Is It Time for Your Remote Business to Develop an HR Department?

Running a small business is pretty complex. Running a small business on a remote basis while you travel is even more difficult. Now, there are surprisingly a vast number of elements of a remote business that operate in exactly the same way as a standard business - just virtually, rather than on a face to face basis. Now, if you have decided to take on remote staff to take a bit of the weight and workload from your own two shoulders, chances are you’re going to have to also hire some sort of remote HR department or team. No matter how great your staff may be, people are only human, and they can come across troubles or difficulties that need to be managed, handled, and resolved thoroughly and properly. This will prevent larger-scale issues from cropping up down the line. The way to achieve this? Taking on an HR department who can help to resolve any issues that do occur. Here’s how to go about it!

What Exactly is HR?

Before you start taking on HR team members, it’s important to understand exactly what HR does within a business.

• Make sure that your staff are distributed properly

• Provide a framework for the policies and procedures with staff

• Setting up and inducting new staff members

• Providing guidance, support, and advice to all team members

• Developing professional interpersonal connections and relationships with staff so that staff can trust them

• Resolving issues such as prejudice, sexual harassment, and more

Creating a Remote HR Team

Now, there are multiple ways that you can develop a remote HR team. You can recruit HR staff - the same as you would any of your other remote roles. Alternatively, you can outsource this role through a reliable company like XMI Growth.

Traits of a Good HR Employee

If you are deciding to recruit your own HR team, or if you’re deciding whether an outsourced team is a quality or not, you need to know what traits a good HR team member should display. This will determine whether they are a suitable candidate or not. There aren’t really any HR degrees and training courses, so you’re not going to be able to determine an individual’s competence through qualifications. Instead, you need to focus on previous experience and - most importantly - the right attitude, character, and personality. Perhaps the most important trait you should look out for is communication skills. They need to be able to communicate well if they’re going to resolve any of your staff members’ issues. You can determine this by interviewing them. Interviews are a prime way to deduce communication skills within a candidate. Aim for individuals who come across as friendly, approachable, professional, and trustworthy. You should also look for patience, sympathy, compassion, and empathy.

HR is absolutely essential for any company with staff - remote or not - so make sure to look into it sooner rather than later!