Growing pains
If you’re leading a growing business, chances are that you’ve ‘made do’ in the HR department. You might be doing it yourself, or perhaps given the responsibility to someone else on your team (who may or may not have any HR experience!)
There will come a point when ‘making do’ won’t do. Your growing team needs proper, strategic, legally-sound HR plans and procedures in place and you probably don’t have the expertise (or the time) to do this in-house.
Having HR properly taken care of protects you and your business and will give you some peace of mind as you face the challenges that building a business brings.
People planning
The more people you have working in your organisation, the harder it is to keep track of how everyone is performing. If your company has grown quickly, chances are that the roles and responsibilities of your staff have grown and shifted too. Roles might have changed or expanded significantly, with no parameters or frameworks in place, and it’s important to make sure that people can manage their evolving roles and that they have an appropriate level of support.
Engaging an HR expert will help you to quickly diagnose whether your team are keeping on top of the work they have to do, and whether the right people are still in the right roles, A HR consultant will be able to spot the skills gaps that will inevitably open up in your growing business and be able to advise on recruitment, helping your business to flourish and keep growing.
If you’ve gone from start-up to SME, appraisals and performance management should be considered – the sooner these processes are in place, the better. You hired people who were engaged and excited to push your business forward, and you want your people to stay that way and continue feeling engaged and motivated.
Formalising processes for performance management and appraisals means you’ll check in with people regularly, and gain insight into how your team is feeling about work. An HR consultant is ideally placed to carry out these reviews for you, as they have a degree of separation and know exactly what questions to ask.
Dotting the I’s, crossing the t’s
Inevitably, HR requires paperwork. This might be something you’ve been doing yourself or delegating to someone else, but there comes a time when having a professional taking care of it pays dividends. As your company grows, you will want to know that all your people-related paperwork is up to date, compliant with current law, and watertight.
Being an employer means sometimes dealing with difficult situations involving disciplinary measures or letting staff go. If the company has documented policies and a paper trail process on how these things should be handled, it makes the situation much easier to navigate when it arises.
From your contracts to your company handbook, we can make sure that all your admin is above board. Don’t wait until your paperwork lets you down to have the right documents in place – it could be a real headache. Don’t find out the hard way!
Bridging the gap
You know you need some help in the HR arena, but you’ve looked at your accounts and the business can’t really afford a dedicated HR resource just yet. There is a way to bridge this gap and to get expert support without the cost of hiring a full time HR lead.
Working with an HR consultant like Brocklehurst HR means you can have access to a wealth of experience without the commitment of a full-time hire. That way, you only need to pay for a part time HR Director when you need one. The level of support Brocklehurst HR provide is totally up to you – from administrative support to board-level advice and strategic planning.
A wealth of experience
High level HR consultants typically have experience in corporate environments and bring an understanding of HR practices in large companies with large HR departments. At Brocklehurst HR, we bring a combined 30 years of corporate experience to the table, meaning we can appraise HR situations quickly and intuitively. We have also got experience of working with SME’s delivering best practice HR plans and processes into the business in a way that is right for them and their people – ensuring we deliver the best bits whilst maintaining the culture and essence of the company.
Giving the HR responsibility in your business to someone who isn’t a specialist might be adequate, but it’s unlikely to bring out the best in your people. If it’s the first time your business has engaged with an HR professional, then you will need someone who can build relationships quickly, spot the issues, create a strategy and ensure they get everyone on board.
SME businesses don’t require a full time HR Director. What they do need however, is an expert resource they can tap into when required. It gives them the flexibility to have that expertise when they need it most.
Employing a consultant gives you access to the expert thinking of a seasoned HR professional, in a way that’s affordable for your growing company. At Brocklehurst HR, we want to help SMEs put the best people plans and strategies in place in order to grow.
If your business is growing and you want to get a handle on your HR without hiring a full-time HR resource, give Brocklehurst HR a call. We can help to take your business forward.
