As an HR department of one, you don\'t have another HR person around to tell you that you\'re wrong, so you have to hold yourself accountable. You need to keep reading articles and attending webinars for HR professionals so you are always giving the most up-to-date answers and practicing HR at the highest level. Also, networking with other HR professionals can be very helpful so you have someone to reach out to when you are unsure about something. Keep yourself in check and don\'t get too stuck in your ways or you\'ll miss opportunities to get better at your job.
Being an HR team of one can be extremely stressful and that is why it's important for those individuals to remember that it is okay to ask (and expect) help from other departments. It is the job of all leaders (managers and executives) to ensure that they are supporting the goals of the HR team so, getting their support to help leverage some of the work is completely understandable. For example, you can ask your performance managers to deal with raise requests and other reviews because they are already having a weekly meeting with employees one-on-one anyways, If your colleagues are not able to do this, consider getting support from outside vendors and connecting with other HR professionals who have been in your position before.
HR apps and platforms are not just great add-ons but essentials to the lone HR employee. A single HR executive can only perform well by addressing every need, concern, and demand made from an HR perspective. Thankfully, apps and platforms have all these details covered already. With these solutions on their side, HR executives can deliver results that are quick, correct, and thorough and meet regulations.
Encourage managers to conduct stay interviews with their people spontaneously and often. Help them discover WHY their people choose to be at your organization, and then align their motivations with your business needs. You’ll save time and money by reducing unnecessary turnover in the long run and create a world-class culture while you do it!
If you serve as the one and only HR representative for your company, you will find the most success by building a strong network of HR professionals within and beyond your local community. These individuals will be a valuable resource as you navigate daily HR operations, whether you are searching for the answer to an HR-related question or are feeling overwhelmed by on-going work demands. The key is to find other HR professionals in the field that can assist you with questions related to your region or industry, whether on LinkedIn, SHRM, or another professional networking site.
Single person HR “teams” are doomed to a life of administrivia unless they are able to negotiate a reasonable service level agreement with managers. This begins by outlining the services you can and cannot provide given current budget and then obtaining agreement from leadership. There will always be one-off “emergencies” but having a contract of sorts to reference will help keep you focused on the most important aspects of your role while empowering manager to take on those items that are truly part of their purview.
Being a one-man team and juggling numerous responsibilities comes with its fair share of challenges, which can often lead to high-stress levels and symptoms of burnout. For this reason, it's important to be mindful and not only recognize signs of burnout but plan well in advance to mitigate its impact on your health and productivity. This includes creating streamlined processes that are easy to stick to, checking in with yourself on a regular basis, and learning how to unplug from work when the time comes.
The best piece of advice I would offer to an HR team of 1 is to always stay up-to-date on the latest changes in employment law and to never stop learning. Employment law is constantly changing, so it's important to be diligent in reading and understanding new updates. Additionally, it's helpful to seek out training and education opportunities related to HR so that you can stay current on the latest trends and best practices.
As a solo HR manager, it’s important to keep what you want to accomplish in mind. Take time to dive in and research what you can make possible with the resources you have. Utilize networking events to meet other HR professionals and learn from them to help craft your vision. whether it be developing a positive company culture or a strong, communicative team. When you’re the sole HR professional in your company, it’s important that you become your own expert in your area and to stick to what you want to achieve.
We keep hearing that we should "put our own mask on first" when it comes to taking care of ourselves as HR leaders. After all, we can\'t help our people if we\'re burned out and stressed. But the connotation of that is that we are merely trying to survive. The metaphor I prefer is to serve from a full cup--we can\'t serve others if our own cup is empty. This simple shift helps to reframe the work we have the privilege to do as HR professionals and also helps to remind us that we need to pour into ourselves before we can pour into others.
The best advice to an HR team of one is to automate the hiring process in order to make things easy and quick. Using automation tools can make the HR process easy and streamlined for small businesses or companies that have only a single HR member. These applications can come up with algorithms that can tell which hiring practices have been successful in the past. It is used to learn what types of communication will appeal to specific candidates and discover good leads in surprising places.
Focus on that which is most important and yields the most ROI. The famous Four Quadrants of Time Management are a wonderful tool to do just that. Ideally, you want to be spending most of your time on the tasks that are most urgent and important (i.e. Quadrant I). This is where the company's most pressing needs (for example recruitment for key positions) are and should occupy the most of your attention and time. All other non-essential and nice-to-have tasks and projects should be secondary. Therefore if you're a "team" of 1, look to make a bold and wise decision as to what constitutes an actual priority and where can your work have the greatest impact for the company.
Finding a legal consultant, counselor, or lawyer you trust will come in handy as you navigate such a large role solo. Your legal consultant of choice can look over your activities and documentation, ensuring you’re adhering to legal employment practices at all times. The amount of time spent researching legal issues regarding the business and its employees can be astronomical - sifting through legal paperwork is no easy feat, especially for those unfamiliar with “legalese” terms. Use your legal counsel on retainer to lead you through workplace investigations, audits, wage compliance issues, and much more.
As an HR generalist it’s nearly impossible to master every nuanced aspect of human resources. From payroll, to FMLA, to worker’s comp, to conflict resolution, to learning & development, there’s simply too much to learn. So my best advice: don’t even try. As an HR team of one, your knowledge base needs to be a mile wide and an inch deep. So to overcome your lack of expertise in any given area, rely on the power of tech. There are hundreds of awesome SaaS products to help with HR management these days. Companies like Gusto, Bamboo and others can take a lot of tasks off your plate. In addition, many have premium packages with live expert support, so you can always lean on them for granular questions that might be giving you fits. What’s more, many of these HR SaaS products are very affordable, coming in at well under $100 per month. So take my advice, keep your knowledge base wide and shallow, and leverage smart tech.
Networking with other HR professionals can provide you with the resources and guidance you need to make critical decisions for a business. Finding a mentor or experienced HR professional that can provide you with best practices can ensure that you stay legally compliant. They can also lend their expertise to employment situations they may have encountered in the past that can guide you in making decisions.
Employee engagement is the most critical issue for HR and covers many areas, including retaining high-performing talent, strengthening the employee-employer relationship, managing performance, and creating an exciting company culture. Company values must focus on workforce well-being as well as making money and that's where investing in a great HR manager who provides feedback, encourages employees with frequent personalized recognition, and treats employees with respect.
To manage every stage of the employee life cycle from recruiting, interviewing, hiring, onboarding, training, and firing, as well as administering employee benefits - pause for breath - you need to be a skilled juggler! Your life will be a whole lot easier with the use of robust HR automation software. For small businesses, this will be your saving grace, an invaluable tool to help you perform everyday tasks more efficiently whilst cutting out human error.
My best advice for an HR "team" of 1 is to nurture a support system you can ask for help. While you may be a one person department, you do not need to rely entirely on yourself in every situation. You can cultivate a network of outside HR peers to go to for advice (specifics omitted of course.) You can also develop relationships with other organizational leaders and team members whom you can recruit to help with your initiatives. For example, partnering on presentations and training or planning and running company events. Here is a list of HR books that can be of further help: https://teambuilding.com/blog/hr-books
When you’re the sole HR professional in your workplace, you’re going to need to automate as much of your role as possible, including your hiring process. Invest in a recruiting platform to help you automate candidate sourcing, filter resumes, and even send out offer letters. You can also recruit managers in other departments to assist you with the hiring process by giving them access to the platform and tasking them to review candidates and whittle down their favorites on a short list. Since these managers will be working hand-in-hand with the new hire, they’ll be able to confidently find the best candidate to fit their requirements and take a little load off your shoulders.
With employee retention at an all-time low and all of the burdens of HR falling squarely on your shoulders, finding new members to fill important roles can be difficult — and sometimes keeping them can be an even bigger challenge. Immediately, begin improving your job listings and providing more upfront information, as you look for places to post that might be a better fit for your target demographic. But, in the meantime, be sure that you have a few team members who are trained to complete multiple tasks and seamlessly switch over to other roles when needed. This way, you won't be in such a big hurry to hire a person who may not be qualified or whose references don't hold up.