As soon as that first employee is hired, a business/company/start-up invades the Human Resources world immediately. You have stumbled upon unchartered territory with HR, whether you like it or not. You’re a business owner, not an HR professional, right? Every aspect of now having an employee involves some aspect of HR – payroll, handbook, hiring paperwork, new hire reporting, worker’s comp policy, and much, much more.

But you’re small, and you probably don’t need a full time HR employee. So these tasks, as you hire a few more employees, gets delegated to a (not so) lucky employee. Someone who has a bit of administrative duties, and enough knowledge to get the right hiring paperwork, get them added to payroll – and that’s about it. Typically an office manager, administrative assistant, or owner. But even small businesses can find themselves in hot water when it comes to HR rules, laws, and legislations.

Anyone that has spent more than a day in the Human Resources field knows that things change on an ongoing basis. Federal, State, County, City, and local laws all shift, change, and adjust with various legislation cycles. Worker’s compensation claims can happen in an instant. Unemployment claims require knowledge to work through. Payroll deductions require documentation and sometimes legal paperwork. Benefit enrollments have deadlines. Drug testing and other onboarding requirements can get sticky. OSHA is a beast, in and of itself (can you tell I love them?). Discrimination, harassment, employee frustrations, performance evaluations…should I keep going? They’re bound to happen at some point as businesses grow and change.

So where do you get started? First, identify your HR needs. Is it just payroll? Do you need a consultant? How much knowledge and understanding does your team have currently of HR roles and functions? Once you establish your needs, looking for an employee or outsourced firm should be an important step and one that happens next.

Coming from an HR professional who has worked both in the corporate HR world (800 employees), and the outsourced world, I highly recommend using an outsource for small business HR needs. The reason is, most HR professionals don’t come with a FULL HR well of knowledge. Some specialize in benefits, some in employee relations, or some in payroll. You’re not going to get a well rounded HR professional for cheap either. Outsourcing is a fantastic way to get an entire HR team, without having to hire an entire HR team. You get a group of professionals that are specialists in their own areas of expertise. And if you happen to think that outsourcing is as wonderful as I do – give us a call. At Solution Services, you get dynamic, well-rounded HR experts (*cough* me), a team of stellar and brilliant payroll and benefits processors, friendly and fantastic onboarding specialists, smart and confident account managers to hold your hand through transition, and honest, hardworking owners who will always hold your interests higher than their own. Call us today. Find out how we can help you manage your people so you can manage your business.