November 8, 2016 By Suzanne Robertson

You might think that having a Human Resources (HR) department is a luxury that only big businesses can afford. However, if you have employees, it’s vital that you put rules and procedures in place.

Apply for an SBA Loan

HR will often be in charge of (among other things):

  • Hiring
  • Performance management and reviews
  • Employee development, motivation and training
  • Safety and wellness
  • Benefits
  • Communication between employees and/or management

Here are some resources that can help you manage HR duties.

United States Department of Labor

The Department of Labor website is easy to navigate and a treasure trove of information. From the “Top 20 Requested Pages” to a dedicated Q & A section, the DOL site probably has the answer to any HR question you’ll face as a small business owner.

Bamboo

The Bamboo platform performs a number of HR tasks including time off requests and applicant tracking. From their website:

BambooHR consolidates all of your employee information from all of your locations into a single view. You can then access, control, sort, analyze, and take action on the data instantly-from your office, the road or home.

You can try Bamboo for free by registering here.

See if you pre-qualify

Indeed.com

Indeed is the most visited job site in the US and the leading source of external hires for businesses of all sizes. You can reduce the costs of recruiting by posting available jobs directly to Indeed, quickly screening candidates through the Indeed dashboard and tracking your budget along the way.

Society for Human Resource Management

SHRM is the world’s largest HR professional society providing resources and serving the needs of HR professionals worldwide. The “Tools and Samples” section of the site is packed full of great information and templates like sample Employee Handbooks.

Small Business Administration

The SBA offers a comprehensive snapshot of human resource requirements from child labor laws to workplace posters to terminating employees. It’s a great starting point to learn what is absolutely a must-have if you run a small business.

Informative HR Blogs

According to Open Forum, here are two well-written human resources blogs that offer pertinent, common sense advice:

Evil HR Lady Her mission is to demystify the HR process. She frequently posts and her archives go back to 2006. It doubtful that there’s an HR issue she hasn’t addressed.

TalentCulture is an online community that explores HR, recruiting, HR training, talent management and learning. The site looks at the HR landscape through "independent eyes". There’s an active human resource blog community but also a very active community on social media.

Finally, review this article from Entrepreneur.com to help you avoid common HR problems small business owners make: Avoid These 5 Small-Business HR Mistakes.

Do you need extra funds for your small business? An SBA loan is the best bet for small businesses with low rates, long terms and low monthly payments. Visit SmartBiz today and discover in about five minutes if you’re qualified for an SBA loan.

 See if you pre-qualify