One thing the events of 2020 have shown us is that the answer to ‘do small businesses really need HR support?’ is ‘Yes, they absolutely do!’ Probably not in house and not full time but definitely a presence, maybe in the shape of, hmmmm, I don’t know, someone like us, an external HR Support Consultancy.
When you took on your first employee it’s unlikely that you thought about all the areas HR are involved in their lifecycle and how you would deal with them, let alone have the time to actually do so. HR is A LOT of admin!
There is a very good reason that you run your business – it’s because you’re really good at it! and there is a reason we run ours. Even with the best intentions of doing things right by your employees there is a risk that without any HR and legislative knowledge you could up doing the wrong thing. HR support prevents costly mistakes
It might not feel like it right now with everything that is going on but if not now, one day soon your business will have room to grow, HR helps plan the future and supports change in a business You have an expert to help plan strategic HR decisions for recruitment, retention, development and management of your employees.
How do you decide what HR support you need and who can provide the right HR support for your business?
Choosing the right HR support
Do you know what support you need? We don’t know what we don’t know, so how do we make an informed choice about what we actually need?
Having really good HR Support is like having your own in-house HR Department as your consultant gets to know everyone and understands how you operate, meaning they can give the best advice that suits your business when you need it.
Your consultant will proactively manage HR in your business rather than simply responding to queries as you raise them – you can hand over key responsibilities to your outsourced HR team and trust that they will ensure it gets done properly without taking up your time
You build a trusted relationship that means you have a confidential sounding board for people related issues as well as somewhere to turn to with concerns or “silly questions” at any time – with no judgement, just support and pragmatic advice.
When it comes to something as important as legal compliance, understanding the need is crucial! Having HR support will keep you up to date with changes in employment law, new case law and best practice meaning you stay ahead of any challenges that might present themselves in future
A Chartered Institute of Personnel Development (CIPD) qualification may be a good indicator of whether your consultant is actually qualified, but other qualifications are equally useful and experience counts for a lot! Employment law and HR best practice are changing all the time so look for a Consultant who has worked in generalist HR for a number of years and who still has this as the primary focus in what they do.
Does the HR Consultant understand small businesses? Whilst there is no doubt that working in the HR Department of a big corporate will give a wealth of experience, will it translate to what you need in your business? Look for an HR Consultant who has an appreciation of the challenges small business owners are facing.
We offer a Free HR Audit, we will spend a couple of hours with you getting to know you and your business, talking about what you already have in place. After our meeting we will send you a full report with any recommendations we make, there’s no obligation to take things any further, we just hope you find it useful
What level of service do you need?
Will you have a dedicated consultant who gets to know you and your business or will you be ringing a call centre where the next available operator takes on your query? Do you want a Consultant who will come out to your premises when needed or are you happy with a remote phone support service only? How quickly will you get a response? Ensure the HR Consultant you choose really provides the services that matches your expectations.
You may be thinking that a “pay-as-you-go” option is best – after all why pay for something until you need it and use it? For many very small businesses this is indeed a sensible approach, particularly once you have the essentials to keep you legally compliant in place.
If, however, you have a team of employees or are planning to grow rapidly then a retained HR Support package may give you a better level of service and a better deal financially. So, what might the benefits be?
Your consultant will prioritise work for you over pay-as-you-go clients, meaning you will get a faster response time and your work completed sooner
Your outsourced HR team can also run your HR management processes, particularly with the use of cloud-based software that gives you and you HR Consultant access to employee data without needing to be in the office
It is easy to budget when you set up a regular payment each month and there are other financial benefits too as retained HR Support clients benefit from discounted rates on any additional services including document templates and training courses
If you think that vivoHR are the right fit for your small business HR support then we would love to hear from you.