HR Expertise: Boost Your Business with Operational HR Outsourcing

When your business grows, your HR requirements become more complex. Your human resources department will face a huge challenge as they attempt to attract, engage, and retain an expanding team.

HR can actually become a bottleneck that stifles your growth unless you have HR operations experts to help you scale up. Fortunately, it is possible to expand your capacity by bringing in an Operational HR consultant who can lend you their HR expertise.

What is an Operational HR consultant?

Foundational HR professionals cover the day-to-day tasks, assisting with HR functions such as payroll, benefits, administration, and paperwork. Operational HR leaders are a step up from that, helping you to run your human resources team as efficiently as possible.

Your Operational HR consultant can perform complex human capital-related tasks, including strategy and policy work. They can also provide support and leadership to your HR admin team. Businesses usually bring in an Operational HR consultant when they are:

• Scaling up: The consultant can help with large-scale recruitment and onboarding drives.

• Making improvements: A consultant can help implement a major new process, such as a new HRIS system.

• Addressing employee experience issues: Operational HR consultants can help tackle issues relating to employee engagement and retention.

Operational consultants can bring real value to your HR department by providing you with:

• HR Expertise: Operational HR consultants have a deep reservoir of practical experience to draw from. They can teach you best practices, identify operational efficiencies, and help you understand compliance requirements.

• Rapid response: A consultant can join your team much more quickly than a full-time hire, and they will start delivering results right away.

• Flexibility: You can agree terms that suit your needs with your Operational HR consultant. For instance, if you have a temporary need for additional HR expertise, you can hire a consultant on a short-term contract.

• Fresh perspective: Sometimes, a fresh pair of eyes can make all the difference. A consultant can flag up problems and identify efficiencies that your in-house team might have missed.

Consultants bring a great level of HR expertise that can help your business grow. Let’s take a closer look at the things that Operational HR can deliver.

Download my guide to HR outsourcing

5 ways your business benefits from HR expertise

So, what can an Operational HR consultant deliver for your business? That depends on who you hire, their background and experience, and the terms of your engagement.

Here are some of the things that the right HR consultant can do for you:

1. Optimize your hiring process

A great hiring process will help you attract and retain the candidates you need for your team. Operational consultants can help by:

• Working with stakeholders to define job descriptions

• Finding the smartest way to organize and structure interviews

• Making use of technology optimize talent acquisition strategies

• Overseeing and delivering the onboarding program

Your HR consultant will work with you to build a staffing process that always puts the right person in the right vacancy.

2. Deliver employee career paths

Career paths are a key part of your total rewards strategy. When team members have a defined career path with professional development milestones, they’re likely to deliver more and stay with your organization for longer. An operational HR consultant can help here by:

• Developing individual career paths

• Organizing professional development programs

• Helping leaders manage employee career paths

Operational HR consultants will also think about diversity, equity, and inclusion in career pathing and succession planning, and ensure that everyone is equally included.

3. Develop employee relations

HR’s ultimate goal is to strengthen employee relationships, helping build a team that will thrive. Operational HR consultants can help here in a number of ways, including:

• Monitoring employee engagement and ensuring a positive work environment

• Overseeing performance management programs

• Optimizing the entire employee life cycle, from new hires to offboarding

• Owning processes such as payroll management, talent development, benefits management

A high-functioning HR operations team can spot potential employee issues before they become serious problems. This helps improve the working environment, increase engagement and, ultimately, reduces staff turnover.

4. Implement policies and procedures

HR is often responsible for putting organizational policy into practice. Your consultant can help roll out new protocols, such as a respectful workplace policy or improved cybersecurity procedures. They do this by:

• Communicating with employees and educating them on policy details

• Monitoring engagement to ensure that everyone has received the training they need

• Dealing with any breaches or other subsequent issues

• Ensure compliance with labor laws

Changes in HR policies can have an impact on employee engagement. A consultant with the right HR operations expertise can help you avoid potential pitfalls.

5. Get the most from technology

Technology plays a vital role in HR operations and the overall employee experience. You might sometimes need extra HR expertise to help you with things like:

• Rolling out new HR systems to users

• Developing internal processes that make the most of technology

• Supporting people with queries about IT

An outsourced HR operations manager can help you choose, install, integrate and optimize your new Human Resources Information Systems (HRIS) system to offer the maximum return on investment.

Get some extra HR expertise today

Operational HR is the ideal solution when you need high-level human resources management expertise right away. But it's important to choose an HR outsourcing partner that understands your business and supports your goals. 

Helios HR has been helping companies in the Greater D.C. area for over 20 years. If you'd like to avail of our HR expertise, why not book a no-obligation consultation call with Helios HR today!