With an increase in job openings, most of the human resource departments have found themselves lagging behind when it comes to performance. A human resource team is quite vital to the well-being of any organization and as such, it is important to know how to tell when you need to expand your HR team. Listed below are four signs that indicate when it is time to expand your HR team.

1. When it takes long for your HR team to compile the list of candidates to be interviewed

Recruiting the professionals who are hard to find requires the development of a network of therapists within your area to be called on by your team whenever there is an opening, a practice commonly known as passive recruiting. For active vs. passive job seekers, recruiters employ different tactics, and passive recruiting enables reaching out to an already existing network of therapists based within your area, who under the right circumstances can change jobs.

2. When your HR team performs a lot of interviews without finding a suitable candidate

In such a case, your compensation package might not be competitive enough, or you are not attracting the right candidates. Today's competitive job market makes it necessary to include an incentive in your pay package, making you conspicuous. Ensure suitable persons complete the job description and screening of candidates as opposed to your HR team who may have no knowledge of the specifics regarding that particular opening.

3. HR team doesn’t use outside resources

Some of the resource departments see the engagement of outside support as either unnecessary or a sign they are failing in their job. However, an outside agency could act as an extension of your HR team and not as a competitor, significantly cutting your fill time. Most agencies send blind resumes of the candidates available for a particular position without either commitment or a fee, which provides more options for consideration before settling on a specific candidate.

4. Your HR team does not use social media to look for referrals from the current employers of candidates when researching applicants

You might be missing out on a viable goldmine of potential candidates. The best way to find new employees is through referrals and word of mouth, of which social networks and platforms are merely electronic versions. Although learning how to use these social media platforms effectively can often be time-consuming, such networks are the number one mode recruiters can fill their database.

The benefits offered by the human resources department to any organization include but are not limited to:

• Improving the organization’s bottom line through its knowledge of how the human capital can affect the success of a company.

• Conducting extensive salary and wage surveys using the HR software to keep the compensation costs within the company's current financial status as well as its projected revenue.

• Reducing the organization’s costs associated with attrition, turnover, and the hiring of replacement workers. They are also vital to the company because they have the necessary expertise and skills to negotiate group benefit packages for the employees.

• Employers are obligated to provide a safe working environment. HR specialists on workplace safety and risk management ensure compliance with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration regulations by maintaining accurate records and work logs, as well as by creating programs that significantly reduce the number of injuries and fatalities in the workplace.

• HR specialists in employee relations minimize the exposure and liability of a company when it comes to allegations of biassed employment practices.

• Human resource training and development specialists coordinate the orientation of new employees, an important step in the aim of forging a strong relationship between the employer and the employees.

• By developing ways of strengthening the employer-employee relationship, human resource employee relation specialist aid in ensuring the organization achieves high morale, satisfaction, and performance levels from the entire workforce.

Using a variety of resources for recruiting guarantees that your organization can hire top talents in whatever field relates to your business. As such, being keen on whether your human resource department requires expansion and expanding it whenever necessary is vital to the success of your business. Ensuring your entire workforce achieves satisfaction, and high morale levels will lead to greater performance and productivity.