3 Things Business Owners Commonly Overlook In Key Areas Of An Organisation
The COVID-19 pandemic has been particularly cruel on small businesses with the financial effects for some nothing short of eye-watering. If you’re trying to do all you can to protect your company from further trouble in 2021, then be sure not to overlook the small things in key areas of your organisation. Here are a handful of things that business owners commonly overlook.
1. Staffing & Recruitment
If you’ve got plans to grow your business, then make sure the staff you already have on the books are in order before starting your recruitment process. Employment law stipulates that if you are looking to impose mass lay-offs or to close one of your sites in a particular area that employees are entitled to 60 days notice and the time to readjust their finances, seek other employment or alternatively retrain and upskill to make up for their shortcomings. When recruiting, if a disabled applicant is fully qualified for the position you are hiring for, then that person cannot be denied the job on their disability, employers must reasonably accommodate them if they are the most qualified candidate for the job.
2. I.T. & Cybersecurity
Cybersecurity is one of the most common things that is overlooked by business owners who don’t see how or why their business would be vulnerable or targeted by hackers. The fact is, every business is susceptible to a cybersecurity breach and in the event of such, you could find yourself in serious trouble. Don’t neglect the need for reliable security for your I.T. systems and work closely with your I.T. Manager to implement a system that will ensure your business is protected from any potential hackers of malware. A breach could lead to mass disruption for your firm and result in personal information being leaked, or business intellectual property made public, which is not ideal if you work in a niche industry as market-leaders.
3. Logistics & Compliance
When thinking about logistics for your small business, one of the key things people overlook is compliance with the various regulations and laws that accompany being an HGV driver. For example, in the UK you can be fined up to £5,000 for being without a tachograph card – a type of documentation used to track the hours HGV drivers spend behind the wheel, ensuring they take the legally required and regulated breaks from driving. It is the individual driver in question’s responsibility to have a tachograph card on them, so be sure to stress this with your employees to avoid any of them winding up in trouble as this system was also recently introduced into the United States a few years back. Some drivers have even landed up in prison over this sort of dispute as it is taken very seriously by the authorities – so be wary.
Hopefully, this article has reminded you as a business owner of some of the key things you must not overlook to ensure your business is both protected, compliant and, ultimately, successful.
