Business Guide to Human Resources Consultants

Human resources consultants can help you assess the types of personnel initiatives that can have significant impacts on your bottom line. Consultants in this area are experts in employee relations, compensation policies, benefits and incentives, and the government regulations that tie all of these issues together. Bringing in outside consultants can give the process of overhauling your personnel policies an air of independent authority that can be particularly beneficial if you want to make sweeping changes to policies and benefits. The independent nature of human resources consultants can ensure that the assessment of needed changes comes from a disinterested party with nothing to gain from the process.

Benefits

Many businesses are in need of human resources (HR) consultants and other human resources professionals. According to WANTED Analytics, 6,800 job ads related to human resources were placed during August 2011, which is a 33 percent increase from 2010. Business owners understand the need for these professionals because they provide an essential service. There are many benefits to having a human resources consultant on your business team.

Determine human resources goals

The main aspect of a consultant’s job is to determine the human resources guidelines for your organization. Your consultant will meet with you to establish the short- and long-term goals and objectives you wish to set up for your employees. During your meeting, you’ll discuss hiring processes, probation, benefits, absences, and a host of other topics. Your human resources consultant will also help you set up and organize your human resources department.

Employee relations

Human resources professionals work closely with business owners and employees alike. They oversee training, coordinate the employee recruitment process, manage employee performance, and ensure company policies are enforced. This is a big job that most business owners simply do not have time for. Having a professional consultant on your staff to handle this job allows you to focus on expanding your business.

Employee discipline

If a manager is unhappy with an employee’s performance and decides to suspend him, the manager will speak to your consultant about the offense, and your consultant will refer to the guidelines you set up to determine the appropriate suspension time. The consultant will then complete suspension documents and place them in the appropriate file. Your consultant can handle tasks such as these without ever getting you involved. With a consultant on board, you won’t have to worry about personally enforcing employee discipline policies.

Government and state regulations

Human resources consultants must be familiar with employee labor laws and legislation. They can keep you abreast of laws as they change, and they can implement changes to your company policies as necessary to ensure that your organization is operating according to the laws of your state and government.

Pitfalls

Human resources consultants can be of great assistance to you when it comes to integrating human resources processes into your business operations. However, there are some factors that you should consider before adding a human resources consultant to your team.

Possible audits

Part of an HR consultant’s job is to make recommendations that help you improve your structural and financial objectives. Therefore, your consultant may need to read through a lot of sensitive company information. Business owners may initially feel uncomfortable with this, but it is a necessary action that consultants must take in order to implement plans that will help to organize or correct certain HR processes.

Reorganization of business structure

When consultants determine that there are issues that must be addressed immediately, they may recommend structural changes. If you are used to operating your business in a certain way, these changes may be hard for you to adjust to. Employees may also have a difficult time adapting to your company’s changes.

Skill and labor relations

Human resources consultants not only deal with restructuring an organization and enhancing job performance, they also oversee labor policies and procedures to ensure that business owners follow government regulations. Although your consultant works for and receives a paycheck from you, he has the right to report you if you do not comply with federal and state employment laws.

Grievance and mediation processes

Human resources consultants handle grievance and mediation processes, and your consultant may eventually receive complaints regarding your company’s policies or business practices. This is especially common within large organizations. If this situation occurs, you must allow your human resources consultant to intervene and start the conflict resolution process. Because you own the company, you may feel the need to handle conflicts in a specific way, but conflicts must be resolved in the manner outlined by HR consultants, which is generally in line with state requirements.

Pricing

Hiring human resources consultants can help you minimize the money used by the human resources department. Most consultants charge an hourly fee that covers their services, as well as equipment costs and travel expenses. Some consultants, especially freelancers, will offer clients an estimate based on the entire project instead of charging an hourly rate.

The rate you can expect to pay varies greatly depending on the experience and education level of the consultant. Generally, you can expect to pay 20 to 40 percent more for a consultant who has an MBA than you will pay for someone with less schooling, according to the UCLA Career Center.

Conclusion

There are many ways to handle your company's employment responsibilities. Hiring human resources consultants can be a particularly effective way to insert expert advice that is independent and authoritative into personnel matters. These consultants specialize in finding ways to control employee costs and increase job satisfaction. If you decide to use human resources consultants, keep in mind that you will have to involve outsiders in your company's internal matters. Consultants will need access to files and documents to make an initial assessment. If you try to segregate information, you may find that the consultant's recommendations are less useful than they could have been with full access. The consultants can also come to conclusions you may not like or uncover regulatory issues that may require immediate attention.