Compliance for HR, Employee Relations, HR Management, HR Outsourcing, HR Strategy

Outsource HR or Hire a Full HR Team? How about Yes to both?

There are several reasons a company might choose to outsource its HR function. Most often, clients come to HR Affiliates either when they’ve reached an employee headcount that they believe warrants more diligence, or they have a pain or struggle that they need help with right away. Regardless of the reason for the initial call, companies discover that a primary advantage of HR Outsourcing is having access to expert advice and an HR relationship that they might not otherwise be able to afford as a small company. This includes compliance management to put a business owner’s mind at ease, as well as having a trusted partner to address all employee issues, from hiring to firing. Here’s how HR outsourcing can do this:

HR Outsourcing provides a full HR department of expertise.

Most small to midsize businesses either have no in-house HR, or they have one person trying to do it all. Unfortunately, even small businesses discover that managing all the functions of HR by a single person is a big job and it’s unlikely that they will be able to afford the salary of an individual who can provide VP level expertise.

By outsourcing HR, companies can access the talent and bandwidth to fulfill all HR needs, whether they are administrative or strategic, including operational strategy, compliance, technology, recruiting, payroll, employee relations, training, benefits, and more.

When you outsource your HR, you are ensuring that each HR function is managed by a highly capable HR expert who specializes in their area of expertise. Essentially, outsourcing HR elevates the quality of the HR you are offering to your company and to your employees.

HR Outsourcing helps companies grow – faster.

Growing a business requires good practices that can be replicated and quickly put into motion. You need to be able to plan and forecast talent needs, recruit people, onboard them, train them, and manage them over the long term. Outsourcing HR can help develop and streamline these processes, resulting in more effective and efficient management that is scalable as the company grows.

Additionally, if these growth plans involve multiple sites – or multiple states – there are significantly more laws and best practices to navigate. Not only do you have to understand employer requirements in every state in which you do business and follow the laws applicable to business in those states, you must also figure out how to hire, onboard, and train in each of the states. Once the employees are onboarded, you have to manage all these teams remotely and communication management becomes all the more important.

HR Outsourcing helps companies stay compliant.

In HR you often hear it said that “You don’t know what you don’t know,” especially when it comes to compliance. Even the most business savvy entrepreneurs can find themselves in a tough spot because of HR compliance that is not on their radar. Federal, state, and local regulations abound and are constantly evolving. Most small business owners don’t have the time or the support to keep up with the constant changes— however, that doesn’t make them any less responsible to ensure they are staying compliant.

HR Outsourcing improves employee relations.

This may seem counter intuitive. How could having a third party involved help your employee relations? No matter how great a rapport you have with your team, employee relations are still heavily regulated (or, at least, it comes with great risks if not handled properly). Whether it’s chronic absences or performance management or two employees that don’t get along, employee relations are complicated. There’s a delicate balance of advocating for the employee and doing the right thing while still making sure the company is running and mitigating its risk. Hopefully, you won’t have to deal with many employee relations issues, but when you outsource your HR to experts, odds are that they have dealt with this issue before and will have quick resolution.

HR Outsourcing helps streamline technology and vendor relations.

One thing HR Outsourcing can do is evaluate organizational needs and put together a technology resource to fit the company. Companies could do this on their own, but it would be without the experience and knowledge of those who have done it before, limiting their organization, replication, and cost savings. Your outsourced HR team will become the liaison between the company, the employees, and all the benefit and payroll vendors assuming all the administrative tasks that can take up a significant amount of your time.

HR Outsourcing saves time.

Considering all the different functions that are included in HR, it’s not difficult to imagine how much time it takes to manage all the administrative responsibilities. If you do not have any HR staff, these tasks are taking time away from other functions. When you outsource these responsibilities, however, you free up your staff for time spent in their areas of expertise.

This allows you and your team to focus on what you do best, which is running and growing your company.

Outsourcing at HR Affiliates:

At HR Affiliates, we believe that there are several key considerations when choosing an HR Outsourcing provider:

• Cultural fit to your organization
• HR competence
• Operational / Business understanding
• Flexibility
• Responsiveness
• Access to partners, resources, and tools

We believe that we are your HR partner, and we feel personally invested in the success of your business. When we say We want to change the way you think about HR, it’s because we don’t want you to have a limited vision of what this partnership can be. Whether it’s strategic planning, recruiting, or benefits administration, we are here to make sure that your vision is carried out through all employee engagements. We are your HR.

For companies with an HR professional, there are still several functions that can be outsourced simply because extra hands are needed, or a third-party impartiality is required. That could be special projects, training, investigations, or employee coaching. We meet each client where they are and develop a customized plan to meet those needs, as well as one that’s flexible as those needs change.

What can we do for you?

July 18, 2024

Paula Agee, VP of Human Resources and Chief People Officer