Whenever I talk to people about my role, they see it as hiring and firing! In one way they are correct. Human Resources takes care of the employee journey through a business from recruitment, contracts onboarding, employment policies and benefits, performance management, engagement and ultimately exit. This is what we call the HR Infrastructure. You need these things to be running smoothly in order for your business to function effectively.
What people don’t realise, however, is that Human Resources can provide the vital link to business success. If you have a skilled HR person working with business leaders, they can ensure that the business strategy will succeed through the implementation of a practical people strategy that enables the business to achieve the appropriate outcomes. That aged old saying “the business is its people”!
Who needs Human Resource support?
Everybody! Getting HR to support your business is vital to ensure legal and successful business management at every step of the way. I will run through some examples to highlight how HR can add value at different business stages:
New Businesses
How do you make sure you pay the right amount of tax when you are starting your business? You get an accountant, right? How do you make sure that you are hiring the right people for your roles and that you are employing them legally? How do you ensure that your business will be able to grow with demand? We see these situations time and again and we recommend that you get quick and focused advice from an HR professional at the start of your growth to save you time, effort, and money down the line. It also makes sense to spend time with an HR consultant on a regular basis to ensure that the business decisions you are making can be supported by your people plan to support the continued success of your company.
Business Expansion
A company is only as successful as its employees. If you’re hiring, it can be difficult to get the right people without appropriate support. HR can support you to build your strategy and then get the tactical actions completed, such as building job descriptions and person specifications to ensure you attract the right talent. HR can also help support selection process and onboarding to get the new employees up and running as quickly as possible.
With any expansion plan, employers should review whether existing employees are able to perform through the growth. Understanding the strengths, development areas and the gaps that need to be filled of your core team is key. Many businesses stress test things like their factory capability, but not the capability of their people. They also often find their salary bands out of kilter creating bigger problems down the line in terms of costings, employee and role expectations.
Employment Law Changes
In April 2020, fifty two employment law changes came into place with significant contract of employment changes. The majority of businesses have not implemented new contracts since that date and are, therefore, no longer operating legally. HR support can protect you from this risk.
Employee Disputes
The more employees you have, the greater the risk of issues such as harassment claims, pay disputes and unfair treatment cropping up. The consequences of handling these types of situations badly could end up with you being sued and/or reputational damage.
Disputes are a clear sign of underlying issues and a good HR person can support you to create an environment where the need to reach dispute level is vastly reduced.
Management time taken up with ‘people issues’
Many SMEs are put off hiring a dedicated HR professional because of the cost. However, the cost of not being proactive in this area in the short term is that key people in the business spend time on things that could be better spent elsewhere. In the long term, it is poor productivity and low morale which are both proven to significantly impact your bottom line. This cost can be significantly reduced and the ability to have an HR person with significant experience can be gained through the use of a HR consultant.
So, if you run a business and or thinking of starting one, we suggest having HR in place to support you and your team. Here at ViewHR, we offer a range of support to businesses from ad-hoc projects, to as and when arrangements through to monthly retainers. Get in touch with a member of the team today to find out how we can help your business grow.
