Small Businesses have to struggle through some serious hardships on their road to success. This is especially true for the smallest of the small businesses due to their small staff, small budget, and their small margin for error. Oftentimes these tiny, tight-knit staffs have only themselves and the owner or manager to hold their actions, words and decisions accountable.
In those specific small business cases, navigating through tension can be extremely difficult. Perhaps the owner is too personally wrapped up in the business, but someone with the management experience wants to offer advice. Or maybe a conflict has erupted over two co-workers and the whole staff is on edge.
Yet, when it comes to budgeting a small business, all too often an internal HR department is considered a luxury not worth creating during the initial years. Managers or owners will instead step in by default, but they might not have the knowledge or education needed to properly deal with these tough situations.
When anxiety and stress run high, how can small business employees navigate without the help and guidance of an HR department? Here are some tips to get employees and their managers through tough times.
1. Practice Conflict Resolution
One of the best aspects of having a human resource department is the ability to delegate some of the more difficult tasks that they are trained to handle. As Washington State University explains, this includes tasks such as choosing the right hire out of a pool of applicants, firing or laying off employees, or dealing with internal conflict. However, in the situation where an HR manager is not an option, the head of the business is often left doing some of the toughest jobs.
Employees might struggle with the owner or manager – someone with biased interest in the business – sorting out internal conflicts. However there are ways employees can prepare themselves for resolving tough issues.
When it comes to general conflict resolution using emotional intelligence can be surprisingly powerful. Emotional intelligence (EQ) is defined as the ability to control your own emotions and the ability to determine and navigate through the emotions of others. People with a heightened EQ can not only settle a situation with a level head, but can calm down their cohorts without causing offense or guilt. EQ is considered to be more influential in business than IQ, so finding a way to hone your EQ skills will not only benefit your personal life, but the business as well.
When the conflict is caused by the owner or manager, use some of these suggestions to determine the best way to resolve the issue.
2. Create a Strong No-Tolerance Policy for Harassment or Discrimination
Certain conflicts in business must be handled by the owner or manager. Those cases normally revolve around harassment or discrimination, and can hurt the employees as well as the business’ reputation.
The best possible option for small businesses is to create a zero-tolerance policy around discrimination and harassment. For employees, it’s best to bring complaints immediately to the attention of a manager or owner. When an issue arises, the person in charge should address the perpetrator immediately. Brushing off even the smallest of complaints can result in lack of trust from employees and can result in escalation of the offense.
To create a true no-tolerance environment, the entire staff has to on board with the company’s stance on these offenses. However, if the owner has a past of not addressing complaints seriously, employees do have the option of contacting the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission if the issue revolves around discrimination and the business has more than 15 employees.
3. Delegate HR Responsibilities
Owners and managers already have a lot on their plate when it comes to running the small business – from finances and payroll to whatever else they need to do to stay compliant and “in the green.” Adding on the responsibilities of an HR professional might be cause for a stress overload.
However, managers don’t have to be the only people in charge of HR duties in a small business. Some of the smaller, less influential tasks can easily be delegated to staff members that have the experience, and larger, more impactful tasks can be externally outsourced. HR outsourcing is a growing industry in our ever-evolving business environment, and can help many small businesses stay within state and federal legal requirements. Knowing when to outsource can be tricky, as noted by the Small Business Centre with Intuit, but can be extremely beneficial for businesses that can afford the option.
As for the smaller tasks, find a way to integrate them into the business’ daily chores and offer up suggestions to the owner. For example, one small business in Boise, ID has created a solid team effort when it comes to hiring new employees. Rediscovered Books begins their hiring process with the owners asking questions and checking credentials, but the rest of the staff on hand is also asked to join the interview and ask their own sets of questions. This allows the business to not only hire for competency, but for business culture as well.
[Related: For a small business looking to compete for great talent against larger competitors, you don’t need a big budget. What you do need is a great employer brand. To learn more, read our eBook, The Definitive Guide to Small Business Recruiting on Glassdoor]
4. Facilitate a Positive Environment
One of the most common mistakes in management is forgetting that managers hold all the cards. Whether or not managers intend to come off as intimidating doesn’t matter: employees will most likely be intimidated by the balance of power.
Because of this, managers have to model proper behavior so as to not discourage people from speaking up, asking questions, or voicing apprehensions. Hostility results in increased turnover and a disruption in the communication between employees.
As the University of Alabama’s Collat School of Business discusses, “Part of good management is nurturing a psychologically safe environment to encourage these meaningful interactions,” and without an HR department, employees don’t have a support system for providing feedback to their boss.
Instead, if you are a boss, offer up time for feedback on your performance. Make sure you are creating and maintaining a positive and trustworthy space as an employer.
If you’re an employee and your manager is neglecting the positive environment you deserve, mention it to them. Let them know that they hold a lot of power in their position and you don’t feel comfortable addressing your concerns. This might be hard to accomplish, but managers in these situations do not have a way to evaluate their own work. They rely on the word of mouth from their peers and employers to make adjustments to their performance.
Conclusion
Running a small business is no easy task, and running a successful business without the help of an HR department is impressive. However, everyone makes mistakes. Fixing them and keeping the business’ best interests in mind can be a difficult job for an overburdened business owner, but employees can help ease the burden. Be sure to recall these tips if ever you find your business in an HR pickle.
About the author:
Katie McBeth is a freelance writer out of Boise, ID, with experience in marketing for small businesses and management. She spends her free time being the mother of three cats and a dog named Toby. You can follow her animal and writing adventures on Instagram or Twitter: @ktmcbeth.
