GUEST COLUMN: Board of trade a useful source for HR partnerships.
Danielle K. Lamb is assistant professor, HRM/OB, at Ted Rogers School of Management, Ryerson University.
Photo/COURTESY
Each month, Toronto Business Times solicits opinions from four experts
on a question of relevance to the small business community. This month’s
question is: Small businesses often don't have enough work to employ an
individual for a specialized duty. Hourly specialist charges can be
expensive. Are there opportunities for small business to share personnel
with other small businesses? How would you set that up?
Regardless of the size of your workplace, if you employ just one other person, you are actively participating in human resource management in at least some capacity. Many small businesses, however, do not need or have the resources to devout to full-time or even periodic human resource consultation services, which can be quite costly. Regular HR functions such as payroll administration, staffing and scheduling issues, for example, are likely absorbed by the owner(s) or other departments within the company and, given the number of features included in many popular accounting and similar software packages for small businesses, this system probably meets the day-to-day operational needs of a small business quite well.
More complex questions such as dealing with conflict, improving motivation or raising productivity, issues that are likely to arise in all businesses at some point, regardless of firm size, would do well to be addressed by trained human resource professionals, yet the cost and commitment required to access such expertise may be prohibitive and impractical.
How, then, can small business entrepreneurs obtain useful human resource management strategies in a manner that is both efficient and cost effective? One possible solution is through a partnership with local board of trade (BOT) organizations.
Regional BOTs exist to promote the business interests of their members. Moreover, the existence of a regional BOT means that a network of local entrepreneurs from a variety of sectors has been created with a collective wealth of social capital. Perhaps a consulting firm is already a member of its local BOT and would be willing to provide seminars or workshops to members at a discounted rate.
Depending on the size and membership of the BOT, sessions may be organized that target specific industries or that focus on specific issues across sectors.
Using the BOT as a partner to facilitate opportunities for small businesses to gain additional knowledge of human resource management would allow entrepreneurs to have access to important tools that would assist them in running and developing their business without the high cost.
Furthermore, it also gives small business owners and personnel the opportunity to meet and network with like-minded individuals in their respective communities.
Having a variety of workshops and/or seminars offered at different times throughout the year will ensure more entrepreneurs are able to access these events. Given the array of services already provided by many regional BOT organizations, adding an emphasis on strategic HR solutions would seem like a natural fit.
Consider, for example, that the Toronto Board of Trade produces annual reports analyzing compensation and benefits practices across a number of employers in the city. For an additional fee, the Toronto BOT also offers personalized compensation reports to small businesses.
Any investment in effective human resource management is an investment in a business's most fundamental asset - its people.
Although employing human resource personnel or consulting services may not be practical for many small businesses, exploring partnerships with local entrepreneurial organizations is one way that small businesses may access useful HR information and strategic tools.
Danielle K. Lamb is assistant professor, HRM/OB, at Ted Rogers School of Management, Ryerson University.