When is it time to get HR help for your small business?

It starts with something small. An employee misses a deadline. You follow up, they explain what happened, and you get on with the day.

A few weeks later, it happens again. Someone else is staying late to finish the work and is beginning to resent it. You know you need to say something, but you’re busy, and you want to give the person a chance to sort it out.

By the time you sit down with them, you’re frustrated. They seem surprised. They thought another piece of work was the priority.

Now you have a missed deadline, an unhappy colleague and a conversation that hasn’t gone the way you expected.

For a small business owner, this can become a lot to carry alongside everything else.

When managing people starts taking over

In the early days, you probably didn’t need much structure. You worked alongside your team, answered questions as they came up and could usually see when someone needed help.

As the business grows, that becomes harder. You’re out meeting clients or dealing with suppliers. Someone else starts allocating work. Roles change, often without anyone stopping to discuss what that means.

You can find yourself spending more time sorting out misunderstandings and wondering why people aren’t doing what you thought you’d agreed.

This is often the point at which HR support becomes useful. You need time to talk through what’s happening with someone who can help you decide how to handle it.

Taking a closer look

Think about the employee who keeps missing deadlines. Before starting a formal performance process, it would help to understand what they’ve been told.

Perhaps you’ve asked them to finish a job by Friday, while another manager has asked them to deal with an urgent customer request. Perhaps they’re struggling with part of the work but haven’t felt able to say so. Or perhaps the expectations are clear, and they aren’t meeting them.

Each situation calls for a different conversation.

At Alignment Group, we take the time to ask those questions. We want to understand what you’re seeing, what you’ve already tried and how the situation is affecting the business.

You might leave that discussion ready to have a direct conversation with the employee. You might also realise that the two managers need to agree on how they allocate work. Getting clear about both gives you a better chance of resolving the issue.

Having someone to talk it through with

Managing a small team can be personal. You know your employees well. You may have worked together for years, and the thought of upsetting that relationship can make a difficult conversation even harder.

There may also be nobody inside the business you can speak to openly.

An HR adviser gives you somewhere to work through the situation before you act. You can talk about what concerns you, ask questions and prepare for what needs to happen next.

That support should be useful in the moment. If you have a meeting coming up, you should understand what you need to raise and what you need to hear from the other person. Afterwards, you may want help thinking through what was said and agreeing on the next steps.

Sometimes an adviser will challenge you. They might point out that you haven’t clearly explained an expectation or that you’ve let something continue for too long. That can be hard to hear, but it helps when it comes from someone who understands what you’re trying to achieve and is willing to work through it with you.

Finding someone you can work with

The first conversation with an HR consultant should give you a feel for the relationship.

Do they listen? Do their questions help you think? Can they explain their advice in language you understand? Do you feel comfortable telling them the whole story, including anything you wish you’d handled differently?

Before you engage them, talk about how the support will work. Find out who you’ll deal with, how available they are, what they will help you do and what it will cost.

You should also be able to trust them to recognise when another professional is needed. A situation may call for independent mediation or specialist employment law advice. They should explain that and help you understand the next step.

Help can start with one issue

You don’t have to commit to ongoing HR support because you need help with a difficult situation.

A few conversations may be enough. You work through the concern, prepare for the meeting and check in afterwards. You have a clearer way forward and more confidence about handling it next time.

For some owners, that first piece of work reveals a few things worth addressing. Job responsibilities need updating. A new manager needs support. The way concerns are raised is leaving people confused.

You can tackle those things over time. If the business needs regular senior HR input, fractional HR support may be a useful option, giving you access to that experience without employing a full-time HR leader.

Starting the conversation

At Alignment Group, we help business owners and leaders work through people issues, resolve conflict and manage change. Our work spans HR support, mediation, organisational consulting and leadership coaching.

Often, the starting point is a conversation about something that’s been on your mind for a while.

If you’re spending the drive home replaying an employee conversation, or arriving at work worried about what might happen next, it may be time to talk it through.

You can tell us what’s happening. We’ll start there.