Outsourced HR Services can be the Ideal Solution … Sometimes

Outsourced HR Services or fractional HROs are a cost-effective stopgap solution for companies under various circumstances, including:

You can’t justify the cost of an HR Superstar. 

Experienced and competent HR Superstars are few and far between.  They are in high demand, expensive, and rarely available at a discount. They play key roles in driving corporate culture, carrying out executive initiatives and steering their employers through various compliance minefields.  They ensure growth and facilitate workforce stability.  However, if you have less than about 1000 employees, it is usually cost prohibitive to hire one of these HR superstars so you can end up taking a chance on an HR leader who lacks experience or has little or no track record of competency, but is willing to take your below-market salary.  This can be an expensive proposition, especially for employers with high turnover, union shops, or goals for near-future expansion.  While it is particularly risky to skimp on HR experience, you don’t need this HR superstar full time, particularly if you have junior HR staff who are handling recruitment and much of the day-to-day tasks.  Sharing an HR superstar with other companies gives you the benefit of their experience for a fraction of the cost of hiring the person full-time.  When CHRO provides fractional HR services, we not only ensure compliance with the myriad labor laws, but we also support and train your current HR team boosting their skillset and value to your organization so that when you are ready to get your own HR superstar, they walk into an HR department with competent support staff, and established workflows tailored to your business. Explore our services for more information.

You have significant turnover in your HR Department or HR staff on leave:

HR is a challenging profession, often fraught with emergencies and never-ending requests.  When you expect your HR team to juggle increased demands until you can justify the addition of a new team-member, you are inviting burnout which often leads to turnover or extended leave requests.  Outsourcing some HR functions, even intermittently, takes some of the load off your overworked team, and often gives them the benefit of a fresh perspective on issues that may have seemed overwhelming or impossible.  In this case, outsourcing helps you preserve and empower your team. Complete our company diagnostic questionnaire for a free assessment.

Your HR team is learning HR on the job:

This is common in smaller or family-owned companies…until they figure out that this strategy is often more expensive in the long run than hiring the HR superstar to begin with.  This approach also sets up your current HR staff for failure resulting in unnecessary turnover and a bumpy transition because there are minimal processes or procedures that allow the replacement to pick up where their predecessor left off.  This can result in costly labor law noncompliance, particularly with statutes with mandated notice requirements such as the FMLA.  In this situation, it is more cost-effective to retain an expert to help you on a part time basis to mentor your current HR staff, establish effective HR procedures that fit your company and industry, and provide you with a stable base from which to grow.

You have locations in, or employees working from, multiple jurisdictions:

If you have employees in multiple jurisdictions there are myriad labor laws to comply with which can become even more complicated based on your industry.  HR staff who need to navigate federal laws and one state’s laws often become overwhelmed with ensuring overall labor law compliance, but when you add in multiple states and localities with various workforce protections, it becomes increasingly challenging for your HR team to keep up with the legal intricacies of each jurisdiction, particularly when dealing with an HR bottleneck.  Outsourcing your employee relations, labor law compliance or leave administration, or providing additional outsourced HR leadership, allows your HR team to focus on their day-to-day priorities while ensuring your company remains in compliance.

Learn how CHRO can help boost your current HR function and get you closer to achieving your goals by visiting our services page. Complete our company diagnostic for a free assessment of your current risk, and possible solutions for you.