Employees are central to every organization and that’s what makes human resource (HR) management so important. HR departments handle many responsibilities and rely on back office outsourcing solutions to perform specific tasks, increase their organization’s efficiency and reduce costs.
The role of HR has evolved considerably over the past two years – from administrative to strategic. As the pandemic spread, HR professionals had to come up with new policies to meet the requirements of remote work as well as hybrid workplaces. HR now needs to help organizations prepare for the future, according to a Forbes article. This makes efficient back office support more important than ever.
What Are The Outsourced Solutions That HR Departments Can Take Advantage Of ?
According to the HRM Handbook,” Back Office is the Heart of Human Resources”. So what are the outsourced solutions that HR departments can take advantage of? The answer is: everything from data entry and document conversion to HR consulting, time tracking, performance management, payroll administration, accounting, talent management, and more.
- Data entry: HR data entry services ensure that employee information is entered and managed correctly, making it accessible and easily retrievable. All paper-based information can be converted to digital format – applications, resumes, recruitment processes, employee information, appraisals, payroll details, tax-related information, and company guidelines and handbooks. Experts use multiple methods of data capture, including double key data capture, where information is entered by two operators and compared using software to detect differences, improving quality control and accuracy rates. Automated HR data capture can increase productivity and save money by eliminating costly manual data entry.
- Document conversion: Piles of physical documents can overwhelm HR, which makes digitization of documents is another popular back office service. Paper documents are scanned and converted into electronic format, making information easy to access, handle and manage using a document management system. In addition to document conversion services, outsourced solutions for HR also include secure document archiving and shredding.
- HR consulting: This involves specialist advice and services to improve HR department efficiency and workflow, and implement new policies and procedures. Third-party support is available to promote regulatory compliance for recruitment and selection, onboarding, employee performance management, compensation and benefits and unemployment management. Solutions are also available for team training and development, employee grievances management, leave management engagement strategy, employer branding, developing talent strategies, managing cultural transformation, HR coaching, handbook development, payroll and HR statutory compliance.
- Benefits administration: Benefits administration support refers to helping HR departments develop and manage benefits for their employees. Recent surveys reveal that Benefits are one of the main such as health care, vacation time, and retirement benefits are among the main reasons employees remain with an employer. Back office outsourcing solutions include support for HRs to establish, administer, and manage affordable and customized benefits plans. With the right support to meet the evolving needs of their diverse workforces, organizations can attract talent, minimize attrition, and remain competitive. Employers need to be forward-thinking regarding employee benefits because this crucial feature can make or break a company, notes a recent Global Newswire report. Given the tight labor market, health and retirement benefits have become more important than ever to attract and keep workers.
- Performance management: Though managing performance is a key HR process that depends on a flow of continuous feedback, it also lies at the core of an organization’s success and business continuity. Outsourcing can ensure performance management solutions that align individual goals with organizational goals. Outsourcing will ensure expert support to conduct performance appraisals as well as consultation services for disciplinary procedures and recommendations. COVID-19 has highlighted the need for HR to have a robust performance management system in place to ensure business viability, observes a Forbes article.
- Insurance services: Managing employee insurance is an important task for HR. Providing fair compensation based on performance is an essential element of HR best practices. It involves handling everything from health insurance and life insurance to retirement plans, disability insurance, and stock options. Outsourcing HR work can help businesses, especially small businesses wti budget limitations, in a variety of ways.
- Stay compliant with state-specific local, state, and federal employment regulations and paperwork requirements, which tend to change often
- Ensure that employees receive optimal benefits and support
- Save the expense of hiring a full-fledged in-house HR team
- Free up time for other strategic tasks
Employee benefits also play an important role in reducing attrition. Today’s employees expect benefits at work, robust health coverage, financial security and work-life balance. Outsourcing HR can help companies maintain a competitive edge, and ensure the best employee benefits for their workforce.
- Finance outsourcing: Business process outsourcing companies provide comprehensive financial support for a wide range of tasks that organizations have to handle on a day-to-day basis. This covers accounting, bookkeeping, account payables & receivables, payroll processing and tax processing. These time-consuming but vital tasks usually require expensive software and are best left to experts. With certified and experienced certified accountants handling them, companies get the accurate information needed to make important business decisions.
The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in new challenges for both employers and employees. HRs now have to figure out how to provide the support that employees need for virtual work while keeping their organizations functioning efficiently. A report from the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) references Albert Bourla, CEO of Pfizer Inc as saying, “HR has always been important, but in this new world of flexible work and with new opportunities and challenges, there is an opening in front of us where, professionally, [HR] has to define and develop new skills and processes to optimize what is expected of them-and that’s to make sure the human capital of a corporation is seriously engaged and inspired and believing. It’s productive to feel joy. We need to find ways to make sure that is happening.”
Given these challenges and changing internal and external pressures, outsourced solutions will be even more important for human resource departments.
