Why Outsource Human Resources?

Utah LEADS guest post by Kathleen Jolly

Why Outsource Human Resources?

When businesses don’t have the time or resources for handling the HR function, outsourcing is a cost-effective alternative. Outsourcing can save money by eliminating the need to hire specific talent and keep overhead low. It can also increase productivity allowing business owners time to focus on core business activities and be more strategic within the company. Businesses view HR outsourcing as a strategic tool that relieves them of HR responsibilities and enables them to focus on what they do best.

Typically, smaller or mid-size organizations can’t provide or reproduce the kind of full-service HR department that outsourcing can provide them. In addition to allowing them to concentrate on their core business activities, outsourcing provides some key benefits, including:


• Providing skilled professionals who are focused specifically on HR
• Helping to reduce and manage operating costs
• Improving employee relations


Outsourcing can also improve basic service by providing resources to handle needs, increasing accuracy and meeting compliance standards. Depending on the size of the business and how much control they want to maintain over HR functions, they can either outsource all their HR tasks or contract for services a la carte.

The basic services offered by HR outsourcing firms may include:


• Create or update employee handbooks and policy manuals
• Develop and implement a compensation program
• Create or review a performance appraisal system
• Provide sexual harassment training
• Recruiting, training, and development
• Overseeing organizational structure and staffing requirements
• Employee orientation programs
• Tracking department objectives, goals, and strategies
• Employee and manager training
• Benefits administration

HR outsourcing is a really good buy for an employer’s money, they still have control in all the areas they want control. All of the administrative human resources functions are taken care of by the vendor. It’s pretty invisible to employees and provides the management of the company the ability to deal with the business of their business.

Whether you're looking to outsource the entire HR function, a portion of it, or a specific project, it's good to know you've got options.

[Kathleen Jolly is the owner of HR Factor Inc. (hrfactorinc.com). She has over 20 years of Human Resources Experience, is PHR Certified and a member of both the National and Salt Lake Chapters of Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM)]