If your business is nearing 50 employees, congratulations—you’re entering a new growth phase. But with growth comes complexity. At this threshold, your HR function can no longer operate informally or manually without exposing your business to risk, inefficiencies, or missed opportunities.
⚠️ Why 50 Employees Is a Major Compliance Trigger
In the eyes of regulators, hitting 50 full-time equivalent (FTE) employees puts your business in a new category:
- Affordable Care Act (ACA): You’re now considered an Applicable Large Employer and must offer compliant health insurance or face penalties.
- Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA): You’re subject to federal leave requirements, including job-protected leave for qualified employees.
- EEO-1 Reporting: If you have 50+ employees and hold federal contracts, you must file detailed demographic reports.
Failure to comply with these new obligations can lead to serious fines and legal exposure. This is no longer optional HR—it’s federal law.
🔄 Manual HR Processes? It’s Time to Upgrade
Still using spreadsheets to manage payroll or track PTO? You’re not alone—but it’s a liability.
As employee count rises, administrative work scales exponentially. A missed benefits enrollment window or miscalculated tax filing can cost thousands and damage trust. Here’s where a modern Human Capital Management (HCM) system can help:
- Automate payroll, time tracking, and benefits enrollment
- Centralize employee records and compliance data
- Support manager self-service and mobile access
- Generate real-time reports for audits, funding, and leadership
💡 Tip: HR tech isn’t just about automation—it’s about enabling better decisions, faster.
🔎 You Also Need to Rethink These 3 Core Areas
As your workforce grows, so should your approach to:
- People Strategy Start formalizing job architecture, compensation bands, and career paths. Without structure, you’ll struggle to attract and retain top talent.
- Employee Experience Culture gets harder to manage as layers emerge. Now is the time to invest in scalable onboarding, performance check-ins, and engagement feedback loops.
- HR Policies & Governance Update your handbook, document all internal policies, and ensure managers understand new compliance expectations. Consider introducing internal training.
🧠 What Smart Companies Do at 50 Employees
Organizations that successfully scale through the 50-employee threshold often:
✅ Partner with an outsourced HR provider or advisor to bring structure and strategic support
✅ Invest in scalable HR technology before it’s a fire drill
✅ Run compliance health checks to catch risks before auditors do
✅ Prepare for the next stage of growth with scalable org charts, KPI frameworks, and leadership development
🧭 How Barnett Advisory Can Help
At Barnett Advisory, we specialize in helping growing businesses cross the 50-employee threshold with confidence. From compliance audits to HR tech implementation and strategic workforce planning—we bring the expertise and systems needed to scale without the growing pains.
📩 Let’s talk: Book a 30-minute consult to see if your HR infrastructure is ready for what’s next.
Your people are your greatest asset. Don’t wait until 100 employees to treat them—and your compliance risk—with the systems and strategy they deserve.