Flexible HR for Small Businesses

Many small business owners have the same questions when it comes to HR:

What is the purpose of my HR department?
What stage of my business growth should I look into HR members?
What different HR roles do I need for my small business?
Is a fractional HR team a better option?

In this blog, we’ll break down some of these answers and look into some possible flexible HR solutions for small business owners.

Table of Contents

First Things First: What is HR?

The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) defines HR management as “the process of managing an organization’s employees…to effectively meet an organization’s goals.”

What is the Purpose of an HR Department?

If we were to try to simplify the purpose of HR into one sentence, we might say something like: In its most basic function, HR is responsible for employee recruitment, retention, administering employee benefits and training and development.

However, this is a serious simplification of what HR actually does.

The duties of a Human Resource Department also typically include:

Employee participation and communication
Time tracking and attendance
Labor law compliance
Compensation and benefits management
Payroll, including tax compliance
Employee satisfaction, engagement, safety, and well-being
Onboarding and offboarding
Performance reviews
Employee rewards and recognition
Developing and maintaining employee resources such as training manuals and employee handbooks
Creating company culture
And more!

Key HR Functions for Small Businesses

Key areas of human resources for small businesses are:

Recruitment and retention
Compensation and benefits
Employee engagement
Training and development
Labor law compliance

What HR Roles Does My Small Business Need?

An HR manager or HR fractional team is your best bet as a small business. There is a difference in cost and outcome in fractional or outsourced HR, but, of course, this all depends on your specific situation. Let’s take a look at these two options.

Fractional HR

Fractional HR tends to be more cost-friendly because hiring a fractional HR team can help reduce the cost of full-time employees while optimizing your existing team’s functionality. The cost of one full-time employee can be the equivalent of receiving a team of employees’ expertise!

Outsourced HR

Outsourcing, on the other hand, can mean a variety of things. It can mean completely relying on the outsourced team instead of hiring an in-house team, or it can be a partnership between your existing team with a company that performs similar or complementary functions. An outsourced team is often a replacement for an in-house team or role.

Need Flexible HR Options? Consider Culture Works

At Culture Works, we work within an extremely focused skillset, we craft Quarterly Game Plans to drive results for your business, and we believe in what we do. Our passionate HR team is here to help your team create success every step of the way. In an effort to give away a few of our secrets, we are sharing a typical 30, 60, and 90-day engagement breakdown as a Culture Works client.

Let’s take a look at each of these plans in more detail.

30-Day Check-Ins

30-day check-ins begin with the creation of a new 30-day plan and review the commitment to the 30-60-90 day process. This meeting includes stakeholders, team members, and the client success manager. We establish expectations, the approach and working dynamics, the cadence of working sessions, and joint ownership.

60-Day Check-Ins

60-day check-ins typically included a review of the previous month’s plan and the creation of a new one. In this check-in, we evaluate the partner’s commitment, the results, your team’s experience, the value-add, and how aligned you are feeling with Culture Works’ performance. Next, we work to include a 60-day committed plan for your team.

90 Day Check-Ins

Lastly, the 90-day check-in includes a reflection of the previous two months and an alignment of the next Quarterly Game Plan (QGP) for your team. We will evaluate results up until this point, focusing on your experience, the value you feel Culture Works is bringing to your team, and how aligned you are feeling within your organization. At this time, you will create your first QGP and your stakeholders will receive a complete Client Experience Survey.

Final Thoughts

With Culture Works, we want to partner with your company to create success for your team– whatever that looks like for your specific company. Our passionate HR team has the experience you need in culture ops and hospitality to create success. Our approach is centered upon the importance to humanize, customize, and simplify. We believe in what we do, and we want to help your company operationalize culture, talent, and HR to create ongoing success.

Read on to learn more about what we do. Then, read on to learn why hiring the right people can lead your business to success in a recession.