? EDITOR ’ S QUESTION //
“
AT THE BEGINNING , IT CAN HELP
SMALLER
COMPANIES TO FOCUS ON A PARTICULAR AREA OF HR TO MAKE SURE IT IS
DONE WELL .
Every month , we pose industry experts a question pertinent to the issues of the day . This month . . . .
S A START-UP , looking
A after your small workforce is incredibly important . As a smaller company , a start-up ’ s boss has the opportunity to create great relationships with their employees and to get to know them well and what they want out of their work . But it ’ s not enough to just hope for the best . There needs to be the offer of HR in place so employees know things like their annual leave allowance , for example , and what rights they have .
By offering a supportive HR function , there is better employee wellbeing and this contributes to the company ’ s growth . If employees are happy , then the company has the right staff to help it grow . At the beginning , it can help smaller companies to focus on a particular area of HR to make sure it is done well . For example , increasing employee wellbeing . Smaller companies could then outsource other processes , like onboarding .
Budgets are smaller for start-ups so the HR probably won ’ t compare to the larger enterprises , but this doesn ’ t mean it can ’ t be effective and helpful . There are now plenty of options of HR apps , which can be affordable to SMEs and take some of the stress out of the HR function . This way , founders can manage it all online . Within this , there are a lot of options for automation .
Other areas which need to be considered are employment law – do you understand it and are you aware of the different polices ? For example , in the UK , a new flexible working law has just been introduced which means new employees can request flexible working
WHAT OPTIONS DO START-UPS HAVE IN TERMS OF OFFERING SUPPORTIVE HR ?
from day one , whereas before they had to be working for the company for six months before this request could be made .
Employee benefits is also another area which SMEs need to think about . Even though the budget is smaller , it doesn ’ t mean that benefits cannot be offered . It just requires more thought and it also helps to talk directly to employees to see what benefits they would like to receive .
In today ’ s world , there are lots of options for SMEs with regards to HR . Automation and apps have made things easier , and then start-ups have the added benefit of knowing their employees well . Three experts on the following pages outline their thoughts on what start-ups should be looking for when putting together a supportive HR function .
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BUDGETS
ARE SMALLER FOR START-UPS SO THE HR PROBABLY WON ’ T COMPARE TO THE LARGER ENTERPRISES , BUT THIS DOESN ’ T MEAN IT CAN ’ T BE EFFECTIVE AND HELPFUL .
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20 intelligent
. tech
Intelligent SME . tech