Professional Documents
Culture Documents
the Ground Up
Overview
HR staffing plan.
HR budget.
Tax obligations.
Payroll system/administration.
Companywide staffing plan.
Job descriptions.
Pay structure.
Benefits plans.
Employee handbook.
Safety procedures.
Employment posters.
Hiring procedures.
Personnel files.
Performance evaluation process.
Many small organizations start out with the owner or a non-HR executive handling
employment issues. Someone must oversee administrative duties and policies
concerning pay and benefits, unemployment compensation, withholding taxes and
administering workers' compensation, if applicable. As organizations grow,
department managers may handle general employee issues, while accounting or
finance handles payroll. Or organizations may use outside consultants to address
temporary needs.
See Staffing the Human Resource Function and Meet the People Behind Your HR
Outsourcing.
HR budget
Projections may be simple or complicated and will heavily depend on the nature of
the expenses and the data available. HR managers preparing a budget for the first
time will need to gather every source of available data to make educated
projections. See What Is Involved in Developing an HR Budget? and The
Language of Business.
Tax obligations
New organizations must be registered with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). HR
will need to check that the organization has a federal employer identification
number (EIN) and is registered with state and local revenue agencies for payroll
tax purposes. Depending on the size and structure of the organization, these
functions may be handled by the accounting or finance departments.
See:
Old Age Survivor and Disability Insurance (OASDI) (Social Security Administration)
Complying with U.S. Wage and Hour and Wage Payment Laws
HR should work with management to gain an understanding of the short- and long-
term staffing needs and budget. A staffing plan will determine the composition and
content of the workforce required to position the organization for current and future
business objectives. Working with the owners, founders or management, HR
creates a three- to six-month staffing plan and budget to determine how much time
and activity need to be expended on properly staffing the organization. Longer-
term staffing plans may influence HR department staffing needs as well.
See:
How do we develop a staffing plan?
How does the use of trend analysis fit into the overall workplace planning process?
If HR does not have an accurate list of open positions, the first step is to compile
one. With the open position list in hand, HR works with hiring managers to lay out a
recruiting plan. This is a good time to raise concerns about the assignment, such
as an insufficient budget allocation. The recruiting plan should include skill sets
required, HR employees involved in the interviewing process and responsible for
hiring decisions, sources to be used (such as media, agencies, colleges or the
Internet), realistic timelines, and resources required (budget, staff time and
training).
Next, HR should determine the best sourcing activities for meeting the
organization's staffing needs. Available sources may include networking,
organization website job postings, job boards, recruiting firms, social networking
sites, employee referrals, job or career fairs, and college recruiting.
See:
Job descriptions
A job description is a useful, plain-language tool that explains the tasks, duties,
function and responsibilities of a position. It details who performs a specific type of
work, how that work is to be completed, and the frequency and the purpose of the
work as it relates to the organization's mission and goals. Job descriptions are
used for a variety of reasons, such as determining salary levels, conducting
performance reviews, clarifying missions, establishing titles and pay grades, and
creating reasonable accommodation controls, and as a tool for recruiting. Job
descriptions are useful in career planning, offering training exercises and
establishing legal requirements for compliance purposes. A job description gives
an employee a clear and concise resource to be used as a guide for job
performance. Likewise, a supervisor can use a job description as a measuring tool
to ensure that the employee is meeting job expectations
See:
Pay structure
Developing a fair and competitive pay structure is one major aspect in attracting
and retaining talent. Building a market-based pay structure from scratch
encompasses several steps:
See:
The organization needs to determine what benefits are mandatory and what
voluntary benefits it wants to provide employees. Does it want to offer any paid
holidays or other paid time off (PTO) such as vacation, sick, personal days or a
PTO bank that combines all leave?
Other valuable benefits include group health benefits (including medical, dental
and vision insurance), disability insurance (short- or long-term disability), life
insurance, flexible spending accounts, employee assistance programs, and
pension and retirement plan options (e.g., 401(k) and individual retirement
accounts, or IRAs).
Mandatory benefits include workers' compensation insurance and unemployment
insurance under state laws. In addition, some states mandate paid disability
insurance and/or paid sick leave for employees. Employers should check their
states' laws for more information on required benefits.
See:
Small organizations may start off providing only a few benefits and then offer more
benefits as they grow. Other small employers may want to offer a comprehensive
benefits package to help attract and retain talent. See 2018 Employee Benefits
Research Report and One-Third of Companies Increase Employee Benefits in War
for Talent, SHRM Survey Finds.
Organizations often enlist the help of a benefits broker to obtain benefits quotes
from providers in the area and to compare benefits offerings against the
budget. See What should my company consider when selecting a benefits broker?
Employee handbook
Safety procedures
Employees have the right to work in a safe and healthy work environment. The
Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (OSH Act) legislation ushered in a
significant body of regulations designed to protect the health and safety of every
U.S. worker and placed the primary responsibility for health and safety on the
employer. See OSHA: Employer Responsibilities.
The OSH Act's general duty clause requires every employer to "furnish to each of
his employees employment and a place of employment which are free from
recognized hazards that are causing or are likely to cause death or serious
physical harm to his employees." This means that employers are obligated to
identify hazards within their own workplaces and take actions to eliminate these
hazards even when there is no specific OSHA standard requiring such.
Knowing the relevant state laws related to safety is helpful as well. Whereas many
states follow OSHA regulations, other states have passed more stringent or
specific safety regulations.
Employment posters
Employers are required to post relevant federal and state employment law posters
in each facility where employees can readily see them. See What posters do I
need, and how do I comply with these requirements? and SHRMStore Labor Law
Posters
Hiring procedures
The hiring process includes multiple steps and various practices, including the use
of application forms, interviews and pre-employment testing. Whether to use a
written employment contract and the terms of an employment offer also come into
play at this stage. Finally, HR must oversee the process of organizational entry,
referred to as "onboarding" or "orientation."
See:
All employees of a new business need to complete a Form I-9 verifying eligibility to
work in the United States and federal and state tax withholding forms. Employers
are also required to submit new-hire reports to state agencies.
Personnel files
Human resource records are the repository of personal, organizational and legal
data and documents concerning individual employees and their relationship with
the employer. Many liability issues can result from improperly maintaining
employment records. See What should, and should not, be included in the
personnel file? and Complying with Employment Record Requirements
The performance review process includes both continuous informal feedback and
periodic—usually annual—formal feedback. An organization's HR department is
typically the linchpin of the effective and efficient administration of the performance
management system. Having an educated HR team that is well-prepared to train
the organization's managers in the system and to assist them when they have
issues or questions is critical to the smooth functioning of the
process. See Managing Employee Performance and How to Establish a
Performance Improvement Plan.
Starting an HR Department in an Existing Organization
HR assessment or audit
See:
Next, HR professionals should create a plan and share it with senior management
to gain input and, most important, buy-in. The next step is to summarize overall
impressions and prioritize specific action items based on the assessment results,
keeping in mind budget implications for each item.
HR managers should classify these projects and actions as high, medium and low
priority, according to legal compliance and benefit to the organization. Next, they
should develop a timeline for action on the highest-priority items that can be
accomplished in the next three to six months; included would be cost projections,
why the tasks need to be done and the anticipated end results. When presenting a
plan to senior management, HR professionals should be prepared, brief and direct,
and anticipate what questions might be asked. They should also discuss how these
actions will affect the bottom line—demonstrating how a human resource
department benefits the organization's operations in terms of profit, productivity,
increased business, reduced liability and employee satisfaction.
See Benchmarking Human Capital Metrics
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