Handling HR as Your Company Grows

You’re just starting out. You’re focused on finding enough employees, getting orders or jobs completed to bring in revenue, and paying the bills on time. One of the last things you’re considering in the early stages is the importance of an HR team.

Human resources is a vital component of any company. These are the people who hire new workers, arrange background checks, training, and onboarding/off-boarding. Your HR department is the go-to team for questions about benefits, payroll/paychecks, employee handbooks, job ads, and so many other duties that would otherwise eat up your day.

When you’re starting out, you’re focused on a tight budget. If you spend more than you’re bringing in, your company is doomed from the start. You have to be budget-minded and spread your wings as your company grows. How do you know when it’s time to grow your HR department? What can happen if you put it off?

Two Key Functions of a Small HR Department

An HR department is responsible for several main tasks and a few others that are important but lower on the list. HR’s main responsibility is hiring and payroll. Some HR departments have accountants who do it all. Others calculate the workers’ hours and send the payroll on to be processed by a payroll administrator. Either way, someone in HR needs to make sure the hours are submitted, paychecks or direct deposits are made on time, and that raises are recorded when they’re given. If something goes wrong, HR is going to have to look into the issue and communicate with management and employees.

Hiring is another key component of an HR department’s function. The HR team pens the job ads, contacts qualified applicants from the resumes and applications the company receives, and interviews those prospective candidates. They also handle orientation, training, and off-boarding if the new hire doesn’t work out.

As Your Company Grows, Your HR Department Has Additional Duties

Those are the two most important duties an HR department does, but there is far more to consider. Much of this depends on the type of business you run. As your company grows and adds new employees, more HR requirements come into play.

An HR department has to create an employee handbook for every employee to follow. There are state and federal laws that require rules in place regarding discrimination and sexual harassment in the workplace. The handbook must detail employee and labor relation policies for a non-union or union company. It needs to have clear policies regarding sick days, personal days, vacations, and emergency leave. A handbook also needs to talk about dress codes and appearances. Overtime pay, suspensions, and reasons for termination are other aspects the handbook would cover.

Stop and consider the laws your company has to abide by. These are some of the top ones:

• Age Discrimination in Employment Act
• Americans With Disabilities Act
• The Civil Rights Act
• Consumer Credit Protection Act
• Equal Pay Act
• Fair Labor Standards Act
• Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act
• Immigration Reform and Control Act
• National Labor Relations Act
• OSHA compliance
• Pregnancy Discrimination Act

As laws change, your HR team needs to update employee handbooks and make sure all employees and management teams are aware of the changes. OSHA logs need to be filled out and posters need to be placed around the company.

Do you have time for your employees to ask questions about their benefits, salary questions, or other HR matters? Some may come to you, especially if it’s a small business. With an HR team in place or a number they can call to ask about benefits, you won’t spend hours each week addressing questions that you cannot always answer.

Drug screenings and background checks are often part of the hiring process. Someone needs to fill out the paperwork for a new hire to go get tested at a lab or testing facility. The follow-up to make sure test results are received and arrangements of surprise drug tests with current employees may also be necessary. If you own a trucking business, drivers would need to be screened each year to make sure their CDL was still valid. It’s a lot of work.

It’s Time Consuming On Any Level

Big or small, your HR department’s day is packed with things to do, paperwork to fill out, and information to research. As your company grows, you’ll be hiring multiple people. That means multiple salaries, benefits packages, and office space. Can you make that work in your current setting? Despite the best of intentions, some companies find space and time is too limited. There’s an easy, cost-effective solution that you shouldn’t overlook.

Our human resources administrators ease your stress and save you time and money. At Emphasis HR, we do everything from writing a job description that delivers results to training and development. We’ll handle onboarding and off-boarding, write your employee handbook, and make sure it all meets state and federal laws. We’re happy to arrange a free demo if you’d like to see our team in action.