How to Manage an HR Department When There are Multiple Sites

Managing a Human Resources department is challenging at the best of times, but when the company is spread across multiple locations or sites, it’s even more difficult. It requires specific strategies and tools to resolve bottlenecks and prevent additional hassles just because people aren’t all under one roof. Here are our suggestions on how to manage multiple sites from an HR perspective.

Share Files Successfully Between Offices and Locations

HR staff and others require a way to access company documents whatever location they’re presently located at. Certainly, when HR staff are meeting prospective employees and touring a facility with them, they need to have the option to access company data from their smartphone, tablet, or a free PC. Using secure file sharing solutions for the construction industry (or other industries too) is perfect for this. Secure access to company information is critical to avoid needing to download it to a tablet or PC before heading to the site. Data is also more secure this way too.

Stay Current with Corporate Tax Requirements

Companies must maintain tax records and manage their obligations on behalf of employees for payroll withholdings and necessary reporting. This applies to whatever location or construction site they’re presently working on. Also, for people who are disabled and work within their personal capacity, there are relevant programs that materially alter the filing and reporting requirements in some states. Other wrinkles sometimes crop up with payroll and filings. For instance, the company may have employees who live on the border between two states. These require a different tax approach than one who lives and works in the same state.

All of the above aspects cannot be overlooked simply because the company has multiple sites or several offices to manage.

Use Consistent Systems and Processes

Sometimes, new sites or locations are created haphazardly or overly quickly to get up and running. In this situation, they may have shortcut the existing systems and processes to move faster. Unfortunately, this might not be immediately known by the HR department that will also be affected by this. Similarly, when the company takes over a site by buying out another company, the systems at play on the new site won’t match at all. This includes the software used, the way files are managed, and the format of any information created too.

It will be necessary to go in and redo all the systems and individual processes. This will get the site up to speed on how everything is managed in the rest of the business. Otherwise, maintaining and reporting will be a nightmare.

Be Present as Often as Possible

With multiple locations and the HR team centrally located at the head office, a “them and us” attitude will quickly develop. This is even truer when the HR team sends out email blasts with new policy changes that everyone must adjust their way of working to accommodate. HR must regularly visit all the sites, and not just because they’re there to solve a known problem. A visible presence is needed, including answering questions that any staff members have and troubleshooting difficulties. By being more present, employees will feel better able to ask questions.

For HR teams, multiple locations or sites are tough to handle. It requires special attention and structures in place to avoid operations running less smoothly.