As times get tougher for our small businesses, one thing we notice is that those who survive and thrive have a strong foundation. What does it take to build a strong business foundation? Some say its like the four legs of a chair-any one leg missing will cause the chair to totter and fall. A strong business has infrastructures in the area of information technology; sales and marketing; operations and finance. We all know that in this fast paced world, successful businesses must stay on the cutting edge of technology in terms of communications and production. A solid sales and marketing plan and base develop the revenue stream that supports the business. Efficient operations are necessary to deliver the product or service. And the company's financial base must be sufficient to move it in the right direction with process improvements, create incentives for staff and owners and weather downturns.

The four business legs of IT,sales & marketing, operations and finance are not enough however to create a strong business foundation. There's one more leg- the fifth leg that is necessary for a small business to grow- a solid human resources program. Too many small businesses handle human resources in a seat of the pants manner, creating policies and procedures as staff is added or challenges arise. Failure to solidify this fifth leg can undermine all the other legs and weaken the foundation. Human resource management underlies the other four legs and makes them stronger. For example, successful sales and marketing approaches require that you hire the right people, that there is a cultural fit, that you provide adequate training, etc. These are all human resource issues. In the case of operations, you also need to hire the right people, train them properly, give them incentives, provide for their safety, provide procedures to check the quality of their work…again-this is all human resource stuff. The information technology structure, as high tech as that stuff is-still depends on the good ole human touch- dealing with those humans is human resource management! And finally, finances-not just money-think about what happens when the finances run out and you have to start downsizing-how to fire, how to deal with remaining staff- that's human resources!

What does it take to create a human resources infrastructure? It takes planning and proper advice, creation of things like personnel policies, procedures to deal with a myriad of human issues, putting together a resource team of advisors on human resource issues (attorney, accountant, labor consultant, insurance agent and others).

So, to create and maintain a strong business foundation-remember to have all five legs of the chair in place. A strong infrastructure in human resources along with the other four legs will make all your company legs solid and strong.