A Human Resources manager is not necessarily the first person you are likely to hire in your small business, as their job mainly involves supporting other people. However, there will come a point in your growth where you need to hire someone to deal with personnel issues and take some of the day-to-day people-based work off your desk so that you can focus on running the company.
What does HR manage?
Your HR department will cover essential tasks such as recruitment, training, payroll, policies, and benefits, as well as dealing with any personnel issues and conflict management. They may act as a go-between for employees and higher up managers to look at changes that could be made as well as implementing policies where necessary. This might seem like a lot of things, and it is, but thankfully there are plenty of UK HR software options that help streamline some of the processes – click the link to find out more information.
Keeping up with the law.
Employment law can cover everything from working hours and contracts to acceptable break structures and maternity leave. It’s a lot for anyone to get their head around and to keep up with any changes and developments in the law. By having a dedicated Human Resources department, you are reducing that stress and pressure on you by allowing someone with more extensive knowledge to handle that area. This can help to keep the company from falling into any disrepute and will give everyone peace of mind that things are always handled in the right and proper way to protect employees and the company itself.
HR can contribute to growing the bottom line.
It might not be immediately obvious, but there are several ways that HR actually contributes to making the business money. For example, the productivity of your employees is an area that HR takes care of, so with higher productivity levels and better performance outcomes, the more income they can generate. Good HR can help reduce turnover rates, and organising training and development opportunities will upskill your employees and, again, really benefit the bottom line.
HR can implement new tools.
HR is all about making a workplace better, and that may include investing in new technology or software that benefits everyone. This could be learning platforms that make training more accessible or collaborative tools to help teams work together more harmoniously. They can look at systems and processes in the general running of the business and assess how they can streamline them and make things easier and more efficient.
As you can see, Human Resources is an important part of a growing business, and even if you are not yet at a place where you will need HR, it’s certainly something to plan for in the future as they can really help you grow. Happy, supported staff are more likely to work harder, and by bridging that gap between employer and employee, your whole company will work more harmoniously.
