What would you do if you just graduated from college and got a great job doing HR at a startup? Cheer, right? What if the company size doubled, and they fired the HR consultant and now it’s you? Alone. With 100 employees, and continuing to grow rapidly?
ReWork has started an advice column with me! (yay). Come on over and read this: Dear ReWorker, How do I manage a 100 person company as an HR team of 1?
I stepped into an HR role with no experience, no support, and 115 employees. Google was my best friend, along with my state’s Dept of Labor website. I also would call payroll, our 401K company, our employment lawyer, anyone really, and very politely ask for as much help as they could give with profuse thanks afterwards. I also re-did our handbook and had it reviewed by a lawyer; again, Google policies for guidance.
Only other thing I’d suggest is to join your local SHRM chapter and start building a network of other HR pros you can tap for help/advise and use as a sounding board. There are naturally going to be situations you encounter that are unfamiliar given the fact you’re only a year out of school. But they won’t all be new to others in the field. Find some HR friends!