No matter how superior you believe your product quality to be, or how dependable your delivery record has been, a decorated-apparel business is only as good as its people—the good folks who interact with your clientele and give your company its reputation. One can appreciate the fact that many employers are making tough fiscal choices to deal with the economy these days but, unfortunately, some of those decisions are shaking the confidence of the very people that could buoy a business to deeper, safer waters.

One could argue the practice of Human Resource Management (HRM) dates back to the first working arrangements between master craftspeople and their apprentices—even before the Industrial Revolution. Apprentices were often required to live in the shop or home of the master craftsperson. If an apprentice was injured or sick, the master’s family was responsible for restoring the young worker’s health and welfare. Master and apprentice shared in good times and bad, in profit and in loss.

By the late 1800s, people problems were a very real concern in the workplace. For the average blue-collar worker, most jobs were low-paying, monotonous and unsafe. Some industries experienced difficulty recruiting and retaining employees because of the poor working conditions to which the workers were exposed. Some forward-thinking business owners followed a practice of “If you take care of your employees, they’ll take care of you” and better working conditions, benefits and work incentives were born.

In the 1930s, The Great Depression drastically changed the rules of business. With profits dwindling, employers first eliminated voluntary welfare programs, then jobs. The US Government provided some assistance by creating jobs ranging from road building to painting murals on government buildings, but it wasn’t enough to sustain every industry. When certain industries continued to exploit its employees, unions were formed to plead the case for the disadvantaged workers.

The 1960s saw a dramatic rise in HRM with thousands of jobs being created just to develop and administer business functions, such as retirement and 401(k) plans, employee stock purchase programs, skills training, performance reviews and career development, corporate communications and Human Resource Information Systems (HRIS), to name a few.

Today, the HR function, even in large corporations, has been outsourced, minimized, cannibalized and/or eliminated altogether. At a time when a business may choose to position itself to take advantage of any glimmer of economic-recovery hope, why wouldn’t it consider retooling its HR function to attract, retain and develop the best the labor-talent pool has to offer? Having a well-developed human resource development plan in a company may be easier than one may think. Let’s explore the possibilities, shall we?

Challenges change thinking

Layoffs, downsizing and spending freezes are impacting many business functions, but especially the human-resource function within any size of company. Almost by default, perceived non-revenue generating business expenses—such as training, customer entertainment, charitable contributions and advertising—get trimmed. Businesses today have rediscovered frugality and are trying to do more with less—and that includes less people. Hence, the deduction, albeit wrong, that there’s no need for HRM.

The challenge with that particular business strategy is that now, more than ever, the HRM sub-functions become crucial to the health and growth of the enterprise. A list of human resource management sub-functions includes but is not limited to:

benefits and compensation enrollment, administration and management to get the most value out of the incentives that didn’t get cut,

legal advice and support in order to be in compliance with governmental regulations—particularly when you must let people go,

internal and external corporate communications in order to disseminate information in a timely manner, drive the company culture and keep people loyal and connected to each other and the organization,

training and development of the survivors of any workforce reduction, and

recruiting and orienting of new key employees to replace ones who have quit.

Add to the challenge, trying to capture and quickly transfer knowledge from veteran employees to newer workers—formerly a “nice to have” that has become a crucial necessity ever since the first time a company offered lucrative incentives for “early retirement” to reduce headcount without having to fire people—and the fact that many more employees are geographically dispersed (e.g. teleworking) and not readily accessible at the workplace every day.

These challenges that are forcing today’s business owner to think differently about HRM are not insurmountable. It will take, however, the ability to be entrepreneurial, imaginative and open to unconventional means of accomplishing your objectives—common traits among most decorated-apparel business owners this author has met. As in most cases, your work begins with having goals in mind and a plan to achieve them.

Setting SMART goals

A good human resource development (HRD) plan should include the entire process of defining and measuring your organization’s objectives. The goals one sets to accomplish the company’s objectives should have all five components of SMART goals—that is, they should be Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Realistic and Time-bound. Let’s say your HRD objective is to be a recognized leader in your community for recruiting, developing and retaining talent. A set of SMART goals to accomplish that mission may include:

Outsource the payroll and benefits administration function to reliable service providers by the end of the calendar year, thus freeing up at least 40 man-hours of the owner’s and department managers’ time each month.

Retain an outside trainer to assess opportunities for improvement in the company sales team and conduct training in appropriate skill areas in order to raise customer satisfaction levels by 20 percent by the end of the second quarter next year.

Raise the utilization of preventative care and wellness exam benefits among employees and covered dependants from 67 to 83 percent over the next 12 months.

For each SMART goal, specific action steps and “to-do” lists can be generated and each task can be scheduled in order to meet the prescribed deadlines. Typically, when an organization adopts a project approach to performance improvement, a coincidental review of policies and procedures is recommended.

What’s your policy?

Many small businesses do not have a formal, written policies-and-procedures manual for handling the most common personnel situations. For example, what would happen if any one of the following three scenarios occurred at your shop?

You’ve given one of your more trusted employees the company’s credit card and warehouse membership card and asked them to shop for general shop supplies at a local store. When she returns with everything she was supposed to get, she hands you back the cards and receipts and tells you she picked up some personal items for herself for which she intends to pay the company back. When you peruse the receipt, you figure the amount she owes is approximately $55. Several months later, while auditing the books, you realize the worker never repaid the company.

You prefer to have a casual work environment in which employees can feel that the shop is like a “home away from home.” The company has no set dress code, time clocks, or strict rules about breaks and lunchtime. For the most part, the employees don’t abuse the privileges you’ve afforded them, but lately, you’ve been overhearing rumblings among your team about a particular employee that hasn’t been to work on time any day in over a month, has developed a distinct stale, unwashed odor about him and is seen taking more breaks than the rest of the crew. Still, he consistently gets his work done on time and in an acceptable manner.

One of your employees is experiencing a streak of bad luck. First, her 13-year old dog had to be euthanized and she asked for a personal day off to bereave her loss. You granted it, albeit without pay, and she expressed her thanks for your compassion. The following week, she had car trouble and asked for a cumulative total of a day-and-a-half off to get things straightened out. She understood her pay would be docked for the missed time. You authorized the absence, again. A short time later, a local election was being held and she approached you to leave two hours early so she could cast her ballot and donate blood at the local Red Cross blood bank—both civic practices in which you encourage employees to engage. You approve the request with no loss of pay because you had established precedent with other people before her on the same issues. Today, you learn that she wants to take an unpaid, leave of absence to care for her mother who has been diagnosed with a terminal illness and only has three months to live. She would like to resume her position when her mother’s situation is resolved and she believes she’s entitled to have her job protected under the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993.

In each of these cases, there are no cut-and-dried answers as to what is the right thing to do. Given owner discretion, every business can operate in a significantly different way. However, J. J. Keller and Associates Inc. has a unique online management tool called Prospera that can assist business owners in constructing a complete and printable corporate manual that contains a cover page, table of contents and policies from a large library of customizable templates. A free, 30-day trial is available by visiting www.prospera.com. A subscription to the Prospera product affords a business with a wide range of guidance, assistance and structure that can be tailored to meet the requirements of any state. Some of the management tools include employee surveys, job descriptions, interviewing guides, succession planning and performance appraisals, just to name a few. There are policy templates covering a multitude of topics including smoking and alcohol, personal phone calls, email and Internet use, discrimination and harassment positions, and emergency procedures.

Innovative ways to reward and inspire

Cash isn’t the only way to recognize workers for good contributions to the workplace—especially these days, when your supply of cash isn’t abundant anyway. The Kaplan Thaler Group of New York City, a marketing services agency, started in 1997 with six people working in a 600-square-foot apartment and one large client. Today, it is one of the top-30 agencies in the US with over $1.2 billion in revenues. Recently, KTG rented an ice cream truck and parked it behind its offices for an entire day. Employees got any treat they wanted, as often as they wanted, to thank them for their loyalty and commitment to the firm.

Control Equipment Company of Marietta, Georgia, an industrial parts and monitoring equipment distributor, had to institute a “salary adjustment freeze” policy in order to contain labor expense, but simultaneously initiated a company-wide bonus program that takes a portion of the business profits in a given month and distributes it equally among its workers, regardless of rank or salary. When the company makes money, everyone wins. And, as a result, every employee has become a watchdog for wasteful practices that may cause there to be no bonus next month.

Don’t undervalue the effect of a simple handwritten note from the boss to an employee expressing appreciation for a job well done. Consider mailing that note to the worker’s home to show extra care. The small cost and effort is more than worth it. Good communications with employees is one of the least expensive ways to keep morale up and your business moving forward. Good luck!

>> Broad Strokes

This month’s broad strokes include:

Wise business owners follow a practice of “If you take care of your employees, they’ll take care of you,” and their companies are better off because of that philosophy.

Businesses today have rediscovered frugality and are trying to do more with less, and that includes less people. But the need for a renaissance in human resource management is greater than ever.

As in most cases with attempts at HR development, work begins with having goals in mind and a plan to achieve them. Constructing a complete corporate manual that contains policies and procedures for many common situations helps promote consistency and fairness for all employees.

Cash isn’t the only way to recognize workers for good contributions to the workplace, especially these days, when your supply of cash isn’t abundant anyway. Good communications with employees is one of the least expensive ways to keep morale up and your business moving forward.