A product or service is only as good as the people that make it, design it, or sell it. This means that one of the most important assets of any organization is their human capital. If you have qualified, enthusiastic individuals, you will have a better chance of maintaining a leading edge over your competitor. If you have poor morale, low production, ineffective service, or untrained individuals – the chances are pretty high that your organization will be in the top 33% of all organizations that fail. People really do make the difference.

It is easy to see why HR is the most expensive part of doing business if you consider that studies show that the expense of having employees is about 40% of a company’s profit,. Large organizations have always seemed to have HR expertise – they have fully staffed HR or Personnel Departments with varying degrees of specialties, such as compensation, benefits, training, recruiting, etc. A fully staffed HR Department in a large organization might consist of at least three people at a cost of about $ 200,000 per year – just for salaries. Just imagine what you, the small company owner, could do with a staff of 5 people and an overhead budget of approximately $ 200,000 per year.

Well, in the first place you would not need 5 HR people. Most small companies can do quite well with a part-time HR person that is capable of giving good HR advice and counseling. Costs may vary, depending upon the expertise you are looking for, however, if you find an independent contractor with solid HR experience, an hourly rate for tasks completed would probably be very cost effective.

What can you, as a small company owner or manager do to have the leading edge and have your employees weigh in on the asset side of the ledger and not on the liability side? Talk to various human resource consultants and pick one that is right for your organization – one with experience, capabilities, and knowledge of human resource functions.

Look at tools and resources that will help you develop your staff. Be sure to check out all available tools and resources and find the right one for you.

Once you decide on the right combination you can get on with what you do best – run your company.

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