When To Rely On HR Consulting

The legal, organizational, employee relations, and employee benefits aspects of running your small to medium-sized enterprise (SME) are quite complex in the modern US business environment. Very few SMEs can afford a full-fledged, full-time human resources department, and a small scale or one-employee HR approach may not always be adequate.

That's the dilemma many businessmen and women find themselves in today - and that's exactly why professional HR consulting exists! Here are the top 5 situations in which at-your-fingertips HR help and advice become essential.

1. You Have Questions About Hiring, Firing, & Promotions
The possibility of getting hit with a discrimination lawsuit is all too real in today's work environment. Don't leave such outcomes to mere chance and good guesses! An experienced, knowledgeable, and up to date HR consultant stands ready to answer all of your questions in a detailed way.

In fact, HR consulting can guide you in formulating your whole interviewing, onboarding, and orientation process. You need to know what you can/can't ask and what is a legitimate (and legally safe) basis for making hiring, firing, and promotions related decisions.

2. You Are Undergoing Major Growth Or Contraction
When businesses find it necessary to make major organizational changes, typically due to major growth or contraction - or to a new direction you've chosen for your company, they begin to encounter new, unfamiliar rules.

Anytime you are planning for major changes to the way you do business, it's a good idea to have an in-depth conversation with an HR consultant. You probably will need to talk to one multiple times, in fact, as you make progress toward making the necessary adjustments.

3. If You Are Already Facing A Lawsuit Or The Threat Of One
In some cases, a company may already be facing a sexual harassment or discrimination lawsuit - or the threat of such a lawsuit. Typically, this emanates from a former, or sometimes current, employee.

Even if the lawsuit is totally baseless, you have to be very careful how you respond to it and how you proceed. For example, firing an employee or otherwise punishing him/her for filing a lawsuit against you can become the basis for a new "retaliation" lawsuit. HR consulting becomes invaluable in this type of situation.

4. You Want To Better Manage Your Employee Benefits Program
One of the most important ways that HR consulting services can assist you in growing your business is by helping you formulate an employee benefits program.

Only by offering the right kind of high-value, in-demand employee benefits to your workers can you hope to obtain and retain top-of-industry talent. Training new workers only to watch them go elsewhere or failing to attract the right applicants to begin with won't help your SME grow.

An experienced HR consultant will be able to offer you up to date advice on which benefits will best serve your business goals and appeal to your workers' career and life goals.

5. Anytime You Want To Save Time And Money!
Utilizing professional HR consulting on a regular basis will save you the need to employ an in-house HR department, or at least greatly reduce the size and cost of any HR department you may choose to have.

HR consulting enables you to go far beyond the limits of what only one or two on-staff team members may know. And it saves you time and money.

To learn more about how HR consulting services can benefit your SME, contact Summerlin Benefits Consulting today!