The goal of every small business owner is to see their company, or their vision, grow and expand. When this happens, it feels great, but it can also be daunting. With more staff and more legal areas to cover comes more responsibility, which can lead to businesses needing to start exploring Human Resources.
Yes, human resources, the often-overlooked part of all large businesses, has a role in smaller businesses too. Of course, in a company with under 100 people, you will rarely have an entire HR department, with many owners preferring to outsource this task to designated, independent teams.
This can, and often does, cause small business owners to have concerns about where this outsourcing will lead. So, here, you will be walked through some of the key things you need to know about outsourcing your Human Resources department, as well as the selection process.
Not All Human Resources Outsourcing Is The Same
Have you ever had a meeting with a Human Resources team in a previous job?
In many cases, you will be meeting with one person, from one section of the HR team, which could be the hiring department, the finance department, or the legal team. So, when you are looking to outsource your company’s Human Resources, you will need to have an idea of what parts of HR you need and to check that the outsourcing option can provide those for you.
Indeed, many outsourced HR teams, such as the team at The HR Dept, offer assistance with payroll or even oversee the hiring and termination processes, but will not handle the legal aspects of your company, which can be problematic if you need help with all of those areas.
So, be sure to do in-depth research, and, if you have any business contacts who outsource their HR, ask them which team they would recommend and why.
You Are Still In Charge
With your decision to outsource HR, which could involve removing part of your role in the hiring, termination, and even the disciplinary processes, you may feel that you have outsourced your control of the company.
This is not the case. By outsourcing part of your company, you have chosen to delegate to a team that still needs to meet your standards. Hiring an HR team will also enable you to focus more on the areas of your business operations that you are trained in and able to manage. Think of it as hiring someone to deal with the background bit, while you keep the business ticking smoothly, and handling customer support and experience.
It Offers Legal Protection
Another area that an HR team can offer you and your company is legal protection, even if the role of HR has been outsourced.
As your company grows, you will likely need to hire more staff, oversee more contracts, and explore various areas of tax law. As fun as all those things are, one of the main benefits of having an HR team on call is that they can do all of this for you, without having to undertake a crash course in employment law or terminology!
An HR team on hand will make sure that all of the legal areas of hiring, sick pay, or termination of staff contracts are met, protecting you and your business, and also saving you money.
It Will Save You Time and Money
You run a small business. You know the cost of hiring staff.
Thus, the idea of having to hire a full-time Human Resources department may cause you to have an understandable sinking feeling. The good news is that with outsourced HR teams, you only pay for them when you need them, or you pay a set fee per month for their services. If you are only using HR for payroll, then you only pay for that part of their service. If you need more than this, you can usually enquire as to the other services that they can provide, for an additional (but still small) payment.
As for saving time, well, you don’t have to spend a fortune learning HR terminology, and you can usually contact outsourced HR teams immediately when you need a task completed quickly. Thus, they deal with that issue, and you can deal with running your business.
As is the way with hiring any team to oversee sensitive documents, when choosing to outsource your company’s HR department, be sure to conduct thorough vetting. It is recommended to outsource only to HR teams that have a proven track record of working with companies (preferably in your industry) and to verify customer reviews.
