If your business is experiencing ongoing HR issues, you may have considered engaging a professional HR outsourcing service.
Outsourcing your HR needs is a highly effective strategy. Yet as I have discovered over the years, many business owners don’t entirely understand what outsourcing actually involves.
In this blog post, I will explain how outsourcing works as well as how your business can benefit from this approach.
Why consider HR Outsourcing?
Firstly, let’s take a look at some of the most common HR pain points that businesses go through:
- Recurring compliance issues
- Difficulties with attraction and retention e.g. unable to find the right people to fill certain job roles
- Employee behaviour problems
- Declining employee performance
If you are a busy CEO or business owner experiencing these pain points, you probably struggle to find the time to deal with them and may lack the necessary expertise to deal with them confidently.
Outsourcing your HR needs can remove the pressure of having to resolve these recurring issues yourself.
What is outsourcing and how does it actually work?
HR outsourcing involves engaging the services of a professional consulting company to “take care” of all your HR requirements. It can be undertaken on a short or long term basis.
It’s important to note that different HR companies offer different levels of expertise. Some companies mainly focus on outsourcing routine HR admin tasks such as payroll and formalising employee contracts.
Others specialise in a more holistic approach and will offer a wider range of services such as performance coaching, employee inductions, recruitment and workplace culture programs.
For businesses struggling with problems that are more complex than your average day-to-day HR tasks, a more comprehensive solution is required.
A true strategic approach to outsourcing involves partnering with a HR company to identify your business needs, audit your current HR current practices, and then develop a HR plan. A dedicated HR professional with extensive experience will then be assigned to work with your business to execute that plan in full.
Outsourcing arrangements usually involve this HR professional working on a part-time basis, although full-time hours may be negotiated. The HR professional can either work on-site for your business or remotely from a separate office.
On-Site vs Remote
The complexity of your needs and the size, industry and geography of your business will input into determining whether on-site or remote outsourcing is most suitable for your business.
Remote outsourcing is generally an effective solution for smaller businesses who have less frequent HR requirements. The HR professional will be available for phone/video conferences to provide advice and discuss work to be completed.
On-site outsourcing is often needed for larger businesses with ongoing and complex needs. This type of arrangement allows for a dedicated and objective HR professional to become ‘a part of your team’.
There are numerous advantages of on-site outsourcing arrangements including:
- Strong working relationships: It is easier for a HR professional to develop relationships with employees if they are working on-site. Employees will come to trust the outsourced professional and can confide in them if they have any HR concerns.
- Contribute to wider business issues: On-site arrangements encourage the HR professional to be an integral part of the business through the attendance of team leadership meetings and other strategic planning sessions.
- Understanding of the business: The on-site professional will gain an “insiders” understanding of how the business operates which will help them better deliver relevant and meaningful advice.
- Wider range of tasks: Unlike with remote arrangements, a HR professional is able to easily perform a wider range of tasks that require on-site involvement such as performance coaching, training, appraisals, employee inductions and workplace investigations.
- Management has confidence: Managers often report gaining a sense of confidence that their HR needs are being actively taken care of just by physically seeing the in-house professional working in the office.
As I mentioned above, the right approach for your business will depend on your needs.
In either case, HR outsourcing helps CEOs and business owners achieve a strategic approach to their HR needs.
Outsourcing gives you flexible access to professionals who want to partner with your business to deliver holistic solutions.
Need advice on whether HR outsourcing is right for your business?
If you’re not sure if outsourcing is right for you, the first step is to book a free 15-minute phone consult with Harrison Human Resources.
We promise…you won’t get a ‘hard sell’. Instead, we’ll lend an expert ear to your concerns and discuss some suggested steps for moving forward.
Simply click here to request your free phone consult today.
Claire Harrison is the Founder and Managing Director of Harrisons, a flourishing HR consulting business that sprouted in 2009 from Claire’s passionate belief that inspiring leaders and superstar employees are the key success factor to any business. With over 20 years’ experience, Claire has worked as a HR Director of multi-national organisations, as a Non-Executive Board Director, and a small business owner. Claire’s corporate career includes working with companies such as BHP, Westpac, Fonterra and Mayne Nickless.
