Bogged down by staff issues? Outsourced HR could be the answer

If you find yourself bogged down by staff issues, now may be a good time to consider the benefits outsourced HR can bring to you and your business.

By Karen Credie, KMCHR.

The summer holidays are officially over and it’s ‘back to work’ for most of us. Going back to work after a break can motivate us to make changes in our businesses; whether it is finally instigating those ideas that have been bubbling away for months or actioning new ideas you may have had over the summer.

Or at least that’s the idea, until you come back to work only to be faced with a stack of issues that need to be dealt with!

One of the most widely considered ‘time saps’ associated with running a business is dealing with employment and HR matters. As a business owner, you may have your day planned out and a list of tasks that you want to progress, along with any previously scheduled meetings. The whole plan can quickly be thrown out of the window, however, if there is an employee matter that needs addressing.

The fact is, the day to day management of staff can become a real drain on a business owners’ time; time that would be more effectively spent on other aspects of the business.

Many businesses cannot justify, or simply do not need, an internal HR function so employing the services of an external HR professional is an effective solution and helps to reduce the amount of time you are diverted from your work to deal with staff matters; allowing you to focus on what you should be doing! Outsourcing HR often brings a further range of benefits to businesses. Here are just a few of them.

It’s lonely at the top. It is well known that managing a business can be a lonely place. Having experts on hand that you can call upon, such as an HR advisor and other specialists whose expertise you may employ to oversee other functions of the business, can really help; not only taking some of the strain of your workload but also having someone who is appropriately senior to bounce ideas off as and when you require.

Impartiality. Like it or not, when you are faced with HR issues in your own business, there is a tendency to become personally involved. Employees may have worked for the company for many years and in such cases it could be all too easy to ‘look kindly’ upon any misdemeanour's, or conversely, give new staff ‘the benefit of the doubt’. An external HR Manager will be completely objective and will therefore be able to remain impartial. This is not only important to keep a level playing field across the workforce, but could also protect the business from Employment Claims as employees would not be able to accuse you of treating some staff more/less favourably than others.

Up to date. Staying on top of employment legislation can be a full time task in itself! And even if you do make an effort to keep on top of current guidance for employers, unless you are a trained employment law professional, you cannot always be 100% sure that you’re doing the right thing.

Outsourced HR professionals are of course fully up to speed with employment law – and can therefore be worth their weight in gold as you can be confident that you will not fall foul of legislation and potentially find yourself open to employment claims. Additionally, experienced HR Consultants can also call upon past instances of managing situations; therefore being able to offer advice on the ‘best’ way to approach matters for the long-term benefit of the business and thus adding value over and above simply advising what is/isn’t within the law. If you have returned to work to face a string of staff problems, or simply want to use this time of year as an impetus to take back control of your business, contact us to discuss our outsourced HR services. We offer a free one hour consultation to any business that is new to KMC HR.