It can seem daunting but having an operation in the background to support and manage the firm through the process, from the point of recruitment up until that employee might leave the business, can deliver the extra confidence to allow the business to take that next step
David Gilman is partner in charge of Blacks Connect
Running your own business is often a delicate operation whereby even the smallest of risks needs to be treated on its own merits and there needs to be an ongoing and clear understanding of SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats). This can be even more pivotal if you are a one-man band or a particularly small firm that perhaps wants to expand in a variety of areas but is also conscious of the potential for the market to bite back.
Looking at the intermediary mortgage market landscape at the moment, there seems to be a lot of positives to focus on. Broker confidence is strong according to the latest statistics, the intermediary sector is in a dominant position, demand for loans is also quite clearly up, although we are only too acutely aware this is nowhere near matched by supply of either new builds or property coming to market. However, overall, there does appear to be cause for optimism and within this environment, one can clearly understand why smaller firms might be sensing the opportunities that exist and would want to take advantage of them.
Yet, acknowledging the areas where growth can be achieved, and being able to capitalise on them, is another thing entirely. Indeed, any advisory practice that existed pre-Credit Crunch, worked through the crisis and recession, and came out the other side will be wary of any future short, sharp shocks which could derail plans. You do not need a long memory in this business to understand how quickly things can slip away, and I suspect many firms will still be working with the cloth they cut accordingly six/seven years ago.
There is nothing wrong with this of course but opportunities can often close quickly – the big question is, especially if you are self-employed or a smaller firm, how to develop in order to take advantage? While some firms will be able to do it themselves, others will need to expand, which is likely to mean more staff focused on differing areas. However, this needs its own focus, for example, on all the rights and responsibilities that come with employing people and the HR requirements that will need to be met. If you’re a one-man band this will no longer be about looking after your own needs but ensuring you are working correctly across, for example, terms and conditions, contracts, pay, holiday entitlement, pensions, taxation, NI contributions, etc. The list goes on.
And this can be a major reason why firms are reluctant to add bums on seats – it can be perceived as a major hassle even if the rewards can be significant. This is why a number of legal firms, like ourselves, offer (in our case) what we call Blacks Protect. Over a yearly contract, with monthly payments, firms can not only have all their existing employment policies audited but they also secure any documentation they are missing; on top of this they have an online management manual which takes them through all aspects of day-to-day employment relations with step-by-step guides and explanations, plus they can access a 24-hour/365 days a year legal helpline to add another layer of support, information and confidence.
For firms this is all about protection and ensuring you have everything in place to do right by the new employee(s) and to not feel completely out of your depth, especially if you want to add more and more people to the operation. It can seem daunting but having an operation in the background to support and manage the firm through the process, from the point of recruitment up until that employee might leave the business, can deliver the extra confidence to allow the business to take that next step.
It would be wrong for a firm to pull back from any opportunities or planned expansion because of concerns around human resources and thankfully in this day and age they don’t need to.
