The human resources (HR) department is the backbone of any business, playing important functions such as recruiting and managing the employees, including how the manpower can increase your company’s bottomline. As your business grows, so will your HR department, and it can be costly to add more personnels. Outsourcing certain HR functions can be a great strategy in this case, as many companies have used this service too. But, is outsourcing HR actually effective? Or should you stick with your in-house HR team? Read this on.
It is typical for companies to have their own internal or in-house HR team who manage all aspects of employee wellbeing; from payroll, benefits, recruitment, to retention. When a business works with a third-party company to manage some of its HR activities and operations, this is referred to as HR outsourcing. The company will not only manage payroll, tax filing, and employee end-of-service compensation, but it may also play a big part in other critical aspects of a business.
Prior to deciding between an outsourced HR or in-house HR team, you should know there are three factors that should be taken into account: the cost to minimize company budget, expertise for flexible training, and flexibility to always find the best candidates for certain positions worldwide. Given that different businesses have different needs to be completed and roles to be filled, here are some insights on how in-house and outsourcing human resources departments can benefit your company.
Having in-house HR employees is very beneficial for your business as you can have control over HR primary tasks such as employee hiring, training and development, as well as retention. Here are the advantages and disadvantages of an in-house HR team.
You’ll remain in control over the function and your employees if you keep HR in-house. This supervision can help you in staying on top of any concerns that may occur that may have a damaging effect on your business.
When you decide to fully delegate all HR functions to your in-house HR team, you will have better confidentiality, since no third-party organization is involved. This can include securing a talent pool, payroll and tax, business strategies, and so on. Some businesses may not want to risk having external parties to handle internal problems, which makes sense to stick with their in-house HR.
Having more people in your company as in-house employees comes with providing enough cost to retain them, and frankly, this can be very costly. Most employees might expect to have health insurance and 401(k) plans, whereas these are expensive if you cannot manage the company’s financial condition well.
It is a tough task to find the right potential candidates for your in-house HR team; interviewing and negotiating with candidates can take time and if they depart, you need to start all over again. Moreover, you will have a lack of efficiency in workload, meaning that your employees may have to focus on administrative duties that can actually be automated or outsourced. This affects your ability to focus on the plans, activities, and goals that will help your business grow and become more competitive.
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Outsourced HR team is when you rely on an outsourcing provider to manage your company’s personnel functions such as health benefits plans, retirement plans, training, hiring, and any legal expertise. You can opt to outsource some or all of your HR operations. Partial outsourcing means that you and the partner firm share particular HR functions. Full outsourcing means the partner firm taking on all HR duties for your business. Here are the advantages and disadvantages of this employment type.
One of the most significant benefits of HR outsourcing for businesses is the potential to save cost. You will not have to worry about budgeting to retain HR employees whose task can be outsourced. Moreover, Outsourced HR services usually keep up with the latest and most sophisticated HR softwares that will be given to your company if you hire them. Businesses may save somewhere between $30,000 to $70,000 per year by outsourcing the HR function, depending on the size of the business.
Your team will spend less time on mundane activities if you outsource. Some of these duties that can be outsourced include Background screening, Payroll services, Risk management, Temporary staffing, Employee Assistance Program (EAP), Healthcare benefits, Retirement planning and Performance management. Instead, you will have more time to devote to other key, strategic efforts that will help you grow your business, such as strengthening employer branding.
HR is the heart and soul of many businesses because they know their employees, the dynamics of the workplace, and what makes or breaks them happy. Outsourcing HR functions may make things more technical but less emotional; recruiters perhaps hire those who meet job functions, but do not guarantee if their values match your company.
Another disadvantage of outsourcing your HR is lack of organic communication, as the relationship will be professional rather than personal, as how in-house HR can give. You should be mindful that bringing in a vendor may disturb the present dynamic or have an influence on team spirit.
If your business is rather small and so is the number of employees, you may not need to outsource HR functions yet or you can opt for partial HR outsourcing. However, if your company continues to expand and HR tasks are becoming too much for you, outsourcing HR may be the wise decision. Do not forget to clearly discuss objectives with the outsourced HR provider, so you will not compromise values in the day-to-day HR duties. The best way to find this out is to have a clear discussion among HR manager, Finance manager, and C-level leaders. Good luck!
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