Just a few years ago, HR consultant Chris Marshall and his wife retired to Kelowna. But his retirement was short-lived. Seeing a need, Marshall launched Answers for HR, the human resource division of Redesigned Systems Inc. He soon found himself with a healthy small-business clientele.

"Companies like mine are a signpost for the future," says Marshall. "Owners are increasingly outsourcing where they have no expertise. Our approach is flexible. Some companies need as little as four hours a month, other up to 20 hours. The demand is huge. If small companies are aware, they feel the need for HR advice from the start. Others only feel it when a problem comes up."

Above and beyond practical matters of hiring, policy and procedure, HR professionals can contribute something less tangible but equally important. As Marshall observes, "They bring vision and focus for the future related to human resources. A company can have the best ideas, facilities an technology but if the people side is no good, the bottom line will suffer. The human aspect is vital and strategic. HR can set up employee evaluation systems and reward and recognition programs. They can supervise the nuts and bolts of policies and procedures such as those related to the Canadian Employment Act and all federal and provincial requirements."

Barbra Johnston considers herself fortunate to have found Answers for HR. As founder and president of Natures Formulae, she believed she had a good grip on the owner-employee relationship. Her business, developing tinctures and herbal extracts, was launched from her kitchen sink in 1991. Her workforce has expanded to 45 employees in her Kelowna factory with sales of $3.5 million annually, featuring 2.500 products.

However, Johnston had a problem that could be dubbed The Case of the Missing Employee. She was no Sherlock Holmes when an employee failed to show up for work one day and failed to call. Then Johnston heard that the employee had left Kelowna. "It all seemed logical," she recalls. "I presumed my employee had quit. I hired a replacement and thought that was the end of it."

Six months later, the employee showed up at the factory, ready to return to work. Johnston was shocked to learn that she was legally required to pay the truant three weeks' severance to close the book on the matter. "The employee had never said she couldn't come back to work and I had never officially notified her that her position was terminated. It was a wake-up call that I need professional help," says Johnston . Her solution: outsourcing with Answers for HR. She soon had an invaluable standard operating procedures manual. "Having basic policies and procedures spelled out has given myself and my managers a sense of security. We feel we are handling situations with employees appropriately. Before, it felt like a shot in the dark," she says.