Often, when an organization loses an HR Director, Benefits Manager, or HR Business Manager for whatever reason, they know that the standard two (or in some cases a bit more) week notice period won’t be enough time to make an offer to the next person to fill the role. While precious handover time slips away, the business will do its best to make a placement before the departure.
In many cases, already busy supervisors or subordinates will do their best to fill the gap and try to keep things running well enough until the next person is found. But what if the leadership team suspects or is quite sure that there are serious issues with the operation of the function and/or open enrollment deadlines that must be met? This could leave the successor at a very serious disadvantage at the same time that he or she is trying to come up to speed with company culture, processes, and people.
Did you know that there is a better way?
What if there was a way to cover that person’s absence with an experienced professional until the perfect candidate could be found? What if that person could also perform a diagnostic on current procedures and compliance that would be shared with the new person on their first day – and what if that person stayed long enough to perform a proper hand-off? And, what if later that same person could be available by phone for a period of time to assist?
Allow Me to Introduce: Interim HR Consulting
This scenario is possible and many companies faced with this predicament are taking advantage of the interim HR consulting we offer at Helios. This is one of the many ways that our HR services are changing ways of working in our region. We can assist in such instances by not only keeping things going in times of transition, but Helios HR can also help you find that next great candidate for the position that must be filled.
How many of us in the HR field have come into a position that had been vacant for several weeks? In that time gap, the person who held the position: was not there to make a compliance filing deadline, failed to purge terminated employee files, was unaware of a change in the regulations, or had an HR practice error.
Wouldn’t it be better to be proactive and know this before something happens?
A new HR person, happily in his or her new role will be focused on getting acclimated and hitting the deliverables that the business needs and may only become aware of issues when it’s too late. And making excuses like they didn’t know, or weren’t told isn’t a good answer for anyone. By then, maybe the credibility of that new person you hired along with their reputation has been damaged irreparably. This is a worst-case scenario, but it can, and has happened way too often.
Human Resource professionals always want to give the much-cherished new hire the best possible start. Studies have shown, and we know from personal experience, that the first 30-days of a person’s new job either positive or negative will set a tone that will determine their happiness and longevity in a new job. How often does HR get the same treatment? We can help you do better.
I’m currently working with a client that lost a team of two HR people within a four-week period. Since my colleagues and I are all specially trained to audit for compliance and look for process improvement opportunities, I was able to come in and look for common issues and gaps at the same time that I was covering and keeping things going for the employees.
Once the new employee starts, I’ll be able to provide them with a detailed reference guide and a list of projects to address in the first 90-days as well as a list of less critical opportunities. I’m happy to provide this service, and it’s important to us that our contribution can be felt and appreciated down months after we’ve moved on to the next client. It’s what I would have wanted for myself each time I started a new role.
5 Benefits of Pairing Interim HR Consulting & HR Placement Services for your Vacant Role
I’d like to share with the main reasons why our clients choose to work with Helios when they are looking to fill a key HR position:
- Continuity of Role: Losing your Human Resource Business Manager for a key region doesn’t mean that investigations, training, orientations and recruiting for that region need to go on hold. We are experienced at picking up work in progress and transferring to the next person so all the day-to-day will happen as planned.
- Detailed Procedural Review: We are able to come into your organization and document as we quickly learn your policies and practices. We work with a larger team of HR professionals to determine if any current practices will need to be adjusted or changed. Some things can be implemented right away while we’re on-site, others can be handed off to the ‘settled’ HR.
- Highly Customized Placement Services: We have a team of top recruiters who will find talent with the right skills for your organization faster. The recruiter and on-site consultant work as a team and get to know your organization in a way that’s not possible for a typical outsourced recruiting firm.
- Unparalleled Support: Actions speak louder than words. It shows you care to have an experienced team of trained HR professionals caring for your employees until a new person can be found. Each one of our consultants is a highly trained professional, who can call upon a much larger team of equally experienced professionals with templates, tricks, and tools to provide your company with the best answer.
- It works!: We know our method of on-site support coupled with placement services works. We’ve had the opportunity to provide interim HR support for many companies over the years. We know that moving the responsibilities from one professional to another until the new one can be found often costs more down the road. Important work is missed, employees aren’t served. Let us join your team until the perfect candidate is found. Your employees will thank you and the settled HR professional will be able to do great things a short time after joining.
Since HR serves the larger employee population, a successful, happy and efficient HR practitioner supporting your organization can do amazing things. With their ‘fresh set of eyes’ - you want to get the benefit of their fresh ideas to improve morale, improve recruiting, renovate policies and procedures, and more. We can help the next person and the business to reap those coveted rewards even sooner than you might have ever thought possible.
Still unsure if interim HR consulting is right for you? Check out my colleague's article which further details what our engagements look like for more details.
Related reading:
- Solutions for Your HR Vacancy Leader
- How to Find the Best HR Leader For Your Business
- What to Do When Your HR Leader Leaves