HR Strategies for Start-ups

An HR strategy is a
People and strategy adopted by an
benefits organization which aims
to integrate
organization’s culture,
it’s employees and their
Vision, Culture, performance and the
Mission, HR Leadership systems by coordinating
Values, Strategy and Systems a set of actions to
Business Goals
achieve its business
goals. Thus, the
alignment to the
business goals, values,
Performance
vision and mission is
necessary.

A. ORGANIZE:
a. Create a Employee Handbook
i.Vision, Mission, Goals, Values and Code of Conduct for
all- In the initial days of a start-up, it is the founders who set the
values of their company. The effort in putting this together helps
them in making tough decisions. These values, when practiced on
a regular basis forms the culture of the organization and defines
the code of conduct.
ii.Employee Benefits such as leaves, paid offs and other tax
benefits- The bare minimum a start-up can do to their
employees is to give them flexibility in taking leaves or offering
paid offs or some tax benefits such as Sodexo and Zeta cards.
iii.Protocols and policies for the use of technology, sharing
confidential information and communication within the
employees- Depending on the type of start-up and the intensity
of technology used, founders can decide on the protocols and
policies for its usage and protect the misuse.
iv.Performance Management process- This part is more often
neglected by the start-ups. The major reason is unclear work to
be done, lack of KPIs i.e key performance indicators, and the time
investment required to create the process.

b. Develop fair compensation strategies- Compensation packages are

designed based on the funding stage of the start-up and work-profile.
 Learning about current compensation plans and other ideas to include to
compensate the cash flow is a way to design strategy.
c. Smooth and Long Onboarding Experience- Most people aren’t
aware of what it looks like to be a part of a start-up. It is majorly chaotic.
Therefore, it is important to give a smooth and long onboarding process
for almost a month.
Free-look Policy is one of the strategies used by some start-ups to
encourage new/potential hires to understand the culture, the job profile
and assess if they would be a fit in the organization. As an
onboarding programme, it has reduced the attrition from 30 days to more
than 90 days.
d. Mindful hiring- While doing hiring for a start-up, it is required to
keep a check on the culture fit along with the skillset. Start-up demands
you to be dynamic as every individual have to wear multiple hats.
e. Increase Employee Satisfaction- Employees in a start-up not only
work for money but for a purpose as well. People get satisfied differently,
few from their contributions, few from the money, few from the impact
that they are able to do in someone's life, etc. It is important to
understand Employees and keep them satisfied accordingly. Transparent
communication adds to employee satisfaction to a bit.
f. Learning and Development Programs- Design training programs
for your employees or find avenues where your employees can learn, get
exposure and grow. This allows them to take more and
more responsibility in the organization.

B. MOTIVATE:
a. Recognition to employees and their contributions in forums
b. Acknowledge their employees as unique
c. Transparency in communications and future goals.

C. RETAIN:
a. A Paid vacation/a fortnight break- A paid vacation or a fortnight
break isn’t big enough than investing your time in hiring a new employee.
Give your employees some time-off from the work.
b. Flexible working hours- Work from homes, second Saturdays off or
flexibility in working while focusing on the goals to achieve is one of the
ways to retain employees.
c. Employee Stock Ownership Plan- To retain your best employees,
offering ESoPs is one of the ways to retain them.