Small businesses in the UK are leaving themselves open to unnecessary risks when hiring new staff due to a lack of resources, according to research carried out by OnePoll.

Its survey of 500 SMEs was commissioned by Jobandtalent. It found that only 37 per cent of SME owners have sufficient understanding of employee rights and their own employer regulations, and that they struggle to keep updated on continuous regulatory changes.

When asked if they have a dedicated person responsible for HR activity or finding new talent, 67 per cent said they do not. Of those businesses, 77 per cent said that the responsibility for hiring fell to the business owner.

Dedicated HR systems are what’s needed

More than 20 per cent said that it takes between two and five days to fully ‘onboard’ a new employee – from registration through to reference checks, payroll registration and pension auto-enrolment.

James Peck, UK MD of Jobandtalent,said that most businesses don’t have a “HR function of dedicated employment expertise” and suggested that paperwork, while it’s a burden to small businesses, is vital for “complying with regulations around hiring, benefits and payroll”.

Companies stuck in the past

Despite the widespread reports and general trend away from printed media, 30 per cent of small businesses still said they post an advert in newspapers when hiring for a role.

Finally, 55 per cent said they still rely on word of mouth to get their vacancies noticed.

Make HR a priority for your business

The importance of a fully-functional human resources department should not be underestimated, that’s why your business should look to hire the very best HR staff possible and where Portfolio can help.

We are expert recruiters for payroll positions – get in contact now to speak to a member of our recruitment consultancy team and see how we can help your business.