Is having an internal specialist or team managing your HR the best way to go or would you be better off engaging an HR platform? Plenty of employers and business leaders find themselves asking that question.
Your company may have grown quickly and outstripped your ability to handle your people processes alone. Perhaps there have been major personnel issues or employment law changes that you felt unequipped to deal with or the staff tasked with managing them underestimated. Or maybe a change in the market or turbulent economic times forced your organisation to quickly pivot or downsize to reduce costs.
HR software comes in various models and scales, from administering specialised activities like payroll or recruitment to full-service offerings that take care of the whole employment lifecycle, from hiring to exit. Some also include complimentary HR advisory services to provide complete coverage and support.
Using an HR platform can save you time and significant costs (up to 70% less than hiring internal HR resources), improve consistency and speed of service, facilitate strong relationships with employees, all while ensuring full compliance with all employment regulations and standards.
So perhaps instead of asking whether your business should be using in-house staff to take care of its people processes, a better question to ask is whether you are at a significant disadvantage if you don’t have a focused, outside partner taking care of your HR functions?
This post breaks down the benefits of adopting a full-service HR platform like MyHR vs. hiring an internal HR resource. If you're thinking of engaging an HR consultant, read our article breaking down the use of consultants vs an HR platform.
Smaller employers often handle all executive functions themselves, including HR. But as the business grows and you employ more people, the load of effectively managing your people and your employment processes increases, and can take up considerable time and lead to inefficiencies, omissions or errors.
Here are some key indicators that your business needs better HR support:
Compliance issues and legal risks - missing or outdated employment documentation, uncertainty about local employment laws and health and safety rules, increasing complaints or unfair dismissal claims from staff (or ex-staff).
Poor employee performance or retention - high staff turnover or unproductive workers, time-consuming recruitment and onboarding processes, no clear performance review system or development pathways for employees.
Inefficient operations and poor workplace culture - growing team size makes people management difficult, frequent or persistent employee conflicts, lack of clear policies for conduct, bullying and harassment, leave etc.
There is a lot to consider when weighing up the benefits of having your own HR staff or engaging a third-party platform to manage your HR functions. This comparison table provides a clear decision matrix when considering your options.
| Category | Internal HR hire | MyHR |
| Cost | Salary from roughly $65k-$160k+ for an HR advisor or manager, plus recruitment and onboarding costs. | Monthly or annual subscription (fixed fee for employers with 20 employees or per-employee basis for companies with 21+ staff). |
| Availability | One person, unavailable when on leave, sick, or if they leave the role. | Team of HR advisors, available via chat, email or phone. |
| Expertise | Limited to that individual's experience and specialisation. | Unlimited access to an advisory team experienced in the full range of HR and employment matters. |
| Software | Usually a separate cost and separate system. | Powerful HR software included in subscription. |
| Compliance risk | Depends on individual following and interpreting employment law changes. | Team of HR experts monitor legislative change and provide automatic updates to procedures and documents. |
| Time to get value | Weeks to recruit, months for the person to learn the business and develop effective processes. | MyHR advisory team is available to support urgent employment issues from day one, the moment the contract is signed. |
| Continuity |
Risk of a gap if the person leaves and the role is left unfilled or is replaced. | Continuity built into the service model with uninterrupted HR software service and integrated advisory. |
| Scalability | Typically requires hiring more HR staff as the business grows. | MyHR’s pricing model is designed to grow with businesses, with automatic volume discounts as employee numbers increase. |
Good HR software should be able to take care of all important employment procedures and associated documentation, from hiring new employees, bringing them onboard, managing their performance and time off. The service should also provide employee self-service - e.g. signing contracts, applying for leave - and be able to integrate easily with other digital tools, e.g. payroll and accounting software, team communication platforms.
However, when something outside the ordinary comes up (as it often does when you employ people) or employment legislation changes, a software-only service may leave you without the necessary HR expertise to help you deal with issues effectively. You may then need to engage an expensive consultant or employment lawyer to get guidance.
This is what sets MyHR apart: the wraparound solution of advanced HR tools and automated workflows all integrated with expert, on-call advice. Whether you need to deal with poor performance, misconduct, or a personal grievance claim, MyHR’s advisory team provides tailored guidance and documentation to make thorny problems easy to handle.
HR experience doesn’t come cheap. Recruitment specialist firm, Robert Half, says entry-level HR salaries (for administrators and advisors) range from $65-115,000 per year, while senior HR roles (e.g. HR business partners and managers) pay between $110-160,000. These rates don’t factor in the expense of recruiting and getting an employee up to speed in the business and providing them space and tools.
While outsourcing obviously isn’t free, a good HR provider will provide access to a team of qualified specialists, providing a service that your business would have to pay a whole lot more for if it employed those people. The savings are even greater when the offering combines HR consultancy and software, which many employers pay for separately.
Other financial benefits include avoiding penalties for noncompliance with employment laws, and the fact that management gains more time to focus on efforts to strengthen the business and bring in additional revenue.
In the current turbulent economic environment, these fiscal benefits could make a huge difference to your company’s viability.
Time (and money) is precious for small business leaders and there are often more things to do than there are hours in the day. Hiring a HR specialist can help take a load off your plate, but it’s another salary to pay and you will be limited to the experience and availability of one employee.
HR software can help, but without expert oversight, you could be vulnerable when you need advice or guidance. A full-service HR solution like MyHR gives you access to a team of HR professionals, seamlessly integrated with AI-powered HR tools. You get automated processes, tailored documentation, and expert human support to ensure you always stay compliant and confident.