Whether you employ five people or 50, in order to attract and retain the best staff you will need a robust HR Strategy. It doesn’t have to be complex, here are the five things SMEs should include in an HR strategy.

1. Employee satisfaction

Make sure you consider how you will measure this (for example, you could look into conducting staff surveys). What mechanisms you will put in place to increase your employee satisfaction levels? These could include continuous performance reviews or appraisals to employee benefits and perks. This should be reflected throughout your HR strategy.

2. Training and development

Include a comprehensive plan within your HR strategy that clearly outlines how you will train and develop every member of staff. Set aside a training budget that takes into account the varying needs of your employees and levels of seniority. Take a look at our guide to setting up a training plan.

3. What is right for your business, proactive or reactive HR?

Consider whether you want to deal with HR challenges as and when they happen, or whether you need to anticipate and plan for organisational change. This will vary depending on the nature of your business, but often a combined HR strategy is a good idea to give you peace of mind.

4. Good recruitment

Get the right tools in place to ensure you recruit effectively and follow the correct processes. Getting this right from the very beginning will ensure you recruit the very best people. Don’t go it alone, there are various options open to you from getting external HR consultants (like Bespoke HR) to help or using specialist recruitment agencies who can vet applications, leaving you to get on with your business (here’s our guide to working with recruitment agencies).

5. Work flexibility

It’s important to allow your employees to work flexibly. As of April 2024, employers can now request flexible working from their first day of employment, so it’s more important than ever to have a flexible working policy in place. Incorporate this into your company culture and within your HR strategy. ]

These are just the essential five things SMEs should include in an HR strategy. For more advice or to find out more about how you can work with us at Bespoke HR, download our sales brochure and pricing here.