So, you think you can grow your business without HR?

As a business owner, have you ever stopped to consider how many hats you might be wearing on your entrepreneurial adventure? Many business owners have their fingerprint on everything in the early days to ensure quality control and consistent messaging. Understandably so, it is their invention. But as businesses grow, owners need to evaluate where their time is best spent and where it makes the most positive impact to their business. 

 

If I look at my own HR start-up, I am not only supporting clients with HR solutions, but I am also the strategist, the visionary, the marketer, and face of my brand. I have quickly learned that – unfortunately – I am not Wonder Woman and I cannot do it all. Although sometimes the thought of having an eighth day in the work week sounds like a good idea. Instead, I leverage my time with a Creativity Consultant who collaborates with me to format and edit documents, proposals, and surveys. She also takes care of webpage management and supports my social media presence. And I work with an accountant who handles my bookkeeping. It takes a village to bring my vision to life and by partnering with SMEs (subject matter experts) or professionals in their field, I feel freer and stronger to focus on the things that matter most to me.   

This reminds me of the evolution of one of my childhood passions. Growing up, I loved to sew, and I started to learn how when I was nine years old. You should have seen my first sewing project! It was a short skirt with strawberry-printed fabric. I was thrilled in my choice of fabric and it was just fabulous! As a child, I had lots of time to dedicate to sewing, so I completed many projects for friends and family. Over time, I saw how sewing, like other leisurely pursuits, takes time. Fast forward to today, and even though I know how to sew and alter clothing, I choose not to do it. My time is a valuable commodity and I want to invest it in areas that bring me the greatest value. As a result, I outsource this work to a skilled seamstress who provides high quality service to me. It truly is a win/win partnership. 

So, when do you start to leverage SMEs to maximize your time and continue to add life to your business? Most business owners readily hand over their receipts to a bookkeeper but will only occasionally look to an HR professional for support. 

When I have connected with business owners and other leaders, they have said, “When I reach threshold XYZ, I will engage HR into the business”.  There is a point in time, and it is not as far down the road as you think, when adding an HR professional can be especially valuable. You only need basic minimum requirements to involve HR. For example, when you have more than two employees on staff, you need to start to think about team dynamics and if employees are working well together, if they understand their roles, if they know how their work contributes to the overall vision, if they know what is expected of them, and if they know they matter.  Like when going out to sea, you need to have some basic equipment, like an anchor and compass because without it, you are placing your safety at great risk. The same applies to the success of your business: HR could be considered basic equipment and helps to keep your business afloat.

Now, I get it, when wearing the HR hat, you may not see any issues. So, you may be wondering why you need HR and when the right time is to leverage it. Is it when you have all your systems in place? Think you may get sued? Have concerns your talented staff will leave? Rely on Google to find your answers? Are spending hours dealing with people matters which you may not be passionate about? 

Have you weighed the risks of continuing to manage HR on your own? If you are spending a lot of your time on HR functions, what tasks get dropped? What are you not doing that you should be doing? Another way to look at the risks of taking on HR tasks is to analyze where you spend most of your time. Is it on business development, client relations, running day-to-day operations, marketing, or employee relations matters? Where would you rather be spending your time?  If you could make a shift, what would you see as the positive and tangible impact to your business?  At the end of the day, by trying to do it all, there are no savings; in fact, it is actually costing you.   

HR is an organization’s human resources multiplier. HR increases team effectiveness of teams and of the workplace, they leverage employee performance, and help shape human potential. People are the heart of the organization and HR is the glue that connects people and performance. HR professionals are natural champions to cultivate a rich employee experience. 

Why not make your business better and leverage HR to manage your employee relations and maintain compliance, to set up or update your HR infrastructure, to explore HR solutions that fit your unique needs, to tap into subject matter expertise, and to evaluate and elevate your employee experience? Whether it is fractional HR support or interim HR leadership, you will gain time to focus on advancing your vision and increasing overall performance in your business. Let HR be your organization’s HR multiplier that will positively enable your business to make improved decisions around what matters most: PEOPLE. 

  

Driven by connection,

Rita Filice

Rita Filice, BCOMM, CPHR
Partner, BreakPoint Solutions
ritaf@breakpoint.solutions
www.breakpoint.solutions
780-250-2544

Rita thrives on connecting people, leveraging human resources and delivering performance.  She is a collaborative and accomplished HR leader who values authentic connection, meaningful conversation, and her positive energy and outlook make anything possible.