The Importance of Human Resource Management

Just incase you needed anymore convincing.

Within my 15 + years in Human Resources, I have always felt that I chose a profession that is not well recognized or appreciated in the business market. Most people have heard about HR, have a basic understanding of what it entails, yet their interpretation is frequently related to the “negative” part of my profession: terminations. This is one of the reasons why I know I am in the right field. I am always happy to share my opinion, shed some light on - and even provide tangible examples to leaders - why HR is important in every organization. Within my own business, I thrive on finding owners who believe they don’t need HR and I see it as a challenge to change their minds. By no means is this because I want to achieve this challenge, it’s because of how much I believe in what I do.

I meet so many business owners who feel they don’t need HR, you hear things like “we are too small”, “we have an open-door policy”, “we are a family here” ... and so on. However, without hesitation business owners will hire a new salesman who will hopefully make them money, a new office personnel to keep them organized and the headcount will continue to grow and still the same business owner does not see the need to hire someone who will save them money, keep people happy, increase productivity and keep the business owner out of jail. YES... Jail. In many countries, a business owner can be summoned to jail if they do not follow employment standards, health and safety laws or provide adequate working conditions. Although jail is not a common corrective action, fines given by the government are.

In the end, a business owner could end up wasting money paying fines, something an HR expert could have helped them avoid.

When you choose to become a business owner it is highly unlikely you take a course or read a book on what you need to do to be an employer. You do what you believe is the right thing to do; hire people, maybe give them a formal offer on paper, agree to a pay rate, a certain number of weeks for vacation and away you go. In the end, you don’t know what you don’t know. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this method, many successful businesses started this way. My goal for this article is for you to consider that you may need a little help and to not be shy in seeking out the help of a fellow HR consultant who can guide you on what you need to do to be an awesome employer. Even when trends are changing to hiring fewer employees and replace them by contractors/consultants having an HR expert in-house or close by is still important.

Just a few of the things an HR consultant can do for you are: Recruiting, Screening, Hiring, Onboarding, Payroll, Benefits, Training, Succession Planning, Manage Employees & Leaders, Performance Management as needed, Strategic Planning, Employee Engagement, Health & Safety (as it relates to employees), and Employee Exiting (to name just a few things). Can you imagine, one person doing all of this? Specifically one person who doesn't have an HR background?! We also do many other administrative duties that businesses require to stay abreast of legal and market requirements.

HR will help the business focus on culture and the environment striving to accomplish the organization’s goals and objectives.

So why would you not want someone who can help you achieve your goals? You want people who will remain objective, maybe even have a colorful conversation with you here and there because the ultimate goal is to grow and develop. To be able to do this we need to push ourselves, surround ourselves with people that won’t follow the status quo. I understand not all HR consultants fit this description, however, I do suggest to include such questions in your interview process whether you are hiring internally or finding a consultant that will guide you from arm’s length.

Good news! Coming soon will be an HR guide for you; a one-stop shop that will help all new and current business owners understand the world of HR.

More news to come in a few months.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Josée Larocque-Patton assists organizations to develop their people and train their leaders. She guides leaders when their employees are not following procedures and policies and act as a consultant when organizations experience legislative infractions.

Josée Larocque-Patton | Founder and CEO of The HR ICU www.thehricu.com | email [email protected]