Struggling to Organize HR in a Chaotic SME: Any Advice for a Newbie?

Hi all, I am working in an SME that is not organized. As an HR professional, how can I make everything more organized? I am a fresher, so this task is a bit challenging for me. Please help me out and suggest something that I can do for the company.

Thanks and Regards,
A.G. Hegde

I work in the Gulf, and I don't know what an SME stands for in your part of the world, but I do know some tips on how to set up an HR Department.

• Develop a business plan on what the HR should be achieving.

• What are the HR objectives of your company?

• What functions is your HR department going to undertake?

• Divide these functions into tasks for employees.

• Determine how many employees are required for these functions to be performed, i.e., Training & Development Officer, Performance Appraisal Officer, Payment & Benefits Officer, Employee Relations Officer, Recruitment Officer, and overall department manager (label as desired).

• Develop job descriptions from this list of functions.

• In the job descriptions, determine the organization's educational requirements for these employees, their grade, their salary, and required experience as a starter.

• Start your advertising and recruiting.

Trust me, it is not an easy task to do; you will require help from a consultant if you are not up to it.

Best of luck all the same.

Tips for Restructuring HR Department

Recruitment Process

1. Manpower Planning
2. Manpower Requisition Form - approved by MD/CEO
3. Advertisement - manpower consultants - known sources - from existing employees
4. Company Application Form
5. Recruitment - Conduct interview - selection - appointment letter - joining formalities - induction - then deployment
6. Make simple appraisal to assess the performance of new/existing employees
7. Confirmation/increment letters
8. Promotion letter in case of promotion

Statutory Compliance

- Go through various labor enactments and ensure compliance on time (Factory Act/Shops and Establishment Act, PF, ESI, Gratuity Act, Minimum Wages Act, Payment of Wages Act, Equal Remuneration Act, Labor Welfare Fund Act, etc.)

- Personal data of employees - Personal file of individual employee

- Standing Order certification from the Labor Department

- Employees' service rules

- Various Policies - Travel Policy, reimbursement of local conveyance and food, vehicle policy for top employees, canteen, commutation policy, promotion policy, recruitment policy, training policy, etc. - Depending upon the company/management.

Please contact if you have any queries.

Regards,
Shiva Prasad Shetty
[Email Removed For Privacy Reasons]

Dear Mr. Shiva Prasad, you provided me with a brief idea of what I can do. Thank you so much; it is very helpful to me. If you could send me the sample policies and other material, it would be helpful for me.

Thanks and Regards,
A.G. Hegde

HR Compliance in SMEs: A Balanced Approach

SMEs sometimes cannot afford a bulky HR setup. No doubt HR compliance brings about more talented human resources to the organization, yet it is sometimes not possible for a small and medium enterprise to incur the money on merely recruiting people, which can otherwise be reinvested in the business to grow.

Implementing HR Policies: A Step-by-Step Guide

Do not take a big leap from the get-go. Please be careful while implementing HR policies so that they do not put a heavy financial burden on the organization. Go slow to serve your purpose. Do things bit by bit, and when positive results are evident, take the next step.