What Is a HR Club for Small Businesses?

If you're looking for HR support for your small business, you may have come across services described as an "HR club".

But what actually is an HR club, and is it any different from having ongoing HR support? HR club is not a formal HR term. It is a name some HR providers use for a membership-style service where businesses pay a regular fee in return for access to a package of HR support, advice or resources.

Exactly what you get can vary considerably between providers, so it is worth looking beyond the name and understanding what is actually included.

How Does an HR Club for Small Businesses Work?

Most HR clubs operate through a monthly or annual membership. The business pays a regular fee and receives access to an agreed level of HR support. This could range from a library of HR documents and employment law updates through to direct access to an HR consultant when an employee issue arises.

Some services are designed primarily as a source of information and templates. Others provide much more hands-on advice. There is no standard definition of what an HR club has to include, which is why two services using the same name can offer very different levels of support.

What Is Usually Included in a HR Club?

This depends entirely on the provider. An HR club might include access to HR policies and letter templates, employment law updates, guidance documents, webinars or manager resources.

Some also include a certain amount of telephone, email or online HR advice each month. More comprehensive memberships might provide support with employee relations issues such as absence, performance, disciplinary matters and grievances. The important thing is not to assume that joining an HR club means every HR issue will automatically be covered.

Is a HR Club the Same as an HR Retainer?

They can be very similar. An HR retainer usually involves paying an HR consultant or consultancy a regular amount for an agreed level of ongoing support.

An HR club tends to describe that support in more of a membership format, sometimes combining direct HR advice with templates, resources, training or updates. In practice, the distinction often comes down to how the provider has chosen to package and describe its service.

Rather than focusing too much on whether something is called an HR club, membership or retainer, look at the actual support being offered.

Are HR Clubs Suitable for Small Businesses?

A small business might not have enough employees or HR work to justify employing somebody internally, but managers can still encounter difficult people issues.

Having somewhere to go for advice can be useful when an employee goes off sick, performance starts slipping, a grievance is raised or a manager is unsure how to handle a conversation.

Regular HR support can also help businesses deal with issues earlier rather than waiting until they have become much more difficult. But not every small business needs the same amount of HR support. A business with five employees and very few HR issues may need something completely different from a growing business with 40 employees, several managers and regular recruitment.

What Are the Benefits of an HR Club?

One of the main benefits is knowing where to go when you need HR advice. Instead of searching online every time something happens, the business may already have access to somebody who understands employment issues and can help the manager decide what to do next.

Regular support can also provide greater consistency. Rather than different managers approaching similar situations in completely different ways, they have somewhere to check their approach.

Depending on the service, businesses may also benefit from updated documents, employment law information and practical resources without having to create everything themselves.

Does an HR Club Include Help With Employee Problems?

Sometimes, but this is something you should check carefully. Access to an HR advice line might be included, while more involved casework is charged separately.

For example, a provider might answer an initial question about a disciplinary issue but charge an additional fee to review investigation documents, prepare letters or provide ongoing support throughout the process. Other providers may include more hands-on case support within the regular fee.

Neither approach is necessarily wrong. What matters is knowing what you are buying before you need to use it.

Are HR Documents and Templates Included?

Many HR clubs provide access to template contracts, policies, letters and other HR documents. These can be useful, but check whether they are generic templates or documents that will actually be tailored to your business.

A template can provide a good starting point, but it still needs to be appropriate for the organisation using it. A 10-person business does not necessarily need the same processes or wording as a much larger employer. You should also understand who is responsible for keeping the documents updated when employment law changes.

What Should You Check Before Joining an HR Club?

Start with what is actually included in the fee. Can you speak directly to an HR professional, or are you mainly paying for access to online resources? Is there a limit on how much advice you can request? Does the service include ongoing employee relations casework or just initial guidance?

It is also worth understanding who will actually provide the HR advice. Check whether you will have access to an experienced HR professional and whether you can see information about their background, qualifications and experience.

Look at whether documents are tailored, how quickly you can expect a response and whether you will usually deal with the same HR consultant or whoever happens to be available.

It is also worth checking the contract itself. Look for minimum terms, notice periods, additional charges and anything that falls outside the membership. A low monthly price may look attractive, but it is only good value if the service includes the support your business is actually likely to use.

Do You Need an HR Club or Pay-As-You-Go HR Support?

Some small businesses simply do not need ongoing HR support. If you have a small, stable workforce and only encounter the occasional HR question, paying for advice when you need it may make more sense than committing to a monthly membership.

Pay-as-you-go support can also work well when you need help with a specific situation, such as a disciplinary, grievance, absence issue or redundancy process.

The trade-off is that you do not have the same ongoing relationship or predictable monthly cost that can come with regular support. Neither model is automatically better. It depends on how often you need HR advice and how much support your managers require.

What About Ongoing HR Support Without an HR Club?

An HR club is only one way of accessing regular HR support. Small businesses can also work directly with an independent HR consultant or consultancy on an ongoing basis. The arrangement might include a set number of hours, regular access to advice or a more flexible agreement based on what the business needs.

Some businesses prefer this because they want an HR consultant who becomes familiar with their organisation, managers and previous employee issues. Others are perfectly happy with a membership model that gives them access to a wider bank of resources. The name of the service matters much less than whether the support fits the business.

Is an HR Club Worth It for a Small Business?

It can be, particularly if managers regularly need HR advice and the membership gives them access to support they will genuinely use. But joining an HR club simply because you think every business needs one can result in paying every month for a service you rarely use.

Think about what you actually need. Do your managers mainly need somewhere to ask occasional questions? Do you want ongoing help managing employee issues? Are you looking for policies and documents? Or do you want an HR consultant who gets to know the business and can provide more individual support? Once you know that, it becomes much easier to compare the options.

For a small business, the aim is not necessarily to buy the biggest HR package available. It is to have the right level of support available when you need it.

Need HR Support?

You don't necessarily need to join an HR club to have access to practical HR advice.

BloomHR provides flexible HR support for small businesses, whether you need help with an individual employee issue, HR documents and policies or more regular ongoing support. Contact us for more information.