Starting an HR Department from Scratch

​Best-selling author Martin Yate, a career coach and former HR professional, takes your questions each week about how to further your career in HR. Contact him at the e-mail address at the end of this column.  

In more-established companies, HR has an authenticated role that management understands and respects for defining, developing and implementing programs that encourage the smooth operation and profitability of the enterprise. Yet at one time, as such companies were beginning to grow, there was someone just like you struggling to gain traction. 

You have a rare career opportunity to work for a vibrant, growing company that has the leadership foresight to include HR management in its plans for growth and financial success. You have been hired to develop the HR mechanisms that will facilitate this growth. It's a big responsibility and a long-term challenge, but the experience gained can benefit your career for a lifetime. 

Who, What and How HR Contributes

Most companies need to make a profit, and the HR function (in simple terms) exists to supply and optimize the effectiveness of all employees, though many of us joined the HR profession to "help people." Yet when you asked employees what more they want from their work experience, most people just shrugged. 

Salaries and related expenses generally take up the largest percentage of revenues. Your responsibility is to make every hire maximally productive. While you want to help people, you also need to contribute to profitability, so your function exists to serve the company's needs, not the employees' wants. 

You mentioned that the employer wanted to train and develop workers, maintain culture, increase engagement and introduce wellness programs. So that is where you start. 

Help Management to Help Workers

Let's take one example from the list above and see how by delivering on management's needs you will also meaningfully benefit every employee.

Training and development programs to improve skills will have the most immediate impact on productivity, while simultaneously showing employees that the employer values them. 

You might consider talking with department managers to identify the programs they feel would be most beneficial. Then, armed with this input, sit down with management and seek input and guidance to prioritize the programs. Focus on initiatives where several managers share ownership, which increases the odds of success. 

Having reached consensus about training priorities, tackle each program one at a time, first by researching approaches and best practices from discussions with fellow SHRM members as necessary and then scaling down big efforts to the pockets and needs of your small, growing company. Take this approach and you will deliver on company needs, benefit employees and establish yourself in the process. 

Have a question for Martin about advancing or managing your career? From big issues to small, please feel free to e-mail your queries to YourCareerQA@shrm.org. We'll only publish your first name and city, unless you prefer to remain anonymous—just let us know. 

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