Thriving as an HR Department of One

There’s one of you and you’re expected to be on top of: employee issues, supervisor issues, benefits, payroll, recruitment, hiring, leaves, training, terminations, safety, workers’ compensation, compliance and…make sure you retain and engage employees. Oh, and this is on top of the rest of your job that may have nothing to do with Human Resources. And really, you might have very little experience in HR. Sound familiar? The good news, is that you’re not alone and Cascade has your back. Here are a few tips to help you thrive in your HR department of one.

1. Get your compliance foundations in place. This includes your employee handbook, job descriptions, hiring documents, wage and hour and timekeeping processes and documents, leave policies and procedures and key document templates and checklists. Outsource the parts of it that you can. Tip: Cascade can help you with all of this. Let us help you!
2. Invest in technology platforms to reduce manual work, automate and streamline processes and increase employee and supervisor accountability. These smart investments will free up your time for all of the other parts of your job, reduce legal risk and create better employment records. Some of the ways you can use these platforms include time and attendance tracking, payroll, benefits enrollment and administration, recruitment and hiring, training and learning management, and performance management/optimization.
3. Identify internal support. Are there pieces that you can have others help out with? For example, Finance may be able to provide more support related to payroll and benefits administration. Developing the HR skills of your supervisors is also a great strategy (it helps with retention, too).  Consider classes such as: Basics of Supervision, Inclusive Leadership and HR and Employment Law Risk Management. Make sure your supervisors also know what the “GET TO HR” immediately issues are such as harassment, discrimination, retaliation, attendance issues, and wage and hour concerns.
4. Make better hiring decisions. While there is often some pressure to just hire anyone that has the skills to do the job, this can be a mistake.  Rather, consider retention focused hiring which shifts focus from a skills-based approach (and yes, they still need to have competent skills), to focusing on behaviors that are required for the job.  For example, if the position requires someone who is innovative and creative, hiring someone that prefers working in situations where there are clear rules and established processes might not be successful even if they have the skills to do the job. 
5. Outsource your hiring. Cascade loves to support our members in finding great talent. Our approach is different from others in the recruiting space since we charge an hourly rate rather than a percentage of salary.  We also can be involved as much or as little as you want.  Just need some help sourcing and screening candidates? We’ve got you covered.  Need us to take the lead on the whole process? We’re on it.
6. While we’re on the topic of outsourcing. Here are some of the most common things our members outsource to us: Employee handbook updates and development, recruitment and hiring, training, compensation and pay equity analysis, employee relations support, employee feedback surveys, investigations, and DEI training and consultation.

No matter what your situation is, we are experts in helping you thrive as an HR Department of one. Your success is our success!