Your Human Resources team has one core function: to ensure that you've always got the right people in the right place at the right time. But what happens when you don't have the right people in HR? Or when a key member of your HR team becomes unavailable?

When you're first starting to build your business, it makes sense to handle HR on your own. For small businesses with less than 10-15 employees, we typically recommend having a good payroll provider and benefits broker, and you should be in pretty good shape. Until then, you don't have to worry too much.

You just learned that your HR Director needs surgery and will be out of commission for 12 weeks starting tomorrow or your HR Business Partner turned in her resignation and with a two-week notice there is no time to hire and train a replacement before she leaves.

Over the past few years, we've seen the national conversation about diversity change as people respond to movements like #MeToo and #BlackLivesMatter. People increasingly expect their employers to support DE&I initiatives and support an inclusive workplace. One survey found that up to 86% of candidates are more likely to choose an employer that supports diversity. While most companies have a diversity equity and inclusion policy in place, not every office is welcoming to women and minorities. This presents a real challenge for employers. How do you go about creating a respectful workplace? And how do you keep diversity alive on your team?

Like many other knowledge workers, my sister has been working remotely for the last two years. The organization she works for has suddenly decided to ditch its remote-work model and has communicated to its employees that they "will no longer support remote work or hybrid program." Employees will be expected to return to the office pre-pandemic style now.

Are you experiencing problems with your top candidates not accepting your job offers? Have you ever thought about how the questions you ask in your interview process may be hurting your chances? A positive candidate experience is always essential to hiring, especially in the current candidate-driven market. People are more empowered than ever to decide where they want to work, and the interview process is their preview of what the job would be like. Make sure your interviews leave candidates excited about the prospect of taking the job and working with your company.