In all businesses, taking care of clients is paramount, but it is equally important to ensure that employees are also treated properly. Human resources plays a valuable role in taking care of employee matters and ensuring that the workforce remains connected to the business.
Unfortunately, many companies lack the resources for a full-fledged human resources department staffed with experienced and knowledgeable professionals. For these companies, hiring an outsourced human resources consultant can be an effective and affordable way of accessing this valuable insight. Consultants can typically be hired on an hourly basis or a contract basis to serve in human resources roles or support existing HR teams.
Outlined below are the main benefits of hiring outsourced human resources consultants.
Recruitment
A human resources consultant can advise a business on effective approaches for attracting qualified applicants to job vacancies. Some consultants specialize in areas such as recruitment and selection and can help a company develop a recruitment strategy and make smarter hiring decisions.
No small business can afford to waste resources on recruitment strategies that are not delivering results. An HR consultant who can develop a productive workforce can save a business a significant amount of money by reducing its cost per hire.
Time Savings
When you consider the many different functions that human resources management is responsible for carrying out, it is easy to understand how all of the administrative tasks and paperwork associated with maintaining HR functions can consume significant time. Outsourcing some of these functions enables businesses to free up valuable time for internal HR staff members to devote to more pressing matters.
Litigation
In some cases, employee relations matters may call for an investigation. Both formal and informal complaints filed by employees accusing the company of unfair employment practices must be investigated and addressed appropriately. External HR consultants are preferable over in-house investigators for such matters because they preserve the integrity of these investigations and can help organizations avoid accusations of partiality.
HR consultants who are trained in mediating workplace disputes can help a company save money on litigating employment cases. They may also provide valuable advice on steps that can be taken to prevent future liability risks related to employee issues.
Outsourcing Other Business Functions
Human resources consultants can also guide businesses in outsourcing other services, such as benefits administration and payroll processing. They can help businesses determine when it makes more sense to hire an outside provider and when it is best to hire a dedicated in-house professional. Some HR consultants may even perform some of these functions, which can help businesses save on the expense of a salary and benefits for full-time employees handling the same tasks.
Compliance
Human resources consultants can ensure that a business remains compliant with all of the applicable employment laws. Because these laws and regulations are constantly changing and vary depending on the location of the business, hiring an HR consultant who is well-versed in the relevant legislation can eliminate worries and ensure the organization is following employment laws.
Performance Monitoring
While it is important for managers to monitor the development and performance of those who work under their supervision, this can also be delegated to an HR consultant, who will have more time to generate reports on employee performance and ensure that everyone complies with the organization’s policies.
This alleviates the administrative workload of management, allowing them to focus on more important matters, such as increasing the bottom line of the business.
Development and Training
HR consultants can help a business to create and schedule training sessions. This is beneficial for initial training and onboarding for new employees to inform them about their position and the business’s rules and values. They can also provide training for existing employees to help them learn new skills or acquire additional knowledge helping them to be more effective and productive in carrying out their roles.
Cost Savings
Outsourcing human resources management can also help businesses to save money. There are several areas in which businesses can see cost savings:
- Less spending on salaries – Human resources managers can earn upwards of $75,000 per year, plus benefits. An HR department at a small or medium business could cost a business hundreds of thousands of dollars per year in staffing. By outsourcing these roles, a significant amount of money can potentially be saved.
- Avoiding penalties – A skilled human resources consultant can help a business avoid penalties for noncompliance with employment-related regulations and laws.
- Reducing benefits expenses – An experienced HR consultant can often negotiate better rates for a larger pool of clients, which gives smaller businesses access to the types of good rates that are typically reserved for bigger companies with extensive staff.
- Spending less time on human resources functions – Outsourcing HR can save a considerable amount of time that would normally be spent on human resources tasks. This can amount to significant cost savings as it allows employees to focus on their areas of specialization and improve the business’s functioning.
Reduced Mistakes
Many small business owners attempt to manage many tasks themselves, including human resources. While this may make sense when a company is first starting out, it can take away a significant amount of time from other important tasks. However, an even bigger concern is the potential for making mistakes.
Most small business owners do not have a background in human resources and are therefore vulnerable to making mistakes not only with payroll and employee paperwork, but also lack the general and legal knowledge needed to implement effective policies for managing staff.
Outsourcing human resources to experienced professionals who are dedicated to human resources tasks greatly reduces the likelihood of mistakes that could cost a business a lot of money and open it up to lawsuits.
Discuss the Needs of Your Business with Certified HR Consultants
To learn more about how outsourced human resources consultants can save your organization money and time, request an appointment with the certified HR consultants at Business Benefits Group (BBG) today.