If your business can’t afford a dedicated Human Resources (HR) department, perhaps it’s time to find one elsewhere. As Adam Turner MYOB says “Of all the growing pains experienced by businesses, dealing with HR issues can be some of the most frustrating ones. Finding, managing and retaining good staff involves dealing with a myriad of contracts, policies and government regulations, not to mention the finer points of payroll tax, superannuation and other financial issues. Don’t make the mistake of thinking these problems only affect big businesses. Even the smallest businesses need to be familiar with the National Employment Standards and how these entitlements relate to flexible work conditions” .

Chances are, staff-related issues aren’t your area of expertise. And unfortunately these issues can become overwhelming long before your business is large enough to justify maintaining an in-house HR team. In any case, you should be focussing on your areas of expertise — design, project delivery and building and sustaining client relationships. If HR challenges are impacting adversely on your business then look for outside assistance.

Manangement for Design is well positioned to provide quality, in-depth and compliant HR advice and guidance to your business. The first step is for Management for Design to conduct an HR ‘health check’ of your current people, systems, processes and activities. This enables us to conduct a review of your company’s current HR ‘back of house’, including any supporting HR materials, documentation, policies, processes and activities. This will be achieved by:

(a) M4D reviewing all required HR information in the business, as well as any face-to-face discussions to further ascertain the current HR state of play across the business. This includes any unwritten HR processes and activities in place for your business presently.

(b) M4D will then provide your business with a summary HR ‘health check’ report of HR findings arising from this process to confirm areas of current HR strength and further clarifying opportunities for further improvement.

There are a number of automated tools and templates designed to walk you through creating policies, procedures and documentation. They should be designed to ensure your business is compliant with workplace laws, such as Australia’s Fair Work Act. Choose with care, as many online HR tools offer templates based on US or UK workplace laws.

The next step up from fully automated tools is HR consulting services, which often combine online HR tools with a hands-on appraisal of your HR needs. Rather than simply generating forms and policies, such services often assist you with managing the entire employee lifecycle from recruitment and orientation to performance reviews, personal development, ongoing training, and termination and exit interviews.

Please give Rob Peake a call 03 9645 8834 if your business would benefit from specialist review of your HR activity.