With your employees, you can feel safe in the knowledge that they are bound by company contracts and employment laws.

As you know, this is not the same when you outsource your business processes to third parties.

HR outsourcing or outsourcing, in general, is a popular process for many businesses of all sizes. It means that you can save money and is a smart and efficient way to support the weakest areas of your business.

But when you think ‘outsource’, it is easy to forget that sometimes it is a necessity, not a nicety. Not to blow my own trumpet…but one of our clients explained it like this, “if you have a legal issue you would go to a solicitor if you need to file your tax return you go to an accountant, so when you employ people you need an HR consultant. Any business that doesn’t have a dedicated HR resource should definitely look to outsource their HR.” You can read the full quote within our customer reviews.

Sometimes it really is that simple, but that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t be careful. It is vital to know your legal standing should you find yourself in a dispute.

So here are some things to keep in mind:

  • Don’t forget the Service Level agreement – When you outsource you are trusting another business to represent you and to deliver what you need. As such, you will have standards that you expect from these people. These expectations need to be explicit in the SLA. For example, at Reality HR we detail everything we will deliver for you and are very transparent as it’s all about building a strong working relationship with us and our clients.
  • If there is a drop in performance your SLA is your backup, for example in an argument about reducing their payment in the case of unsatisfactory delivery.
  • Make sure you have agreed on a schedule or arranged deadlines for the delivery of your expected results – At Reality HR, we use sophisticated cloud-based time tracking software that lets us see exactly what we have done for your chargeable project. In this day and age, something like that is expected when you choose to outsource.
  • Your SLA should also outline possible liabilities and how they will be dealt with; say from business losses, underperformance or lost assets.
  • Cost – Make sure that you fully understand all of the payment policies from the get go. If a dispute becomes more serious, assets that you assumed belonged to you might be held back, which could cause you some serious pains.
    • Some businesses will try to hang on to their pounds for as long as possible or argue over their charges. Keep in mind that you will have a better relationship in the long run with your supplier if you stick to the policies and pay on time!
    • Find out what is the norm payment terms for your sector so you have an idea of what to expect. At Reality HR, we are completely transparent with our charges and therefore, ensure we have a very strong open relationship with all of our clients.
  • Data – Confidentiality and protection are, of course, a top topic and the rules are always changing.
    • Make sure that you have provisions in place within your contract
    • Any changes in these provisions should result in new, updated and signed contracts. At Reality HR, we have a customer relationships system where we document all the significant calls we have with our clients.

 

Read our HR Outsource case study

 

You can read another post on why HR outsourcing is so much more than hiring and firing.

To find out about the improvements you could make to your business with Reality HR on your side then give us a call on 01256 328 428 for a free 15-minute phone consultation or fill out the form below to request a callback.