How to generate higher levels of engagement from your employees

Your people are what makes your business successful, Metro HR services are designed to help you ensure that they are being as effective as they can be.

We offer a free 30-mintue consultation to new clients, so please call 01798 890021 if you need advice on any HR issues.

Recruiting well

Recruiting the right people for your business is extremely important to get right and it can take up a lot of time.

Outsourcing recruiting to Metro HR will maximise your chances of attracting the most talented personnel, while also ensuring you stay legally compliant.

Whether it is taking on your first employee or ongoing recruitment activities, our recruitment services are personalised to your business. We will help you employ people with the right skills and attitude that will best fit your company culture.

Our consultants can help you with every stage of the recruitment process including writing job descriptions, initial screening, shortlisting, psychometric testing/skills assessments, interviewing and offering. The rewards of getting recruitment right are huge, as can be the costs of getting it wrong.

Advice, guidance & mentoring

Guiding and mentoring is a very effective way to help your business develop and retain talented employees.

We provide expert HR advice and guidance to business leaders and management teams, on how to ensure situations run smoothly and are handled legally and correctly using best practices. Metro HR will guide you through situations, showing you how to handle them effectively to get the best outcomes for your business.

Guiding and mentoring offers those managing a situation in-house an opportunity for them to talk about issues they are facing and gain advice or a new perspective from someone more experienced. It is one of the most powerful tools for development and change available. Metro HR’s highly experienced team can provide, coaching and mentoring for individuals transitioning into a management role or supporting managers through handling any HR situation such as corporate restructuring, grievance, disciplinaries, sickness absence etc.

Handling difficult conversations

Occasionally in business difficult situations occur which need to be dealt with carefully.

You may have an employee who is consistently underperforming or who is causing disruption and impacting negatively on your teams’ output. It may be a daunting task, but using our vast experience we can steer you through the best way to explore the situation and settle the issue effectively ensuring that you do it respectfully, fairly and in line with all legal employment requirements.

Improving poor performance

Regardless of how well you manage your team, there will be times when either a single employee or a group of employees may start to underperform. 

When there is a mismatch between employee capability and their performance or output, it can cause problems for other colleagues and productivity in the workplace. Very few people will intentionally make mistakes, miss deadlines or purposely engage poorly with teammates, but it is important to address any issues before they escalate.

Metro HR can advise you on appropriate action, examine the circumstances and support you through any solutions to improve competence. We can help you set up or update a performance management and review system based on meaningful and constructive feedback to reflect your company values and set measurable goals. Our consultants can guide you or your managers on how to implement the scheme, agree objectives, review action plans and provide appropriate feedback in regular and meaningful conversations.

Managing ongoing absence

Ongoing short-term absences can be highly disruptive and extremely unfair on other employees who are burdened with the extra work.

It can also be stressful for the person who is poorly and worried about putting pressure on their colleagues. Of course, most absences are for genuine reasons and someone coming to work unwell is counter-productive and could make others unwell. However, it is important to manage absence effectively before a negative culture develops.

Metro HR can help you create a robust and objective absence management approach that supports your employees when they are unwell and protects your organisation from costly exploitation. Our HR consultants will recommend how to monitor and manage absence, encompassing the legal aspects of dealing with short term persistent absence and unauthorised absences. We can also help you to deal with long-term employee absence by guiding you through how to support them during their absence. Working with Occupational Health Advisors/Doctors to manage and plan their return to work, either as a phased return or with appropriate reasonable adjustments.  Where an employee’s return to their role is not advisable we can also work with you to determine all other options.

Grievances & disciplinaries

Unfortunately, there will be times when an employee wishes to raise concerns or complaints over their employment and how they feel they have been treated by a colleague, manager or how they have been affected by decisions made in the business, known as a ‘Grievance’ which would be dealt with under a grievance process.

There will also be times when the conduct of an employee within your organisation is questionable, concerning and steps outside of the values of the business and the expected standards of behavior. Disciplinary issues can be minor infringements or a matter could be deemed to be gross misconduct which can result in dismissal without notice.

In both of these situations a thorough investigation  must be undertaken and a disciplinary or grievance hearing held with the employee prior to any further action/sanction is taken – even gross misconduct. We know how time-consuming and disruptive grievances and disciplinaries can be to your business and in complex cases the two can run side by side. In many cases business leaders and those involved find these situations stressful, upsetting and challenging.

Metro HR can make sure you have comprehensive and robust disciplinary and grievance policies and procedures in place which can protect your organisation. We can set clear parameters and expectations on how situations will be handled and save time in resolving matters effectively. Our HR consultants can help you through every stage, from devising policies, initial investigation, to holding investigatory meetings and hearings and implementing follow-up measures and actions. With our expert knowledge of managing all sorts of grievance and disciplinary situations and current employment legislation, we can help take some of the stress and worry out of the situation for you and help you find a resolution that works for your business and ensures you are legally compliant.

Managing exits

Losing good people can set your organisation back but it is inevitable.

Understanding why employees are choosing to leave your business is important, especially if you have got a high turnover of employees. By holding exit interviews you may learn of opportunities to make changes that could save you losing other employees in the future.

Metro HR can help you get honest answers. We can write the questions, guide you through conducting the interviews, review the notes and make recommendations for practical actions to be taken as a result. In difficult or more senior exits we can carry out the interviews for you and provide the notes and recommendations. We can also help you create a leaver’s checklist that is personalised to your business, to ensure that all relevant and important handovers are carried out and that employees are clear of their obligations in terms of confidentiality, data protection and post termination restrictions (restricted covenants).

Promoting employee wellbeing

The healthier and happier your employees are the more productive they will be in your business.

Demonstrating to your employees that you are committed to their physical and psychological wellbeing and maintaining a good work life balance is not only an employer obligation but a real winner in maintaining staff loyalty when done well. With one in six workers in the UK currently experiencing stress, anxiety or depression, it is important to provide an appropriate and supportive work environment.

Metro HR can give you expert guidance to ensure the initiatives and measure you provide to your employees are relevant, compliant and effective but also supportive. We can work with you to find options to suit your company size and budget. Where health is having a detrimental effect on a person’s work, it is within the interests of your business to offer access to support services.

Get in Touch

Please feel free to contact us or leave a message

Phone01798 890 021Email[email protected]

Get Advice Now

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Responsive site designed and developed by