Owners of small businesses start their ventures to provide a service or product for consumers. The day-to-day struggles of meeting customer demand, organizing inventory, and managing business affairs leave little time to handle the human side of their business.
Things like employee payroll, human resources duties, and accounting are often the first things to suffer when the demands of everyday business take over. There are companies like Payroll Denver that cater to small businesses to help meet those needs, but it’s not always clear when the small business owner should turn to outside help for internal duties. In many cases, some crisis occurs that convinces a business owner that they need help, and by then it’s probably too late.
A recent study found that 70 percent of businesses with five to 49 employees add HR to the workload of existing employees with little to no experience. Though these people spend 20 percent of their time on workforce issues, 81 percent of them aren’t confident in their HR skills, and 82 percent have no formal HR training, according to the study.
Some small business owners determine that they can’t afford to pay an outside company to handle their benefits and HR issues. So, they opt to create their own HR operation, assigning those duties to one employee as a way to provide focus and expertise for this important task. The benefits of prioritizing these duties can make doing business easier by supporting employees, avoiding compliance problems, and keeping worker turnover to a minimum.
When a business creates a healthy working environment, employees feel supported and are motivated. A set of clear HR policies and procedures helps create that environment, resolve conflict and provide employees with a platform to be heard. When a business stays current and compliant with employment regulations, owners don’t have to hassle with costly fines and other penalties. And when a business prioritizes employee hiring and retention by empowering one person to handle recruiting, training, employee reviews, and promotion, workers are more interested in working for and staying at the company.
As businesses emerge from the global pandemic’s effects on operations, hiring and keeping workers has become more critical because of a lingering workforce shortage that has made filling vacancies more difficult. Small business owners must recognize the importance of these important administrative duties to the success of their business. Either decide to pay an outside company to handle payroll and HR duties before they become a problem, or hire one employee to manage this important function. The future of your business relies on it.