Supporting clients outsourcing HR management requirements

Over a number of years we have developed - and implemented - an effective model for providing our smaller clients with managed HR services. & These clients give us excellent feedback.

This is highly cost effective for businesses with a modest number of employees - from a few to about 2-300.

Do note that "small" or "modest number "does not mean unsophisticated. On the contrary, many of these clients are leaders in their professional fields. Just that they could never justify having an HR manager. And anyway, having an HR employee however capable, will not mean that all possible issues can be dealt with.

We work very differently to the typical major HR outsourcing businesses. There is certainly no "signing up to a long-term contract". Our clients want, and we deliver:

HR policies &

Employment law

Equal pay

Outplacement

Outsourced HR

Employee surveys

Remuneration systems

Employee handbooks

Employment law training

Employment lawyers

Integration with the client organisation in a totally flexible and scalable manner according to what best suits them.
Expert help and advice when needed. But only when needed.
Support from a person who has bothered to understand their organisation. This means a named person not a call centre.
Confidence that we ensure their HR practices are legally compliant but also support their commercial objectives.
If there is a nasty problem - they can happen - we will turn up, get involved, deal with it. With respect to employment lawyers who are often excellent in their field, they have probably never personally dealt with a poor performing employee, an allegation of harassment or a tricky maternity situation. Lawyers deal with the consequences of getting it wrong! Our role is to try to avoid problems, if possible.

All of which was well summed up by a client who said "it's so good to have somebody on our side". Outsourcing HR to us does not mean remote, impersonal, or disinterest in your business.

For a client deciding to outsource HR support, we will often ( but it is absolutely not a rigid process) look at an initial exercise of:

Full review and implementation of legal and policy requirements, checking or producing contracts and employee handbooks.
Records systems.
Recruitment processes and materials.
Defining an agreed "help-line" service. In essence, who can contact us - it is important to control this.

Thereafter:

Ad hoc support with as needed-advice, or problems, including Tribunal claims (we deal with them).
HR programme design and implementation - appraisals, communications, career development, bonus schemes ... Anything else on the HR agenda.

And if needed:

On-site service on an x days per month basis. Some clients like to have a brief review of "what's going on", "what's needed" every month or two.
Recruitment management. We absolutely do not "sell" this, but within the Group we do have a highly regarded recruitment operation which is available to clients at preferential rates where it is the right answer for them. Often it is not - an organisation with a reasonably high profile should be attracting speculative applications. Social networking channels are a good way to find potential recruits. As part of the service we can advise on this. Perhaps - but yet again only if wanted - we might add value through involvement in the selection process including psychometric assessment.
Management training in, for instance, recruitment selection and performance management.
Pay and benefits advice.

By using the resources of our Group (see Peira below), we are able to additionally provide specialist support when needed, from counselling though to (if it is an exceptionally complicated/risky "claim") high level legal representation.

The marketplace for outsourced HR services - understand what you are buying.

This is an extract from a letter recently e-mailed to us by a solicitor:

My client does have insurance with xyz, but they have declined to assist at this stage. However I will need to get their approval to make sure it does not jeopardise any future cover if the matter goes to a Tribunal.

Spot the problem/s!

This situation was a really serious (business threatening) issue requiring immediate hands on help/intervention.

The business thought they had a contract for HR services.

No way. They had actually bought an insurance policy (do read through & think through the small print), standard materials where they did not then own the copyright, & telephone access to what is in reality a distributed call centre.

We receive too many similar enquiries. Depressing. A business has been paying out for an "HR services" contract. No proactive advice, no interest by the provider in the business, & when something goes wrong ...

We are different. We will be there if you ever have a real problem. We will give pragmatic business advice without you being constrained by instructions from underwriters. Nor do you sign up to any continuing contract - "as needed".

& If tribunal insurance is important to you, make sure you take it separately from the HR advice service. It isn't expensive.

Happy to explain all of this - just call.

Please just pause before signing up to an alternative service that may not be right for you.

For an objective conversation about options, not us selling, just call.

The HR outsourcing formula works because a growing business needs the full range of HR management expertise, but not a lot of it. By using our services, a company knows it has all that is needed on-tap, without the expense of an HR manager and his/her support and facilities.

The HR outsourcing services are usually integrated with an in-house administrator, or - if volume of work justifies it - a part-time HR executive who can be employed by ourselves or the client.

As businesses grow, we happily migrate our services to fit with changing client needs. An excellent example was our involvement with a hotel chain start-up. We went from no employees, clean sheet of paper, to the point where they acquired (and we helped with the HR aspects of the acquisition) another hotel chain together with approaching 1000 more employees. At which point we were not needed any more for day-to-day support, & the right answer was a really good HR manager with a supporting team. A total success for everybody - and they even had an award for the Internet delivery of employee materials/communications that we had initiated. A very satisfactory outcome.

The arithmetic if wondering whether to outsource HR is - for companies at the right stage of their growth - very attractive. The first step is for us to undertake a full HR requirements assessment, then propose a cost-justified solution.

Note that we confine HR outsourcing services to London and the Thames Valley.

Contacts for HR outsourcing

Part of

HR Policies    Employment law    Equal pay    Outplacement    Outsourcing HR     Employee surveys   Employment law training
Remuneration & reward   Outplacement    Recruitment   Equal opportunities   Diversity   Psychometric tests     Employee handbooks     Outplacement info for delegates

External links: Employee surveys   Recruitment

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