Fair pay is essential to foster lasting success and growth within your company. When employees are compensated equitably for their contributions, you will spark a sense of motivation and commitment within your teams. This builds trust and loyalty between your workforce and organisation. Fair pay can be more than just a financial transaction – you can leverage it to create a thriving environment where the individuals and the company flourish together.

The link between fair pay, retention, and growth isn’t just anecdotal – it’s backed by data. Studies consistently reveal that companies prioritising fair compensation outperform their peers in terms of revenue growth and profitability. A motivated, committed, and stable workforce fuels innovation, customer satisfaction, and ultimately, the bottom line.

Fair compensation practices don’t just impact the internal dynamics but also shape the company’s external image. Demonstrating commitment to fair pay creates a positive reputation, attracting top-tier talent in a competitive job market. It also nurtures a culture of trust between employers and employees, creating stronger long-term relationships.

More often than not, companies aren’t paying unfairly on purpose. It is a byproduct of neglecting salary research and reviews within their people management process. However, we recognise that it is challenging to exactly define what constitutes fair pay. Some considerations include:

• Job responsibilities and skills
• Salaries internally for similar roles
• Market conditions
• Company size and industry
• Geographic location
• Experience and seniority
• Other benefits within the package

It usually happens one of two ways when an employer finds themselves with inequitable pay in their business.

1. They are hiring in line with industry standards or based on the individual’s last role but aren’t reviewing existing staff to keep them at this rate.
2. They are hiring at the rate of their existing staff, but these aren’t being brought in line with industry standards.

Every business feels the effect of inflation and other economic pressures. So do their teams. Salaries should be reviewed regularly and increased in line with external factors to keep staff on a like-for-like pay scale. Creating pay bands is also a fair and objective way of ensuring salaries align with the role and means that people have an opportunity to develop and grow in their current position, without having to look to the next promotion as a key milestone for a pay increase.

Increasing your teams pay may seem like a cost to your business, but the long-term benefits usually outweigh the initial sting. When employees feel that their compensation aligns with their responsibilities and the market standards, they are less likely to seek opportunities elsewhere. This reduction in turnover translates to substantial cost savings associated with recruitment, onboarding, and training, while also nurturing a stable and experienced workforce.

As priorities amongst candidates continue to evolve, the spotlight on pay equity will remain crucial. Organisations that prioritise fair compensation, diversity, and inclusion are better positioned to create an environment that fosters innovation, collaboration, and sustainable success. It’s an ongoing journey that requires vigilance, self-assessment, and a commitment to creating workplaces that reflect our highest values.

Need help making sure your salaries are working for your team as well as your business? Get in touch today at [email protected].

Written by Charlene Craig

One of the most effective methods for hiring critical hires is the ghSMART “Who” method. The “Who” method is a structured interview process that focuses on identifying the candidate’s character and fit for the role. The method is based on the idea that the best predictor of future performance is past behaviour. It has a 90% success rate. 

The “Who” method consists of five steps: 

• The Screening Interview: This is a brief phone interview to assess the candidate’s basic qualifications. 
• The Who Interview: This is a detailed interview that focuses on the candidate’s character and fit for the role. The interviewer asks the candidate questions about their past experiences, challenges, and successes. 
• The Focused Interview: This interview is designed to gather additional information about the candidate’s skills and experience. 
• The Reference Check: This is a check of the candidate’s references to verify their qualifications and character. 
• The Skill-Will Bull’s-Eye: This is a final assessment of the candidate’s skills and will to succeed in the role. 

By following this method, you can increase your chances of finding the right person for the job and avoid making costly mistakes. 

Here are some additional tips for using the ghSMART “Who” method: 

• Be prepared: Before you conduct the interview, take some time to learn about the candidate’s background and experience. This will help you to ask more informed questions. 
• Be objective: Avoid making hiring decisions based on gut feeling or personal bias. Use the “Who” method to assess the candidate’s true fit for the role. 
• Give candidates feedback: Whether you decide to hire the candidate or not, it is important to give them feedback on their interview performance. This will help them to improve their interviewing skills and increase their chances of getting hired in the future. 

If you’d like to partner with a business that can do all the above and more, we can help. Get in touch for a free consultation at [email protected]. 

Written by Michael Hewitt

Hiring isn’t easy. It’s time intensive, but it’s high-value work. If you spend the time to hire the right people, your business will grow.

I am not professing to be a business guru, but I have been exposed to enough podcasts, books, and real-life experiences to form an opinion.

The leaders who have hiring on their priority list, who give HR and recruitment a seat at the table, are the ones who grow most sustainably.

Businesses often stop at ‘it’s hard to hire’ and don’t dig much deeper into how these skill shortages impact their business – not just from a retention standpoint, but also from an output, profitability, and growth perspective.

The Open University recently released the results of an NI business survey. It noted that 83% of organisations agree they are currently facing skills shortages.

The survey went on to show that 75% of organisations found that these skills shortages had caused an increase in workload for other staff. This increased pressure on your existing teams creates a vicious circle – you lose a key player, pressure increases on the existing team, they become unhappy and leave, and you’re left with an even bigger gap in your talent pool. And so, it continues. 

If your team members are consistently under extra pressure without reward or recognition, they will inevitably seek a role that pays them their worth. It exacerbates the challenges with recruitment because it means that instead of hiring for growth, you’ll be hiring to replace lost talent.

More worryingly, the survey also found that 82% of businesses had experienced reduced output, profitability, or growth. Of course, this is not all because of the skills shortage – inflation is also a contributory factor. The cost of business is going up, so it’s normal for this to impact your bottom line. But while it can’t all be attributed to the skills shortage, it does have a big part to play. When you don’t have a team with the right skills, it takes a lot longer to get a lot less done, having a knock-on effect on your profit and output. 

These stats highlight that it is more important than ever for businesses to start managing their talent effectively if they hope to grow. Businesses need to be intentional in how they are forecasting, attracting, and retaining their talent.

The first step in tackling these issues would be diagnosing any existing challenges through stay interviews or similar techniques and starting to map your existing talent to identify skills gaps. These exercises will give you a real-time view of the situation, allowing you to deal with these problems before it is too late. 

Once you are clear on your current position, it is time to review your employer brand. How do you attract the best talent to join your business? What is your market reputation? What makes you different from other employers? Speaking with people who have interviewed or been offered roles but have not taken them is a good starting point – their feedback will help you build a deeper understanding of the perception of your business.

By looking both inwards and outwards, you build a picture of where the challenges lie in attracting and retaining the skills your business needs to succeed. However, it is worth noting that even once you have identified areas you could improve, there is no overnight fix – it takes time to establish trust within your teams and the wider market, but those businesses that have adopted this approach earlier in the game, are the ones who are reaping the benefits in a tight talent market. 

Tackling the skills shortage

It’s a bit of a juggling act and does require investment, but there are some ways to mitigate the impact of skills shortages on your business:

• Develop your talent – while this takes time, it will pay dividends in the long run.
• Hire talent externally to fill the gaps – it’s easier said than done.

Addressing the pressures on your team

The main way to overcome this is by being proactive with succession planning, rewards, and recognition. Make sure your team feel like they are rewarded fairly and conduct “stay interviews” to ensure you have your finger on the pulse.

Protecting against reduced output, growth & profitability.

Having the right people, in the right seats, at the right time will help mitigate this. Businesses are all about teams – if you build a high-performing team with talented individuals with the required skills, experience, and behaviours, your business can buck the trend and grow.  

If you’d like some help with diagnostics, improvement plans or general recruitment & development of talent, get in touch for a no-obligation chat with one of our consultants.

Written by Michael Hewitt

I try to be a good employee. I care if my work is meeting expectations and I care that I am making an impact. And to be honest, I think that I do ok at it. I am by no means the best, and I still have a lot of learning to do, but I think for a gal who started working straight after her A-levels, I have done alright in my nearly decade-long career. 

I will admit, I am lucky and have always worked for companies that provided me with opportunities to grow. Even back in my first job, 18 and on the phones in a contact centre, I ended up managing a team of inbound sales advisors. Please don’t mistake this as some sort of not-so-subtle brag, because I was absolutely awful at this job. But it definitely taught me something about leadership – maybe even more now when I reflect as a slightly more grown-up version of myself. 

Even more lucky than that, I don’t think I have ever had a bad manager. I have worked with really great people. People who not only invested time in my development but brought me along with them and provided the space to really learn how to do the job well. Did we disagree at times? Of course. Maybe even p**s each other off a bit? I’d say almost certainly. But all in all, their support has been invaluable to my growth and I can honestly say I wouldn’t be where I am without them.  

So, across all these managers, what shared traits did they have? What did they do that made them so great? What about them helped keep me motivated and driven to do well? 

Trusting

This is probably one of the biggest things for me. Just trust people to get stuff done, and deal with those who aren’t. And when I say deal with, I do not mean reprimand – you need to support these people and get them to a place where they have the confidence to own their role. 

Trust goes both ways, so trusting them will help them trust you. And when your team have faith in you as a leader, you will get a hell of a lot more out of them. They will be more open with their ideas, collaborate with you to find solutions that work for everyone, and be motivated to work toward an overall goal. It also means they will be more open about their mistakes or challenges, helping you to solve these problems before they become a real threat to your business. 

Honest

Being honest is quite closely tied to trust, but I think it deserves its own section. Let’s be real – we can all tell when someone isn’t being 100% truthful. So trust me, you may think you’re being subtle, but there are raised eyebrows throughout your team when you say something a bit off. I know that sometimes certain topics can’t be discussed however, if you have established an honest and open relationship with your team, they will 100% understand that. It’s about saying what you mean (and doing what you say), admitting when you don’t know something or if you were wrong, giving honest feedback (good or bad), and sometimes just sympathising when things are a bit rubbish. 

Humble 

You are just a person – like every single one of your team. You may have a fantastic education or a stellar work history, but when push comes to shove, we are all just here to do a job. 

The best leaders are the ones who are ready and willing to help. The ones who acknowledge their teams’ contribution and don’t treat them like their underlings. It’s worth remembering that every cog has a place in the machine, and no matter how great you are, you would not be much of a leader without a team to follow you. 

Some people are quick to blame their teams when things go wrong, and even quicker to take the credit when they go right. Treat people how you expect to be treated – and don’t be afraid to get your hands dirty now and again!

While there may not be a one-size-fits-all approach to great leadership, these qualities form (in my opinion) the bedrock of strong leadership, regardless of the sector or industry. As you continue to grow and lead, embrace these qualities, stay open to learning, and cultivate a supportive and empowering environment for your team. By doing this, you will undoubtedly inspire and impact others, just as my managers have done for me throughout my career.

Written by Natasha Agnew