Businesses from big to small are progressing so rapidly every day that it isn’t surprising to suddenly realize that your internal resources are stretched to their limit.

This is especially true for SMEs who are often already tight on the resource front and might need the assistance of a centralized resource provider to back them up.

Similarly, with your human resource and/or talent development department, the limit of their resources is tested daily, performing countless HR operational tasks to manage leave applications, administer expense claims, or track your staff attendance records. However, this means that other more strategic portions of your talent management strategy might be unintentionally neglected. In Singapore, where manpower is every business’s most important asset, this can be a huge disadvantage.

This is where outsourcing to an HR shared services provider can assist you strategically. HR shared services providers can provide any HR-related service, from payroll outsourcing to HR advisory and consultation services to even HR software solutions.

Here are 7 advantages of using HR-shared services:

1. Combine HR tasks and software for economies of scale

Often due to the need for rapid expansion or even for convenience, companies have their HR operational functions repeated over different people, different departments, or even different software. However as the company grows, managing tasks this way becomes costly and highly inefficient. Look into engaging an HR shared services provider to combine your HR functions under one provider or a full-spectrum HR software. With the tasks pulled together under one central team, you can enjoy greater efficiency and cost savings.

2. Optimize your HR operational efficiency

When your HR team is small, and trying to do everything themselves, the quality of their work can get compromised in the long run and efficiency also has a negative impact. Outsource time-consuming and administrative tasks in order to optimize your HR team’s operational efficiency. HR shared services providers already have the people in place with the expertise and knowledge to take over highly operational tasks such as payroll processing, or implement HRIS software to automate previously time-consuming operational tasks. This way, your internal HR team can be freed up to manage their truly strategic HR tasks — people and human capital management and developing your talent pool.

3. Enjoy continuity in HR operations

By engaging the services of an established HR shared services provider, you can rest assured that you will enjoy their services for an extended period of time with zero disruptions or disturbance. Employee turnover is inevitable, but your company and work functions should not suffer from it. Rather than looking into a long process of getting new employees fully on board and retraining them with the knowledge and functions unique to your company, place your trust in the services of an HR shared services provider. They already have the requisite knowledge and expertise for the complete HRIS software functions you engage them for, and you do not have to experience the disruptions that can come from employee turnover.

4. Improve the quality of your HR services

It may not seem like it, but your HR team is a service provider that services your other employees and departments. Even an HR software and/or an employee self-service portal can contribute to the level of quality service that your employees enjoy. If your HR team’s resources are stretched, it can create backlogs and compromise efficiency, which will in turn affect the service quality being enjoyed by your other employees. In the long run, it could lead to unsatisfied and unproductive employees. Improve the quality of your HR services by engaging an HR shared services provider to serve as a backup to your internal HR team. The rest of your staff will appreciate the better service quality, leading to a more satisfied workforce.

5. Reallocate your internal resources to focus on strategic tasks

With HR-shared services helping you out on operational HR tasks, you can now free up and reallocate your internal resources to focus on strategic ones. People management, human capital development and recruiting and retaining a talented employee pool should remain at the top of your internal HR team’s task list. Your internal team consists of the people who understand your company functions, style and culture the best, and this qualifies them as the best people to look into recruiting, retaining and transferring their knowledge of your company. Free them up to focus on the human aspect, such as engaging face-to-face with current and potential employees, playing a bigger contributory role in their training, learning and development, and managing the strategy of developing future leaders and successors to ensure the continuity of your business.

6. Benefit from collective HR experience and advisory services

By engaging the experiences of seasoned HR professionals through an HR shared services pool, you are effectively engaging several years of HR and business experience without incurring the intensive search for the correct HR person. Take advantage of the experience and advisory services of the HR professionals to enhance and streamline the HR processes in your company. Look especially into talent development processes such as employee performance appraisals, employee and leadership development and manpower planning that can have long-lasting positive effects on your employee pool and business productivity.

7. Develop and retain an intelligent and satisfied talent pool

Through the above advantages of engaging HR shared services and experienced HR practitioners, you are well on your way to developing fantastic HR and talent development processes. With these in place, you can focus on recruiting and developing an intelligent talent pool to help you build your business and better your business outcomes. Work on bettering the talent development processes already in place to continually engage, reward and retain your talent pool to develop them to the best of their abilities. With HR-shared services, you can easily build a group of intelligent and satisfied pool of talented individuals who work together as a team to bring your company to even bigger and better outcomes.