In Part I of this two-part blog on outsourcing HR in a hybrid work environment, we focused on what activities to outsource and why. In Part II, we now focus on what functions to keep in-house and the benefits.
A key component of a strong Talent Management Program is talent development. And that’s what gets sacrificed when institutions keep their entire HR operations in-house. As I shared in Part I, when I was the Director of HR, administrative tasks such as payroll and benefits administration consumed most of my time. I couldn’t do my favorite part of Human Resources which is to develop the talent we had. Part of the development includes some of the activities we recommend handling in-house.
Below is a list of activities that you can (and should) keep in-house:
- The “people side” of the hiring process: Someone in HR reviews the resumes to screen candidates. Then the hiring manager along with the HR representative interview the top candidates. For senior executive positions, typically the president/CEO of the institution and the senior leadership team conduct the interviews either in-person or via a video call. You must always check the references provided. Lastly, follow up after interviewing as a best practice. We recommend deploying automated systems around the hiring process, such as human assisted, but automated resume reviews, candidate tracking and emailing thank you letters or next steps, so candidates know what to expect. There are many quality applicant tracking systems out there so it is hard to make a recommendation on this one. However, we always recommend pairing your tracking system with the applicant screening system from Wonderlic.
- Establish a career path: The performance review process is one of the best times to discover your employees’ aspirations for future career growth. The manager can then coach the employees on how to get there. The leadership team provides growth opportunities and needs to work with HR on a path based on the jobs the employee is interested in.
- Establish a mentoring program: Most small community financial institutions do not have a mentoring program in place (formal or informal) and don’t know where to start. One of the best places to start is by making it part of your succession planning process. Many community financial institutions are experiencing turnover due to “legacy employees” retiring. This is the perfect opportunity to pair up the retiring employee to mentor the successor. Establishing a successful succession plan takes time and resources as well as careful thought process. Communication is key for all parties involved.
- Develop a personal development plan: In addition to a career path, employees need to develop personally as well. What does this entail? Developing the soft skills which includes leadership talent and management skills training, negotiation skills, time management, presentation skills, and presence. Managers work with HR to develop personalized development plans for your employees. Talk about a retention strategy!
- Provide internal (or outsourced) emerging leader training and leadership development for established leaders: Your institution can choose to create an internal plan but there are plenty of leadership institutes to send your emerging leaders to. Don’t forget to also continue to develop your seasoned leaders. Their needs are different, and they may be looking for different types of development such as networking with peers in the industry to stay on top of their fields.
- Culture: Lastly, do not delegate but instead, own the culture training for your institution and intentionally select ways to maintain it – even with remote staff. You need to preserve your culture as your organization grows to ensure your employees do everything “your institution’s way.” In the end, it’s all about how you treat your employees who in turn work with your customers! Preserving your culture is how you retain top talent and top customers too. Don’t know how to define culture? Maybe start with your core values. We recommend reading the book The Core Value Equation by Darius Mirshahzadeh for help in documenting and shaping your core values.
As you can see, when you Centralize your HR outsourcing to one main third-party service provider and outsource HR administrative tasks, your HR team has time to focus on attracting, retaining, and developing your talent.
