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It is incredibly challenging to create a startup but a greater challenge is to build a company. A good company needs a strong internal network, policies and processes that create consistency. If attention is not paid to these small conflicts or issues at the grassroots level it hinders future growth. “Human Resources is all about managing Human Beings”,” said Sukhpreet Singh, HR lead at Credgenics.
Even giants such as Amazon have run into trouble for neglecting working conditions of their employees. In the past they have been exposed for overworking employees by forcing productivity during work hours and using metrics to guilt them into working harder. The company’s focus was on the numbers and neglected creating a healthy work culture. Instead of such practices a company would have better growth with healthy performance reviews and small teams with clear lines of communications with supervisors. Here are five aspects that HR looks into at a startup.
1.Need for policies
“HR in general is underestimated. It is seen as a support function, but in fact, it should have a seat at the Executive table,” said Christopher Roberts (Founder and MD, Engaged Strategy).As the company grows, employees will have new challenges to face. The company will need to figure out how to manage paid time off and process expenses. The HR department coordinates with the heads of departments to create new policies for the company. This creates transparency and resolves disputes early on. Singh added “In a later stage when policies are
introduced, employees have a tough time in adjusting and often draw ancomparison by saying pehle aisa nai tha.”
2.Compensation and pay at work
Employees need to be compensated and paid fairly at the workplace. If this is left to the managers to decide, the pay would end up dependin on how they feel about the employee instead of the market rate and performance of the individual. This also on the large scale avoids wage gaps between genders.
3. Invest in training managers
Startup employees are a jack of all trades as their roles are not defined. When these employees become managers as the company grows, training is essential.Roberts added, “Empathy and Leadership training is important for managers to know how to lead a team effectively. Especially in this day and age where mental wellness of employees must be a key consideration, managers need to have empathy while working with their team. This training not only ensures the managers align with the company vision but also that employees have good team leaders.
4.Care about workplace culture
As an entrepreneur, you do not have enough time in the day to work with your teams, create profits, manage finances, make plans and then above this also create a healthy work culture. Startups face several growing challenges and it is important to take feedback from the employees from time to time to stay on top of things without getting too mechanical. “For any start-up, it is non-negotiable to recruit the right employees who work with passion and also believe in the idea. And it is the HR who helps start-ups identify them and extend the offer after the right amount of negotiation as every penny saved is a penny earned in a start-up. Apart from this, training and development play an important role as an employee needs to not just be aware of his/her department but will need to be inducted in all departments which will help the employee understand the company in a holistic way and will help employees upskill as well” said Sushmitha Lakkakula (Founder, CloudTailor).
5. Cultivate career path
“HR not only helps in setting up the entire process which helps any organisation scale up easily but also helps in identifying the right talent which meets with the company’s vision. Apart from that, HR also helps in setting up the culture of the organization,” Lakkakula added. Nothing in a startup is stagnant and there’s no room for delays. Once there is a substantial number of employees in the company, developing them is crucial. It encourages the team to aim for certain promotions and roles that the company needs. This work is best done by the HR who takes into consideration all the parameters before creating the career path.
Photo by Campaign Creators on Unsplash 
