Startup is a lot of hard work, and there is no way getting around that. As a CEO of a future company, you need as much skills as your employees, just a creative mind and clear vision of the future won’t do. That is why you need to know that HR questions are one of the important things to think about when starting a company. There is no need to explain what HR is, if you started or about to start a company, you already know that. Besides, everybody bumped into HR when applying for work or in the work process, so we know everything about it from an employee point. Now, we need to understand what it takes to be the Alpha, and how to make your HR work as a clock, preferably a good, Swiss one.
Step 1. How to Build a Strong HR
Build a Strong Culture
Now, besides a monthly compensation, what could possibly make your employees stay, and actually enjoy the ride? Your company has to have an idea, vision and purpose. And you have to build a whole cult around it. People work better when they have what to believe in. When you have rules, it’s one thing, but when you actually have standards, it’s a completely different thing. Suddenly, there’s something that people can follow because they want to, and not because the rules told so.
Basically, here’s what you need to do:
- Define your company’s values 2. Create company’s story 3. Recruit people who fit culturally 4. Initiate people in your culture 5. Appeal to emotional side of the story Make People Interested in Your Culture Now, it is time to fully engage your employees into your culture. This is super important, because interested and fully engaged employees make more profit and actually return more than their salaries in your funds, and make more sales. It’s actually pretty simple, people who care are more likely to be productive. Some steps to make people believe in HR and make them more engaged:
- Company meetings 2. Conferences and seminars 3. Rewards 4. Communication Reap What You Sow Hypothetically, your employees now have everything they need to perform on a top-notch level. That will help your company grow and reach all of its goals. There are many things I might tell you about, but I will stop at the most important one. Make sure that each one of your employees has everything they need to use their talents and strengths every day. That is the best thing that you can do for them, yourself, and the company. Focus On Retention Now, all is set and done, and it’s time to focus on retention. Losing employees is pretty bad, and costs a lot of money. Besides, other people will get discouraged and will second-think their presence in the company too. It’s important to mention that losing and hiring is a natural process, but you still need to make it as less painful to other employees as possible. Workspace. Make it comfortable, unique, and alive. Bring some plants, ask your employees what temperature they want to have throughout the day. Tools. Provide your employees with space for collaboration. Some whiteboards, markers, comfortable seats will make a big difference, because a lot of jobs rely on collaboration. Decor. Make it happy and a pleasure to look at. And not boring. You should put on the walls only something that you yourself can look at. Better, ask your workers what they want to see there. Cleanliness. Hire somebody to make the office look as new. Clean environment always makes people more happy and productive.
Step 2. HR in StartUps
You already know how to make a good foundation for your company with a strong HR. Now, it is time to discuss some pain points for startups.
Hire a lawyer. It can be costly, but it is very worth a while to have legal protection from a start. Moreover, you have to stay updated on all employment laws. A good lawyer will help you to establish clear expectations and rules of organization. Besides, they will help you to create a professional, clean and neat contract that you will use to hire employees.
Think of pay and benefits. Money and bonuses are the best motivators, because we basically work to live. It is no denying that, but the job should never only be for money, people have to enjoy it.
Keep morale as high as possible. Morale is one the things that most companies simply overlook. It is almost always by choice. Remember when we talked about retention? If you don’t look after morale, you can forget about keeping people on the boat altogether. Ask them what they would want aside from more money, and consider implementing it.
Pay attention to every employee. Make them see that you believe in them and you see that they are working hard, and they will work even harder. Pay attention to every little thing that they have done and make sure they know you know. You can do it personally if the company is small, but it will become harder when you grow, so you can ask HR to help you out with this and still talk to employees and make their day better.
Give feedback. You have to learn how to do it in a way so it communicates what has to be corrected, but at the same time it has to be polite and friendly. Both positive and negative feedback are essential to every company, and there is nothing wrong with some criticism. It is a good practice to keep it absolutely private with every employee.
Keep a watch on employee relationships. Some people may be very friendly and overall good around you and HR managers, but be very toxic around their colleagues. You better watch that, because it makes other people underperform and lowers their morale.
Learn to let go. Especially when people are toxic to others. There is no way around it, sometimes you have to fire someone. It may be performance issues, or other things. Talk to HR, and consider letting them go.
Hope this article answers most or some of your questions. It is essential you understand what HR is and how to make it work as intended. Only then your company not only will stay on float for more than a year or two, but will grow and actually succeed!
Best regards, Movadex team
