Running the HR function for a New Jersey real estate business

A real estate business in New Jersey with 75 people, made up of W-2 administrative and operations staff alongside licensed salespersons engaged as independent contractors. We employ one HR support specialist in India through an employer-of-record model, handling onboarding and offboarding, benefits administration, HRIS management, recordkeeping, and recruitment coordination. Any activity requiring a person physically located in the U.S. remains with the client.

HR had never been a dedicated role. The office manager and owner handled HR tasks alongside their existing responsibilities. That approach worked when the company was smaller, but growth turned those tasks into a full-time function.

Two groups of people, two sets of processes, and nothing written down. Staff and salespersons are engaged differently, so onboarding paperwork, benefits eligibility and reporting are not the same for both. Which process applied to whom was knowledge held by one or two people rather than recorded anywhere.

Four HR functions were operating without dedicated ownership: onboarding, benefits, records, and recruitment. Each was handled when someone had time, which meant they worked during normal periods but fell behind when hiring increased or employee needs became more urgent.

We documented which processes apply to each worker group. Onboarding, benefits eligibility, and reporting now begin with a clear classification step, with the process recorded rather than relying on individual knowledge. The client's advisers determine how each group should be engaged. Our role is to apply the correct process consistently and maintain accurate records.

We took ownership of the four HR functions while keeping U.S.-only responsibilities with the client. Our team prepares and tracks I-9 documentation and can complete the preparer section for Section 1. Section 2 requires physical inspection of original documents, so that step remains with the client. We are explicit about this because I-9 responsibilities remain with the employer, regardless of who assists with preparation.

We monitor New Jersey employment rules that continue to change. Earned sick leave applies to all employers, with no size threshold, and accrues at one hour for every thirty hours worked, up to a forty-hour cap. Employees can begin using it after 120 days. Pay transparency requirements have also expanded, requiring employers with ten or more employees to include pay ranges and benefit details in job postings.

The most commonly misunderstood area is leave coordination. New Jersey Family Leave Act and FMLA cover different situations, so they can run consecutively rather than at the same time. In some cases, an employee may be eligible for up to 24 weeks of combined leave, while many employers plan only for the standard 12 weeks.

One person supports onboarding and offboarding, benefits administration, HRIS records, and recruitment coordination for 75 employees. Industry benchmarks typically place HR staffing around one to two HR professionals per 100 employees, making this a manageable workload rather than an unrealistic stretch. We prefer to present it that way, as a properly scoped role, not an outsized one.