Full HR department which can help the organization grow - how to start, develop and design?

Setting Up a New HR Team for Business Transformation

My friend, who is an industrial plastic manufacturing industrialist, is working on setting up his new business vertical—digitalization of the entire organization and implementing supply chain solutions. He wants to establish the HR team first, which can handle the transformation by setting up policies, managing employee relations, recruitment, onboarding, succession planning, and performance management—essentially a full-fledged HR department that can aid in his organization's growth.

I kindly request all senior HR business partners and managers in the forum to provide basic guidance on how to initiate, develop, and design the entire setup.

Thanks in advance.

Going by the list of your requirements to establish the HR department, it appears that you did not have an HR department at all. Therefore, at this stage, the only solution that can be offered is to appoint either an HR Manager or GM (HR) and let them handle the rest of the job. When recruiting the candidate, ensure they have worked under a senior HR professional in their past career.

About HR Business Partner (HRBP)

There is nothing like HRBP. HR professionals have a penchant for developing new concepts to enhance their profession. By creating such new concepts, it is their way of gaining visibility or staying relevant. Why do finance professionals not say that they are "Finance Business Partners" or production professionals do not say they are "Production Business Partners"? Why does HR alone feel the need to become a business partner? By coining these new terms, HR is attempting to fight an identity crisis which they have been doing all along since the birth of the function itself. Coining new phrases has not helped HR in gaining much power. They are as disempowered as personnel managers were in the past era.

Call it whatever name you prefer, HR's basic roles and functions remain the same. Moreover, your requirement is to establish the HR department from scratch. Therefore, your initial requirement is to fulfill the requirements of the Personnel Department from the past. Then, you need to evolve it into an HR department and eventually move towards euphemisms like "HRBP." You may leapfrog to HRBP, but it could be risky as you might neglect some basics that were covered in the Personnel Department. By the time you realize what you have neglected, it could be too late to undo the damage.

Thanks,

Dinesh Divekar

Setting Up an HR Department from Scratch

Thank you for your query regarding HR rules and setting up an HR department. Recently, I provided the following rules and forms to establish an HR department from scratch, where no HR/Personnel Department or Personnel File existed, and no company application, appointment order, or other forms for HR administration, operation, and business purposes were available to regularize the services of employees who have been working for several years.

1. Company Application/Bio-data Form (2 Pages, 40+ Points): All employees must fill up and submit certificate copies as proof of qualification, experience, and last drawn salary to open a personal file for every employee.

2. HOD Meeting and Circular: Call a meeting and issue a circular to submit company applications by all employees with certificate copies.

3. Collection of Company Applications: Circular to all HODs to collect company applications from all employees and transmit them to the MD/HR.

4. Letter Format: For all employees to submit company applications and certificate copies to the MD/HR.

5. Checklist for Opening Personal Files: For all employees.

6. Recruitment Process: Shortlist candidates, interview, selection, appointment, and induction. (Interview assessment by panel members and application for appointment by MD) - Form.

7. Induction Process Schedule: Advise all HODs to brief new employees (on joining) about company policy, general rules and regulations, standing orders, rules of discipline, misconduct, do's and don'ts, company and employee duties and responsibilities, department work, safety, leave rules, etc.

8. Circular for New Employees: To HODs regarding the joining of new employees with all details for accounts, PF, ESI, etc.

9. Appointment Order: For below supervisory employees - 20 important terms and conditions - 5 pages.

10. Appointment Order for Officers and Above: 35 important terms and conditions - 7 pages.

11. Manpower and Succession Planning: Statements to plan and recruit employees.

12. Grading of Employees: Based on qualification, experience, service, salary, etc.

13. Categorizing Employees: Based on the existing grades of all employees.

14. Master List of Employees: Seniority-wise for management information system.

15. Category-wise Master List: For management information system.

16. Leave Rules: 6 CL, 6 SL, 24 PL/EL - short and long leave, extra work, compensatory off, maternity benefits rules.

17. Leave Card: To take leave - 1 card per employee for one year.

18. Circular to Introduce Leave Card: To HODs.

19. Leave Register: To record leave availed - statutory.

20. Extra Work and Compensatory Off Register: Statutory.

21. Compensatory Off Application Form: To notify HR department regarding extra work done, compensatory off taken, sanctioned.

22. Attendance and Absence Notification Form: VAOS - Voluntary Abandonment of Service.

23. Advance for Company Works Form.

24. Expense Submission Form: For company works.

25. Travel Allowance Expenses Form.

26. Indent Form: For booking flight, railway/bus ticket, room, food, etc.

27. Out Pass Form: HODs authorization to go out during duty hours.

28. OOD Form: HODs authorization to go out for company works.

29. Standing Orders for Certification: Important terms and conditions, do's, don'ts, duties.

30. Standing Orders Certification Procedures: Letter to DLC, exhibiting on notice board, intimation to all employees for compliance, etc.

31. ISO Certification Procedures: Documentation of reports, records.

32. Statutory Compliance Forms: Under different acts, contractors, and contract laborers.

33. Travel Allowance Rules: Simple.

34. Performance Assessment Form: Seniors to evaluate aptitude to regularize trainees, casuals, promotion, annual increment, salary increase, transfer, training, and development, etc.

35. Performance Appraisal Form: Seniors to discuss performance with employees to consider career growth/progression/change/development.

36. Self-Appraisal Form: Employees to fill up and seniors to evaluate to consider the above (supervisory+).

37. Disciplinary Process: Show cause notice, charge sheet, enquiry, suspension, dismissal.

38. Resignation, Retirement, Termination Procedures: Notice period, exit interview, relieving procedures.

39. No Due Certificate: To intimate balance accounts (for recovery from final settlement) of resigned/left employees.

40. Final Settlement Form: To settle employees' accounts while separating.

41. Service Certificate: Issued on relieving to help employees submit for PF, pension, etc.

42. Accident and Incident Report: To report injury or property loss, damage for management information and follow-up action.

Due to space constraints, the list may appear disorganized.

Regards, Omanmo

Yes, Mr. Dinesh Divekar, I appreciate your views on the evolution of HR. HR is changing its face from Personnel Management to HRM to HRD to HRBP to HRO, etc. With each transformation of HR, organizations are looking for certain value additions.

Value Addition of HRBP

The value addition of HRBP is significant, as HR professionals will be more involved with the core business and will develop their own strategies to enhance the business using the following steps:

- Hiring the right talent as required by the business.
- Providing proper induction and encouraging employees to align with the organization's vision and mission.
- Training them as per industry/organizational requirements.
- Ensuring proper orientation for both employee and employer growth, with orientation being a continuous process.
- HRBP should also engage with customers, understand their requirements, and implement any necessary changes.
- Having knowledge of assessing the financials of organizations, which many HR professionals are not typically involved in.
- Engaging employees in their respective verticals.

In general, nowadays, unlike HR professionals, HRBPs do not handle most of the personnel management assignments such as payroll, statutory compliance, etc.