Many businesses struggle with the question of when to employ their first full-time HR professional—especially if their HR workload isn’t overwhelming yet. Of course, a manager or part-time employee can handle job postings, interviews, payroll and other essential HR functions for a time. But as any company grows, its HR tasks follow suit, to the point where these tasks alone become a full-time job.
As a nationwide leader in HR recruiting and executive search, HR Personnel Services helps businesses across the country find and hire exceptional human resources professionals. We connect each client with highly qualified HR candidates that align with their unique culture—and make a major difference from day one. We also understand how challenging it can be to decide when and how to hire on your first full-time HR employee. That’s why we’ll be taking a few minutes today to help you make the right decision for your business.
Why Is Human Resources Important?
Here’s the short answer: HR is important because it helps employees do the best work possible. The purpose of HR isn’t just to keep your company afloat; it’s to transform current (and prospective) employees into passionate, effective, and loyal members of your team. HR is responsible for finding and retaining talented employees, managing benefits, fostering professional development in team members, and resolving legal or interoffice challenges. Together, these efforts mitigate risk, create new value, and help propel your business towards future success.
Does Human Resources Hire Employees?
Attracting and hiring new employees is a core responsibility of any HR team. If your company needs help with finding exceptional employees, you should definitely consider hiring on an HR professional full-time. This employee will consult with your leadership team to identify needs and qualifications for new hires. From there, they’ll find, research, and interview applicants to ensure they align with your organization’s needs and preferred qualities. Typically, HR employees in charge of recruiting also manage orientation for new staff—as well as processing any related paperwork.
What Do Human Resources Professionals Do?
If you do elect to hire on a full-time human resources professional, you’ll need to define which specific tasks you need them to handle. Some HR professionals specialize in recruiting, interviewing, and hiring new staff—as well as acting as a bridge between your organization’s management and employees. Others are skilled at coordinating employee payroll, benefits and time off. You may be looking for a full-time employee to handle all the general HR functions for your company, which can be reasonable if it’s small enough.
To give you a better idea of whether a human resources professional can handle the tasks your company needs, let’s run through the general responsibilities of HR staff. This isn’t a comprehensive list, but it will outline the general functions your first HR professional can help with:
- Seeking applicants & hiring new employees
- Managing employee payroll, benefits, and time off
- Supervising & coordinating employees to maximize impact
- Performing disciplinary actions & resolving interoffice conflicts
- Managing legal concerns and risks
The Best Time to Hire a Full-Time HR Employee
At some point, every growing business needs to take the leap and put a full-time employee in charge of their most precious resource—their people. If you’re struggling as a company to handle any of the points we listed above, then that’s a strong sign that you’re ready to hire on a new HR professional; these responsibilities are simply too important to ignore or neglect.
Unfortunately, there’s no golden rule on when to hire on your first dedicated HR employee; each company grows at a different pace and encounters unique challenges along that journey. If you recognize the importance of creating a formal HR department to ensure your employees excel in their roles, then you’re ready to invest in your first human resources specialist. Similarly, if you hit a point where you wake up and realize that your current HR efforts aren’t delivering the results you need, then your decision should be easy.
Remember, a company’s HR needs become more complicated and time-consuming as it grows. That’s why it’s essential to stay in close communication with your team to ensure everyone maintains a manageable workload. When HR tasks start to overflow or slip through the cracks, you’ll know it’s time to find a full-time HR employee.
Find Outstanding HR Candidates
Ready to hire the perfect full-time human resources employee for your business? Then be sure to connect with HR Personnel Services today. We’ve been ranked by Forbes as one of “America’s Best Recruiting Firms” for two years straight—empowering companies across the country with ideal HR candidates who are able to begin contributing immediately. Whether you’re looking for general HR staff, a human resources specialist, or even contract HR employees, our recruiting experts can help. Together, we can find a top-notch HR hire for your company—and set your team on course for long-term success.
