Sarah Dowzell, Assoc CIPD

There is no universal threshold a small business needs to reach before starting to build an in-house HR team, but 50 employees is a typical benchmark. At this point, it becomes clear that standardised, formal HR processes are necessary to avoid the chaos that can ensue as more new people join the business. Whereas previously an organisation may have hired a part-time HR practitioner or consultancy, a permanent HR professional is now needed to build an internal HR operation that can support the next phase of the company’s growth. When the business reaches between 150 to 200 employees it’s likely…