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Three Signs You Are A Rock Star HR Leader Of An SMB

Forbes Human Resources Council
POST WRITTEN BY
Stacey Browning

HR leaders in small and medium sized businesses (SMBs) are some of the most productive, knowledgeable and inventive team members a company can have. Why? They have to be. They are on the hook for not only attracting, but also retaining, employees, all while competing with large corporations for the best talent in a historically low unemployment market.

Instead of having departments of 25 to 250 support staff, they must handle the full breadth of HR responsibilities with very few hands on deck. While an HR manager may have an appetite for broader investment, SMB budgets require full execution with fewer dollars.

Are you a savvy, conscientious HR pro with the responsibility of crafting a dynamic, engaging workplace and benefits that will attract and retain your workforce?

It is a tall order, but there are three surefire ways to benchmark your success as an HR leader of an SMB:

1. You stay up to date on the latest industry trends and research.

You are busy, but that doesn’t stop you from attending conferences and webinars on the latest employment trends and compliance changes. You participate in discussion roundtables with fellow chief human resource officers. You follow and engage with key industry influencers on social media.

2. Your organization implements modern HR technology in key areas.

You may not have big budgets or dedicated IT partners, but in many ways, you have greater accessibility to innovative solutions via cloud offerings that are paid on a month-to-month basis, as opposed to multiyear capital. You know that the most desirable candidates expect the latest tools, such as mobile access to employee statements, vacation balances, schedules, co-workers’ information and more. Even though you don’t hire as many people each year as a large enterprise, you have appealing career pages on your website that are integrated with job boards. Coupled with applicant tracking and onboarding software, administrative hiring processes don’t slow you down from securing the perfect employee for your team. You have a learning management system that provides online training and tracking for employees on paths to advancement.

3. You find time to balance routine HR responsibilities and strategic talent development.

You know how to delegate administrative tasks appropriately to managers and employees, allowing you to focus on departments you serve, taking the time to understand their talent needs for today and the future. Still, you spend a good chunk of your time interviewing candidates, reviewing benefit plans and working in your payroll, timesheet and HR system yourself. You’re utilizing reports to gain insight into your organization’s people trends by department, so you can take action to correct issues such as gender pay inequity, turnover and excessive overtime.

Leading HR at a small or medium-sized company and not meeting these benchmarks? Set a plan for yourself to stay more current on industry trends. Assess the HR technology suite you have in place and what’s available today, and pick a strategic focus area to start on — one that has the potential to really make a difference for your business. It’s easy to stand out as a rock star HR leader when you put your company and its employees at the center of what you do.

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