What you need to know about HR Outsourcing

Whatever be your organization’s HR (Human Resource) requirements, you can find an HR outsourcing company to meet your specific needs. There are mainly two types of HR outsourcing firms. While some HR outsourcing firms are generalists and offer an entire gamut of HR services, there are other firms who are specialists and stick to specific HR areas, such as recruiting or payroll processing.  Depending on how much control you want to have over your HR processes and the size of your business, you can decide to outsource all your HR functions or only outsource a few specific HR services.

 

hr outsourcing

Services offered by HR outsourcing firms

Here is a list of some of the basic services that an HR outsourcing firm can handle:

• Overseeing your staffing requirements and general organizational structure
• Handling recruitment, training and development
• Tracking the goals, strategies and objectives of your departments
• Providing manager and employee training
• Organizing employee orientation programs
• Handling your company’s benefit administration tasks
• Handling employee relations
• Managing payroll processing
• Handling worker’s compensation
• Implementing a HRIS (human resource information system)
• Creating and updating policy manuals and employee handbooks
• Developing and implementing a compensation program
• Writing and updating affirmative action plans
• Creating and reviewing a performance appraisal system

Why outsource HR?

Generally small to midsize businesses that have employees between 30 to 2,000 employees, choose to outsource HR as it helps them focus on core business functions and relieves them of their HR responsibilities. HR outsourcing also helps companies to easily handle administrative overloads.

HR Outsourcing can provide key advantages, such as:

• Improved employee relations
• Lower operating costs
• Services of skilled HR professionals whose specialty is HR
• Improved performance of your HR system
• Increased overall performance of your organization
• Elimination of redundant non-core HR functions

How HR outsourcing helps

HR outsourcing can help your company is more than one way:

Outsourcing HR can help your company to serve your employees better

HR outsourcing can identify inefficient HR practices and administration processes within your company

An experienced HR firm can identify non-value adding HR activities and remove hidden HR operation costs, thereby reducing your HRM (Human Resource Management) cost base

How HR Outsourcing Can Benefit Your Company

In today’s fluctuating economy there are many companies looking for all sorts of ways to down size and save costs where ever they can. This is especially true when it comes to the size of the staff compliment in a given company. In a recent study over a number of different companies of different sizes and capacities it was established that on average around seventy percent of a company’s expenditure was employee related.

 

The fact of the matter is that most companies no longer operate on traditional business lines and no longer follow traditional business models. The modern day business environment simply does not allow for traditional methods to be successful or competitive anymore. Almost every single company, corporation or conglomerate operating in the global business environment today uses some degree of Hr outsourcing.

 

There are many advantages to using Hr outsourcing or niche specialist providers. One of the biggest benefits to using an outsourced specialist is being able to completely eliminate a division or section within your company that is no longer a viable part of your business in terms of expense versus result. This is especially true for many companies HR departments. Using an external specialist means that you would only need to pay them on a consultancy basis, as and when you need them.

Employing outsourced HR specialists allows you to concentrate on whatever your core business is which in turn will lead to greater productivity and the increased level of focus means better business decisions and strategies. HR specialists can be very beneficial in a number of different sectors of your business. HR specialists can organize and administer your payroll, deal with the many complex compliancy issues and even deal with recruiting new fresh employees to help your business become even better.

 

An outsourced HR specialist can also be employed to administer all of the normal day to day administrative duties which will free up your own management for more important duties. Once your managers are free to pursue the core goals of your business, your business will naturally move in the right direction and flourish.

How To Maximize HR Outsourcing Investments

Outsourcing is the preferred method of doing businesses nowadays, especially for business owners that want to reduce operational expenses and boost returns. However, companies looking towards this direction need to assess their needs and capabilities in-house before handing it off to a third-party service provider. To be specific, there are certain processes that you need to take care of before you can outsource your company’s HR functions.

The first and most essential step would be to layout your HR outsourcing plan clearly. Aside from the traditional HR outsourcing services, you may also consider hiring these companies for strategic functions on your HR department. For instance, there are companies that offer recruitment, talent management, and employee training services.

You need to therefore do a comparison of your current company needs and where you want to take your company in the future. That will require you to look into the big picture, such as where you want your company to be in within the next few years. One way wherein businesses had been able to maximize the use of HR outsourcing is through the use of technologies provided by the outsourcing provider. This is a good way to train or manage employee performance, which brings about a direct effect on your operations.

One other thing to consider if you want to maximize returns through HR outsourcing is to organize the processes within your company. There are two options available for you when outsourcing the HR functions:

 1) you can allow the outsourcing company to take over the HR processes of your company, or 

 2) you will clean up your HR processes before you hand it over. For HR experts, the second method will reap you better results.

The most important thing to remember is that HR outsourcing does not work like a magic potion. It works just like any other investment – there are certain risks involved. It is your responsibility to organize the handing over of HR responsibilities for maximum results. Outsourcing experts such as midwesthr.com can help walk you through this process to ensure a smooth and efficient outsourcing of all HR functions.

Should You Try HR Outsourcing?

Human resources is an integral part of any business, but you still shudder at the thought of HR outsourcing.

 

From benefits to payroll and company culture, it’s important that you have this department in place for the health of your business. However, some companies are going without due to lack of funds or time; though it may seem like an easy way around the problem, it’s not the smartest business move.

 

Your company is required to abide by a number of rules, not to mention staying on top of employee benefits and overall office environment. So, before tossing the idea of Hr outsourcing the wayside, find out why you might need it and why it will in fact benefit you in the end.

Your Business Is Growing

Sure, with four employees, you could easily get away without an HR department in place – but as you grow, hire new employees, and fall under new brackets of legal processes, it’s important you have someone handling it all – giving you one, or a few, less things to worry about.

You Need To Save Money

Right now, many flourishing small businesses are still on a very tight budget. While you can get away with going DIY in finances, using your basic accounting knowledge, an HR department is one of the things you should not do yourself, if you can help it. While hiring a new employee – making space for them and getting their workspace set up with the right equipment – is expensive, HR outsourcing can make all the difference in your budget.

 

Try it: Though there are a variety of options including PEO and and BPO, try a web-based service, and pay per employee. When you compare this with the average cost of an HR department you’ll find you’re saving an extravagant amount.

Your HR Resources Are Minimal

The HR department takes care of important issues that may not be common knowledge for the average business owner. Often times, the small business laws are enough to make your head spin. So, if no one else in the office has the right resources or knowledge to take on this role, HR outsourcing will be a smart way to fill the gap.

 

Try it: You are likely not knowledgeable on federal and state employment rules and regulations and an HR service would take care of this for you. It’s better to have a professional handling these important aspects of your business before your business is found liable for something you could have avoided.

HR outsourcing is a great way to get an important role within your business filled. Whether you’re growing quickly, on a budget or just need a professional, there is no excuse for not having an HR representative in place – not only could it be damaging for your company, but your employees as well.

WHAT IS MANAGEMENT CONSULTING?

Management Consulting is the practice of offering business executives third party advice, expertise, and support with the aim of enhancing the business's performance resulting in an overall increase in the value of the business for its shareholders - and other stakeholders.  

Management Consulting got its start in the late 1880's when Frederick W. Taylor began to perform studies of the time required to complete processes in manufacturing.  The practice developed over time and eventually, James O. McKinsey formed McKinsey & Company with Tom Kearney -in the mist of the great depression, when companies needed consultancies most.  McKinsey's group set out to help troubled businesses grow and recover from economic crisis.  Shortly after that, Management Consulting grew as a field  and other firms began to take shape.

Today, there are many management-consulting firms.  Boston Consulting Group, McKinsey & Company, and Bain & Company are all firms with which you may be familiar.  Organisations typically hire management consultants for their problem-solving abilities, specialised industrial expertise and commercial acumen.

  

 

 

 

What Does Management Consulting Entail?

 

 Good management consultants possess both strong creative problem solving ability and excellent people skills.  

Skilled consultants possess the ability to provide a careful analysis of a problem and suggest creative methods to find solutions to the problem. Management consulting also requires excellent people skills.  Successful consultants can tune into their clients' needs and focus on keeping their clients happy. Consultants often will spend much of their time at a client's site observing and performing research to find the best strategies to assist their client company in meeting goals and solving problems. 

Finally, the work hours that a management consultant puts in may be long.  Be aware that you may be putting in far more work than those who work at the company - sometimes as much as ninety hours a week.  Management consultants are hard working self-starters who don't mind going the extra mile in the name of keeping their clients pleased.

 

What Are the Entry Routes for Management Consulting?

 

 Management consulting is one of those fields where you find people from various academic and professional backgrounds sharing one single attribute - a passion for solving business problems and driving business performance. While not every management consultant has a Masters in Business Administration (MBA), many do hold this degree title.  Most consultants have backgrounds in business, economics, mathematics, engineering, or other scientific oriented disciplines, though it is not unheard of for an English major or philosophy major with business experience to hold such a position.  

As well as grad hires and MBA hires, there is also an route to entry for experienced hires you have a strong industry-specific expertise. These opportunities are usually advertised on the consulting websites or sourced through executive search firms.  

 

What Are the Typical Activities of Management Consultants?

 

 It is very difficult to generalise the typical activities of a mangement consultant,  as each project is unique and requires a tailorised approach and skill set. However, the following characteristics are common amongst most project-types:

• Scoping client problems and conducting hypothesis of possible solutions
• Researching and collecting data to investigate and solve specific client problems
• Synthesising analyses outputs to build an overall diagnosis 
• Running workshops to facilitate discussions for performance improvement
• Managing client stakeholders to create "buy-in" to a change initiative
• Constructing and delivering business presentations, and interim progress reports

Because the face of business is always changing, companies are always looking for better ways to do things.  This means that as long as companies want to be better, bigger, wealthier, and more productive, management consultants will find they have much work.