Outsourcing Staff Administration

Staff administration, also often interchanged with the term human resources administration, is one of the main services provided by human resources consulting firms. This usually includes the tasks and responsibilities handled by the human resources department which is typically composed of a team of HR specialists and headed by the HR director.


The tasks and responsibilities often include rostering, workers’ comp, administering payments for the staff, employee self service, comprehensive wages reporting, online payslips, online employee dashboard, time and attendance system, and superannuation; all of which are under payroll services. Other tasks and responsibilities under human resources administration are HR core fields like mergers and acquisitions, representation and advice on employment laws, human capital, health, benefits and retirement and communication. Human capital covers recruiting, inducting and onboarding new employees, training, rewards and incentive programs, migration processing and advice when hiring employees from abroad and management. Most human resource services providers also offer advice and assistance on HR management and strategy and also on compliance.


Staff administration can be daunting, particularly for smaller companies and those that don’t have a sizable and experienced HR staff. And the possible legal risks can’t be ignored. That’s why a number of companies, even the larger organizations, have come to rely on human resources consultancies for handling HR administration. 

The advantages of hiring experts to handle HR administration are considerable. First of all, it saves time. You drastically reduce the staff hours spent on all the HR processes and, even as you sit back and expect timely delivery of the services, all the time, every time. That’s because human resources service providers often work based on set deadlines and specific quantities per deadline or delivery.

If you save on staff hours, you also save on operation costs. Some companies find that the staff hours spent on human resources tasks – particularly if the HR team is quite small or even understaffed and there are not a lot of experienced HR specialists – end up costing more. Having a service provider is also cost-effective in the sense that you don’t have to spend on printing and other expenses that come with handling the HR processes internally. 

You also get to benefit from a wide range of services being offered by the HR consultancy. Companies that have expansion plans would do well to start considering the other human resources services that they may need in the future.

To find the best and most suitable service provider, check the HR consultancy’s track record. Ask about the training and experience of the HR specialists on the consultancy. A good HR consulting firm – and this is crucial if you plan to hire this HR team to handle your entire staff administration processes – should also be able to provide you with a strategy, particularly as seen in this more competitive business environment, on how they can work with your company to meet your company’s goals. This strategy should also include how they plan to increase employee motivation, improve performance, and decrease employee turnovers.