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HR Admin for a Franchise
Since we are a premium supplied to the IFA and are in Vegas for this year’s convention, we decided to tailor these week’s blog on HR for franchising. Once a small business franchise has filled all of the positions that are considered “standard” within day-to-day operations, it is likely the business has moved from grow to run. If HR due diligence was done during the ‘buy’ phase, and an HR management foundation was established during the ‘grow’ phase, the next step is to determine who will be responsible for HR administration on an ongoing basis.
This is a good time to identify:
- Resources you have available to stay on top of labor law changes and best practice trends.
- Which role your franchisor has identified as the best HR point of contact.
- Which employees or should demonstrate a commitment, competence and passion for HR and employee management (labor law compliance and best practices)
- Who is best qualified to update, maintain and amend your documented employee management manuals, handbooks and policies?
- What HR duties will be placed on supervisors?
- Are there included HR administration services offered by your payroll provider?
- If so, who is the best qualified person/role to effectively utilize those services?
The key to keeping your HR house in order is to establish accountability and consistency. Where does that begin? With having the following in place before moving into the ‘run’ phase:
- Employee Handbook
- Job Descriptions
- Compliance Plan
- Employee Operations Manual – that includes hiring, new hire and performance management forms and processes.
If your franchise has these basics in place, you are off to a GREAT start in delegating daily employee management duties to an internal HR administrator. This could be your office manager who handles HR, an operations manager, your supervisory staff or a combination thereof. You have this option because you have a DOCUMENTED, consistent starting point – use them to your advantage.
Many franchise owners choose to delegate primary HR responsibilities to the person who reports payroll or processes payroll. Why? Questions about pay, how deductions should be handled, whether overtime should be paid and final paychecks are all triggers for the questions that plague HR administrators. They often reveal red flags prior to a misstep, so a course of action that complies with labor laws can be drawn out.
Whoever you choose and whatever structure you put in place, make sure whoever handles HR knows how to minimize the risk of employment law fines and when to suggest best practice changes that can positively affect the business. The more you minimize the risk of fines, penalties, complaints, low morale and turnover, the better your P&L will look.
Click the link to view our recent blog: 1099 Made Simple, Less Risk or check back for more on human resources, payroll, insurance and benefits.
