10 reasons you really don’t need to hire an HR consultant

If you own or manage a small or medium-sized business, you undoubtedly feel that you are familiar with HR issues, such as employment law, equality and diversity, HR policies, employment contracts, etc. it is very limited. This is likely to cause you a high level of anxiety in case you make a mistake about something that could have a major impact on your business.

This sentiment is certainly reinforced by HR professionals who we hear regularly in the media exposing the costs associated with things like Labor Courts, and how easy it is to lose them. There are also countless human resources consultancies on the Internet that offer services for you to ensure that you are “fully compliant” and also to “add value” by providing services that you didn’t even know you needed, like the latest HR software. Recent, or an “HR Audit” of your company.

As an HR professional with over 20 years of experience and an HR consultant, let me tell you a secret. If you run your small / medium business reasonably well and have no major staffing issues, then you don’t need to hire an HR consultant (usually starts around 500 a day), you don’t need to “subscribe” to an expensive HR department. human Resources. website, in fact, you don’t need to spend a significant amount of money on HR services! Here are the 10 reasons why:

1. If you are competent enough to run your business with all the complexities that it entails, there is no reason to YOU You cannot easily ensure that you have a proper human resources framework to support your personnel issues. You really don’t need a human resources consultant outside of your organization to tell you how to manage your staff.
2. The risks of doing the wrong thing are greatly exaggerated. Human resources consultants and employment attorneys will fill you with horror stories about the costs of losing a wrongful termination lawsuit in Labor Court. The simple facts are that if you act reasonably as an employer, you are likely to spend far more on human resources consultants and attorneys trying to defend a claim in Labor Court than you would lose if the findings were against you. Labor Courts are actually quite rare in the scheme of things, and if an employee makes a claim against you, then if you’ve acted reasonably in your dealings with them, you shouldn’t be afraid to defend the ET yourself.
3. Human resource consultants are geared towards maximizing your income rather than helping your business. This means that they will do their best to persuade you that you need to implement the products they support. A good example is HR software. Do you really need a tailored HR system to record your employees’ data? An Excel spreadsheet or Access database prepared in one afternoon could work just as well. If you want an HR system, you need to shop around, there are several fairly inexpensive standalone systems that you can easily implement yourself.
4. You need to have proper human resource policies in place to regulate the way you employ your staff. However, these days there is so much information on the Internet that you can easily find the information you need there. If you get your information there, then you don’t need to hire a human resources consultant to come to your organization and tell you the same things.
5. There are some basic HR policies and procedures that you really need to have in place. In my opinion these are: discipline, complaints, equality, harassment / intimidation and health and safety. You may also want to add Induction and Training, and you will need some guidance on maternity / paternity leave and pay, and probably flexible working. If you have an illness problem, you must implement an absence management policy to address it. To be honest, the easiest way to go about all of this is to come up with a Staff Handbook that outlines all of these policies and any other topics that you think are relevant to your particular circumstances. Our website has templates for most of the policies you will need; you can download and adapt them. We also have a comprehensive policy manual and a sample staff manual. If what you need is not here, you can easily Google it and you will likely find something on the internet, or you can ask us if we have it. We have many things that we have not yet published on our website. You don’t really need a human resources consultant to develop something custom for your organization when so many resources already exist and can be adapted.
6. The Internet is a great free resource for small and medium-sized businesses. From a human resources perspective, you can access all the information you may need to ensure you have the necessary framework to support your staff. The UK Government Trade Links site is a great resource for employers. For health and safety information, visit the UK Health and Safety Executive’s site.
7. By hiring staff, which you may not do very often, you may feel like you need professional guidance. This is not necessary. Just make sure the ad you produce for your job openings is not biased in any way for or against one or more types of people. It is often a good idea to let a colleague take a look at you just to check that you have not unconsciously missed something. In the interview, build a list of questions based on the skills needed for the job, basically asking for examples of what the person has accomplished in that regard in previous jobs. Ask all applicants the same questions. Interview a colleague and protect each other from any prejudice or discrimination that creeps into your questioning. Take careful notes of the responses and how you have come to the conclusion who is the best candidate.
8. When dealing with personnel issues, if you have a problem with a staff member, you need to handle the situation as you would any other business issue. That is, make sure you gather all the information you need, review the situation, and then take the appropriate action. If this relates to disciplining a staff member, just be sure to properly investigate and then apply the agreed upon disciplinary procedure. Just make sure you get good grades on everything you do.
9. If you are faced with a staffing situation that is new to you and you are not sure how to proceed, you should relax your network of colleagues to see if someone you know has experience in a similar situation. You can also search the web to see if you can get guidance there.
10. Don’t worry about being surprised by changes in labor law. To be honest these are so well tracked if you are simply keeping an eye on the press or in the UK, the Business Links site mentioned above, or our site, you will be sure to know what changes are coming and how they will affect you. It really is as simple as that.

In conclusion, if you are careful with any staffing issues and make sure to implement a decent framework of up-to-date HR policies and procedures that meet your labor law obligations, then you don’t have to worry about doing the wrong thing and you shouldn’t feel no need. to seek the expensive help of a human resources consultant.