Taking on staff - the options
Here's how I used the My Business tool to help grow my business
Ken Winnard and his business partner founded graphic design consultancy Design Force in 1998. The company delivers a branding and print design service to a mixture of public and private sector clients. Based in Preston, Design Force employs seven full-time staff, as well as skilled freelance contractors. Here Ken explains how registering with Business Link and using the My Business tool has helped him save time and money as the business has grown.
What I did
Registered with Business Link
"I first registered with the Business Link website about five years ago, after using our local Business Link Northwest service. The site is an excellent one-stop shop of information. I particularly like it because it's impartial and it's not trying to sell me anything.
"Registering on the site means you can use the online tools and all your individual information is saved in your individual My Business account, which saves us time. I found it straightforward to register, and we've now signed up other people in the company so they can access the tools."
Used the tools to keep informed and save money
"We receive regular email alerts which might include new legislation, business events or a focus on a topical issue like recruiting staff over the holiday season. It's a quick and easy way to keep up with what's new. Any links in the email take you straight to the relevant section on the Business Link website, so you don't have to waste time searching for information.
"As we've grown the business, the site has helped me with areas like recruitment. When we employed a new business person a couple of years ago, I needed to create a new employment contract, and the site's tools helped me achieve this by setting out the information I needed to include. I would otherwise have had to have used a solicitor, so it definitely saved me some money.
"You can also check your legal responsibilities towards staff as an employer and make sure you're compliant with different regulations, with the site taking you through the recruitment process."
Learnt useful new skills
"The site has also proved useful with our public sector tendering. As part of the tendering process, you need to produce a pre-qualification questionnaire, which sets out things like the company's health and safety policy, equal opportunities and environmental statement. I didn't know how to do this at first, but the Business Link tools guided me through it.
"Areas like release of copyright and protecting designs are also important in our business, and the site offers a reasonable level of technical detail. What I've found is that if you can't get hold of what you're looking for, the external links listed in each section will point you in the right direction."
What I'd do differently
Have a good look at the outset
"I would probably have spent more time when I first registered having a good look at all the sections, to drill down into the information, rather than just using it when I needed it."
Subjects covered in this guide
- Introduction
- Recruiting new staff
- The best ways to take on extra people
- Full-time or part-time employees
- Fixed-term contracts
- Taking on agency workers
- Freelancers and outside contractors
- Directors and managers
- Here's how I used the My Business tool to help grow my business
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Ken Winnard
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