MAY 6-12, 2024 SPRINGFIELD BUSINESS JOURNAL · 9 SMALL BUSINESS Balancing Lacking HR skills weighs on employees and small-business owners HEATHER MOSLEY Act Lance Coffman: Efactory offers training for owners and managers who handle HR in-house. by Jillian Smith · intern@sbj.net Small-business owners juggle a lot of responsibilities, and a study by national payroll and human resources firm ADP found over half of them choose to handle HR matters in-house – with 80% of professionals tasked with the work having no experience or training. This can cause legal and culture issues, as half of employees working in small businesses believe the lack of an HR department leads to a toxic workplace, a survey by data services firm Secure Data found. Lance Coffman, a consultant for the Small Business Development Center housed at the Missouri State University business incubator Efactory, encounters small-business owners and their employees that are searching for HR training. The U.S. Small Business Administration considers any company with 500 or fewer employees to be a small business, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce recommends adding an HR person to the staff when there are at least 10 employees within the company. Other experts offer numbers of 25 to 50. Coffman said having HR training is critical, even if it is just to learn soft skills because those skills allow for better communication and understanding in the workplace. He went on to say that a lack of HR skills can lead to bigger problems. “There are a lot of legal regulations and just a lot of risk for a business if they do not handle HR properly,” said Coffman. “It could open them up to lawsuits and employee turnover, which it is very expensive to onboard and get new employees.” Coffman notes the Efactory is a resource for businesses to use if they are seeking HR training. These training courses range roughly $300-$500 and offer insight on topics like conducting effective internal investigations and optimizing workplace safety through a threat assessment process. “I think some of the best impact we have seen is in the people who use us for custom training year See BALANCING on page 16
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