Why Do Small Businesses Refuse To Have HR Departments?
By: Obaro Aziza
Dear HR professional I invite you to read through this article and add your contribution to this pertinent issue.
Why Do Small Businesses Refuse To Have HR Departments?
Aren’t they the ones who really need a department responsible for managing their employees?
Do the bigger organizations not have well-trained employees who can perform very well without the HR department?
Am I the only one who shares these concerns?
The nature of my work allows me to interact with a lot of small business owners and it is always interesting when the issue of instituting a Human Resources department in their organizations arises.
I would need some help here…The very common reasons most of the business owners I have interacted with gave for not having an HR department set up in their organizations yet include:
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HR people are not business minded
I found this particular reason very interesting. Most of the small business operators felt that HR people did not know much about business and so they would not bring real value for the organization. Most of them said they needed entrepreneurs like themselves to run their businesses effectively.
HR people are motivators and sweet talkers
A lot of these small business operators said they did not see the need for a Human Resources department because they felt HR was just about sweet talking and motivating employees when they are down. They did not think it was smart to pay someone to just “motivate” employees.
They do not see the need
A large number of the business operators I have interacted with about having an HR department stated clearly that they did not see the need for it. They believe that as long as the employees understand what their job roles are, the HR department is irrelevant.
These were the majors concerns they raised. Now I have a couple of questions and I really need you to help.
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For the HR professionals who have followed this discussion, do you think that these small business owners may be right in their pattern of thinking?
Do you feel that in some ways HR professionals have given these business operators good reasons to come up with such explanations?
Do you have helpful suggestions for HR professionals who are currently working in organizations that do not have value for the HR function?
About the Author
Obaro Aziza is an HR professional with specialties in Learning and Development, Training Facilitation, Talent Acquisition, Business Partnering, Performance Management, Talent Management, HR and Business Consulting, Business Development, Strategy, Business Analysis, Business writing.
You can reach him on LinkedIn here.
