Staffing

Human resource (HR) activities typically include staffing, compensation and benefits, training and development, safety and health, and employee management. Given these vast domains, a small dermatology practice may struggle to balance what can be done in-house and what should be outsourced. HR itself can often be outsourced but consider your practice’s needs and goals before you decide. Below are five key considerations that can help determine what is right for your practice.

Cost

Upside: Outsourcing can reduce costs. Potential benefits of outsourcing include savings on salaries, reduced costs for benefits, reduced costs for hiring and training, spending less time on HR functions, and avoiding penalties due to non-compliance. Plus, you do not have to outsource everything, so you can keep some functions inside the office if desired.

Downside: There is also a cost associated with hiring an outside company to take charge of HR. It may end up costing more to outsource HR than keep it in-house, if the fees exceed savings on salaries. There can also be productivity costs to working with outside vendors and managing contractual relationships.

Compliance

Upside: Outsourcing can reduce costly errors. With numerous local, state, and federal regulatory laws, wearing the HR “hat” only part-time can lead to mistakes. Employing experts in the field can reduce mistakes, because they should be well positioned to stay on top of regulatory changes and resources.

Downside: There may be security risks. Whenever you need to share intellectual property or confidential information, you take a security risk. You are also relying on the expertise of relative strangers, at least at first. Be sure to do research and ask for recommendations. The vendor may struggle to recognize the needs and compliance vulnerabilities of your practice. Finally, while the vendor shares risk with you, the buck ultimately stops with your practice, especially when it comes to protecting patient health information. Do not passively rely on a compliance vendor to “solve” compliance for you.

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Hiring

Upside: Recruiting high-quality staff is a top challenge for medical practices. Outside firms have expertise in finding and securing top talent. They typically have access to a larger talent pool and a greater variety of platforms for posting the job opening. They also are skilled at interviewing and conducting complete reference and background checks. This frees you up to focus on patient care and practice operations.

Downside: You must relinquish some control and autonomy to the vendor. You must also take the time to convey your needs and hopes for filling the position. It is easy to lose important requirements in this communication. If you prefer to be part of every step of the process, there may be little point in using a vendor. Last, it may take longer to find a candidate through a third party.

Benefits

Upside: Benefits administration (including enrollment and day-to-day management) and contract negotiation is a large part of HR role. These operations can be time consuming and costly. By outsourcing, you may save time and money, because third parties can often secure better terms for contracts such as health insurance. Third parties can also help with eligibility management, audits, and compliance.

Downside: Some third parties reserve the right to switch policies to get the best deal for their client. Also, a policy that saves money might not meet the needs of your staff. You have to keep in close communication with your vendor to ensure they inform you of policy and package changes early, so you have the opportunity to review.

Staff

Upside: By outsourcing, you reduce the number of personnel you directly employ and manage. Again, there can be obvious and less obvious savings. You reduce payroll. But you should also save time by reducing your HR burdens. That should leave more time to focus on other priorities such as staff engagement and team building.

Downside: Your relationship with HR may become impersonal and distant. You may also become complacent, thinking that staffing and compliance are problems you have handed off to others to solve. Such complacency can open you up to serious vulnerabilities.

These are just some of the considerations you should weigh when making this important decision. And remember, it is not a question of right or wrong. It is a matter of what makes sense for you and your practice.

Additional Academy resources