Outsourcing your HR isn’t for everyone but it can be a cost-effective way to introduce some structure into your business without having to hire a full-time person to do it.
You probably need HR regardless of the size of your business, even though it’s sometimes hard to imagine the return on investment. HR professionals, like myself, will tell you that attracting and retaining good people is the only way to grow your business. You know this already – it seems logical. How does HR help you do this?
- being part of your recruitment process to help you find the best people
- ensuring the experience of coming on board with you is a professional and pleasant one
- having checks and measures to help keep that person in your business. Remember, if you lose someone you’ve had for 6 months it will cost you 150% of that person’s salary package to replace them. If they’ve been with you for 18 months and they leave the cost is 250% of their salary package
- helping you deal with performance issues
- helping you legally dismiss someone if required
- training your managers and staff in workplace harassment awareness, particularly now that anti-bullying legislation has recently changed.
Outsourcing your HR means that you can have an HR presence only when you need it. HR on call or an HR hotline is what you should be looking for in an outsourced HR company.
Once you’ve grown to around 80 employees it may be time to think about having a full-time HR person. Before that, outsourcing is your most cost-effective solution.