Tech Capital Partners Blog

I have been considering what to write about for my first Human Resources blog post. Many topics come to mind – HR best practices, hot topics in the various functional areas of Human Resources, talent attraction and retention in a time that lives up to The War for Talent, the changing face of recruitment with Web 2.0, social networking sites and the many emerging online recruitment tools, to name a few.

I decided to start with some thoughts on Human Resources from an early-stage company perspective. Whether your company is at a point where it can support a full-time HR person or not, here are a few practices and/or processes that cover off some basics very early on.

1. Recruit the best – hire the best, hire better than yourself – we all know this right? When I speak with prospective candidates about our Portfolio companies, I consistently speak to three things: the people, the technology and the work environment (employee and corporate). Smart, passionate, dedicated people want to work with people who are smarter than they are, people they can learn from, and this especially seems to hold true in technical environments.
2. Create a solid foundation for growth – regardless of your company’s funding plan (self-sufficient/generating revenue from the start or angel/venture capital financed), at some point you will be need to rely on the foundation of legal agreements you have put in place. Implementing Employment Contracts, Confidentiality, Non-Disclosure, Non-Solicit and Non-Compete Agreements, and Stock Option Agreements are important, even at an early-stage. Some may believe they can rely on one set of agreements as the company is getting started and then reevaluate these agreements as the company grows but consistency in agreements is important. Having employees sign new agreements down the road can create various challenges, legal and other, that make it much easier to execute one standard form up front.
3. Treat your employees well – employees that join early-stage technology companies work extremely hard and tend to do whatever it takes to build a successful company. Giving ALL employees a stake in the company through stock options, ensuring equity in compensation, creating a comfortable work environment, and covering off all of the perks that make it fun to come to work will foster a positive work atmosphere and help with employee attraction and retention.
4. Communicate – monthly (or more often) all staff communication meetings ensure that everyone in the organization stays on the same page. Updates on company wins, product development, financial results, and new team members ensure that all employees are on the same page, aware of key customer commitments and the consequences for missed deliverables. Each employee has a vested interest in making the company successful and is best positioned to do so with knowledge.

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