HR for Small Business

In the past month, I have had two successful business owners express that they subscribe to the “HR Light” theory. As an “HR Light” company (a term coined by one of these business owners) the companies chose to not have a traditional HR Manager on staff.

The companies vary in size (100 FTEs and 750 FTEs) and both are operating as growth companies. As entrepreneurial growth companies, they need to be flexible. They view traditional HR as rigid with too many rules or “cautiousness” that could restrict their growth.

I agree that HR Managers or consultants manage risk exposure by following “best practices.” Yet, those you want to tap into the vast needs of small businesses might be better served if they can scale down big corporate HR practices to a more manageable level that is practical for small businesses.

With respect to small business hiring, we have developed a scaled down hiring process (Tiger Eye Hiring Process) that is easy for entrepreneurial business owners to implement. In a perfect world, would we love to see busines owners invest more time and energy in their hiring practices? Absolutely! Yet, a simple process that is implemented is better than a perfect process that is never implemented.