How to set up the HR team from scratch and all about HRBP

It wouldn’t be wrong to say that an HR team is an integral part of any organisation. From personnel and payroll management to employee engagement, relations, and compliance, there’s a lot they get done. 

As a startup, you are not expected to ace the process of setting up an HR team at the first go. But you need to start at the earliest for business processes to run smoothly. Here’s why. 

1. Employees must have specified job descriptions to go about their tasks. 
2. There must be activities in the organisation to engage employees and weave a refreshing work culture. 
3. There are legalities that an organisation need to adhere to. 
4. You need to track employee attendance and pay them accordingly. 

The list goes on.

But how do set up the HR team that can keep up with the demands of your organisation? Where do you start? 


Here’s the process of setting up an hr team so that your human resource management is on point.

Know your why?

First things first, you need to know why you need an hr team. Only when you know your reasons and requirements can you know who will make up the team. 

• Know your values – Make sure that you spend considerable time determining your organisation’s core values. This will help you know what interpersonal skills you can expect from your employees.
• Skills checklist – Preparing a skills checklist would help you hire employees who possess the needed skills.  Why? These are two different types of skill sets and not all HR professionals possess both.

You need people who are focused on compliance, administration, etc., and others who are focused on recruiting, retention, culture-building and training. 

• Outsource – You require expertise to build their hr team from scratch. And it cannot be done via online research or attending seminars. The smarter way out is to have experts on board. Outsourcing the function will not only make it more efficient but also save your time so that you can focus on more pressing problems.
• Consider the cost – The idea of having an in-house HR department may blur other practical things. But remember you need to consider the cost of software, other services, as well as the salaries. Make sure the ROI justifies an in-house team.
• Start from top – You should always start hiring from the top. You need to bring in leadership roles in hr before proceeding to executive ones as their experience will help them determine how to proceed.
• Bring your team on board – 6 steps completed. Now welcome your hr team on board. Introduce them to the organisation and let them take control of their functions. Make sure they are clear about the company’s policies, rules, and culture.
• Set high expectations – Let them know you’ve high expectations. The department should regularly generate new ideas, initiatives that lead to employee retention, increase employee productivity and overall profit.
• Feedback – You need to give regular feedback to the team and encourage them to discuss the complexities with you. This way, a healthy relationship is established between the management and the hr team. Also, you’ll know if the goals are being met or not; if not then why?

Setting up the HR team isn’t the end of it. 

Your organisation needs more than just an HR team to manage human resources. With the shift from processes to people the HRBP function has become more important than ever. 

What is an HR business partner?

HRBP is an experienced human resource professional (more like a consultant) who does not work with your internal hr department, but rather works directly with an organization’s senior leadership. The idea of a human resource business partner is to develop and direct an HR agenda that closely supports organizational goals. 

The person in this position determines objectives for the team and develops hr strategies that will help realise the organisation’s goal. 

Other responsibilities of an HRBP:

• Providing guidance on HR policies
• Working closely with workers to improve productivity, interaction, working relationships, retention rates and to boost morale
• Communicating with line management, suggesting HR strategies, addressing employee grievances
• Evaluating training programs, analyzing metrics and trends with HR
• Resolving employee grievances

The hr team is an integral part of your business that has the power to decide who you’ll work with. There is not just one way to structure the HR team. The size of the department depends on the number of employees. But make sure to give it the right shape and hire the best HR personnel keeping in mind your needs and goals.