3 Foundations of Human Resources for Boutique Owners

Hey, guys, it's Sarah with the Boutique Hub. And I'm here today to answer yet again another one of the most frequently asked questions. We're asked, what is HR and how does it relate to my business? Well, when you decided to open your boutique and become a small business owner, little did you know that you were about to become the wearer of many hats. Right? Many hats. Well, HR is one big part of your job, and I'm sure the bigger you've gotten, the bigger your problems. Right? And HR can bring along a lot of them. Well, I kind of want to sum it up for you in just three easy steps today with HR and some HR basics. Granted, the bigger companies have a huge group of HR professionals that work inside the four walls of that business. Well, as small business owners and boutique owners, we don't have that luxury. So let me give you three foundational pieces of an HR team. Right? Yes. You're going to be the psychologist. You're going to be the mediator, the lawyer, the attorney, the whole deal. You're going to be the sounding board for all of the humans that you're managing. Right. There's a few key things that you need to keep in mind. One, you're the administrator, and this is extremely important. But in all honesty, sometimes we get lost in this part of our business as an HR director and we fail to have enough time to implement the two other key components of being an HR director. So your administration staff requirements, what you're responsible to do within your boutique is all the legalities. Right. Making sure you have all the proper paperwork, you have all the documents signed that you're in compliance with state and federal law. That's a big one. Number two is the operations side. The people that you did hire, what are they doing? Right. The people that you did hire and you have put in charge of different tasks, are you training them? Do they understand what your mission of your business is? That's the operation side. To manage them, to achieve a goal to bring your business to the next level. Right. Then the strategic side. A lot of times, this is the part of the business that we lack the most because we spend so much of our time getting wrapped up in the administrative side of the HR duties that very little time is left for the strategic side. What does that mean? Well, it means that you need to make sure you're having the right people in the right places, the right people in the right seats, whatever you want to say. It's a hiring process. That's a whole other video hiring tips and Interviewing questions and things like that. So I'll come back and do another video there. But when it comes to the HR side, don't underestimate the importance of the hiring process and that strategic side of your HR hat that you're wearing. Right. Know who you're hiring, know what you're needing to hire. Right. And know that you have the right people in the right seats. Once you've taken on and adapted those three roles and so to speak, put them in order of importance, then it's really important to adapt what I like to call the F, H and P principle. This is honestly kind of your foundation of being an HR director within your boutique. The F. If you can remember these three things, the F, H and P principle. Your F stands for files. Make sure without a doubt all of your employees, anyone that works for you, you have a file on them. Whether it's digital or whether it's old school paper and manila folder. Right. But in that file you need to make sure you have all your legal forms, all of your consent forms. Everything is signed and dated and agreed upon. Right. Your H in the F, H and P is your handbook. It's extremely important that you have created an employee handbook, that the employee has read it, dated it, you've agreed upon it. It's like a contract you've entered into as far as employment in that handbook. It should include your non disclosure, your anti discrimination, your benefits and compensation, all of these kind of things. A code of conduct. What should they wear to work, where should they park their car, when are they going to get paid, how do they fill out their paycheck? Right. All of these expectations should be lined out in your handbook, no questions asked. There should be no gray lines here. That is a big part of the operations within your business. Right. To make sure everybody's comfortable and there's no lack in communication. Last in that F, H and P is the P. What does that mean? Posters. Yeah. You've probably received them from the government and they say you need to post them somewhere within your business. And guys, you do. So if you've thrown those posters away, call and get more. This is a legal thing that you as a business owner, the head of your HR department, the head of your HR for your boutique, you need to make sure those are present, viewable by your, by your staff. Anybody that works for you, right in your back room, in your break room, wherever your people congregate, that's away from your main selling floor or main work area, make sure you have those posters present. So again, foundation building blocks, I guess, as an HR director, if you concentrate on making sure you have the files, the handbook and the posters accessible and visible and ready, you're in good shape. Right. Make sure you fill those files with absolutely everything that related to that employee's life within your business. Your new hire checklist, the interview questions that you ask them, any reprimands or any praises. We'll get into this in a whole nother video. But the employee file is extremely important. That's part of your legal contract that you've bound with them. Right. That builds trust and satisfaction, accountability. It makes a true relationship. Right. Your handbook is going to identify all of these questions that they might have, and it's actually going to make you a better manager of people if you can early on identify problem areas and answer their questions. There's nothing worse than wondering. There's nothing worse than wondering, how do I ask for vacation? What am I supposed to worry on Fridays? What kind of discount do I get on clothes? Where do I park my car? What do I do if I have a problem with a customer? What do I do if I have a problem with another staff member? Right. All of these things are outlined in a handbook. Does that take time? Absolutely. Are there templates online that you can jump into to fill out for somebody else's handbook for your boutique? Yeah, there are. Are they going to hit everything that you want installed within your business? Absolutely not. So I'll get into a whole other video on how to design an employee handbook. And lastly, the posters. Do not skimp on those when the government sends them to you. And they show up in the mail every spring or fall. Whenever you get those, make sure you post those. Right? That's, that's your duty to make sure your employees understand their legal rights of working in that state working for you. So concentrate also on that administrative, the operational and the strategic part of hr. Making sure you're putting the right people in the right seats, making sure you're compliant with your state and local government. Right? These are all very important things. And if you can do a good job at being an HR director, you're going to retain a lot more staff. And we know hiring is very expensive hiring and firing and the turnover and the constant retraining, Right? It's never good for business. So this is a part of your business you can't skimp on. You have got to wear the hat. You've got to wear it with, with pride. Right? And you've got to hold your business up to the legal ramifications. And all the responsibilities within your state. Give your employees the tools that they need to succeed. Make sure they're in the know, right? And make sure they're covered and they understand their job and their role. There you go. That's just your HR basics. I'll come back and answer more questions on how to build an employee handbook, how to properly interview your staff, hiring processes, and later on, I'll even come back because I know there's a lot of questions on how do I fire an employee. Yeah, the HR hat is a big one, guys. But when you manage people, you have to expect there's going to be some problems. But the more organized you are in the beginning, the better that road will be, right? The bigger you get, the bigger your problems. It's important to be ahead of the problems, to understand what might lie ahead and be ready. All right, guys, for more questions that you want answered, let us know. If you like this video, please comment below. Give us a like and we look forward to seeing you the next time. Sarah from the boatehub. See you later.