Why Outsource HR: Benefits and Advantages
Human Resources outsourcing can provide your organization with flexibility, expertise, and cost savings by allowing you to focus on your core business activities. Whether providing specific, outsourced HR services or filling in as your entire HR department, our clients rely on HR Elements to provide the best HR outsourcing services available.
What Are the Essential Elements of HR Outsourcing?
The short answer: it depends. Outsourcing HR is not a one-size-fits all solution. Many clients come to us for all their HR Operations, Recruiting and Talent Development needs. Others have us handle specific, recurring HR tasks, such as payroll services. Some clients only reach out for supplemental HR support when needed, such as recruiting for a hard-to-fill role, administering an employee engagement survey, or navigating a particularly sensitive employee relations issue.
What Does HR Outsourcing Involve?
When deciding if outsourcing HR is right for your business, it’s usually best to start with an assessment of your company’s HR practices to identify which HR services would be most beneficial based on your current needs, as well as your near-term strategic objectives and long-term goals. That being said, flexibility is one of our core values, so if a client comes to us with a single – or urgent – need, we are happy to start there. Again, it depends what’s best for you.
How Can HR Outsourcing Adapt to Your Company’s Needs?
We start by asking questions to understand what your needs are now, as well as what you’ll need to put in place for your team to achieve your near-term and long-term goals.
Some common scenarios:
- A startup that needs all their people to focused on their core business activities will often choose to outsource HR entirely. In this case, we would start with the HR basics (e.g. payroll, compliance, benefits, and employee relations) and add in recruiting, employee engagement, and talent development services as the business grows and their needs evolve.
- A small business has a non-HR person within the company handling basic HR tasks, who relies on one of our HR Advisors for guidance, recommendations, and to handle the more complicated HR issues.
- A company has someone on their team who wants to do HR, but their experience and knowledge doesn’t quite match their passion, just yet (and, perhaps, the company’s not ready to hire a full-time and/or more senior HR professional). So, they partner with one of our SHRM-certified, HR Advisors and learn as they grow.
- A mid-size company with an internal HR person who brings us in when their work volume is more than one person can do or when they need help with an HR specialty outside of their wheelhouse.
- A mid- or large-size company has an internal HR person or team who handles the company’s HR functions and reaches out to us for help when their capacity is overstretched or they could use an outside perspective
If you’re going to successfully outsource HR in any capacity, you need a provider who will adapt to your organization’s unique culture and needs. We’ll meet you where you are and help you get where you want to go.
How Does HR Outsourcing Work in Different Industries?
Not only does your HR outsourcing provider need to adapt to your company’s needs, but also to what’s relevant and necessary within your industry. Compliance with industry standards,laws and regulations is critical in HR outsourcing. Both parties should ensure that all HR processes and practices adhere to legal requirements related to employment, data protection, and privacy.
What are the Key Advantages of Outsourcing HR?
Outsourcing your HR offers multiple key advantages, including greater efficiency, cost savings, and a better employee experience overall.
How Can HR Outsourcing Save Your Company Money?
Partnering with an HR outsourcing service can be substantially less expensive than hiring (more) internal HR staff. By outsourcing, companies can save on benefits, onboarding, and training, while also benefitting from access to expertise in each HR specialty.
How Can Outsourcing HR Improve Efficiency?
Outsourcing HR functions improves efficient by allowing companies to focus on their core business activities and strategic imperatives, while leaving the HR tasks to the HR experts. For those clients with in-house HR staff, we help them be more efficient by lending a helping hand when their work volume is exceedingly high, or freeing them up to focus on internal, strategic HR priorities.
Is There a Positive Impact on Employee Satisfaction from HR Outsourcing?
Yes, HR outsourcing can have a positive impact on employee satisfaction by meeting their basic HR management needs, such as payroll and benefits, and appealing to their next level needs, such as adequate onboarding, training, and development.
Is Outsourcing HR a Good Fit for Your Company?
Whether HR outsourcing is a good fit for your company will depend on your needs, resources, constraints, and priorities.
Would Small to Mid-sized Businesses Benefit from HR Outsourcing?
Yes, small to mid-sized companies make up the bulk of our clientele, because either they don’t have an internal HR team, or their team lacks expertise within any of the HR functions.
HR outsourcing allows small to mid-sized businesses – and their employees – to experience HR services on par with large organizations at a fraction of the cost.
What are the Risks and How To Mitigate Them?
Overall, human resource outsourcing can provide a variety of benefits, as described above. However, for outsourced HR to work effectively for your business, it’s essential that you select a reputable partner with these characteristics:
- Expertise – Does their team have deep knowledge and experience across the various HR specialties?
- Flexibility – Will they adapt to your company’s culture, needs, and priorities, or plug you into a one-size-fits-all model of professional employer organizations?
- Commitment – Are they committed to helping you achieve your business goals, by aligning your people strategy with your business strategy?
- Integrity – Can you rely on them to do the right thing and do it well?
How Do You Choose a Reliable HR Outsourcing Provider?
When it comes to outsourcing HR services, it’s critical that you select a reliable HR outsourcing provider. Keep these criteria in mind:
- Range of services – Do they have the breadth of services to meet your needs now and in the future?
- Experience – Are they true, HR professionals with the depth of experience and credentials you can trust?
- Reputation – What’s their track record? What do their clients say about them?
If you’re thinking about outsourcing HR, let us know! We’d be happy to help you explore if HR outsourcing is right for your company.
