Did you know that the three killers of staff cohesion in small to medium enterprises (SMEs) are underperformance, team conflict and poor communication? Well, that’s what I’ve found after nearly two decades in business and that’s where I can help.Hello, my name is Vanessa Petch and I’m the owner of HR Maximised, a consultancy set up to help SMEs maximise the performance and potential of their staff.After more than 18 years as a finance manager and then as a HR manager in medium-sized businesses in the agriculture, IT and manufacturing sectors, I found all the available HR support, advice and studies were focused on big business and that SMEs didn’t have the money or time for high-priced, feel-good HR projects. SMEs need staff to do the job to the best of their ability so they need practical HR advice that’s measurable and offers a return on investment. Over the years, I’ve seen the worst of the worst in relation to staff conflict and management so there’s nothing clients can throw at me that I haven’t dealt with. I know the impact that negative staff issues can have on the mindset of the business owner and the rest of the team. In SMEs, there’s nowhere to hide when staff issues arise and difficult situations have the potential to cause serious damage to a business.When an employee is underperforming and only working at 60% of their capacity, you’re effectively wasting 40% of that salary. Under performance by one worker is also infectious and eats away at good employees which, in turn, can destroy a positive workplace culture. Similarly, conflict and staff issues that need investigating are generally not something many SME owners/managers have experience of, but if they’re not adequately addressed they can cause significant issues for a business in terms of monetary payouts. There are, however, solutions and developing simple and effective HR solutions for SMEs is what I do best. If you need HR advice, contact me via LinkedIn or phone 0418 190 106.