Using HR to build a better business in 2026

By the HR experts at MJV Consulting – With over 40 years combined experience supporting small and medium-sized businesses across Sussex, Surrey, and London. Since 2016, we’ve supported small businesses in Sussex, Surrey and London with forward thinking HR strategies designed to support your growth.

Introduction

You’ve just landed your biggest contract. Brilliant! There’s just one problem: you need to hire three people fast, and you’ve never been an employer before.

Suddenly you’re Googling “right to work checks,” “employment contracts,” and “do I need workplace pensions?” at 11pm. HR has gone from irrelevant to overwhelming in about five minutes.

Sound familiar? You’re not alone. Most business owners across Sussex, Surrey, and London tell us the same thing when they first get in touch: HR feels like a compliance nightmare they’d rather avoid.

But here’s what we’ve learned from working with growing businesses across the Gatwick Diamond Region: the ones that treat HR strategically from day one don’t just avoid legal headaches, they grow faster and more sustainably.

The CIPD found that organisations with strong people management practices are 13% more likely to outperform their competitors financially. Not because they’re ticking boxes, but because they’re building the right team in the right way.

Let’s look at the five HR pillars that make the difference from getting your first hire right to building a people strategy that supports real growth.

Performance Management and Training: Beyond the Annual Appraisal

If your annual appraisals feel like awkward conversations nobody enjoys, you’re not alone. We’ve seen plenty of business owners who dread them as much as their staff do.

The difference between a time-wasting tick-box and a genuine performance breakthrough? Clarity. When you give your team specific targets, not “work harder” but “reduce customer complaint response from 48 to 24 hours by September”, magic happens. People know exactly what’s expected, and you can actually measure whether they’re getting there.

The stats back this up too. Gallup found that employees getting regular feedback are 3.6 times more engaged. But here’s the thing: don’t wait for the annual review. Quick monthly check-ins keep everyone on track without the formality.

Making it work in practice:

Start with SMART objectives-Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. Instead of woolly goals, try something concrete your team can actually work toward.

When people are doing well, recognise it properly-verbally, through pay rises, or with new opportunities. When they’re struggling, annual reviews give you the chance to formally note concerns and create an action plan. Either way, discuss targeted training that addresses actual skill gaps or supports genuine career development.

Recruitment and Retention: Getting It Right First Time

Here’s a scenario we see too often: A Brighton business owner hires someone quickly because they’re desperate for help. They skip the proper right-to-work checks to save time. Six months later? A £20,000 fine lands on their desk.

Ten minutes of due diligence would have prevented it. That’s the thing about recruitment, cutting corners always costs more in the long run.

Beyond the legal stuff (which, yes, absolutely matters), there’s the financial reality. CIPD research shows the average hire costs £3,000 when you factor in your time, advertising, training, and the productivity dip while they’re getting up to speed. For senior roles? We’re talking £10,000+.

What actually works:

Start with crystal-clear job descriptions. What skills are absolute must-haves versus nice-to-haves? This stops you wasting time interviewing people who aren’t right for the role. Your job description and person specification guide your shortlisting and help you select candidates objectively rather than going with gut feeling.

Then nail your onboarding. Companies with structured first-week programmes see 82% better retention and 70% higher productivity according to Brandon Hall Group. Even simple touches, having their desk ready, scheduling introduction meetings, pairing them with a buddy, show you’re professional and you care.

Retention proves equally critical. Replacing an employee costs significantly more than investing in keeping good people. Competitive pay matters, but so do flexible working arrangements, recognition, and genuine career development opportunities. The Flexibility Works research found that 87% of UK employees now consider flexible working essential when evaluating jobs, particularly relevant as competition for talent intensifies across London and the commuter belt.

Culture: You’ve Already Got One (The Question Is Whether It’s Helping)

Every time we mention “company culture,” we see eyes glaze over. It sounds fluffy, right? Like something only corporates with bean bags and ping pong tables need to worry about.

But here’s the reality: you already have a culture. It’s how decisions get made in your business. Whether people feel comfortable speaking up when something’s wrong. How you react when someone makes a mistake. Whether your team dreads Monday mornings or actually enjoys their work.

And it matters commercially. Deloitte found that 88% of employees think culture drives business success. For SMEs competing against larger London employers with fancy perks, your culture might be your biggest advantage.

Making it real:

Start by defining what you actually value. Keep it simple and genuine, three to five values you can actually live by. Innovation, transparency, work-life balance. Whatever matters to your business.

Then make those values tangible through policies and practices. If you value transparency, hold monthly team meetings sharing business performance. If work-life balance matters, respect boundaries around after-hours emails. Don’t just say it, demonstrate it.

According to Glassdoor, 77% of UK job seekers check company culture before applying. Make yours clear, make it genuine, and make it a strength. In our experience working with Sussex and Surrey businesses, intentional culture becomes a powerful differentiator when recruiting in competitive markets.

Absence Management: It’s Not Just About Sick Days

Nobody wants to be the boss who interrogates people about sickie days. But when absences start disrupting your business or you spot suspicious patterns (funny how some people are always ill on Mondays after the football) you need a system.

UK employees average 5.8 sick days yearly, costing around £522 per person according to CIPD’s 2023 Health and Wellbeing at Work survey. For a 20-person team, that’s over £10,000. And that’s just the direct cost, never mind the scrambling to cover shifts or missed deadlines.

The balance:

Good absence management isn’t about being draconian. It’s about clarity and fairness. Everyone knows the rules: when to call in sick, whether you need a fit note, how it’s recorded.

Return-to-work chats after every absence, even a single day can work wonders. They’re not interrogations; they’re five-minute conversations showing you care while gently discouraging casual absences. “How are you feeling? Anything at work contributing to this? Do you need any support?”

For persistent issues, we typically recommend software like BreatheHR for our clients, with plans starting at £22.00 per month and take the admin headache away completely. These tools automatically track absence patterns and flag suspicious trends, so you’re not manually tracking spreadsheets.

Long-term sickness needs a different approach. Occupational health assessments help you understand what adjustments might get someone back to work, protecting both their wellbeing and your business. Remember: the Equality Act requires reasonable adjustments for disability-related absences, that isn’t optional.

Annual leave management matters too. Strategic planning ensures adequate coverage during peak holiday periods like summer and Christmas, while encouraging employees to take their full entitlement prevents burnout down the line.

People Strategy: The Big Picture Stuff

Right, let’s talk strategy. Don’t worry, this isn’t about creating fancy PowerPoints or consultant-speak. It’s about asking yourself: where’s my business going, and do I have the right people to get there?

Say you run a firm of chartered surveyors in Guildford and want to double revenue in three years. Your people strategy asks: What roles will I need that don’t exist yet? Who’s going to replace my senior partner when she retires? What skills will become critical as we grow?

Why this matters for smaller businesses:

Succession planning sounds corporate, but it’s vital when you’re small. If your star salesperson leaves tomorrow, who steps up? Have you been developing anyone to fill that gap, or will you panic-hire and hope for the best?

Identifying high-potential employees early and developing them through mentoring, stretch assignments, and training prepares your business for inevitable transitions. It’s much cheaper than constantly recruiting externally.

Change management is the same. Whether you’re implementing new software, restructuring, or pivoting your business model, McKinsey’s research shows 70% of change initiatives fail, usually because leadership didn’t bring people along for the journey.

Strategic workforce planning examines whether your current team structure supports future ambitions. If you’re planning to double revenue, what roles need creating? What skills will become critical? This forward-thinking approach prevents reactive, expensive hiring decisions.

The businesses we see thriving aren’t necessarily the ones with the biggest budgets. They’re the ones thinking six months ahead instead of firefighting constantly.

What This Means for Your Business

Getting HR right isn’t about ticking boxes, though yes, you absolutely need to tick them. It’s about building a team that helps your business thrive rather than just survive.

Whether you’re making your first hire in Brighton, scaling up in Croydon, or building a team across the South East, these five pillars create the foundation. Performance management that actually improves performance. Recruitment that attracts the right people and keeps them. Culture that gives you an edge when competing for talent. Absence management that’s fair but effective. And a people strategy that looks beyond next week.

Where to start?

Most business owners we meet aren’t looking for a complete HR overhaul, they just want to know they’re doing things right and avoid expensive mistakes.

We recommend starting with a simple HR audit:

• Are your employment contracts compliant with current regulations?
• Would your right-to-work checks survive a Home Office audit?
• Do you have clear policies on performance, absence, and conduct?
• Could you answer “what does success look like?” for every role?

If any of these questions give you pause, let’s have a conversation. We offer a free 30-minute consultation for Sussex, Surrey, and London businesses to identify your priorities and create a practical roadmap-no jargon, no pressure, just clear advice from people who’ve helped businesses like yours navigate exactly these challenges.

Because when HR works properly, it stops being a headache and starts being your competitive advantage.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the essential legal checks when hiring my first employee in the UK?

The non-negotiables: verify their right to work in the UK (this is the big one, get it wrong and you’re looking at fines up to £20,000 per person), get their National Insurance number, sort out their tax code for PAYE, and provide a written employment contract within two months. You’ll also need to set up a workplace pension scheme once you have eligible employees.

Sounds like a lot? It’s actually straightforward once you know the process, we can walk you through it.

How much should I budget for recruiting my first team member?

Realistically, £2,000-£4,000 for most roles. That includes job advertising, the time you’ll spend interviewing and training them, and the productivity dip while they’re finding their feet. If you need a DBS check (common in healthcare, education, or finance), add a bit extra.

Senior roles cost more-sometimes £10,000+, especially if you use a recruitment agency. This is why getting recruitment and retention right matters so much commercially.

What absence management software works for small UK businesses?

We typically recommend BreatheHR, for businesses with less than 100 employees. They’re cloud-based, start from £22.00 per month and handle absence tracking, holiday booking and basic HR records. The time saved on admin alone usually pays for itself within weeks.

How often should I conduct performance reviews for small teams?

Annual formal appraisals are standard but supplement them with quarterly check-ins-even just 20-minute conversations over coffee. New employees benefit from monthly catch-ups during their probation period (usually 3-6 months).

The key is making reviews useful rather than formal. Focus on clear objectives, genuine two-way conversation, and actual support for development.

Do I need a written HR strategy for a small business?

You don’t need a 40-page strategic plan, but even a simple one-page document covering your recruitment needs, training priorities, and retention goals for the next 12 months helps enormously. It stops you firefighting constantly and helps you make proactive decisions about your team.

Think of it as a roadmap: where are you going, and what people do you need to get there? 

Simple as that.

About MJV Consulting

MJV Consulting provides specialist HR support to Surveyors, Architects and Property Management companies in Horsham, Crawley, Haywards Heath, Burgess Hill and Guildford. We offer retained HR services, compliance audits, policy development, and HR systems implementation, helping businesses manage their people effectively without the cost of full-time HR staff. Contact us via email info@mjvconsulting.co.uk or 01403 916727 to discuss how we can support your business growth.

If you’d like to discuss your HR challenges or explore how we can support your business, contact us at MJV Consulting on 01403 916727 or email us at info@mjvconsulting.co.uk. We’re here to help small businesses across Sussex, Surrey and London build teams that thrive.