Why Small Businesses Need HR
5 ways HR can help your business
Posted on 01-29-2019, Read Time: - Min
Share:
If you’re like most people, you know that human resources deals with additional employee benefits like health and life insurance. What you may not realize is that HR covers much more than benefits. The truth is, HR covers everything related to your employees, from recruiting and training to communication.
When you’re focused on running your business, it’s easy to let HR tasks fall through the cracks. But your employees are your most valuable resource, and making sure they are engaged and productive is essential to your success. Even if you only have a single employee, you will need a human resources solution.
What is human resources (HR)?
HR describes any and everything related to your employees, including:
- recruiting top talent
- onboarding new hires
- overseeing the performance review process
- helping employees find professional development opportunities
- overseeing employee training
- keeping the work environment safe and healthy
- handling communication between management and staff
- creating an environment where employees can succeed
- overseeing attendance and tracking hours
It is a significant amount of responsibility, and yet, 54% of small business owners try to handle all these tasks themselves.
5 ways HR can help your small business
1.Grow and Inspire
Putting someone in charge of HR - whether it’s a dedicated HR specialist or a current employee who can take on the extra work – helps to ensure that your company’s values and mission are shared by all new and existing employees. Once everyone is on the same page, your employees will be able to set goals that move your business forward.
An HR specialist is also able to develop training processes and find professional development opportunities to help your employees learn new skills, which helps your business grow because your employees will become more efficient and improve their work. It also shows that you’re willing to invest in your most valuable asset: your employees.
An HR specialist is also able to develop training processes and find professional development opportunities to help your employees learn new skills, which helps your business grow because your employees will become more efficient and improve their work. It also shows that you’re willing to invest in your most valuable asset: your employees.
2.Keep Everyone on Task
In a small business, it’s common for everyone to wear multiple hats. A human resources manager can help write job descriptions for each staff member, so everyone knows what their priorities are. Job descriptions can also help make sure that two people aren’t stepping one each other’s toes by trying to do the same task. This guarantee that everyone knows and understands their responsibilities and allow you to keep your team accountable.
3.Mediate Conflict
As much as we like to avoid them, arguments do arise in a small business. Maybe your employees don’t get along, or they disagree with the direction a project is going. Whether the arguments are personal or professional, a human resources manager can mediate and help all involved parties reach an understanding. This is especially crucial when an argument is between someone in a management position and a staff member, where there is a potential for legal recourse.
4.Keep Up with Regulations and Laws
You need someone in your business who can keep up with changes to laws and regulations at the federal and state levels to make sure your business is compliant. This includes ensuring that you’re classifying workers correctly as either independent contractors or employees and paying nonexempt employees for overtime worked.
You also need someone who can keep up with your employees’ records. This includes more than just their name and contact information. You should keep three files for each employee:
You also need someone who can keep up with your employees’ records. This includes more than just their name and contact information. You should keep three files for each employee:
- a personnel file, which includes hiring documents, performance review information, and any separation records
- a payroll file, which includes salary and wage documents, W-4 forms, W-2 forms, time and attendance records, payroll deductions, and direct deposit authorization
- a medical file, which include notes excusing absences, on-the-job accident or injury reports, workers’ compensation benefits, and health and life insurance information
5.Address Problems Quickly
Trends in your employees’ work attendance can reveal if there are underlying issues on the job or at home. An online HR solution like Workful makes it easy for your HR manager to monitor things like time clock and absences, so they will notice issues immediately as they arise.
For example, they may see that someone on your team is working a lot more overtime than everyone else. Perhaps that employee needs help with time management or scheduling.
The HR manager could also watch for excessive absences. Habitual absenteeism could be caused by low morale, being unsatisfied with the job, or even problems at home.
Once an issue is identified, you can immediately begin to work on the solution and get back to business with a happier, more efficient team.
For example, they may see that someone on your team is working a lot more overtime than everyone else. Perhaps that employee needs help with time management or scheduling.
The HR manager could also watch for excessive absences. Habitual absenteeism could be caused by low morale, being unsatisfied with the job, or even problems at home.
Once an issue is identified, you can immediately begin to work on the solution and get back to business with a happier, more efficient team.
Author Bio
|
Dennis O’Keefe is the Product Director for Workful. Dennis has a rich history in the payroll, banking and small business management space, with a specific passion for helping small business owners streamline financial and record keeping processes so they can get back to what they’d rather be doing, growing their business.
Connect Dennis O'Keefe |
Error: No such template "/CustomCode/topleader/category"!
