Over the past few weeks, I have met some incredible leaders who run new and burgeoning small businesses. During our conversations, I noticed these leaders shared similar stories when discussing their companies. I heard statements like:

• I don’t have the time to deal with contracts or paperwork – but we are so small we don’t really need it…
• I know I need it, but I don’t have the cash flow for a full-time HR person…
• I can’t find the right people, but we are small, that comes with the territory…
• Employees keep leaving us to join our competitors, but we are small, what can we do?….

As I listened to the challenges plaguing these business owners, I came the realization that small business owners think that they can’t get or don’t need HR support!

These leaders believe that because they are “small”, they are exempt from the legalities and penalties that the bigger organizations face or that their company cultured doesn’t matter. This could not be further from the truth, while the scope of HR may change from one business to another, every company; no matter the size should invest in implementing some form of HR to help their organization meet their objectives.

Here are some of the reasons why small businesses need HR too:

1. Compliance: 

Whether you have a team of 2 or 200, having legally compliant employment agreements, policies, and performance management documents will help your organization set appropriate expectations, mitigate risks, and prevent costly legal fees. Regardless of size, every organization is subject to the same legal requirements, so whether you are “small” or not; compliance documents help to protect your company.

2 Attracting the Right Candidates: 

Creating unique job descriptions, developing a strong employer brand, and standardizing your interview process can help your organization save time and money by hiring the right candidate the first time. Skipping this process can lead to a lot of frustrations when the wrong person joins your team. The weight that is carried by a small team is exponentially heavier when a team member is not doing their share.In addition, with today’s tool and social media outlets, small and big companies are on more of an even playing field when it comes to job advertisements. A strong recruitment strategy can have great success regardless of budget. Utilizing HR practices can lead to increased number and quality of applicants for vacant roles.

3 Keeping Your People: 

Money and benefits are not the only reason why people stay with an employer. If your small business can’t afford to compete with the larger companies’ compensation plans, you can still compete in many other areas to retain your employees. Intrinsic benefits provided through a great company culture, an employer who cares, or opportunities for growth are cost-effective ways to keep your people engaged. HR can help you to create and communicate amazing initiatives to increase your team’s awareness of all the benefits that working for your company can provide.

While you may not be able to afford a full-time person, there are many different options to have the HR support you need:

1. HR Consultant: 

HR consultants can be hired for contract or retained services based on your needs. You can control your investment by only purchasing the HR service that you want (ie. 1 day per week, recruitment only, or for specific HR projects).Consultants can provide you with resources such as templates, employment agreements ($150-$500), policy manuals, performance reviews programs, training materials, best practices recommendations or cost-effective solutions. You can choose what is most important to you based on your goals and your budget.

2 Lawyer: 

At the very least, to mitigate your risks, you should have employee agreements for all members of your team. A lawyer can provide a template for employee agreements for about $500. This template would be well worth the investment.

3 Temporary Agencies: 

Some temporary agencies will allow you to put your employees on their payroll for 3-8% markup. In doing so, you can make use of the agencies employee agreements and alleviate your administrative burden. 

4 Online: 

The internet offers ample information regarding Provincial and Federal Employment Standards, Human Rights, or safety legislation. With that said, legislation can sometimes be difficult to decipher, if in doubt about how the legislation should be applied, you should seek HR or legal counsel.

If you find that your business could use some HR support, contact Surge to discuss how we can help!