Let’s face it: starting, a manager or working at a start-up can be tough. The average start-up takes 3 to 5 years to turn a profit. That’s 3 to 5 years of hard, hard work, often long hours, tears, sweat, and pain. When the truth is, it doesn’t have to be. The Australian start-up scene was once rated number one on the global start-up ecosystem index and is still ranked highly today. This means, first and foremost, you are not alone; thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of people have likely gone through some similar process – so why choose a baptism by fire when a well-established HR team can help things run smooth.
What Exactly is Human Resources?
Anyone who has worked in almost any job, from a dishwasher at the local cafe to the country’s biggest law firms, will have had some interaction with human resources, whether it is a pay issue, trouble with coworkers, or a health and safety concern. The fact is that Around 45% of small business owners spend almost an entire day a week on administrative HR. This number expands exponentially as even a small start-up grows, often sucking up more and more time that could be better spent on actual start-uping.
It is important to note that not everyone agrees on what a start-up actually is – most agree that all big businesses started small and grew over time. Startups are new companies trying to grow and become successful expediently, as opposed to small businesses, which are not always new and often focus on turning a stable profit (hence why the new local cafe is a small business). They can be classified as start-ups for a long time before becoming fully-fledged companies. The average time it takes to turn a profit is only one indicator of success, some would argue that it can take 7+ years before your start-up can be classified as a successful business.
What this means is that startups can be big, Facebook had 3200 employees before it launched its IPO to become a fully-fledged floated company. What does this mean for your startup? While you might not be the Zucc, HR can take a huge load off your shoulders. A good HR team can do any of the following:
1. Hiring and Firing
Letting HR manage hiring and firing brings several benefits. They will learn the intricacies of your start-up and apply expertise in human psychology to hire the best candidate for the job. HR specialists have a range of tools under their belt, having learned valuable lessons from the extensive training they undergo; with courses like an online Master in Human Resources and others, there are more and more highly qualified staff on the market. These professionals have the skills to attract and select good-quality candidates, ensuring a smooth and consistent hiring process. In essence, entrusting HR with hiring and firing promotes a professional approach, contributing to organisational stability and employee welfare.
2. Compliance and Legal
Do you enjoy navigating the legal snakepit of business alone? Start-ups face legal challenges ranging from employment law, intellectual property, customer and supplier contractual obligations, co-founder disputes, local/international law, and many others. HR teams can quickly sort through your legal options and present you with viable pathways.
3. Payroll
Having HR manage payroll for your start-up saves time. This allows you to focus on core business activities while ensuring accurate and timely payments to employees. It simplifies the payroll process, reduces errors, and ensures compliance with tax and labor regulations. Entrusting payroll to HR enhances financial accuracy and efficiency, contributing to overall organisational success. The streamlined payroll system helps you stay focused on strategic goals, creating a smoother and more productive operational environment.
4. Ongoing employee management
There are a range of techniques used to develop employee potential. This approach can foster a dynamic and growth-oriented workplace culture that puts effort into training and upskilling those with the best potential for growth and aligns the views of HR with your organisation’s long-term goals.
These aspects of what an HR team can do only scratches the surface. Overall, it is about freeing up time for you to spend creating, researching, meeting, and progressing forward with whatever goal your start-up has. A good HR team means fewer sleepless nights, hours on the payroll or hair-pulling over a difficult staffing decision.
