Human resources in your practice — an inventory

(November 2007) Hiring a third party to meet the human resources needs of your practice is no simple task. Determining which areas you need help with is a good first step.

For more like this, click here to read the most recent Strategic Coach column on Advisor.ca, entitled HR 101: Outsourcing. Skip to: Records and payroll Information systems and data management Recruiting Policies and procedures Benefits Health and safety Training and development

If you’re thinking about outsourcing this aspect of your business, review these components and think about your firm’s experience with each one. Which do you handle well? Which cause the most grief? Who currently takes care of these tasks? Is it the best use of their time or could their efforts be more profitably deployed elsewhere?

Records and payroll Most work related to records and payroll management is a matter of processing payroll, direct deposit, handling wage garnishment and remittances. In this aspect of the business, employers are also required to issue employment-related paperwork like employment verification letters when needed, T4 slips annually and Records of Employment when employees leave the company. Some outsourcing companies also argue that employee assistance — responding to inquiries about payroll or taxation changes — also falls into this category.

Information systems and data management Federal and provincial governments require employers to keep up-to-date information for all employees — past and present — and be prepared to provide that information when needed. Alex McLean, human resources and recruiting manager at The Strategic Coach, says governments would normally request this information when processing unemployment or wrongful dismissal claims, even if the claim does not involve your firm.

The information employers are required to keep on file includes employee addresses, social insurance numbers, Records of Employment, dates of employment, exact titles, when those titles changed (promotion, demotion) and information about any claims, leaves or sabbaticals.

Employers should also track employee attendance, pay history, training and development, and maintain all of this information in an employee file for at least seven years. “It’s one of the more onerous tasks for employers — keeping records for the legislative period,” says Tom Gardner, director of corporate development at Ceridian Corporation. “Full records [are needed], within reason, related to all facets of their employment.”

Recruiting Writing proper and accurate job descriptions and keeping track of job postings can be daunting tasks but doing it improperly can also significantly impede your hiring processes. Thanks to technology, though, perhaps the most onerous part of any recruiting effort is candidate screening, applicant and resumé tracking. Interviewing candidates once you think you’ve found the right one, also takes special skill.

Following that, employers need to conduct due diligence — reference checking and background checking, particularly for employees handling financial information, before getting involved in contract negotiation.

Policies and procedures Vacation policies, maternity leave policies, your firm’s policies related to commissions and pay increases, grievance processes, leave policies, dress code, government holidays and employee benefit policies should all be drafted and available in an employee handbook.

On top of this, your firm’s privacy policies, emergency procedures and safety guidelines should be clear and available to all employees.

Next: Benefits, health and safety, training and development.

Previous: Records and payroll, information systems and data management, recruiting, policies and procedures.

Benefits Benefit plans including medical, dental, life insurance, other insurance, registered plans and other special employment benefits (such as compassionate care benefits and employee assistance programs) require someone to manage enrolment, status changes, employee communication and other administration.

In addition to calculations (EI, salary, tenure) some benefits, retirement plans in particular, require you to provide some advice and employee education. Bonuses, employee leave, education expenses and other reimbursements can also fall under the benefits banner.

Health and safety Although workplace health and safety generally doesn’t present itself as an issue in office settings, education, enforcement and regulation are areas that require consideration, especially if the advisor directly employs cleaning staff, dock workers or mailroom personnel.

Training and development Most employers recognize the need to develop or arrange training programs as a means of retaining staff. McLean says it is also necessary to implement tracking to show Service Canada a history of training, if needed. “You need to demonstrate that you’ve met your end of the bargain and given employees the tools they need to do a successful job,” she says. “It looks good on your part. People can’t come back and say they didn’t receive proper training.”

Understanding these parts of your business is a good way to start the process of finding a firm to handle things for you. Being able to articulate your needs makes the next steps of the outsourcing process easier and will help clarify things along the way.

When beginning the search, look for a firm with a good track record of serving organizations that are similar to yours (both in terms of size and service requirements). Anecdotally, both Gardner and delegates at a recent human resources conference, put on by the Conference Board of Canada in Toronto, say there are a growing number of vendors who claim to be outsourcing specialists. Since barriers to entry in this respect are low, human resources managers in attendance were encouraged to do a lot of research when choosing a vendor to manage even small parts of the business.

As well, Gardner says scalability is another consideration to keep in mind — your preferred vendor should serve organizations your size, but it should also serve larger organizations if your firm is growing or planning to acquire another, or smaller organizations if you plan to downsize or sell off parts of your business.

Filed by Kate McCaffery Advisor.ca, kate.mccaffery@advisor.rogers.com

(11/07/07)