When Does a Startup Need HR?
The honest answer isn't a headcount number. It's a set of symptoms — and most founders recognize at least three of them before they act.
Read →HR Foundation Build
Build the HR foundation the business actually needs.
It grew. The HR didn't.
The company grew. The People operating system didn't. We assess what exists, build what's missing, and leave you with something your team can run without us.
The problem
Inconsistent, manual, undocumented — or all three.
Policies written once and never revisited
Onboarding that depends on who's free that week
Performance as a calendar invite, not a process
Three versions of the employment contract
HR tech bought and half-configured
Managers with no infrastructure behind them
Nobody can produce the headcount number
Compliance gaps nobody has looked at
None of this is a crisis on its own. Together it's a function that can't support the next stage of the business.
What you get
Assessment, blueprint, build, handover.
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Current-state assessment
Every engagement starts here. What exists, what works, what's exposed, and what the business actually needs next.
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People Infrastructure Blueprint
Prioritized gaps and risks, sequenced by impact — so nobody builds the nice-to-have before the necessary.
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Foundation Build
We implement the agreed infrastructure. Policies, workflows, systems, documentation — built, not recommended.
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Operating Playbook
How the new processes actually work, written for the people who have to run them after we've gone.
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90-Day Roadmap
What should happen next, who owns it, and how you'll know it's working.
Standard deliverable
Automation Opportunity Map
Before we build a single process, every one of them goes through the same five questions. What comes out is a map of what should be eliminated, simplified, automated, AI-assisted or deliberately kept human — with the time it gives back.
- 01
Does this process need to exist?
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Can it be simpler?
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Can software automate it?
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Can AI improve it?
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What measurable outcome did we create?
Scope
What we assess and build
- HR operating model
- Policies and employee handbook
- Employee lifecycle
- Onboarding and offboarding
- Performance framework
- Manager infrastructure
- Compliance
- HR technology
- Reporting and People data
- Core workflows
- Employee self-service
- Automation and AI opportunities
Where we stop
Some of it belongs with specialists.
We identify the risk, design the process and coordinate the work — but legal opinions, payroll processing, benefits brokerage and heavy systems integration sit with qualified partners. We bring them in and stay accountable for the outcome.
Related reading
HR Checklist for a 50-Person Startup
The infrastructure a 50-person company should have in place, grouped by what breaks first when it's missing.
Read →Start with the assessment.
Tell us what the People function looks like today and we'll tell you what it needs next.