How To Set Up A Human Resources Department for Your Small Business

human resources policies for small business

If there is no plan in place, it will be up to your HR professional to develop an HR department from the ground up. They can do this by following our step-by-step HR department startup checklist and taking time to implement each aspect in a way that best suits your business’s needs. While many small businesses may not see the need for an HR department, it’s a necessary and valuable asset to have at your company, especially if you’re looking to grow. Not only can establishing an HR department early on help keep your company organized while you grow, but it can handle internal issues that are bound to crop up when you least expect them.

What should be included in HR policy?

  • Employee punctuality and attendance policy.
  • Health and safety policy.
  • Pay and timekeeping policy.
  • Meal and break policy.
  • Leave and time off work policy.
  • Employment classifications policy.
  • Non-discrimination and anti-harassment policy.
  • At-will employment policy.

A defined at-will policy explains this in clear terms to all involved parties, and it helps protect you should you ever let an employee go (especially if they’re fired without cause). Protect yourself from such lawsuits and claims with these nine essential HR policies. Be sure your employee has received a copy, reads it, and signs a statement acknowledging that they received, read, and understand the employee handbook. Make a copy of the handbook, either digital or paper, readily available to all employees for reference when they need it. This blog post will teach you everything you need to know about human resources.

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Investing in HR software early, especially in the early stages of your business, helps you focus on day-to-day tasks, and handles automated tasks such as payroll and time and attendance processes. Make sure you have employee policies and procedures well documented. You need to address a myriad of legal issues including anti-harassment policies, anti-discrimination policies, rules about vacations, and more.

Almost every state in the nation has some form of mandated workers’ compensation insurance to cover injured employees. This gives certain employees up to 12 weeks of job-protected, unpaid leave. For many small businesses, they won’t immediately have to worry about FMLA as it currently applies to companies with 50 employees or more.

Remote Work / Telecommuting Policy

Part of the payroll system is understanding the different withholdings that are deducted from each paycheck. You have to consider the various taxes such as social security, income, medicare, unemployment, and more.

human resources policies for small business

Unless you’re paying people with written checks, your employees will expect their compensation to be deposited directly into their bank accounts after each pay period. A direct deposit form allows employees to specify which bank to route their money to, and how human resources policies for small business much money should be deposited in each account. Start with job descriptions, which need to be accurate, detailed and provide a realistic preview of the job. Determine what the “perfect” candidate’s profile would be, what your priorities are and work from there.

Basic Regulatory Compliance

Even for small businesses, there are a vast range of labor laws and regulations that govern employee interactions. One of the main functions of HR is to track any developments in labor laws and regulations and ensure your organization is fully compliant with them. Human resource policies are essential to a functioning office environment. These policies clearly state the rules and processes that team members must follow, along with what might happen if they don’t follow the stated procedures. Essentially, human resource policies help to keep everyone in a business on the same page so there’s no guesswork or surprises. By following this HR department startup checklist, you’re prepared to jump in and start creating an HR department from the ground up.

  • Bereavement policies can be included in your general leave policy section or as a separate entry for compassionate leave.
  • With 10 years of experience in employee benefits and payroll administration, Ferguson has written extensively on topics relating to employment and finance.
  • To help your business stay HR compliant, follow these six steps.
  • Many small business owners underestimate how much time payroll can take, which can be almost five hours each pay period.
  • Here are some tips and trips that will help you consistently hire top candidates.
  • Developing an HR department focused on creating a workplace that complies with federal regulations for compliance, safety, and health provides legal protection for your company.
  • A policy on paydays lets employees know the frequency of paydays, the methods available for receiving pay, and any special procedures for when a payday falls on a holiday or when an employee is absent from work.

Fringe benefits that you may choose to offer that can help make your business more appealing to would-be employees. Recruiting great talent is a challenge, and offering amazing benefits definitely eases the burden.

Hiring Process

Make payroll faster, easier, and more reliable with integrated, online timesheets. They help to train and develop employees who are consistent with the https://adprun.net/ needs of the organization. They help protect employees from the ramifications of colleagues’ poor behavior and even from the organization itself.

Human Resource Management: A Small Business Guide – The Motley Fool

Human Resource Management: A Small Business Guide.

Posted: Wed, 18 May 2022 07:00:00 GMT [source]

Arranging a small business human resources is all about crafting plant processes and policies to take care of the business’s short-term requirements and manage the long-standing vulnerabilities. Robust HR policies and small business HR software from Exactlly help in shaping an enhanced employee experience and restrict the business’s liability.

But whether you’re working in retail, manufacturing or the restaurant business, employee engagement and retention is vital, and HR policies help lay the groundwork for success. Although the specifics of each organization’s HR policies may differ, they should all be derived from employment best practices and regulations.

  • Your employee can and should contain a list of policies and behaviors your company promotes, as well as the punishment or disciplinary actions that will be taken if those policies are not followed.
  • In addition, a broad spectrum of other issues can be addressed via human resource policies, depending on the nature of the business in question.
  • Addressing performance concerns should also be taken seriously and done in a timely manner – just make sure the procedure is in line with the disciplinary process you’ve outlined in the employee handbook.
  • When designing a pay structure, you need to be aware of any statutory minimum wages as well as what your competition is offering employees.
  • Every startup needs some version of HR, even if they don’t have the resources to staff an entire department.
  • Make sure that if you’re using contract employees, their rights are also being respected.