Read Justine JEANNE’s account of her vision of the job of HRD in a structure different from that of the big companies: the start-up.
Being HR in a start-up
“At first glance, the Human Resources department more commonly known as “HR” and “Start-Up” are two terms that are rarely associated in the same sentence. Start-up echoes innovation, the future, modernity. On the other hand, there are two visions of HR: a more archaic world with numerous procedures, or, on the other hand, the famous “CHO”: Chief Happiness Officer, whose missions can remain vague. We seem to be at opposite ends of the spectrum, and above all we have to ask ourselves this question: what is the reality of HR in start-ups?
And for good reason: it’s hard to find the famous HR office in these new structures, where the collective imagination is dominated by young people under 30 wearing jeans and sneakers and eating nothing but pizza.
First news: in a start-up, not everyone is under 30, not everyone dresses in jeans and sneakers, nor is a pizza diet the norm.
Secondly, employees in this type of structure have the same needs in terms of skills, training and remuneration, as well as administrative and social issues, as in other companies. Also, the “Start-up” or “Fintech” label does not absolve a company of all its legal and contractual obligations: single risk assessment document, CSE, compulsory postings, to name but a tiny minority.
So what does being HR in a start-up entail?
Being HR in a start-up means first and foremost finding the right skills at the right time, and putting them in the right place: unearthing the right talent is one of the keys to success. That’s why it’s important to have a suitable process and a relevant pool of candidates. In this way, you contribute to the success of your company. Without the right human resources, a company cannot deliver.
But the work doesn’t stop there: once employees have been hired, they have to be integrated, their skills upgraded, trained, retained, motivated, their well-being improved, and fairly rewarded…
Being HR means responding to and supporting employees on a daily basis, and that means being with them and having an office in their midst to better understand their day-to-day problems.
Being HR also means guaranteeing compliance and respect for the legal framework: from the very first hiring, but also over time, as the company evolves and grows in terms of the number of employees.
Being an HR manager in a start-up also means supporting the CEO: he can rely on us to take care of all the administrative, social and payroll issues he doesn’t have the time to deal with. The CEO has a thousand ideas a minute, and often few hours to deal with them: he’s interested, but doesn’t always have the time or the skills: you can’t improvise HR!
This list could go on and on, but it should be stressed that every company is different, and “HR” cannot be summed up as a start-up!
At the end of the day, being HR in a start-up means being versatile and juggling all kinds of situations. Let’s not forget that people are unpredictable, that everyone reacts differently, and that each working day completes the previous one and brings questions for the next!”
-The HRD profession-
Justine JEANNE
HR at ASTON iTF
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