Important to note
Effective management of employees involves a delicate balance between enhancing labor productivity and maintaining staff well-being.
This is even more important for a small business where proverbial cogs in the wheel are few and therefore malfunction in one is felt relatively intensely by the entire system.
Below is a list of strategies that entrepreneurs in Kenya can use to improve their human resource operations so that their small business runs like a well-oiled machine.
Structure
For starters, there must be clear organizational structure.
Each employee must have their role well-defined, as well as what is expected of them. This will enhance productivity through greater individual accountability.
There should also be a well laid-out document stipulating the code of conduct and standard operating procedures within the business. This will provide clarity of action as various matters arise during operations.
Channels of communication should also be clearly defined and well maintained.
For instance, each employee should know whom to report their concerns and assignments to. They should also be confident that any concerns raised will be adequately responded to.
Likewise, senior staff should be able to easily pass down instructions and be sure that they will be well understood and adopted.
Other Recommendations
These are mostly automated solutions to common human resource problems:
- POS System- Most businesses only use Point of Sale software to conduct electronic transactions but they can also be used to enhance employee productivity. How?
- The name of the conducting employee can be linked to each wireless sale. This way, sales targets can be assigned and performance reviews can easily be conducted.
- Learn more about how small businesses in Kenya can maximally benefit from POS systems, on this blog article.
- Automated Payrolls- Kenyan payroll software like SunLax and Praxima automatically process employee payrolls. This ensures the timely and accurate remuneration of staff.
- They also generate corresponding iTax, NHIF and NSSF reports for easier compliance.
- Automated Scheduling- Employee scheduling software allow businesses to effectively and conveniently generate and coordinate work shifts, leaves and other timelines for maximum productivity.
- This way business operations can keep running as much as possible, while workers are still allocated appropriate times for rest.
- Online Training Courses- In a fast-changing world, acquiring new skills is always useful. Furthermore, small businesses with relatively few employees usually require some level of multi-tasking.
- For these reasons, regular training of staff is an important investment.
- It however need not be expensive as there exist many platforms such as Coursera and Fuzu which offer free online courses such as financial accounting, social media marketing and communication skills.
- Small businesses in Kenya can therefore advance and polish their employees’ skills on a regular, affordable basis.
We welcome you to read our blog article for further information on automation of different business processes.
Conclusion
We hope you’ve realized that effective employee management need not be a daunting task. With the right set of strategies, any small business can achieve this goal.