Introduction

I n Australia, in excess of two million small businesses employ around 4.8 million people and contribute 20 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP). Small-business owners take pride in the fact that their businesses contribute to the livelihood of Australian people and their families.

Unique to small business is the personal relationships that can develop between owner and the people they work alongside with to build the business. With that relationship comes great responsibility. My aim in writing this book is to share my knowledge and experience with small-business owners coming to grips with the difficult tasks of managing people — that is, human resource management, otherwise known as HR.

HR has often been seen as a ‘tick the boxes’ kind of activity. My view is that it’s really about building a healthy and productive working environment in which everyone prospers. The strategies that I cover in the book can enable you to encourage your staff to create that prosperous future with you and for your small business. Along that path, as with any relationship, challenges and personal difficulties will need to be overcome. I provide you with the knowledge and the tools to apply effective solutions.

About This Book

This book doesn’t offer a psychological analysis of the characteristics of a successful employment relationship. Instead, HR for Small Business For Dummies offers you, the small-business owner and employer, a simple and honest explanation of the rules and regulations that attach themselves to each and every phase of the employment relationship.

Thinking about the employment relationship as you would any other relationship in your life can open your mind to the possibilities and free you from the dread of learning boring and complex legal jargon and suffocating regulations. Most individuals understand that taking a risk on personal relationships and falling short is better than not trying at all. Small-business owners understand this principle better than most people.

Entering into an employment relationship is a risk but it offers the potential for wonderful results. Learning, understanding and meeting the challenges proffered by the rules that regulate every phase of the life of employment relationships will ultimately enable you to succeed. That is the aim of this book.

Throughout the chapters, I provide an overview of the Australian laws regulating how people must be employed, rewarded, nurtured and sometimes removed from small businesses. I explain the key elements of this regulatory framework at each and every phase of the employment relationship, and provide case studies, checklists and plenty of tips on how best to meet the challenges of satisfying the regulators, the employee and, importantly, you.

Foolish Assumptions

I know that small businesses operate in all sorts of industries and cover many occupations, trades and professions. I can’t address every trait, nuance or idiosyncrasy peculiar to every Australian small business. However, I have assumed for purposes of brevity, certainty and simplicity that small business share particular characteristics and, therefore, tailored the topics and advice to suit those shared characteristics. For example, the employment relationships are personal, the future sometimes uncertain, cash flow critical, and government regulation a burden — but our ambitions are always exciting and success is always within our grasp.

This book isn’t a substitute for specific legal advice that may be useful or necessary in particular circumstances. Therefore, I’ve also assumed that everyone who reads this book is smart enough to understand that they can only rely on its wisdom to guide rather than advise.

Icons Used in This Book

Throughout this book, you can find friendly and useful icons that help you note specific types of information. Here’s what each icon means.

This icon highlights free resources, templates and sample work procedures and policies you can find online for free download at www.dummies.com/go/hrsmallbusinessau.

This icon flags concepts and facts that you should keep in mind as you hire, work with and (perhaps) dismiss staff.

Included with this icon are more complex examples and interesting technical stuff that you may want to read to become even more familiar with the topic.

This icon points out something that can save you time, headaches, money or all of the above!

Here I’m directing you away from blunders and errors that could land you in trouble with employee or government bodies, or both.

Beyond the Book

In addition to the material in the print or ebook you’re reading right now, HR for Small Business For Dummies also comes with some access-anywhere resources on the internet. Check out the free Cheat Sheet at www.dummies.com/cheatsheet/hrsmallbusinessau for some quick, helpful tips. For free extra companion material, such as articles, visit www.dummies.com/extras/hrsmallbusinessau. Also check out www.dummies.com/go/hrsmallbusinessau for free online resources and templates.

Where to Go from Here

You don’t have to read HR for Small Business For Dummies from cover to cover before you start organising your human resource management systems, policies and procedures. This book (like all For Dummies books) is written in modular fashion, with each chapter pretty much standing on its own.

Feel free to look over the table of contents so you can skip around to the topics that interest you most. I often direct you to other sections of the book that expand on a given subject or that give you more tips or information about the topic at hand.

For starters, I suggest that you read through Chapter 1 to get a quick overview of the major topics contained in this book — it’s short, but it gives you an outline of everything so you can figure out what you want to read about next.

Part I of the book gives you every hint and suggestion on how to approach the question of whether to employ staff and, if so, how to go about it. Focus on this part first if you need some help with the reasons you may wish to employ as well as the rules that impinge on your ‘right’ to employ.

Need some help with the elements of the employment contract, the decisions on forms of employment, the national minimum standards of employment, the hidden costs of employing a person and how to invest early in the person you employ to provide the best chance of success? Head straight to Part II.

Don’t know what comes next after employing a person? Flick to Part III, where I explain the importance of setting, measuring and rewarding the right performance standards; how you should apply well-structured probationary employment to see if the relationship is going to last; and set in place procedures to ride the inevitable highs and lows that occur in employment relationships including those between employees. I also show how to work out how much to pay staff and how best to reward them so that you get a really good return for your small business.

Head to Part IV for information on the complex world of anti-discrimination laws and bullying complaints, how they can impact on your business and how best to address the challenges wrought by the operation of the law. If you need help with health and safety, and return to work plans, I provide everything you need to know in Part V. And Part VI is where you should head if you need information on ending the employment relationship.

Whatever you choose to read first, enjoy it — and, more importantly, implement it!