5 reasons to have a HR Consultant support you and your business

The majority of small business owners will ask themselves whether they should outsource HR or do it themself?   For start-ups and small businesses, it isn’t always practical or possible to add a Human Resources professional to the payroll. Even if you could, there are still plenty more benefits to outsourcing your HR rather than doing it yourself – Here are 5 reasons you should outsource your HR to a HR Consultant…

1. A gift of time

Do you know how much time you spend every month on HR admin, googling employment law queries, people planning, recruitment, absence and performance management? You will be surprised how much and that’s only a small selection of HR priorities.

It’s common and makes sense for small business owners at the start to handle their own HR to-do list, and most of the time it can be ok, but as the business grows, your team grows and so do the HR complexities. To carry on getting things right you need a professional to handle the people management elements. Don’t get me wrong if things are plain sailing you can wing it for a while longer (although I wouldn’t recommend it). But Google doesn’t always have the answer (or not in the right context).

When you outsource your HR, you can use all that time spent on HR to focus on what you wanted to do when you first set up your business – your key business initiatives and strategy.  Gaining those few hours a week can make a huge difference, allowing you to carry out your business-critical work with a clear headspace and far fewer people headaches.

2. Cost-Effectiveness

HR is often considered as a luxury that is expensive, but this is not true. I offer flexible plans to meet the needs of different businesses whether it be a one off people problem, a specific project or a monthly retainer, it’s about finding what is right for you and your business.  If you weigh up the costs of hiring an in-house person, outsourcing is often the most cost-effective method of covering your HR needs, especially for a small business.

3. To be compliant

When you started your business, you could handle everything yourself, but now you may find you need someone who can ensure that your business is compliant with rapidly changing, complex and business-critical regulations.

Employment law is complex, is rarely black and white (unfortunately), and constantly changing. By outsourcing HR you can at least be one step ahead of the game and avoid any nasty surprises. Whether it’s understanding your obligations in relation to family-friendly leave or changes to the way you need to work, by outsourcing HR you are protecting your reputation as an employer and your finances from any potential employment tribunal.

As corny as it sounds if your team are happy and motivated they will help drive your business forward which is your ultimate goal.

4. Cover yourself against liability

Difficult conversations with employees are unfortunately a necessary part of business, whether it be performance or conduct.  Having a HR professional supporting you or with you can be crucial.

If you mishandle a termination it can result in a legal battle, and even if you do win, the time, money and stress spent fighting, often simply isn’t worth it. Outsourcing means the HR professional can handle the work before and during a difficult conversation, ensuring you are completely covered so it goes smoothly.

5. Greater Experience

It’s tempting to cut corners when you’re building a business, and there are plenty of downloadable forms and processes out there, but when you really need expert advice if you outsource you know there will be no gaps in knowledge and it will be bespoke to your business. Outsourcing is also great as an interim measure if you have a HR professional in-house if they do not have the capacity or experience to work on a particular project.