. Clearly there needs to be more flexibility from employers for all working parents, men and women.
 
Flexible Arrangements
With a Eurobarometer study revealing only 1 in 4 Irish workers receive flexible arrangements, it is crucial Irish businesses improve to allow working parents the satisfaction of a positive work-life balance.

Whether it’s a dental appointment, or a sports day, allowing working parents the breathing space to balance their work more flexibly can only be positive for a working environment.  

Flexible arrangements can include:

·         Flexi-Time
·         Work from home days
·         Temporary or permanent part-time arrangements
·         Job shares

Such arrangements can enhance employee wellbeing, and prevent large staff turnover, allowing a business to retain their talent and their capacity for superior performance.
 
Upskilling Others
Employees seeking to ‘up their game’ and take on new tasks could also be utilised by a business to take the pressure of returning working parents. While not replacing the returning employee, by having an extra pair of hands on a task, businesses can improve a working environment while ensuring that their performance does not suffer.
 
Inclusive Culture
An inclusive working environment is crucial for returning staff. Not only will they need to acquaint themselves with new staff but begin to learn new tasks and remember old ones.

An inclusive culture where all staff feel that they can interact with each-other frequently and cohesively can only benefit an organisation. By fostering an inclusive culture, new or childless staff and returning staff can be provided the space to get to know each other, and to develop positive dynamics for the workplace.

Developing such relationships between staff will prevent resentment towards workloads from either staff group, while growing understanding between colleagues and the professional and personal challenges they may face.

​In the final article of this series, the importance of a parent-friendly culture and its positive impact on the workplace will be explored more in-depth.

Whether single, married, separated or divorced, all working parents deserve support from their workplaces during holiday season.

A recent survey found just 55% of working parents feel that they can ask for entitled annual leave during busy school holiday periods.

While SMEs can struggle to maintain performance with multiple employees on annual leave at the same time, effective planning and fostering of an inclusive culture will ensure school holiday periods are managed effectively.
 
SME School Holiday Challenges
Working parents juggle on a daily basis. From school runs to sports team try-outs, a child’s social schedule can be endless. On top of this, school holidays present a fresh challenge, as organisations face the task of giving parents time off, while ensuring company performance does not suffer.

School holidays cannot be avoided; give or take a few days, most working parents face the challenge of obtaining sought-after annual leave all at the same time.

While those with children are often prioritised, SMEs workplace environments can begin to foster a culture of resentment from childless employees, coupled with unnecessary guilt from working parents.
 
Impact on Workplace Wellbeing
Such a culture can damage a workplace and their employee wellness. Resentment from childless staff can cause a breakdown in dynamics between management, as well as fellow subordinate colleagues.

On the other hand, working parents may feel guilty to ask for annual leave during school holiday periods. This can result in a deterioration in their own workplace wellbeing and resentment towards poor management of holidays.

Ultimately, this culture of resentment and guilt can severely impact workplace relations, leading to higher staff turnover and a breakdown of organisation performance through loss of talent.
 
How Can Businesses Support Staff During School Holiday Season?
Working Mother recently published the “Top 100” companies for working mothers, with the top 10 featuring companies such as Deloitte and IBM. In this survey, it was identified that these top companies see childcare and working parental challenges as a joint venture between themselves and their colleagues.

Organisations like this raise the bar for their counterparts; SMEs, in particular, face the threat of losing staff to organisations that take working parents and the challenges that come with this sector seriously.

Annual leave is often considered a given, overlooked as nothing more than a simple holiday allowance. However, there are a number of ways organisations can improve their annual leave programme to boost morale, improve retention and support working parents.
 
Foster a Culture of Inclusivity
Businesses can learn to juggle school holiday season effectively by fostering a culture of inclusivity of working parents, as well as an understanding towards the resentment that can be felt by childless employees.

Workplaces can foster such a culture by ensuring that staff at all levels interact with each other. This could be through organising weekly meetings between different staff or departments, a staff night out, or even spontaneous coffee outings.

Such staff interaction can ensure that workplace dynamics are kept inclusive, establish greater understanding between colleagues and their personal situations, as well as prevent resentment from creeping in.

In turn, organisations can better understand how to support their colleagues during school holiday season.
 
Plan, Prioritise, Perform
Planning staff holidays well in advance will help organisations to satisfy employee needs, and prevent resentment growing between colleagues and towards management.  

By ensuring that effective cover is available, with equal skills, companies can support working parents while maintaining their success and performance as a business.

Prioritising tasks for employees who are about to go on annual leave should also be high on an organisation’s support agenda. Providing staff adequate time and space to plan, prioritise, delegate and deliver their workload leading up to their time off will ensure organisation performance is not affected.

Not only will this improve performance of cover staff, but a working parent will feel able to cope with their workload when they return.
 
Work Together with Working Parents
Working together with working parents is crucial for an organisation to retain talent, while ensuring effective performance regardless of time of year.

Businesses can improve relations with working parents by discussing how they can improve their annual leave programme to suit their needs.

An inclusive culture will eradicate unnecessary feelings of guilt often experienced by working parents when seeking annual leave during school holidays.

With many workplaces denying a carry-over of annual leave, this is critical. Organisations can ensure that all staff take their full holiday allowance, de-stigmatising this benefit, and improving employee wellbeing as a result.

Superior planning and management, alongside a ‘joint’ attitude will ensure organisations work together with working parents and tackle school holiday periods effectively.

The next article in this “ABC: Working Parents” series will explore how organisations can support working parents as they return to work.

Faced with an array of HR challenges, it can be easy for businesses to focus on areas other than senior leadership when seeking the source of an issue.
Absentee leaders have been highlighted as a detriment to a workforce, with employees criticising this type of leadership more so than other forms of poor management.
This article focuses on the impact that absentee leadership can have on an organisation, and how companies should avoid it.

What is an Absentee Leader?
In short, an absentee leader is in the office in body but not in mind or spirit.

A recent Forbes article described absentee leadership as ‘emotional disengagement’ with their role and purpose.
While this ‘leader’ may be present, their lack of guidance or advice to staff as a mentor and management figure can make a lasting impact on their team and company.

While troublesome staff members are often guilty of disciplinary-worthy actions, absentee leaders can often become detrimental for an organisation on a long-term basis.

Whether it’s frequently cancelled meetings, multiple unanswered emails or little to no feedback, a leader who maintains an absent attitude to their role, their staff and their organisation can leave a lasting impact.

How can Absentee Leaders Impact their Staff?
Just as absentee leaders project a poor attitude, fellow staff can become demotivated towards their work or their role within an organisation. By not receiving appropriate feedback, staff may struggle to imagine a future within an organisation.

Not only can their own staff become impacted, but fellow senior leaders may be forced to pick up an absentee leader’s workload. Other managers who may also be causing trouble in more obvious ways will be focused upon, allowing absentee leaders to continue their poor management, leading to consequences for an organisations in the future.

What about Organisational Impact?
Poor management from an absentee leader may take some time to impact an organisation, but the consequences can be bad news for any company.

With demotivated staff comes an unproductive organisation. The Workforce View in Europe 2018 found that absentee leaders were one of the worst causes of unproductivity for organisations.

As staff become disenchanted with an organisation and how it is managed, many may consider or follow through leaving. Not only will this result in a loss of talent, but a company could face significant skill shortages.

An organisation’s performance will also inevitably suffer. While some managers face criticism for ‘micromanaging’, absentee leaders can lead to a toxic reduction in an organisation and its standing with its publics.

How can Absentee Leaders ruin your Organisation?
Hogan Assessments CEO Scott Gregory has shed light on the top five ways that an absentee leader can affect, or even ruin an organisation.
With a simple infographic, the consequences of failing to deal with absentee leaderships are plain to see.

​If an absentee leader fails to ensure staff are certain of their role and purpose, this will affect organisational productivity in the near future. By failing to provide feedback, absentee leaders can cause uncertainty for staff on their own performance, and their responsibilities within their own roles.

Other ways in which an organisation may be ruined by absentee leadership is increased employee dissatisfaction and staff turnover. A lack of feedback or understanding can lead to demotivation. In turn, staff will seek career fulfilment elsewhere, affecting an organisation’s ability to retain talent and superior performance over competitors.
Absentee leaders can cause further stress for staff. As job dissatisfaction rises, staff burnout can become inevitable, affecting staff health as they tackle increasing workloads as a result of frequent staff turnover. 

What should you do about it?
Absentee leaders are clearly toxic for any organisation and its staff. If their own leadership is not engaged and ready to serve their purpose, other staff will become demotivated and follow suit. As job dissatisfaction increases, staff turnover will follow, leading to skills shortages and performance reduction.

Organisations should protect their own reputation amongst both internal and external publics. If an absentee leader is identified, an organisation should strive to understand why they disengaged in the first place and work to motivate this person towards their role and purpose with an organisation.

By taking a top down approach to this HR issue, organisations can ensure their success continues, and that all staff are certain and motivated towards their roles.

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