Human Resources departments aren’t immune to turnover. Whether a result of the “Great Resignation” or normal turnover, your business may find yourself without an essential human resources professional. Besides the need to run payroll and manage benefits, if your business is without HR, you miss out on having a skilled, strategic partner to drive your people function forward. But rather than go to market to find a permanent solution (especially with the current unpredictability of the job market and the well-publicized challenges in filling roles), businesses are finding value in choosing to partner with interim HR management resources.
1. They Provide Flexibility to the Company and the Interim HR Resource
The principal benefit of interim HR management, rather than hiring a full-time internal resource, is the flexibility of an interim engagement. Your people’s needs are unique and evolve throughout the year, and an interim HR manager can adjust their workflows and rhythms to the needs of your business. Traditionally, a business owner realizes they need HR when there’s something people related that needs to be addressed sooner than later.
For example, right now, businesses are clamoring to find talent. Engaging with an interim HR manager means they can focus singularly on your recruitment needs, and it may require a larger financial investment. Once they are able to work with you on filling your vacancies, the flexibility of an interim engagement means your interim HR staff can shift their focus to other critical HR tasks with the same time and financial budget, or they may be able to reduce their capacity and the money you spend on their presence and work.
Additionally, a firm like Red Clover, which specializes in outsourced, interim HR can be flexible with the people resources they provide to elevate your HR team and processes. At the beginning of the engagement, you may work with one consultant because their skills and experience match your immediate HR needs, but as the engagement evolves, different resources may come and go to support additional work. Hiring a full-time resource may seem like an effective solution, but you may find yourself in a jam if you need a skilled compensation professional and your hire isn’t experienced in developing compensation structures. Partnering with an interim HR firm allows you, as the business owner, access to a diverse roster of talent that can address HR needs across the entire employee lifecycle.
2. They Provide a Valuable Resource for Companies
Imagine having a fresh set of eyes to evaluate your business and provide innovative solutions to drive your HR function and business forward. Therein lies the value of working with interim HR management. You have access to skilled professionals who leverage their people operations and human resources expertise to improve your business operation and employee experience.
Generally speaking, working with an interim HR manager instead of hiring a permanent HR resource saves your company money. Working with an outsourced HR consultant saves the company money because you aren’t responsible for payroll tax or benefits costs normally associated with a full-time employee. As already stated, you can adjust your interim HR manager’s capacity and cost as the needs of the business shift.
3. They Integrate Quickly to the Company
Since interim HR management engagements are often timebound, it requires the individual to quickly integrate themselves into the organization. They have to work, mindful of the time budget to establish themselves as a subject matter expert in your organization, earn the trust of your people, and drive impactful change. There’s no time to waste. Interim HR consultants, by nature of their work, are skilled at getting in and out of businesses, leaving them better than they found it, and doing so in a time-efficient manner.
Additionally, interim HR consultants are acutely aware of the temporary status of the work they do. To that end, with their quick integration, they are able to put their finger on the pulse of your organization. That then makes them uniquely qualified to then help you source your permanent HR resource if you ultimately decide the interim solution is short-term.
Are you Looking for an Interim HR Manager?
Are you in need of HR support and can’t seem to find the right person to fit your organization? Partnering with Red Clover and our team of consultants is a great solution. We are prepared to integrate into your organization, serve your business over the short or long term, and drive the HR function forward. Ready to see how we can elevate your business and its people operation on an interim basis? Contact us.
