Significance of HR Automation for Startups
Start-up Story
India has become a hot-bed for start-up companies. A vast number of individuals are jumping into the foray of entrepreneurship right after their graduation/post-graduation or from their employment. Start-ups become a challenging platform for aspiring businessmen to test their talent and business acumen.
Initial hiccups
Initially, a business drives on its founder’s energy and incredible passion for making a mark in the market. With a handful of employees, the company places its entire focus on establishing its products or services, arranging key infrastructure, meeting potential clients and selling its value proposition, meeting potential investors for funding their company, and most importantly winning the first customer deal. As finances are usually scarce in the initial phase-setting, it doesn’t realize that one of the most crucial aspects is to set up a solid platform for the company is through a robust HR system.
As time moves on, the team expands considerably to meet operational demands, and gradually, various departments come into existence. In all this impending chaos, the founder along with partners/employees unintentionally forgets to set HR processes and policies. As the company grows, they learn things through hard ways and eventually rush to set these systems one by one, but at the cost of money and resources.
Managing human resource and allotting funds for the same, is usually a time-consuming processes for a new organisation. However, it is crucial as it helps in retaining the talent; ensuring the employee performances are tracked and their skills developed.
Benefits of HR Automation for Start-ups
Start-ups may not be able to incentivize team for their performances; they may not even have an HR department or HR personnel to assist employees. However, simple processes through automation can help in retaining staff by tracking employee performances and expectations through appraisals. It can also help the CEO understand an employee’s skills even better, to be put to best use, as required.
Wage Management: The initial cash-crunch may mean no salaries for the company’s founder and employees. But this doesn’t mean there should be no system to manage cash-flow, especially salaries and the associated taxes with it. A proper process concerned with payroll and taxes becomes the most crucial system. As a company grows, its balance sheet and tax liabilities stay clean along with smiles on the founder’s and employees’ faces.
Relationship & Engagement: Technology such as cloud computing and mobility access enables employees to keep in touch with management and team anytime, anywhere, thus aiding continuous engagement and strengthening relationship.
Performance management: Individuals need motivation, and visibility to their career paths. A system ensures timely appraisals, tracks employee growth & development, records skills can be of great help here. The CEO can analyze the available resources and with the help of personal discussions, can motivate and guide the employee. This maintains employee’s interest in the organisation and trust in the team.
Employee Management: Even in the absence of proper HR department or personnel, HR solutions can automate the time management, Leave Management, series planning and highlight productivity of the individual employees, so that they can be properly managed.
A start-up’s life span is generally short, unless important foundational steps are taken in its infancy stage. One of them being HR set-up and automation with the help of technology that tracks an employee’s entire life-cycle in the organisation. Of course, the company might feel the burden of additional cost of technology but to start with, simple processes can be set up and gradually improved. In a nutshell, HR and its automation benefit the employees, management and propels the organisation towards growth in the long run.
