Hi,

I believe that there is a market for HR VA's however I recently learned that I need to do my market research to really see if this is the case.

Having worked in HR for 11 years I hope to specialise in this area. I have one client who I carry out salary and benchmarking reviews for. This is my one and only client at the moment as I am just starting up.

Typical work that could be carried out is recruitment administration, training administration, policy writing, maintaining HR records, data entry, providing management information and presentations.... the list goes on, I really do think there is a lot of work that could be done.

Data security is likely to be VERY important to any clients wanting to outsource this work, especially when dealing with names, addresses, salaries, bank details. Also, clients may want to see that anyone who works for them has professional HR qualifications.

This thread is really interesting to me and I will be keen to know of any other experiences of VA's supporting HR.

Thanks,
Sharon

I actually have am a certified PHR, but I didn't list much HR on my services list. I think I may just go back and re-evaluate that. I had figured I would just mention it to clients, but maybe it would be better to advertise it on my website to bring in more clients.

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Kathy
www.theofficevirtuoso.com

Yeah, that may be a good idea because you invested time and certified. Utilize your talents.

Hi All!

I reviewed some of your comments and I think they're great! However, a big word of caution to those doing resume screenings and interviews...know the laws. The last thing you want to do is get caught up in a discrimination case because you asked the wrong questions. While some are obvious not to ask, others are more tricky as well as comments and "general" conversation you may make. I strongly suggest getting an HR Legal college level textbook to review. This will help you understand what is standard and legal and avoid any conflicts.

Also, if your client asks you to prepare an email policy and any policies for that matter...it may seem very simple, but there are certain things you cannot require of employees and certain privacy provisions exists. Just take this into account.

As a new VA, i'm not sure if it would be good to have the client sign a waiver and for myself...i think this definitely crosses over into being a specialized consultant area. You're not only reviewing the doc for accuracy...you're reviewing it for compliance. If they are an HR Professional themselves and just want something to look good and professional that's one thing, but if they've never done anything HR...they may be depending on you to tell them if what they're asking/requiring is compliant.

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Gia S.

I'm glad to see someone here listing their PHR certification. I do have HR services listed on my site, but only those services I know very thoroughly. The problem with offering HR services is the number of laws that impact HR. You do need to have a pretty good grasp of the laws surrounding the services you offer. Getting a PHR (Professional in Human Resources) certification is a really good way to go in letting clients know of your expertise. I don't have my certification yet, but am studying to get it. Among all of the certifications out there, I think this could be one of the most important for a VA to get if she wants to offer HR services.

Go to the SHRM website to learn more about HR certifications. What can I say, I was the Admin for a HR Director for a couple of years *grins*. Learned a lot about HR from him.

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Jodith Allen
Administrative Arts

I'm afraid I know nothing about HR but here the staffing agencies and head hunters here have been laying off much of their staff due to the shortage of vacancies to be filled in these economic times. That said, the staffing agencies charge what I consider to be exorbitant commissions so if you know your stuff and charge a more reasonable commission I would imagine it could be a great way to go.

Lynne

Jodith, you're absolutely right! For the more complicated, non-paperwork, more strategic thinking stuff you should definitely pursue your PHR. I have delayed taking mine until after I finish my grad degree in two years. I have several friends who are PHR/SPHR/GPHR and it's a really long exam, more critical thinking than anything else. The exam is not really about the laws though, it's not going to ask you to name the law that...etc. It gives you a scenario and you answer it according to what you know about the law....it's about application not necessarily regurgitation. At the moment I'm a student SHRM member because I'm still in school, a Senior studying HR across 3 years, but I'm just not sure I'm really ready to take it.

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Gia S.

That's what former boss told me, that's it's a pretty hard exam. I have a study kit that someone gave me after they decided against taking the exam, and will probably look at it in a couple of years. I have a lot of other certifications I want to pursue in the meantime that I have a lot more experience towards, like the CAP, and the Microsoft Office certifications.

I'm lucky that I learned so much when I worked for the HR director. I used what I learned there with what I already knew, and in my next job, pretty much took over the day to day HR duties at the small non-profit I worked for. I did all of the benefits administration, maintained personnel files, maintained recruiting records, and what no. It was a great learning experience, and I got to take some classes towards becoming more educated on the benefits side, which was great.

Good luck on your grad degree! Someday I'm really going to go back to school and finish my degree. Of course, I've been saying that for 25 years now (laughs).

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Jodith Allen
Administrative Arts

Hello Louise, I would like to add HR into my niche service as VA despite my VA business is new.