Outsourced HR Services
What is HR Outsourcing?
The practice of outsourcing involves buying one or more business services from an external provider. Some organisations decide to outsource their HR function to a specialised professional organisation which may include virtually all their HR processes whilst others select specific components such as payroll or HR administration tasks. HR outsourcing can take the pressure off overworked employees managers, directors and owners, and provide specialist advice and administration in the complex legal landscape of Human Resources.
The CIPD People Profession 2021: UK and Ireland survey found that outsourcing models are used mainly by SME’s.
“There isn’t one single model suited to all organisations in terms of delivering an efficient and effective HR function, one size does not fit all.”
An organisation should structure it’s HR activities based on the business needs in the context of the organisational strategy. When considering whether to change the way a HR function works within an organisation, those aspects of the HR service that are unsatisfactory or would benefit from improvement should be identified. This may include things like depth of knowledge of employment legislation, experience and whether there is adequate cover within the HR team or function; the organisational skills and the administrative capability to issue documentation, audit and advise on risk in a timely and proactive manner.
What sort of HR tasks can be outsourced?
- Writing Job Descriptions and Adverts
- Recruitment process support
- Onboarding tasks and eligibility checks
- Issuing Offer letters and Contracts and all other New Starter documents
- Designing Forms e.g. Probation Review Forms / Appraisal Forms / Return to Work Forms
- Devising and rolling out Policies and Processes
- Holiday and absence recording
- Attendance at disciplinary and grievance meetings
- Record keeping and HR audit
- Gender pay gap reporting
- HR advice
- Confidential Hotline
- Hours collation and payroll function
- Negotiations with ACAS
- Settlement Agreements
This list is by no means exhaustive!
- Reduced costs and potential costs. An outsourced HR function will save money on the necessity to employ a HR team internally, giving you the option to have everything handled remotely, or in advisory/ support capacity to a smaller in-house HR team.
- Reduced stress placed on business owner/ Directors and manager by having a team of specialists readily accessible at the end of a phone or email to help navigate HR employment legislation and regulations.
- Reduced legal exposure. As an area of business that involves a lot of complex legislation, it is incredibly important to ensure that all elements of HR remain compliant, including administration.
- Increased efficiency.
- It frees up owner/ Director and management time so it can be spent on the organisation; helping it move forward and succeed.
- It frees up team members for whom HR is a secondary responsibility within their role (usually office manager or the finance team)
- Allows access to in-house HR IT software without no hefty up-front costs. The organisation can give their employees and managers access to booking and management of holiday and absence, clock in and out. Employment documents can be stored electronically and written communications can be issued, plus much more.
- Improved people management information and reporting (including people analytics) assisted by the reporting functions of our HR IT software.
- Access to HR expertise and wealth of experience that may not be available internally.
- Reduced concerns regarding cover for holiday / sickness / absence for the internal HR function
- Increased flexibility and speed of response to HR problems.
- Reduced risk, as it is possible to scale up and down more efficiently to deal with issues or projects .
- Capacity for HR to operate more strategically.
- An external HR function may mean that there is less emotional involvement in specific cases which can be dealt with more objectively.
- Safe and confidential support network for Director /Owner and Line Managers.
- Help to prevent animosity and further breakdown in the employer/ employee relationship
Implementation of policies and processes that are right for your business, resulting in increased engagement, motivation and productivity and reduced labour turnover, absenteeism and presenteeism
HR outsourcing does not absolve the organisation of good people management practices nor of overall responsibility for the provision of HR services however, a good open relationship with an outsourced provider; good communication; well considered and written policies and processes and; provision of training in terms of people management as necessary, will go a long way towards improving people management practices.
We pride ourselves on being transparent and open and before becoming a client of our Outsourced HR Service we will discuss with you our services and ascertain which HR functions we consider appropriate for your business. You will receive from us;
- What the proposed service includes / excludes
- The term / length of the contract
- The costs involved
- Our standard service levels (SLA)
- Our terms and conditions of service
We know that it is really important to understand early on in the relationship, the values of your business, your vision and how HR fits into your overall strategy. Although we provide HR expertise across a range of industries, we pride ourselves in really getting to know your business and the way it works. This means that, we can provide you with letters, documentation and advice tailored to your specific business needs.
As your outsourced HR provider/partner, we would always ensure that there was a comprehensive hand over / onboarding process so local and ‘shop floor’ knowledge is gathered, ‘banked’, and utilised as appropriate. We will help you manage the change and communications with your teams.
As a minimum you would be allocated 2 qualified and experienced HR experts to work on your account so there is always someone who knows you and your organisation and has an awareness of ongoing issues.
As a client you will advise us which members of your management teams you will allocate to work with us and utilising our services.
Although as an outsourced provider we mainly work remotely including, meetings facilitated using video conferencing technology, our central Midlands location means that we can be on site at client premises at short notice if required.
Outsourcing HR to a third-party organisation can sometimes scare business owner/ directors as they may fear that they will lose control. However, by partnering with us and working with our team experts can guarantee that those business owners / directors will very quickly feel the benefit of an outsourced HR function and totally in control.
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03332005153
Contact Us
Absolute Works HQ
Unit 1
The Barford Exchange
Wellesbourne Road
Barford
CV35 8AQ
Dorset HQ
Bayside Business Centre
Sovereign Business Park
48 Willis Way
Poole
Dorset
BH15 3TB
T: 01202 241763
