HR essentials for startups

Debbie currently serves as the head of business development at Gift Card Indonesia. She was a recruitment branding specialist at PT Astra International where she trained more than 1,200 top university students in preparation for their careers. You can connect with her on LinkedIn here.

How important human resource director (HRD) is? At what scale does a startup need a one dedicated HR person?

One thing you need to understand: HR is not a division or a role. Every director, every founder, and every manager is a HR manager. You do not manage machines or technologies. You manage humans.

That means you have to understand the ins and outs of managing humans. But when you paraphrase this art into human resources management (HRM), it sounds like a non-mandatory specialist function.

So what are the elements of HR that you – as the founder, director, or manager – have to master?

1. Hiring

Like how you would make your product/service appealing for your clients, you have to make your startup company appealing to your future employees. Top talents are not desperate to accept any job offer right away — they are chased after, looked for, and persuaded by many companies. You need to catch their attention, and later on the job, dedication.

2. Managing performance

There are so many candidates who have been lured in during the recruitment phase, but have been let down once they join the company. To ensure s/he delivers wow performance like you have expected, you need to be sure that these two things have been communicated clearly:

• The SMART goal(s) they have to achieve
• The support system you provide (budget, team member, mentor, etc)

3. Rewarding

We assume that you are already familiar with Maslow hierarchy of needs. Make sure that you give them the exact reward they need. Bonus, extra leave, appreciation, and autonomy — combine all of them to give the right rewards.