Why Outsourced HR?

Many companies routinely outsource payroll, legal advice and other services – so why not Human Resources? Outsourcing HR can give rise to significant advantages, not least business efficiency and a bottom line improvement.

All businesses large and small have to deal with a variety of functions relating to their staff. Covering these, in-house, can be difficult for a large and well-resourced organisation but for medium and smaller sized businesses it can be impractical, if not impossible. Access to dependable and highly experienced HR professionals can be transformational and can give invaluable support to help a business grow and prosper.

This is where an outsourced HR service comes in, the costs and risks are replaced by external specialists.

Whereas a single employee will almost certainly lack the breadth of experience and knowledge to handle every HR function – especially in terms of employee relations and performance management, larger organisations can also have difficulty managing their employees, especially if their internal resource lacks relevant and up-to-date skills and capabilities. Even when relatively straightforward issues are encountered, some businesses find themselves having to refer cases externally to lawyers or other professionals, with consequential high advice costs. Compliance with employment law is potentially complex and can be a high-risk area for any size business.

We believe that HR outsourcing offers a number of advantages over staffing an onsite department or directly employing a single operative.

Risk management: It can help a business to minimise risk from non-compliance with employment legislation and can help to maintain good practices, procedures and policies.
Efficiency: It can help promote greater efficiency and productivity within a business by streamlining systems and record keeping and allowing managers to stay focussed and spend less time on employment-related matters.
Employee development: It can help a business to manage employee performance and development with productivity benefits. It can also minimise management time consumption.
Cost saving: It can help to reduce and minimise the cost of maintaining non-revenue generating, back-office resources. Not having these resources internally reduces the need for floor space and for training and knowledge maintenance. It also avoids recruitment costs and the added costs of employment, such as national insurance contribution and pensions. Furthermore, outsourcing costs are more easily scalable and can be reduced if business circumstances dictate.

There are different outsourcing models.

At the lower end of the costing scale are online services that give access to template documents and helpline guidance, which may be time consuming and impersonal. Alternatively, home working HR Advisers can provide a more personal service but may lack a depth of experience and continuity due to holiday and sickness absences or even just other client commitments.

Our outsourcing model is matched to the specific needs of your organisation.

We provide you with access to a team of highly qualified HR professionals, ensuring constant availability and a highly personalised service. The breadth of our experience is also complemented by access to our own highly experienced legal support at a reduced rate. Our team is made available to you by telephone, email and even in person on-site.