The pandemic has undoubtedly highlighted the importance of the human resources function. At Positive HR, we have hourly conversations with business owners to help them best navigate these choppy waters, especially in demystifying JobKeeper— which seemingly changes every day! As HR consultants, sometimes we feel a bit like therapists, counsellors and strategists all rolled into one. But the truth is, it’s the business owners that have the toughest job in helping to keep worried employees informed about what’s happening with the business while staying calm and productive (kudos to you).

If you’re a small business owner, you may be thinking, “I can’t possibly afford a HR manager or a HR department!” But did you know you can cost-effectively outsource parts or all of the HR function and still run a successful business? In fact, it will even help you grow your business!

What exactly is HR outsourcing?

HR outsourcing involves an agreement between a business and a third-party provider. You can engage a HR consultancy firm or an independent HR consultant on a project basis to do things such as reviewing policies and procedures or implementing a new HR system. Or you can outsource all or parts of the HR function such as payroll, recruitment, employee benefits and, training and development.

When considering HR outsourcing, you need to weigh up the costs of a full-time or part-time person or just to have someone come on board for a short period for project support. Your budget and strategic plans should guide your decision.

The business case for HR outsourcing

There are many benefits to outsourcing the HR function. They include:

Free up your time to focus on your vision and strategy

Outsourcing your HR allows you to focus on strategic goals instead of getting bogged down with operational things — and over time will help you scale your business.

You can hire the best HR talent at a cost-effective rate

As businesses strive to streamline, drive efficiencies and productivity, the direction is to relieve the business from support functions (i.e. non-sales departments) in which HR is one of them.

Outsourcing your HR function to a third-party provides greater accessibility to experienced HR consultants. Having on-demand advice is much more cost-effective than hiring a HR manager in-house to do the same job.

Peace of mind. Stay up to date with workplace compliance

We’ve all seen just how much employment law has changed with JobKeeper, standing down directions, employee health and safety — just to name a few. A dedicated HR consultant stays on top of all these changes to make sure your business is compliant.

Tailored HR advice to your business

There is a misconception that HR outsourcing will mean losing the ‘human touch’ but, depending on your outsourced provider, advice should always be tailored to your vision, business goals, industry and circumstances.

Curious to see if outsourcing your HR is right for you?

At Positive HR, we create a tailored HR outsourcing approach to work on-site or virtually with you and your team. As every business is different, we start by conducting an ‘HR health check’ audit on your business by reviewing your current policies and procedures to see where we can minimise risk through compliance and best practice.

Positive HR offers affordable outsourcing memberships, depending on the nature of your business. Get in touch with us to see how we can help your business grow.