There are so many businesses that fail in their first year that many people are put off from starting a business at all. Those that do will require the full input and effort of everyone on board if they’re going to make it a success.
As an HR professional, it can sometimes be hard to know how you can make a telling contribution to the success of a startup. These simple tips will show you how to make a real difference…
Hire an Accountant to Keep on Top of the Numbers
One of the first things you should do is hire an accountant so that you have someone tracking the numbers. The early stage of a business can be a euphoric time as the big idea starts to get off the ground. In such instances, it can be all too easy to take your eye off the ball and fritter away a large amount of money.
Figures should never be an afterthought: they should be the thought. They’re what tells you objectively how the business is performing, and they’re what allows you to see the big picture. This is so important when you want to give the startup that’s hired you every chance of success. Make it one of your first priorities, and you’ll reap the rewards in the near future as things begin to gather pace.
Throw Away the Red Tape and Make Flexibility Your Friend
There’s nothing more important than playing to your strengths, and as a startup your big strength is flexibility. You might have performed HR functions at huge multinational companies with endless procedures, but that won’t work in the new environment you find yourself in.
If you want to make a positive contribution to the overall performance of the business, you need to get rid of all the red tape. See yourself as a tool that the rest of the company can put to use to carry out specific tasks. That way it will be clear to everyone that you’re one of the go-to people that gets stuff done.
This won’t just be good for the business, it will be good for your own progression. You’ll feel great about the contribution you make every day, and before you know it it’ll have been recognised in the form of promotion and higher remuneration. Ideal if you want to ride the wave that the startup is trying to start.
Identify Internal Resources That the Company Can Use
If you know that you’re in need of specialist assistance in a key area, you could high an external expert. Of course, they’ll be able to get the job done, but their expertise will always come at a price. Sometimes this will be unavoidable, but there are plenty of times when the solution to the issues you’re facing are right under your nose.
By performing a skills audit of all the staff on the books, you can identify any areas where people can collaborate and drive the business forward. This is great if you want to be able to make a real difference to the speed with which new products and services are developed.
Reach Out to the Rest of the Team and Keep on Top of Morale Issues
Morale is the lifeblood of any business because it’s what will allow you to get the most out of your team. We all know of working environments in which no one is happy, and they’re always the least productive places to be.
The truth is that it only takes one or two people in a team of half a dozen to bring the morale of the entire group down. If you want to be able to keep everyone pulling in the right direction, then you need to be able to identify personnel and morale issues before they get started.
By taking a proactive approach in the health and welfare of everyone in the business, you’ll be able to project an approachable and helpful image to the rest of the team. Something which will serve you well as the company expands and new faces become the norm.
Make Best Use of Industry Research
If you find you have a spare 15 minutes at the end of the day, why not research how some of your more established competitors structure things? This one isn’t about copying or emulating what they do; it’s more about analysing and assessing it.
Look into how they do things, and then ask yourself what you like and dislike about it. That way you’ll be able to identify potential pitfalls on your pathway to growth, and proactively take the steps that will avoid them. Perfect if you want to ensure that the business never has to go backwards to move forwards.