Nobody would ask an Office Manager to design a bridge. So why are they responsible for HR?
Sure. I’ll handle HR. Why not throw in Engineering while you’re at it?
In a lot of Canadian small businesses, HR often gets handed to whoever seems capable or is known as a doer who gets things done. Often, it’s the busiest employee.
- The Office Manager.
- The Finance person.
- The Executive Assistant.
Sometimes it’s even the Receptionist or Business Owner.
Nobody would hand that same person responsibility for engineering, finance, or IT and expect them to figure it out as they go.
Yet that’s exactly what happens with HR.
HR looks deceptively simple
Let’s take finance example.
You may assign the clerical pieces of accounting to an administrative assistant, such as preparing invoices for payment. Easy and low risk.
But many small businesses assume much of HR is administrative and clerical and can be assigned the same way with little or no experience.
- An employment agreement is just a document. I’ll download a template.
- A handbook is just a collection of policies. I’ll copy one from a previous employer.
- A performance issue is just a conversation. I’ll do what the owner tells me.
- A mental health accommodation is just a request. I’ll ask AI.
But most of HR is not administrative.
You have to think like a lawyer and a project manager.
Every word matters. Every action matters. Every document has to support the others.
You may have a policy that looks perfectly reasonable on its own, but if it doesn’t align with the rest of your HR, it becomes a patchwork system that creates more risk than protection.
Courts, tribunals, and arbitrators don’t care who wrote your HR documents. They care about what they say.
Good HR has to map consistently across your employment agreements, handbook, policies, forms, and management practices. Like a puzzle, every piece has a purpose and needs to fit with the others.
The only way to create solid HR is through experience and an understanding of the current legislative landscape. This is especially true for your 2 foundational HR documents.
Get your HR foundation developed by professionals. Then take it from there.
Your employment agreements and employee handbook form the foundation of your HR.
They define the employment relationship and create a playbook for both employees and management.
Before we write a single document, we ask questions. Lots of them.
Because those questions often determine whether the document protects the business or creates problems later.
Most non-HR people don’t know what questions to ask because they don’t know what they don’t know. A professional asks questions about your workforce. Your roles. Your processes and workflows. Your business goals. Your existing HR documents. Your tolerance for risk.
Because HR isn’t a collection of documents. It’s a system.
And systems don’t work very well when they’re built one piece at a time by different people over different decades.
Once you have a solid, compliant HR foundation in place, many businesses are comfortable handling day-to-day HR themselves and reaching out only when the really messy situations arise.
We help reduce the load.
Practical. Cost-Effective. 100% Canadian.
Since 2006, more than 10,000 Canadian employers have trusted ConnectsUs HR for HR tools, resources, and support. HR services are now delivered through Sienna HR.
Same team. Same service. Same standards.
Every HR service engagement includes a complimentary 1-year HR Toolkit subscription (a $700 value).
