HR Budget

[belinda]

Afternoon All,

I have been with the company for nearly 6 months now, and am due to have an appraisal next monday, which the Managing Director is going to sit in on. The company I work for did not have someone within HR before, so I have had to come in and put policies, procedures, etc together.
Once of the things I want to touch on in my appraisal is budgets (about getting a budget for HR, etc).

Does anyone have a sample budget that they could provide? This would assist me in putting together of wants for HR, and to grown the position.

Much appreciated Belinda

[kevinh]

Hi Belinda,

I don't have a HR budget I can show you - maybe some others can offer some help in that regard.

I do however have a few suggestions or maybe just some food for thought.

Firstly, is your first appraisal the appropriate time to raise the HR budget? (that obviously has to be your call).

As for the budget, every company's budget will be different and it sounds like you probably need to focus on the fundamentals given your employer hasn't had a HR function until you joined them. The budget of an established HR function would be very different to that of a brand new HR dept.

Also, bear in mind the company has already recently increased it's costs by establishing an HR function, so I would tread carefully at this point in time when asking for additional funding. I'm not saying don't do it, but you should justify it in terms of ROI (return on investment). How does your employer benefit from spending more on HR?

What sort of things do you want to budget for?

Regards,
Kevin

[IvanaC]

Hi Belinda

I would discuss the notion of a budget at the appraisal but only as part of the setting goals for the next time pointing out the benefits of having a budget, even if minimal. I don't believe you should really start with a budget but you should start with what HR needs to achieve to support the business strategy. I believe that having the Managing Director in your discussion will give you the opportunity to ask all of the relevant questions and then after you have identified all of your strategies it would be time to present them with benefits and costs. You want to engage the management team to support your HR strategies. Once you have them engaged you can then establish/agree to an appropriate budget.
hope this helps.

[michaelakassar]

Hi Belinda,

It's great to see you trying to be proactive by thinking about the budget for HR.

However I agree with the above, as you do need to look at developing HR strategies that will support the business first and then everything (including the budget), falls out of that. Of course, getting support from managers etc is essential.

After defining your strategies, also look carefully at the structure and culture of your organisation to see if they are appropriate for supporting the business (and HR) strategies. Depending on your circumstances, restructuring, as well as reworking some business processes (in other departments not just HR) might be required.

Before bringing about any manjor changes (if they are required), you need to assess the organisation's readiness for change. Sadly, many people claim they are ready for a change but can become resistant when they realise the implications of the changes. Supporting everyone through the change process is very important, as well as keeping them in the loop.

Well, good luck with your appraisal. Based on what you said in your correspondence to me, it sounds like you deserve top marks!

Always happy to help if needed.



Cheers
Michaela

[Mark D]

Originally Posted by IvanaC

Hi Belinda

you should start with what HR needs to achieve to support the business strategy

Spot on, this is where it all starts.

[The Acorn Partnership]

I agree. Engage the relevant individuals in your goals, both personally and for the HR function in supporting the business and taking the HR strategy to the next level. Then, when the opportunity is right, overlay that with an appropriate budget to support the strategy that should have their backing.

Claire McNamara
Director, The Acorn Partnership
www.acornrecruitment.com.au