Can HR Be Done Remotely?

If your HR systems aren’t prepared for a remote or hybrid work system, your business could fall beyond other organizations that are. Fortunately, outsourced HR for startups can help you catch up and even get ahead. In this article, we show you the benefits of remote HR and how HR can help you best leverage your remote teams. Let’s get to it!

Can HR Work Be Done Remotely?

HR work can certainly be done remotely, and there are also key benefits to doing so! But what is the role of HR in a startup company? If it’s on this list, it can be done by a remote HR professional:

• Recruiting, hiring, and onboarding top talent
• Managing compensation and benefits packages
• Facilitating ongoing training to optimize employee productivity
• Mapping out professional development and advancement paths to incentivize high-performance
• Improving company culture
• Identifying performance trends and implementing improvement tracks
• Outlining safety guidelines and enforcing employee conduct policies
• Staying current with local, state, and federal laws and regulations

If you need any functions covered that aren’t on the above list, there’s still a good chance you can count on a virtual HR team to get the job done. Give us a call to see how our team can help you.

How Can HR Work Remotely?

HR work can be done remotely in two ways:

• Hiring a full-time HR professional in a remote role
• Working with a third-party HR services provider

According to Gartner, 51% of knowledge workers in the United States participated in a hybrid work model in 2023. Startups can embrace this trend with their HR department, too, and enable these team members to perform many or all of their tasks remotely. Like with other remote jobs, it’s important to have clear policies regarding available hours and technology use.

Startups can also partner with an outsourced HR services provider (like Milestone) to meet their HR needs. These services offer a couple of unique advantages for startups and other small businesses. First, the experts at these companies have experience with a wide variety of industries and challenges that they can bring to your organization right when you need it. Second, outsourced HR services are cheaper than hiring more full-time employees because you only pay for what you need. These services are fractional, so they can cover a project, a strategic initiative, or an entire role.     

What Does HR Do as Work from Home?

The human resources job descriptions for in-person and remote professionals share a lot of similarities. Of course, there are still the standard differences between in-person and remote positions, but the projects often have the same goals. For example, both types of HR professionals can be responsible for:

• Recruitment and Hiring for Startups
• Onboarding
• Training and Development
• Total Compensation Packages
• Employee Relations
• Performance Management
• Safety Procedures
• Legal Compliance

One clear difference is that in a hybrid or remote organization, it’s up to HR to clearly establish and enforce virtual and hybrid work policies. Ready to partner with HR professionals who know how to navigate the remote landscape? Contact us today!

Why Should HR Work from Home?

In many cases, your startup should enable HR team members to work remotely to keep up with labor market trends and to create a leaner organization. Remote and hybrid work are here to stay, and startups can appeal to highly qualified candidates by offering flexible work models. In fact, Gallup reports that 90% of workers in remote-capable roles prefer the option of a hybrid work model.

Flexible work models aren’t just great for employees; they can also benefit the organization as a whole. Fewer people in the office means you need less space, and you can reinvest those overhead costs elsewhere.

There are some HR challenges of remote working. That’s why it’s important to partner with an HR services provider that not only has experience working with startups but also knows what it takes to deliver impactful results in a virtual environment. Reach out to learn more.

What Do Remote HR Managers Do?

Remote HR managers wear all the same hats as traditional HR managers, but they also take on the additional responsibility of ensuring that your remote work systems operate smoothly. That means you can rely on remote HR managers for the following:

• Recruiting, hiring, onboarding, training, and retaining top talent
• Managing compensation and total benefits packages
• Fostering an exciting, inclusive, and productive work culture and positive employee relationships
• Maintaining legal compliance

In addition to the above roles, remote HR managers can also:

• Oversee technology loans for home offices
• Create conduct policies for online workspaces
• Leverage the positives of remote work positions in job postings

Transitioning to a remote-friendly work environment can be challenging. Fortunately, you don’t have to make the switch alone. At Milestone, our team is ready to help take yours to the next level. Contact us to learn more.

Make the Most of Evolving Work Models with Milestone

Remote HR jobs are a worldwide trend that your startup can’t afford to miss out on. Whether you want to open your company up to a few remote positions or transition your entire team to a hybrid model, HR can be a part of these changes while helping you to facilitate them.

Our experts at Milestone have experience delivering impactful results remotely, working with startups, and helping startups optimize hybrid work systems. Don’t let what you don’t know get in the way—call today!