Is there a need for HR in a New or Small, Growing Business?
New and small, growing businesses must make money quickly. Any funding or investment that they have needs to be justified when spent. The cost:income ratio is paramount to the success of the business.
New and small, growing businesses need to know how much they are making in the coming week, next week, next month, next 90 days to understand whether it will stay afloat and viable as cashflow is king and so many businesses fail in the first 12 months.
A business will only spend money on services that are deemed immediately critical to the business; accountancy and insurance, for example. In many cases HR is not considered service critical, particularly when an expensive, retained package is offered. Business owners will revert to copying and pasting documents from the internet – make do with the limited knowledge that they have. Why do that? If I have a leaky tap, I would call a plumber. I would not attempt to try and fix it, resulting in making the matter worse with more cost – and gosh I would make it worse!
When things go wrong with people issues, it does go drastically wrong. A great quote from a business connection of mine: “If in trouble or in doubt run in circles scream and shout…”
This is when HR does become critical but quite often it is too late. How much risk will you take with your company? This risk could then result in a most unwanted cost – costs incurred to battle legal action through an employment tribunal and possible fine.
Prevention
As you prepare to take on staff or have staff, bringing onboard an HR specialist in an outsourced capacity early will provide your company immediately with a strong reputation as a professional employer. People are your greatest asset and are intrinsic to the success of your company and its growth – it is vital therefore that you can demonstrate that you value them as members of staff through good policies and HR support.
HR specialists can guide you, or your supervisors and managers in the conversations required to address people issues and to provide empathetic but fair results.
HR specialists can give you the protection you need through their knowledge and experience when dealing with the complexities of Employment Law ensuring you remain compliant.
Value – What is it you need Now?
But let’s focus on the value and assess exactly what you need now. You are a new or small, growing business and your availability of funds is incredibly tight, but you know you need to comply with legal requirements as you have or will have staff. So, what do you need? You need mandatory contracts and policies through an employee handbook, and you need someone to call and ask for advice. That’s it!
As the Company Grows
As you grow as a business, your staff base becomes larger. As people are core to the company you may consider that you need broader requirements from an HR service e.g. job design; recruitment; onboarding; managing of increasing people issues etc, this is where a retained package is a more suitable option. But beware – some outsourced HR providers increase their monthly retained fee as your staff numbers increase.
Why Choose Bower HR?
The focus here at Bower HR is new and small, growing businesses initially, and that we support them as they grow. That is why we offer a basic package which exactly matches what a new or small, growing
business needs; all for the affordable price of a “cup of tea a day”.
This service provides:
• Contracts tailored for the company.
• Employee handbook suitable for size of company.
• HR helpline – available through all modes of communication e.g. WhatsApp; Facetime; Skype; phone and email etc.
• Monthly calls and updates on emerging legal aspects and new developments.
If you need action beyond the helpline you just pay for what you use at an agreed, competitive rate.
So, don’t be persuaded to tie yourself into long-term expensive retained monthly agreements – when it’s not what you need. Sign up for the HR helpline provided by Bower HR Consultancy and know that you
have the value of professional and appropriate HR support.
