Five Common Mistakes Small Business Owners Should Avoid

Running a small business may be very satisfying, but it also requires a lot of precision on your part. As the leader, you may have to manage various aspects of the business on your own. From handling the recruitment to taking care of HR compliance, you have a lot on your plate. While all this is very challenging, you must ensure the errors on your part are minimized as much as possible.

Take a look at this article to know more about the common HR mistakes small business owners make and how you can avoid them.

1. Improper HR compliance:
   HR compliance is a method of charting out guidelines for proper behaviours of the individual as well as the groups. It also involves the implementation of state-defined laws and policies after they are understood clearly by everyone in the organisation.
   Thus, is of utmost importance. But small business owners often fail to carry these out properly, leading to labour, production and legal issues. To avoid this, maintain an employee handbook that clearly states all the laws and guidelines related to HR compliance. Make sure your employees read and sign the book. This will prevent any discrepancies and allegations later on. You too, on your part, should understand and follow the rules efficiently.
2. Improper performance records
   Unless you maintain a proper account of the records, you will not be able to justify appraisals, terminations, etc. Let us understand this with an illustration. Robin, who works in the accounts department, single-handedly prepared a project which was presented to a client. A large order was bagged thereafter. Robin put in extra hours and worked on weekends mainly because his colleague Jimmy, who was also assigned the job, went on frequent leaves at the time and had practically no contribution to the project. At the time of the appraisal, Robin was given a better rating than Jimmy. Since it was all documented and recorded, there was no scope for discussions or arguments and Jimmy accepted the rating he received. If there was no record, it could have led to bitterness, something that is quite common.
   If you have the performance records at your dispersal, you can easily justify your actions if there is a dispute. All praiseworthy performances, as well as the blameworthy incidents, need to be recorded as soon as they take place.
3. Flawed hiring process
   In your hurry to fill a position, you may quickly hire someone without following the proper background check, selection procedure, etc. This is a mistake that needs to be avoided by all small business owners like you. Unless you invest your time and effort in hiring suitable people to fill vacancies in your firm, you won't get the desired levels of productivity.
4. Improper training of employees

  in all areas, including their work, HR guidelines, work ethics, company policies, etc. is one of the most important things the small business owners need to do. Training is an ongoing process and is not limited to just one session of orientation as soon as the employee is hired. Avoid this mistake by arranging training and workshops regularly to enhance the skills and knowledge of your workforce.

1. Taking on too many responsibilities -
   As the owner of the business, you may feel you are able enough to complete all the responsibilities single-handedly. This is another mistake that you need to stop making. It is not possible for you to do everything on your own. Hire managers who can work under your guidance. Else, outsource a few jobs. Once you begin to delegate, everything falls in place and your business begins to flourish.

Keep these points in mind and try not to make these common mistakes. As a small business owner, you put your heart and soul into your work. However, these errors hold you back and hamper your profits. Now that you know about them, be cautious and you will surely be able to avoid them and see better progress in your business.