There are a huge amount of tasks that fall under the HR umbrella. It can quickly become too much for a small HR team to handle alone. Not to mention, things can get pretty stressful in the world of HR, draining time and resources.
That’s where HR outsourcing solutions come into play. If your HR team is struggling to keep on top of an ever-growing list of duties, you can outsource specific HR functions to a third-party provider to relieve the pressure. Some businesses prefer to outsource their HR functions entirely in order to save money, offer higher quality and more extensive services and to manage risk.
So, what HR functions can be outsourced? Here is a list of the most common tasks and duties that you can lean on a HR outsourcing provider to handle for you.
Recruitment
Recruitment can be one of the most time-consuming tasks within HR. Equally, it’s one of the most important things to get right. The cost of a bad hire is estimated to be three times higher than the salary paid. So, when things don’t quite work in a recruitment process, it can be a real financial blow to your business.
Outsourcing HR to get recruitment right can be worth its weight in gold. Plus, it can actually work out far more cost-effective than handling recruitment in-house. Your HR provider can take on the responsibility of finding talent themselves (often from their ready-made vast network of applicants), background screening, application and interview procedures and onboarding services.
They can also manage your preferred supplier list if you would like to continue to use a handful of other agencies for niche hires. They can also manage your referral scheme if you have one in place plus the process for internal applications. You really can outsource everything to them to manage under one roof.
Having a dedicated team ensuring your recruitment runs smoothly is incredibly beneficial for a business. And of course, it means your new hire will also have a great experience.
HR Policies, Letters, Employee Handbooks & Employment Contracts
When staff members and departments are under pressure with high levels of workload, things can get missed and the ball can get dropped. In the context of complying with regulations, rules and legislation, these can be costly mistakes for any business. Not to mention damaging to your reputation.
Tackling compliance requirements is time-consuming and a huge weight of responsibility. Luckily, it is possible to outsource the management of your HR documentation. This ensures it remains compliant, including HR policies, standard HR letters, employee handbooks and employment contracts.
Put compliance in the hands of experts whose job it is to stay abreast of the ever-changing world of HR rules and regulations to ensure that your business – all of your HR policies and documentation – stay on the right side of the law.
HR Administration
There is a lot that falls under HR administration. This large task can include everything from preparing and issuing HR documents, organising and maintaining personnel records and much more.
With that in mind, HR administration outsource is commonly utilised by businesses as a way to overcome internal time constraints, lack of resources or simply more pressing HR tasks taking priority. Outsourcing this HR function allows businesses more time to focus on strategic HR projects and activities, safe in the knowledge that HR administration is in the hands of experts.
Payroll
It’s not something that we at The Curve Group offer, however some HR outsourcing providers will also offer payroll services. Payroll can time-consuming and errors can easily be made. Outsourcing payroll can buy you valuable time and ensure that your payroll services are of the highest quality, handling paycheck distribution, tax deduction, sick pay and/or family and medical leave and such alike.
Outsourcing your payroll means you can stay compliant and ensure a smooth and timely paycheck process for your employees every month – something that your team are sure to appreciate!
Employee Assistance
It’s very common for HR teams and Line Managers to constantly be fielding general enquiries from employees about HR policies, processes and how to use HR systems. Whilst these are simple questions, the volume of them can be what causes issues and distractions. This takes away precious time which could be spent on more important projects.
That’s where an Employee HR Assistance service can make a real difference. HR Advisors trained on your processes and systems act as a first-line triage service for all of your employees. They signpost them to the relevant platforms or documents to answer their enquiries. As a result, the correct processes are followed, employees feel well supported and Line Managers and HR are freed up to focus on important work.
Employee Relations
Employee relations is one of the most important yet one of the most difficult parts of HR. Mediating conflicts or managing and resolving employee concerns can be challenging. Handling it in the correct way is a difficult and daunting line to tread. Employee relations requires both expertise and dedicated time and attention. However, for many businesses, this isn’t always possible.
If this is the case, it may be a good idea to outsource your employee relations to a HR outsource partner. Whether it’s supporting you in disciplinary meetings, leading grievance appeals or failed probations, enlisting the services, advice and guidance of a third-party expert can be invaluable when it comes to employee relations.
At The Curve Group, we can offer Employee Relations Advice on an on-demand basis as and when you need support. We can also deliver topical training sessions to your Line Managers on how to manage common Employee Relations issues such as performance and sickness/absence management. Get in touch to find out more.
Employee Benefits
An attractive employee benefits package can give you the edge. And of course, keep your employees feeling valued and motivated. Perhaps you offer health insurance or a retirement plan. Perhaps you don’t yet offer any employee benefits but it’s something you’d like to explore.
Many businesses outsource their employee benefits administration to a third-party HR outsourcing partner. This means they can put the responsibility of researching plans and complying with benefits regulations into the hands of experts.
Once again, it can be difficult for businesses to find time to do this in-house. Particularly as employee benefits are a ‘nice to have’ and not necessarily essential. They’re often one of the first things to get pushed down the list of priorities. But it shouldn’t be left to fall by the wayside. 75% of employees reported that they’re more likely to stay with their employer because of their benefits programme, so for many businesses, outsourcing employee benefits HR makes perfect business sense.
Performance Management
No one knows your employees better than you do. However, you may not always have the time to put aside for annual reviews, salary negotiations and other performance management-related conversations. As essential parts of any business, these aren’t things that you should be pushed to the bottom of your to-do list.
It may just be that you need a little helping hand when it comes to performance management. That’s why many businesses choose to outsource this HR function. Not only does this ensure that these duties are always made a priority, but your HR outsourcing partner of choice can also help you to determine your performance goals and disciplinary routes for poor performance. Download our guide to managing poor performance here.
The Curve Group’s HR Outsourcing Services
If you are looking for a HR outsourcing partner to handle one or more of your HR functions, turn to us at The Curve Group. Between our extensive team of HR specialists, we can deliver a wide range of HR functions on your behalf depending on your requirements.
Here’s a brief look at our services in more detail.
Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO)
Recruitment Process Outsourcing is our comprehensive recruitment outsourcing service. If you regularly recruit or have a busy period of recruiting coming up, we can manage either all or part of your recruitment function. This approach is ideal if you do not have the internal capabilities or perhaps want to reduce your overheads.
Our RPO solution can include any or all of the following:
- Support for workforce planning
- Working with internal teams to shape their hiring plans
- Delivery of multi-channel, inclusive sourcing and attraction strategies
- Robust screening, selection and offer management processes
- Onboarding processes
Permanent Recruitment
You don’t have to be recruiting in large volumes in order to lean on us for your permanent recruitment needs. We also work with our clients on more considered and strategic talent acquisition methodologies required for management, specialist and niche positions.
If you are looking to source talent for heads of/senior leadership or C-suite and board-level roles, we also have a team of headhunters who can draw on their industry knowledge, contacts and networks to map the talent market and approach passive candidates who fit your needs.
HR Administration
Our configurable and scalable HR Administration Outsource solution saves you time and money. We take typical time-consuming HR administrations off your plate, including employee relations. This allows you and your internal teams more energy to focus on strategic HR projects and activities. Plus, with a dedicated team to turn to about all things HR, your employees feel supported, queries are resolved quickly and processes are consistently followed correctly.
Our HR Administration services include:
- Maintaining employee records in line with UK employment law regulations
- Generating onboarding paperwork
- Pre-employment screening
- Ongoing contractor and employee record updates
- Managing inbound reference requirements
- Conducting exit interviews
- Managing and responding to employee HR enquiries
Contractor Recruitment & Management
If you regularly work with contractors, you may be all too aware that keeping on the right side of compliance, mitigating risks and optimising performance can become a bit of a balancing act. The Curve Group’s contractor recruitment and management services span across a range of different focuses and services including:
- Contractor selection
- Contractor negotiation
- Contractor onboarding
- Timesheeting & payroll
- Compliance checks
If you are looking to outsource one or more of your HR functions, make The Curve Group your first port of call. With a hugely comprehensive and diverse range of services available, we’re sure to be able to build a bespoke outsourcing solution that suits your business and is flexible for the future.
Get in touch with us today and start a conversation with one of our friendly experts. Contact us via our website or call 01295 811 486.
