For anyone struggling to cope with managing HR aspects of their own growing business, or thinking that their current in-house HR provision is not really working as they’d like it to there’s a readymade alternative that could work better for both of them – outsourcing human resource tasks to an external specialist individual or company.
Whatever fuels someone to pick up this option, HR outsourcing is a solution which can work out to be extremely productive for everyone involved; however, like anything related to a change in how a business operates, it’s a decision which needs to be made after some serious consideration.
Here’s what we think you need to know before going ahead with outsourcing your own human resources department.
It doesn’t have to be a case of all or nothing, as while in some cases handing over the entire responsibility to an eternal source works fine, it’s also possible to outsource particular aspects of your HR tasks. For example, you could divert payroll tasks, or put recruitment into the hands of experts.
While outsourcing HR can deliver many tangible benefits, such as the opportunity to use the time freed up to focus on growing the business, and generally doing the work you set out to do, you may also need to adjust to not making all the decisions.
This is less likely to be an issue if you are outsourcing administrative tasks like tax calculations, but things like hiring staff could be more problematic. The solution here is to always have an option to review outsourcing agreements, so things can be adjusted as necessary. In the case of recruitment, an agency could select suitable candidates which you meet before an offer is made.
There’s no exact right or wrong way, but you do need to know which method the person or company you choose to outsource your HR tasks to favors as they are quite different. Some charge a retainer, so you pay a set amount monthly for the right to call on them as and when needed – to a maximum agreed limit of hours. Others charge a fixed fee for taking o tasks which are clearly defined and agreed on from the outset; while others charge by the hour or task, working on an ‘as and when needed’ approach. Each meets different needs, so there is plenty of flexibility.
This depends on how you prefer to communicate. If the opportunity to meet someone in-person is crucial then look locally, or for a larger company with regional offices – though your options may depend on location. The other hand, if you are content to communicate via the internet, with telephone calls as necessary then a remote HR expert could be the perfect person to outsource work to – an example of this would be Makai HR. If you want to learn more about them then head over to www.makaihr.com.