We asked 317 HR how many employees were in the HR “department.” Here’s what they said.
Just me: 46%
2 to 5: 35%
More than 5: 19%
Interesting note: Most of the people we talked to – whether in a one-person department or a group – said they were juggling other balls, doing tasks outside of the normal responsibilities of HR. For instance, some were serving as the organization’s safety manager.
Innovative time management
So how were they finding the time to handle all the other duties piled on a typical HR specialist?
Some said they had managed to carve out a little of the IT department’s time to put up an HR intranet where employees can go to find information and answers to questions, meaning workers don’t have to run into HR with every little concern. That’s a timesaver, even though most said their intranet was fairly basic, with few fancy features.
Another time-saver: Some HR managers train employees on how to deal with benefits providers, such as insurance companies. That saves time in the long run because employees then contact the providers directly instead of expecting HR to do it.
