Outsourcing HR simply means contracting with an external HR organization to handle all your HR needs, from hiring and onboarding, to benefits administration to ensuring legal compliance with employment laws. It is possible to outsource a few HR processes such as payroll and benefits administration or outsource all HR functions which may be particularly beneficial for small to mid-sized companies. The benefits to working with an outsourced HR consultant are many with the main ones falling under the “savings” umbrella – save money, save time and save your sanity.
Save Money
December 2019 data on Glassdoor reports the average base pay of a Director of Human Resources in the D.C. area is $116,170. When considering total compensation including benefits, that number goes up significantly. There is also the cost of hiring and training an employee. A study conducted by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) revealed the average cost to hire an employee is $4,129 and another $1,200 to train her. In most cases, an outsourced HR consultant will cost less than half what it costs to hire an internal HR professional.
An outsourced HR consultant can also protect you from costly errors in payroll administration, research the most cost-effective benefit offerings, ensure compliance with employment laws preventing expensive fines and legal costs and develop innovative hiring strategies to help you find the best employees reducing hiring and turnover costs.
Save Time
Your focus should be on growing and managing your business not on updating your employee handbook, responding to benefits inquiries and administering your performance management program. If you’ve ever managed your company’s open enrollment, conducted an internal investigation into an employee’s complaint or managed the implementation of an HRIS, you know how time intensive human resources processes can be. Outsourcing human resources functions can reduce your administrative workload and that of your team, freeing up your staff to focus on your business strategy and objectives.
Save Your Sanity
Let’s be honest. As critical as human resources is to an organization, managing it can be a pain. Human resource management is rife with complexities, difficulties and challenges. Take for example recruiting. Obviously, the end result of recruiting for an opening is an impressive, well-qualified employee ready to hit the ground running. But what went on behind the scenes leading to that hire?
To find the perfect candidate, someone must: determine the salary range for the position, update the job description, create a well-written, legally compliant job posting, identify the appropriate job boards on which to post, screen the multitude of incoming resumes, schedule phone interviews with first round candidates, convene hiring managers to discuss candidates and make first round of cuts, schedule onsite second round of interviews, convene hiring managers to discuss candidates and make second round of cuts, schedule third and final round of interviews, convene hiring managers to select final candidate, extend an offer, negotiate the hiring package including hiring bonus, salary, relocation expenses and benefits, send rejection letters, draft a well-written, legally compliant offer letter, check references, document the hire in a “search file,” initiate the onboarding process including notifying payroll, benefits providers, accounting and IT, conduct new hire orientation and review and collect all new hire paperwork, process new hire paperwork, provide any necessary training and, finally, hope and pray this new employee will work out. It’s a lot with many opportunities for mistakes along the way.
Why not put each and every step, besides the hiring decision, on someone else’s plate? An experienced HR consultant can perform all the necessary steps involved without batting an eye, because she is the expert and has built a career out of doing so.
Get In with the Right Outsourced HR Consultant
If you’ve considering working with an HR consultant, you know there are many vendors providing this service. Some are completely automated with no human involved, others require bundling services and still others use the same templates for employee handbooks and other critical documents for all their clients. Those vendors may work for you. However, if you are interested in “selective outsourcing” where you can pick and choose among services you need and value a personal touch, Smart HR may be the perfect HR outsourcing solution for you.
When you choose Smart HR for your HR outsourcing, you will be assigned your own HR consultant who will work onsite getting to know you and your staff. Often times, the employees of Smart HR clients think the Smart HR consultant is on staff, because the consultant works so closely with the employees. To get started, call Smart HR today and speak with Mark Stevenson, Smart HR President and CEO, who will schedule an in-person meeting with you to assess your HR needs and pair you with a Smart HR consultant who will partner with you to reach your full HR potential. Call today!
