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HR CONSULTING
There are pros and cons to be had - it's all about avoiding the pitfalls
Let's time travel back 20 years. Take a company of about 500 staff, with the HR department employing nine employees - an HR manager, HR co-ordinator, HR administrator, secretary, payroll and benefits manager, benefits administrator, health and safety manager, two payroll administrators and a labour relations manager, with support from a vice-president and a CFO.
Almost all HR expertise came from in-house generalists and specialists. External resources were required only occasionally - a headhunter, a labour lawyer, an actuary and an outplacement firm.
Fast forward to 2016. There is little possibility the HR structure for a 500-person company would look the same. With downsizing, rightsizing and restructuring, HR departments are leaner. HR staff need to be generalists with knowledge in many areas - knowledge a mile wide and an inch deep - from the strategic to the tactical. Automation and technology have reduced HR staff counts.
With the streamlining of HR functions, the increasing use of technology in HR and the complexity of HR issues, it is virtually impossible for an HR practitioner to be knowledgeable and experienced in all areas of human resources.
Just-in-time HR has become a necessity for companies to maintain effective HR functions.
Just-in-time HR enables companies to outsource HR functions to external providers as needed, bringing resources in-house when required, and redeploying resources or ceasing relationships when they are no longer necessary. It's like the car sharing company Car2Go - borrow a car where and when needed, drop it off when finished, keep it...