Starting an HR Department from Scratch in a 300-Employee Company: Where Should I Begin?

Hi Anil,

Congratulations on securing a job as an HR trainee in a manufacturing company. Let me provide you with some insights into starting the HR department in your organization.

The company has been operational for the past 10 years without an HR department. It's commendable that they have now decided to establish one and have chosen you as an HR executive to oversee HR-related activities. While this is a great opportunity, it's understandable that you might feel overwhelmed about where to begin and what steps to take.

Considering the company has over 300 employees and expects you to sign a bond for 18 months to evaluate your performance and contributions, it's crucial to start on the right foot.

To kickstart the HR department effectively, you can begin by:

1. Conducting an HR audit to assess the current needs and gaps in HR functions.
2. Developing HR policies and procedures tailored to the company's requirements.
3. Implementing an efficient recruitment and onboarding process.
4. Establishing performance management systems.
5. Providing training and development opportunities for employees.
6. Ensuring compliance with labor laws and regulations.

Remember, building an HR department from scratch is a gradual process, so don't hesitate to seek guidance from senior HR professionals or industry resources.

Feel free to reach out to me via email at anil_kaura_86@yahoo.com for further assistance or clarification.

Best of luck in your new role as an HR executive!

Warm regards

Dear Anil,

Congratulations on getting the opportunity, man. I'm happy. As you said, you are the first recruit in HR. So there is plenty to do. I would suggest you go through the attached files which I got from the website. It would be a great help for you because these files are the contributions of Cite HR members.

Best of luck!

Regards,
Vipin

Why don't you put forward your proposal in terms of setting up HR? If they are acceptable to that, I guess there is no problem in going ahead with the bond. Provided you are willing to take on a challenge.

With regard to setting up the HR department, kindly search "citehr." For example, since you are new, just check this link (an already discussed thread):
https://www.citehr.com/152990-new-jo...r-manager.html

Please use the search tool; you will find many interesting ideas.

Dear Anil,

Don't just copy advice from forum members here. Apply your mind to what exactly are the business processes of your company and prepare an agenda to improve those HR processes to streamline overall business processes and the quality of work life. Start from statutory compliances, registration, renewal of licenses, drawing of plant and machinery, PF registration, ESIC registration, A/c No, etc., and then see possibilities of some training and development to improve waste management and efficiency, safety, and health awareness programs. Take some steps to improve administrative systems, etc.

Regards,
Bhajiya

Anil,

It is good to hear that you have been in a challenging role, and I feel that you should take it forward.

About setting up the department, it is difficult to manage 300+ employees by one person, so probably you can take someone from within the system (an admin guy or anybody else) to help you out.

Look at the policies and processes that they currently have in place. This will give you a roadmap to work with; if the unit is running with 300+ employees, they will surely have registrations, ESI, PF, and other IR matters in place.

You can focus on these areas:
1. Streamline the recruitment process.
2. Introduce the induction - prepare an HR manual (policies, processes, etc.).
3. Identify the training needs and suggest to management, if required.
4. Employee Connect - Meet regularly with the teams to understand their feelings and any issues they may have, and try to resolve them.

For now, I think these are the main areas of focus for you.

All the best.

Thanks,
- Mirza

Congrats, Anil! You have a big responsibility on your shoulders. Not many people are fortunate enough to get such a good opportunity!

Like you, I too was given the opportunity to set up an HR Department. My advice to you is to first research well what the current HR processes/practices are in organizations. You can do this by searching for "Best Practices in HR/Current Practices in HR" on the internet. Then draft a proposal suggesting how HR can be involved in your organization. You can then set up a meeting with your supervisor to discuss your proposal.

Please refer to the attached "Proposal for HR Functions" for your reference. Since I am working in a KPO with 50+ employees, I designed it according to my company's needs. You can get an idea from it.

Hope you find it useful.

Regards,

Rashee