Previously the norm for many organisations has been that they employ their own in-house HR department. Nowadays however, it’s not uncommon to find that a business has outsourced a number of their functions; including that of HR. The most common element of HR to be outsourced is payroll, followed by the procurement of services to focus on more complex advice such as case management.

What should organisations consider when making a decision as to whether to out-source or not?

Businesses should ask themselves whether there is a need to change the way HR operates currently within their organisation. What isn’t being achieved? What aspects of the HR function are not performing satisfactorily or could benefit from improvement? What frustrations are being felt within the leadership team or organisation-wide? Is in-house HR proactively supporting the business or slowing down the strategic plan?

By asking these questions, businesses can identify whether they need to be bold and either buy in additional support, totally outsource the HR function or actively broker a relationship for support with more ad-hoc, complex matters.

The Benefits of out-sourcing the HR provision:

There are a number of benefits from bringing in HR support from outside the organisation:

• Reduced costs – HR expertise can require serious investment in terms of salaries, training and the purchasing of people management systems. Out-sourcing is; more often than not; cheaper than hiring an in-house employee with the same level of competence and expertise. An external HR provider will generally have at their fingertips a wider support network, including legal, organisational development and employee health and wellbeing support.
• Increased efficiency – By investing in out-sourced HR provision, organisations can ‘free up’ much needed funds to re-invest in other areas of the business, while still receiving proactive effective HR support.
• Accessing HR expertise that’s not available internally – External HR providers often have access to wider HR services and networks that mean where in-house HR expertise is not available in certain areas, external providers can provide specialist support in areas such as learning and development, employment law advice and policy development.
• Increased speed and flexibility in response to problems – on occasions dealing with HR issues can be very reactive. If and when an issue arises it can be very stressful to discover you have neither the time nor HR expertise to resolve the issue. Frantically sourcing outside support at that time can lead to hasty decisions as well as unnecessary delays while contracts and pricing is agreed. The ability for an organisation to pick up the telephone to their HR provider and receive practical and proactive advice straight away, meaning that any unnecessary delays and risks can be avoided.
• Improved involvement on strategic matters – many organisations have pared-back their HR function to mainly focus on the administrative tasks of managing people e.g. authorising annual leave, paying employees, issuing contracts etc. PACT HR’s Business Partner’s take great pride in getting to know the businesses and organisations that they work with. Meeting with senior management to understand each and every customer’s needs, aims and objectives and joining up the business strategy and people strategy.

How PACT HR can meet your needs

PACT HR offers a wide range of commissioned HR services. Organisations are able to purchase on-going, unlimited HR support through yearly service level agreements, delivered by experienced and skilled HR Business Partners. Alternatively you may consider purchasing bespoke HR Business Partner support, project work, learning and development or recruitment support through our HR Consultancy Services Team.

For the full range of HR services available from PACT HR email us on Pact-HR@bradford.gov.uk , or call one of the team on 01274 436644, or reach out to us on Facebook or Twitter for more information on how PACT HR may help you.