Should you bother using an HR consultant? Every business needs some HR function. Outsourcing that function to an HR consultant gives you the flexibility that you wouldn’t have otherwise.
Some of the benefits of using an HR consultant are:
- You can get the best out of your employees
- Your company will be compliant with employment law
- Their expertise will benefit your business and help you improve productivity
- The recruitment process will be smooth and fair
- You will receive absolute impartial advice and total confidentiality
You can find out exactly what an HR consultant does in this blog here.
Let’s have a look at each benefit of using an HR consultant in more detail.
Get The Best Out Of Your Employees
If you use an HR consultant, one of the big benefits is you will be able to improve the effectiveness and efficacy of your staff.
An HR consultant can help you with performance management and reviews, whether in response to a problem or as part of the annual appraisal process.
An HR consultant can draw up the appraisal documents, write and distribute the letters, and ensure the appraisal process is fair. They can even attend the meetings with you or your managers.
In doing this, your staff will be able to understand the areas in which they are excelling and those areas that need a little more attention, care, or training.
An HR consultant can then help to draw up a training schedule to cover the gaps in knowledge or ability, or progress people.
A performance management process can be very effective in helping colleagues who are struggling to meet the requirements of their role. When done properly, it can ensure the employee either improves their output or if that is not possible, can be fairly dismissed or redeployed into a more suitable role. However, this is a very sensitive process and it is often better to use an HR consultant to ensure you are compliant.
Comply With Employment Law
Employment law is complex. Whilst the basic rights don’t change that often, there are frequent updates, and it is important to keep abreast of them. Not doing so could result in being taken to a tribunal or facing penalties.
With the use of an HR consultant, you can be sure your employment practices, recruitment processes, and policies are all compliant with the most up to date law and guidance.
Benefit From Expertise
You probably didn’t set up your business because you have a passion for HR or wanted to spend all your time reading up on employment law and HR practice, or taking CIPD qualifications.
Using an HR consultant will ensure you are getting the benefit of an expert.
If you had a toothache you wouldn’t try to do your own filling-you would go to a trained and qualified expert.
Your HR is the same.
It is a broad and nuanced practice that can have serious consequences if you get it wrong, yet some business owners try to fudge their way through.
An HR consultant can either work on a retainer to ensure your everyday practices are compliant or can be brought in as an expert when there is a specific situation or issue to address.
Recruit Effectively
Recruitment can be a very stressful, expensive, and time-consuming process.
It is also a process that can get you in trouble further down the line if it isn’t done properly now. For example, an incomplete job description, unintentionally discriminatory job advert, or unfair interview process can lead to legal disputes with employees or applicants either during the recruitment or after the fact.
Using an HR consultant to guide you through the process can be invaluable. From deciding on a job advert and person specification to designing the onboarding process, and everything in between, an HR consultant will support you. They can even help with shortlisting and conducting interviews.
Experience Of Complex Issues
A great benefit of outsourcing your HR to a consultant is their experience in dealing with complex issues.
Internal HR employees often deal with the day to day, routine HR activities, which means they don’t handle complex situations very often.
An outsourced HR consultant, however, works on complex issues regularly. By using an HR consultant, you can be confident they are fully equipped to deal with any situation fairly, legally, and competently.
Another benefit of using an outsourced HR consultant is you would never need to discipline them or manage their productivity.
Problems can arise where the internal HR employee is causing the issues, behaving inappropriately, or not following policies. Who do you turn to when that happens?
If you use an HR consultant, you will never have to deal with that.
Choosing An HR Consultant
When choosing an HR consultant you should pick someone with plenty of experience and qualifications who you can trust.
Here at Metis HR, we have a combined experience of over 65 years and we regularly undergo training and qualifications to keep our practice current. We eat, sleep, and breath HR so our expertise is unrivalled.
Why not get in touch with us to see if we can help improve your workplace with outsourced HR services?
You can contact us on our online form here, phone our HR Consultants Alison or Andy on 01706 565 332, or email us on info@metishr.co.uk.
