Discover the testimony of Justine JEANNE who gives us her vision of the job of HRD in a structure different from the big companies: the start-up.
Being HR in a start-up
“At first glance, the Human Resources department, more commonly known as “HR” and “Start-Up” are two terms that are rarely associated in the same sentence. Start-up is more about innovation, the future, modernity. On the other hand, two visions exist alongside HR: a more archaic world with numerous procedures or, on the other hand, the famous “CHO”: the Chief Happiness Officer, whose missions may remain unclear. We seem to be at the opposite end of the spectrum, and above all we ask ourselves this question: what is the reality of HR in start-ups?
And for good reason, it is difficult to locate the famous HR office in these new structures where young people under 30 in jeans, sneakers and eating only pizza reign in the collective imagination.
First news: in a start-up, not everyone is under 30, not everyone dresses in jeans and sneakers, and the pizza diet is not the norm either.
The second piece of news is that employees in this type of structure have the same needs in terms of skills, training, remuneration but also on the administrative and social side as in other companies. Also, the label “Start-up” or “Fintech” does not allow to get rid of all legal and conventional obligations: single document of risk assessment, CSE, compulsory postings, to mention only a very small minority.
So in concrete terms, what does being HR in a start-up entail?
Being HR in a start-up means first of all finding the right skills at the right time and putting them in the right place: unearthing the famous talents is one of the key issues of success. It is therefore important to have an adapted process and a relevant pool of candidates. This way, you participate in the success of the company. Without having the right human resources in place, the company cannot deliver.
But the work doesn’t stop there: once the employees have been hired, they must be integrated, their skills must be upgraded, they must be trained, they must be retained, they must be motivated, their well-being must be improved, and they must be fairly compensated…
Being HR means responding to and accompanying employees on a daily basis, and to do this, it means being with them and having an office among them to better understand their daily problems.
Being HR also means guaranteeing compliance and respect for the legal framework: from the very first hiring, but also over time by following the company’s evolution and especially its growth in terms of employees.
Being HR in a start-up also means supporting the CEO: he will be able to unload on us all the administrative, social and payroll issues that he does not have time to deal with. The CEO has a thousand ideas a minute and often few hours for his topics: he is interested but does not always have the time or the skills: you can’t improvise HR!
We could go on and on with this list, but it should be noted that each company is different and “HR” cannot be summarized as a start-up!
In the end, being HR in a start-up means being versatile and juggling all situations. Let’s keep in mind that humans are unpredictable, everyone reacts differently, and each workday completes the previous one and brings questions for the next!”
-The job of HRD-
Justine JEANNE
HR within ASTON iTF
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