Several years ago my HR Administrator (Susan, who is awesome) and I met with several representatives of a PEO (Professional Employment Organization) to discuss outsourcing payroll and HR administration to them. One of the early topics of discussion was a review of our then-current HR and payroll processes, systems, and personnel. Part of that meeting went like this:
- PEO: You currently process all payroll through ADP?
- Me: Yes.
- PEO: And you have people in-house handling that? Collecting and submitting payroll data to ADP?
- Me: Yes.
- PEO: And how many people do you have processing payroll?
- Me: (Gesturing to Susan, who is awesome, sitting to my left.) Just one.
- PEO: And how many people do you process payroll for during a typical pay period?
- Susan: About six hundred.
- (Everyone stops writing and stares at us, eyes wide, mouths open.)
- PEO: six hundred?
- Susan, who is awesome: That’s right.
- Me: Is that typical? What do you generally expect?
- PEO: The usual ratio of employees to HR professionals is –at most- one hundred to one.
A 2015 report from HR professional organization SHRM confirms the PEO’s figures. According to the SHRM report (see graph on page 2), the lowest ratio was 1.03 HR professionals per 100 employees, which occurred only in companies with more than 1000 employees.
As with all statistics, there is room for interpretation. “HR professional” is a classification, not a job description. We achieved that level of efficiency by operating without a safety net (one person, without backup, handling payroll for 600 is the HR equivalent of white-water rafting without a life vest), and paring down core duties. Many functions that might best be left to HR were left to company management or deemed intolerably bureaucratic.
Still…it makes for a great war story.