Why the You Should Invest in HR
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What is HR?
HR stands for human resources. HR is responsible for organizing and managing personnel at your business. Regardless of your industry or size, every company has someone doing HR. In the beginning, for most companies, the owner is in charge of HR. Later on, as the business develops, it might be appropriate to hire a full-time HR manager. Below are the various responsibilities usually associated with HR. As you can see, it’s pretty extensive.
- Hiring
- Hiring involves searching for candidates, qualifying them, and then extending offers. HR also writes the job descriptions and determines compensation and benefits for each role.
- Training
- After being hired, employees then have to be trained in their new role. However, training doesn’t end there. HR is responsible for ensuring that tenured employees are training in new areas and progressing in their careers.
- Payroll
- Every part of payroll falls under HR. They’re responsible for making sure the correct tax forms are filed and employees are being compensated at the proper rate. They also work with outside vendors to process payroll and ensure labor law compliance.
- Retention
- Human resources plays a significant role in the retention of employees. They help settle disputes, address workplace issues, and create strategies to keep employees satisfied to help keep employees there longer.
- Company Culture
- Because HR interacts with every department and every employee at a company, they understand company culture better than anyone else. HR can be a strong agent of positive change when done properly to create a better company culture.
- Company Communications
- HR usually handles Internal announcements, newsletters, holidays, and other company communications.
Why Green Industry Companies Need an HR Expert
At this point, you might be saying, “Well, this sounds like something I can and already do myself. Why would I spend money on an HR manager or consultant?” If you’ve been doing HR yourself, you know how time-consuming it is. Think about much of your time you would free up in your day or week by having a dedicated HR specialist.
Here are a few industry-specific areas where an HR expert could help your business:
Industry Talent Shortage
Landscape and tree care companies are reporting very high turnover rates. It’s very costly to keep training new employees for the same role after only a few weeks or months. HR can help by making sure more planning goes into filling roles to find the right candidate. They also can develop pre-hire tests and checks to make sure whoever you’re hiring wants to make a career in the green industry.
Company Liability
You’ll probably be the first to admit that landscapers and arborists aren’t highly knowledgeable of state and federal labor laws. One of the main jobs of HR is to protect the company from liability and protect employees. They do this by ensuring that the proper tax documentation is filed and employees follow company policy (see below). They also are responsible for ensuring that employees are not wrongly terminated or labor laws are violated.
Company Policy
While leadership creates mission statements and organizational goals, it’s HR’s role to align the company with those goals. Ultimately HR specialists are agents of change. They can help shift company culture and inform management of obstacles that are hampering or damaging company culture. Likewise, they also make sure that company policies don’t violate laws or damage company culture themselves.
How to get started
There are two main routes landscape and tree care owners can take to begin enhancing their human resources. The first option is to hire an HR consultant agency. This is an excellent option for newer or smaller companies that can’t hire a full-time position. Consultants can help you diagnose issues and create a plan to develop your company culture.
If you’re a growing company and feel like you’re at the right point in your business journey, it’s probably time to hire a full-time HR manager. This is beneficial because, unlike a consultant, a full-time manager can help you develop plans long-term. They can scale their efforts as the company grows and can help guide your company in the right direction.
Here are a few qualities you should look for when hiring an HR professional:
- They have experience working in the green industry.
- They have HR certifications.
- They’ve managed HR departments at companies similar to yours.
- They’re familiar with your state’s labor laws.
- They understand your vision for the company.