Everyone is facing uncertainty right now. Some businesses are hurting, others have found ways to capitalize on the situation and grow (for now). Whether you are pulling back and just focused on survival or growing and taking advantage of the situation, you need to be flexible and agile to deal with the uncertainties and able to handle everything the situation throws at you.
So, how do you keep up? It can be hard to know when to hire and fire, when to embrace growth and when to pull back. One thing you can do which might help is outsource human resources.
How can outsourcing human resources help your business get through these times and come out on the other side stronger and more stable?
Scalability
You think you might need another HR person, but what if economic uncertainties cause your business to shrink? The last thing you want to do is hire somebody, train them, and then have to let them go.
At the same time, you have uncertainty rippling through your business. In a worst case scenario, you may discover that you lose a key person...an office manager, an administrator, HR personnel, etc. This loss could be sudden, and you may not have a replacement trained.
With HR outsourcing, you can add or subtract resources easily to handle any changes, such as to cover for an employee who is on leave or deal with increased workload. Capacity can be changed immediately to match your circumstances. You can scale up easily but also downsize without pain if needed, and you will be prepared to deal with every issue these uncertain times might bring.
Immediate Compliance
As the world navigates these times, new legislation is being introduced. This may be permanent or it may take the form of temporary orders. Keeping track of this can be a full time job.
Outsourcing HR means you no longer need to worry about changing aspects of regulatory compliance associated with, for example, paid sick leave.
The expertise a HR outsourcing partner offers can make all the difference. The ability to change with the rules can help you avoid fines and penalties, but also keep you from continuing to follow constraints that are no longer necessary and losing money as a result.
Top Talent Retention
Keeping a strong company culture through uncertain times can help you retain talent that might otherwise leave. People need to know that they are wanted and cared about. A healthy company culture can help with that, letting your employees support each other through the uncertainty. This in turn reduces voluntary turnover and takes pressure off of HR.
HR outsourcing can also allow you to provide better benefits, especially in the healthcare area, which also helps retain employees and makes it easier to replace employees you might lose to involuntary turnover.
Also, you can outsource routine matters, which frees up your HR staff to give employees the advice they need on how they can get through the uncertainty. With your HR people not handling basic compliance or payroll, they can be there to answer questions and make sure your employees get the support and help they need to stay healthy, stay productive, and help keep your business running.
Comprehensive Expertise
Particularly for smaller companies, uncertainty can result in new situations cropping up. For example, perhaps you have been lucky and never had to deal with FMLA requirements, but suddenly have more than one employee who needs leave. Or you might be dealing with a situation where an employee needs accommodations or a return to work program. The kind of routine matters you normally deal with may well be eclipsed by these kinds of unexpected problems.
Your outsourced HR partner has almost certainly seen it all. They will have experts who can help in any area and act as trusted advisors no matter what might happen. You can benefit from this knowledge without having to scramble to find the expertise, and without having your HR people desperately doing research and trying to work out what to do. When a mistake can cost you heavily in compliance penalties and the possible loss of an employee, it's vital to have this kind of expertise available.
Your business needs a fully-functional HR department, especially right now, to keep it healthy and stable long enough to come out on the other side and thrive. HR outsourcing can plug any leaks and bring stability to an inherently unstable situation.
