Introducing an HR Function to Your Small Business

March 30, 2022
Sandy Epperson

This is a common topic of discussion as business leaders contemplate the best time to introduce an HR function or activities into their organization.  The feeling is often that dedicated HR is not needed for a small business, or the function brings too much formality to the organization when trying to keep the culture casual and flexible.  It’s an important distinction to note that a workplace can remain casual with an HR function in place.  A professional and effective HR function aligned to broader business goals is valuable to any size organization.

There is no magic number of employees that triggers the need for HR within an organization. It is advisable to establish a good HR foundation at an early stage of the business, especially when experiencing or anticipating growth.  It is best to get in front of the time and effort to build a scalable HR infrastructure that serves the organization and workforce to a future time.

Specifically, many facets of an HR function are very helpful to establish early for a small employer.  Those areas may include outlining a standardized effective recruiting, selection and onboarding process, understanding employment law compliance areas for the business, designing compensation and benefit structures, payroll, crafting policies and procedures for consistency, evaluating outsourced technology and more.

If the business is not yet ready to commit to an HR hire but needs assistance to establish the function such as defining the HR role, answering compliance questions, building and communicating practices, processes, procedures customized for the organization, On Course HR can help.  Services to build your HR function properly from the start can be discussed at a complimentary consultation with work to be completed on an hourly or project basis.  Call today, we’d love to assist your business!