When you decide whether you should buy or lease your new car, there isn’t a definitive right or wrong, or good or bad. Rather, there are advantages and disadvantages to either scenario. The most practical way to go about such a decision is to honestly evaluate your needs, operations, and expectations.
The same goes for deciding whether outsourcing human resource functions is right for your organization. When you consider all of the responsibilities that human resources perform, it can be a bit overwhelming. The HR department really touches everyone in your organization, from the first hello to the final goodbye.
Many Executive Directors think they can handle HR along with their other responsibilities—a huge mistake for organizations dependent on revenue-enhancing opportunities and donor relations. Forbes, in an article penned by Meghan Biro, reported the top 5 reasons for turning HR over to outsourced experts:
- It frees the organization to concentrate on core competencies.
- It saves money.
- It improves compliance.
- It improves recruitment.
- It provides access to the latest tools and technology.
Why wouldn’t you want to consider outsourcing HR responsibilities? Four reasons frequently rise to the top: privacy leaks, failure to represent an organization’s true culture, dependency/loss of control, and limiting employee’s accessibility.
It doesn’t have to be all or nothing. Here’s how the various activities breakout when tracking the most frequently outsourced HR tasks, as reported by SHRM.
Many of these activities can be outsourced to nonprofit staffing companies. PNP Staffing Group provides payroll services and HR consulting. Kristi Lewis, Temp Services Manager for PNP, said that the company can also arrange to lease one or more of their experienced recruiters to be assigned on-site for as short or as long as the nonprofit needs them. These individuals work directly with HR staff, providing assistance during peak recruiting periods. These On-Demand recruiters represent the organization, source, screen/interview candidates and on-board new hires.
Read 25 Questions to Ask Before You Outsource HR written by Kate Liter, Wise Bread.
Amy DeVita is a publisher, entrepreneur, mother, wife, social media enthusiast and fan and avid supporter of the nonprofit/ for-impact sector. She has written for Top Nonprofits and Third Sector Today; she has been quoted on pieces about social media and social impact on The Huffington Post and The Daily Beast. She was named to the Leading Women Entrepreneurs in NJ Monthly and she is a member of Social Media for Nonprofits’ Leadership Council. In her spare time she enjoys kayaking, yoga, hiking, traveling, and playing Scrabble. Amy lives in New Jersey with her husband, two children, and two dogs. In 1984 she earned the “Most Improved Average” honor on her bowling league.