Does Your Small Company Need a Human Resources Representative – How to Go About Creating and Filling the Position
Owning your own business is something that people all across the country have dreams of doing, but yet it’s rare that it becomes a reality. Having your own company that you have started from scratch, building from the ground up, is not only a huge step in your career, but it’s also something to be incredibly proud of. When you first start your business, it’s quite normal to run it on a skeleton staff. This helps to keep expenses lower, and let’s face it, you probably aren’t busy enough at the start in order to warrant a significant amount of staff. Over time this can change though.
As your staffing needs start to evolve and you find yourself hiring on more and more people, it’s only normal to start thinking about how this affects the dynamics of the company, and your responsibilities to your staff. When it was just a couple of people you had to hire, train, and have report to you, it was probably quite manageable, but suddenly once you’ve got many more bodies in there it can be a bit overwhelming for the business owner to handle.
If you find yourself in this position, then you may be starting to wonder if you need to hire on a human resources representative, or even start an HR department. While there is no set way to know for sure if the time is right, there are some pretty common signs to watch for that can act as the signal. Here we’ll take a look at what those signs are, and how you can go about filling the HR Representative position(s).
What is a Human Resources Representative?
Part of knowing whether or not you need a human resources representative or specialist is to know what they are and what they do. It is the job of the human resource specialist to recruit, screen, interview, and then place workers within the company.
Also, it is up to them to handle employee relations and employee issues such as benefits, compensation, training, booking holiday time, listening to workplace complaints in an official capacity, and more.
According to the United States Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics, human resources specialist jobs are on the rise and are expected to grow by 7% within the next eight years. If you’re curious about what kind of salary you’d be looking at paying them, the national average in the US is $60,350.
Common Signs You May Need an HR Representative
Now to get to those common signs to watch for that signal it’s time to hire on an HR representative. One of the most sure-fire signs is that you are looking to hire on a large amount of people in the near future. Perhaps your company has taken on a new customer/client, gotten a new contract, expanded its products and services, or is looking to grow. Hiring that many people, then training them is a huge undertaking both from a time management standpoint and a cost standpoint. You want to be able to get the staff in there and trained as quickly as possible so that work can carry on. This is where a human resources specialist can prove to be invaluable.
Another sign it’s time to bring in a specialist is if no-one in the company has any sort of HR experience, training, or knowledge. At that point it becomes the blind leading the blind, which can make for a lot of confusion. An HR specialist can help to keep things on track and focused. Chances are that you don’t know the best practices, rules, regulations, and other pieces of information that are vital to running the HR department. There is nothing wrong with saying that either, it’s not where your training and specialty area is.
You also need to be aware of your own time. If you find that a good portion of your day is being eaten up by HR issues, then other tasks and responsibilities will suffer. You need to be able to give attention to all the most important things in your business, so that means you need the time to do so. Hiring on an HR manager will free up your time in a big way. Just think of how many questions and concerns you have to answer from employees on a regular daily basis – now imagine if you could leave all of that to someone else.
Hire Someone with the Right Qualifications
Now, if you’ve decided that a human resources specialist or representative makes sense for your company at this time, then you want to be sure they are qualified and have the proper training. This will save you time from having to do it yourself and will save you money in the long-run since they will understand how to go about their job in an efficient and productive manner.
Perhaps you’re thinking of hiring within your own company and if that’s the case the candidate can go about human resources training that prepare them for the job. You can find a range of courses on findcourses.com that relates to all aspects of human resources training.
What About Outsourcing?
The final question to ask yourself is whether you need a dedicated full-time HR specialist in your company, or if outsourcing makes more sense. Outsourcing can be a way to get the top expertise, with the most up to date software and practices, at a cost that is affordable for your company. Because you won’t be paying for a full-time staff member, you can expect to save some money. There are all kinds of companies that specialize in outsourcing, so finding one isn’t a problem.
A few tips if you are thinking about outsourcing is to do your research. Look into what various companies offer, the training they put their staff through, the cost, if you need to sign a contract, if you pay for a block of time or if it is on an as-needed basis, etc. You can also ask business contacts you may have who use outsourcing if there is a company they can recommend. You also want to know that there won’t be any information leaks of sensitive information for your company. A contract may need to be signed that protects the company’s data and information.
If you find that over time you do start to need a full-time staff person in the office, then you can always stop outsourcing and hire a dedicated team member.
A Topic that Can Also Be Re-Visited
Remember even if you decide that a human resources specialist isn’t needed right now, you can always re-visit the topic at a later date. It could be that you will need one later on, just not quite yet.
Many Considerations and Questions to Ask
When it comes to knowing when the right time is for a small company to hire on a human resources specialist unfortunately there is no black and white answer. Instead it’s about doing your research, asking plenty of questions, and being clear on the direction of your business now and in the future. Making an informed decision means you’ll be making one you feel confident in.
Does Your Small Company Need a Human Resources Representative? appeared first on Mompreneur Media
