Starting a new business can be a stressful time and there will be a lot of different things to think about. One of these may centre around whether your company really needs Human Resources, and you may not even be fully aware of what HR can do for your business. Below we look at their role in more detail and see how they can help with such important things as employee benefits, payroll and even conflicts among colleagues or between staff and employer.
As your company continues to grow, you may find that not having HR up and running from the beginning, could lead to more serious problems further down the line. So, how important is HR for your business?
What is the role of HR within a company?
Some say that the success of a HR department rests upon its’ ability to treat company employees as their clients. In this way, the HR department can focus better upon the ultimate goal of helping employees to be the best that they can be at their jobs, in much the same way that a sales team role is to turn prospective customers into recurring ones, HR needs to turn employees into contented and loyal staff members.
What are the basic functions of a HR department?
Most HR departments take on many different roles and responsibilities, but their primary functions are listed below:
- Making strategic hiring decisions and tracking applicants
HR’s role is to ensure that the company takes on the best team of employees for each job role, including the most qualified and reliable talent.
- Benefit management and absences
Schedules, planned absences and benefits such as those associated with health, are all the duty of the HR department to organise.
- Making sure that managers and employees are adequately trained
The real value of a HR department shines through in this function, and in providing training for managers and employees, they give them the ability to perform at their best in their roles and use their newly gained skill set for the greater good of the company.
- Helping to solve workplace conflicts
Incidents of conflict among staff members and management can often create rifts in the workplace, but with an effective HR department who have been trained in mediation, such incidents can be deflected and solved with minimum negativity for the company.
- Getting to grips with legal issues
Labour and employment laws must be strictly adhered to, and HR professionals are responsible for ensuring that this always happens. They are also trained how to handle cases of discrimination or harassment that may arise, and which if not resolved, can prove costly for a company both financially and from the perspective of their reputation.
It may be that after reading through the various functions of HR, you have come to the realisation that your small business will operate more effectively from many different perspectives, if it takes on a HR professional. Whether one person is sufficient for the size of your company, or you require a full team, there are many firms out there offering such services and they will soon help you to improve your business and ensure that you have a satisfied and productive workforce.