It all started with your father selling plumbing supply parts to the local hardware store out of the trunk of his car. Your grandparents stepped in to help once several hardware stores started buying parts and monthly invoices needed to be sent. You spent your college summers completing data entry for the new company catalogue filled with over 10,000 plumbing parts. You graduated from college just in time to be named Vice-President of what is now officially a “family business.”
With the “family business” designation comes new challenges. Find larger warehouse space. Check. Buy accounting software. Check. Hire an office manager. Indeed, then Monster . . . check. Assemble onboarding materials for the office manager. Quick Google search . . . check. Orient office manager on his first day. Cancel morning meeting with new supplier, tell the receptionist to hold all your calls, conduct the orientation . . . check. Respond to office manager’s question about your policy on paternity leave. Hmmm. Google? SHRM? Do I have to offer this leave? Should I offer this leave? Tell the office manager you’ll get back to him on that one. Respond to office manager’s question about your health insurance benefits and when he can add his new baby after she is born. Seriously? Call insurance broker and leave a message. Contemplate how much you are spending/will spend on health insurance for your employees and their dependents. Leave another message for your insurance broker requesting bids from less expensive insurance carriers. Text your husband and tell him you won’t be home for dinner, because you have too much work to do!
To say a small or family business owner wears many hats is an understatement. It is easy to get bogged down in the day-to-day business administration taking valuable time away from doing what you do best – growing your business. Fortunately, there is a solution. Outsourcing has become increasingly important as businesses seek ways to reduce time and resources spent on transactions and administration, so they can concentrate on more strategic activities. This reduction in time and resources also translates to savings. As a business owner, you can decide which functions you wish to retain and which ones you want to outsource. Maybe you continue your recruiting and onboarding efforts, but hand off payroll, benefits administration and training and development initiatives. Any HR function can be outsourced, and here are some of the more common ones.
Recruiting
In order to grow your business, you need the right employees. It sounds easy, but recruiting involves many time-consuming steps, each one equally important. Recruiting starts with identifying what is needed in a position by conducting a job analysis leading to a job description. Posting a well-written job posting on the appropriate job site ensures the right candidates apply for the job. Screening the flood of ensuing resumes is possibly the most labor intensive but also the most critical step to getting top talent in the door for an interview. The logistics of scheduling phone and in-person interviews is a big time drain.
Asking the right, legally-compliant interview questions is a must and then using the information gleaned from the interview to identify the best-suited candidate is an acquired skill. Extending a competitive offer considering the market and your competition that wants the same candidate can be tricky. Once an offer is accepted, you must ensure proper documentation is in your search file and that the onboarding process is seamless to get the new employment relationship off on the right foot. Every step of this process can be outsourced to an HR outsourcing firm.
Benefits Administration
The dreaded open enrollment period shouldn’t be such a downer for a business owner or HR manager. When properly handled by an outsourced HR firm, open enrollment creates an opportunity to showcase your company’s benefits and educate your employees on how to best handle their family’s insurance needs. It is also a time when you are legally required to distribute certain notices and Summary Plan Descriptions to your employees. You don’t want the goodwill felt between you and your new hire soured when someone forgets to enroll them in your dental plan.
COBRA notification requirements are many and not easily managed in house. Did you know a COBRA notification is required when a covered employee divorces? Do you have a foolproof process in place to notify payroll when an employee enrolls in an insurance plan, adds a dependent or leaves the company? These and many more tasks fall under the umbrella of benefits administration and can be outsourced to an HR firm.
Training & Executive Coaching
Not everyone is born a natural leader or manager. In fact, most skills needed to perform in those capacities are learned behaviors. Just because you promote a well-deserving employee to Sales Manager doesn’t mean she knows how to execute her new responsibilities. It is incumbent upon you to equip her with the resources needed to be successful, often in the form of training or executive coaching. An outsourced executive coach can work with your new leadership to help them gain self-awareness and unlock their potential so they can achieve their goals.
Not every manager has an employment law degree. In fact, most probably don’t. It is essential to minimizing your liability for all employees in a managerial role to know basic employment law such as Title VII, the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act among others. By outsourcing this training, you can sleep at night knowing your management team is well-versed in employment law and isn’t engaging in behaviors that could get you sued.
Payroll
Nothing is more irritating to an employee or business owner than payroll mistakes. Employees expect and are entitled to being paid accurately and on time. That being said, running payroll can be fraught with potential issues. Managing proper payroll deductions, ensuring correct tax withholdings and maintaining accurate employee data requires great attention to detail. Payroll becomes more complicated the larger your business gets, particularly if you open locations in other states. Why not outsource this function to an expert who knows how to run payroll like a pro?
Finding The Right HR Outsourcing Firm
If you are now sold on the benefits of outsourcing some, or possibly all, of your HR functions but don’t know who to call, look no further. Smart HR’s team of savvy, knowledgeable HR professionals can fulfill all your HR needs. All Smart HR Consultants have over 15 years of HR management experience and usually have one of the following certifications: Professional of Human Resources (PHR), Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR), Certified HR Professional (SHRM – CP) or Senior Certified HR Professional (SHRM – SCP).
Many of our consultants also hold advanced degrees in Human Resource Management or Organizational Development. All that experience and knowledge is certainly important but what sets Smart HR consultants apart from others is their approach to working with you. They know excellent customer service is not cookie cutter and work hard to get to know you, your employees and your company so they can best serve your needs. Call Smart HR today to schedule an initial consultation.
