5 Signs You Need to Hire an HR Person
What are the five tell-tale signs you should hire an HR person, more formally known as a human resources consultant, or human resources manager?
They’re simple to keep track of, and are a surefire way to keep your organization, well, organized.
1. Federal and state laws start applying to you.
When your organization hits that magic number of 50 employees is when laws, like FMLA (Family Medical Leave) and other complicated federal and state laws, start applying to you. You will want someone to help you navigate those murky waters so you can keep swimming towards your goal.
2. You’re growing- and quite quickly.
Sometimes, in a startup or small business, “winging it” works. But before you know it, you could be linking up with partners country-wide, building a podcast that reaches more than thousands, and needing a team of people who share trust, uphold a dignified company culture, and whose morale is based on confidence in your growing organization, and who the leader is.
3. You’ve encountered a culture crisis.
Maybe though, you’re not a small business. You’re a municipality. Maybe you’re caught in the crosshairs of working with Baby Boomers and Millennials. New ideas swirling around with old ways of working hard and getting the job done can create a whole slew of upset in an organization’s culture.
What are the shared beliefs? What is the common purpose? Where can you find middle ground and function from a place of health and serving the client as one?
4. The “people” side of things is bogging you down.
What if the organization’s mission is being carried out, services are being delivered effectively and efficiently, and even the organization is growing- BUT- the people who are carrying out the work are just... being people?
It happens. A trusted employee goes out on leave then abuses FMLA. Worker’s Comp cases can turn into lawsuits. Sexual harassment reports stir unrest and gossip among your staff.
Human resources managers are in place to keep people be less “peopley”. (That’s the Urban Dictionary definition.) The imperfect, not-so-good things that arise when humans act from a place of un-health are what can diminish employee morale- not to mention it can distract you from leading well towards your goal.
5. You need help speaking your peoples’ language.
Perhaps your people just aren’t hearing you anymore. You’ve done the employee survey. You’ve checked in on the satisfaction of your associates. You’ve had the team meetings. Nonverbal communication is wretched. The workplace trust is down the toilet....
By this time, it looks like you should have already hired a trustworthy HR consultant to work with you.