Human Resources Solutions for Your Small Business

By: Angie Mansfield

Your small business may not have room for a full-time HR professional, which can leave both you and your employees frustrated.

On the other hand, your company may be growing past the point where it makes sense to handle HR duties on your own.

Here are a few ways you can handle HR tasks effectively, and keep everyone happy.

Ensuring Legal Requirements are Met

Before deciding on a plan for HR duties in your company, it's a good idea to consult with an HR consultant. This person should know the legal requirements for such things as benefits and anti-discrimination policies, and can help you put a plan in place to keep things running smoothly.

Going it Alone

If you only have an employee or two, you may not be able to justify hiring someone to handle HR tasks. In that case, you'll have to tackle the job on your own.

There are some basic tasks you'll have to perform as your own HR department. You'll need to keep employee files (and keep them secure), come up with an employee handbook with company policies, and post legally required notices (such as worker's comp posters).

You also have to keep payroll and benefits records, and make sure everyone gets paid on time. This can become a Catch-22, since you don't have the budget to hire a full-time HR professional...but you also don't have time to handle all the administrative tasks and run your business.

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Outsourcing

Outsourcing your HR duties to an outside vendor can be a great solution to your problem.

Before taking this option, however, you need to come up with clear goals to define what you need from an HR professional. Will the HR firm be just your payroll, or will they take care of benefits administration and employee recruitment, too?

Whatever part of the HR duties you decide to outsource, be careful about selecting the HR person or firm you work with. Especially if they will be handling your money for payroll purposes, check their references and make sure you'll want to deal with them long-term.

Hiring an HR Manager

Has your company grown to the point where you're spending more on staff resources to cover HR duties than it would cost to hire a human resources manager? Here are a few tips on finding the right person for the job:

• Come up with a detailed job description -- especially if you've been sharing HR duties with your employees. This job description may include coming up with employee policies, administering benefits and incentive plans, and overseeing the hiring and firing process.
• As with outsourcing, it's important to check references on your HR management candidates. This step is often overlooked, but can save you major headaches.
• If you're overwhelmed by the task of finding a qualified HR professional, you can use employment services or hiring consultants to help you hire the right person for the job.

As your company grows and you hire more employees, properly managing human resources tasks will become even more important.

With some preparation and the right help, you can keep things running smoothly.

About the Author: Angie Mansfield writes on a range of business topics for a variety of websites, includingReputation.com.