Human Resources Demands Eat Up Business Owners’ Time

We’re seeing trends with our customers that show business owners spend more of their days managing human resources-related demands than they should.  Their time is continually interrupted or consumed with trying to meet the people needs of their business.  Let’s take a look at why that is and what you can do about it if you’re in this situation.

You vs. global corporation resources

HR demands grow as the number of employees, benefits and laws change and you introduce new clients or products.  There’s a good reason global corporations have large Human Resources departments to handle employee relations issues, benefits, compliance, talent management and organization design, employee engagement and employee communications.  As you grow, the business and employees generate more challenges.

If you’re the only one handling HR you must be overwhelmed. We typically find in businesses with more than 100 employees that you and a few other people may be dealing with all these issues as only one of your responsibilities.  The amount of time you spend on these activities has likely grown gradually and now you find yourself absorbed with HR work that is critical to the business but is taking you away from growing your business and revenue.

What’s at the root of the problem?

We’re seeing that focus and skill level of the people responsible for HR activities are predominant reasons for the flow of work coming to you, the business owner.

Some likely causes include:

  • The people you have doing HR work may not be knowledgeable enough about the areas you’re asking them to cover.
  • They aren’t trained Human Resources professionals.
  • These employees are likely distracted with other responsibilities if they are only partially dedicated to HR activities. They may be as overwhelmed as you are with the amount of HR demands.
  • Decisions are raised to you for approval because your people are unsure of their level of decision-making responsibility.
  • You don’t have an “People” strategy that you’re following.

In all these situations, something needs to be done to alleviate the demands on you and your employees while ensuring you’re not putting your business in jeopardy.

Solutions

It’s time to take a hard, close look at the resources you have dedicated to human resources activities and map out what you need now and in the future.  This is a good time to look at your business and revenue goals for the future. Setting your organization up now to meet your future goals will prevent you from falling back into this situation.

Here’s what you can do today:

  • Evaluate the HR demands and what you’re asking your people to do. Do you have enough people focused on HR?  Are their responsibilities so diverse that they have to jump back and forth between “jobs”?
  • Assess the talent you have doing the work. Do they have the right skills?  Are you overworking a skilled HR professional with routine HR responsibilities that someone at a lower level can handle as a development opportunity?
  • Determine what your future needs will be based on your business goals. Do you have the number of people with the right skills to do the work to meet your expectations?
  • Develop a plan to address these needs.

Help is out there

If this becomes overwhelming considering your other responsibilities, there are companies that can help you.  Paradise Workplace Solutions can work with you to diagnose your company’s issues and develop an implementation plan to get you on course to developing your business and growing your revenue.

You certainly don’t need the level of resources required by large corporations.  The ultimate goal is to get you off the HR hamster wheel and focused on meeting your customers’ expectations, keeping you in compliance and ensuring your employees’ needs are met.

Click here for more information.