By: Steve Freeman, owner and CEO of OCI-HR….
Outsourcing Human Resources, either totally or in part, is not a new concept. A few years ago the phrase “outsourcing” got a bad name. It had nothing to do with human resources or payroll, it was more to do with outsourcing jobs (mainly IT) to other countries.
Most companies end up outsourcing something. Some transportation companies outsource the actual driving of goods to a trucking company and some trucking companies often outsource maintenance to a third party. Payroll is a very common function that is outsourced, so we shouldn’t fear the word.
As a business owner and a professional, you should take a look and see what makes the most sense for your business. When a business first starts, it may make sense (or at least be necessary) for an owner to take care of almost everything. But as the business grows, his or her time may be better spent working on the business as opposed to taking care of the back office operations of the company. The problem in a small company is that it is hard, if not impossible, to hire an expert at everything. Having a payroll person, an HR person, a compliance person, a safety expert, a benefits expert, etc. is just too expensive. To have a well functioning HR department requires that all the tasks of compliance, payroll, employee benefits administration, and HR training are working together in harmony.
For a company that is growing, but not reached the point of investing in an internal HR department, outsourcing is not only not a bad word, it can be a business saver.