Step-by-step guide: How to set up your own in-house HR department

Hiring your own HR department is one of the costliest ways to get the HR support you need, so this isn’t a money-saving exercise. Let’s be clear about that.

Instead, your company has decided to make a strategic investment in your people and future.

You’ve decided to hire a team that is dedicated to looking after your people, their productivity and their success.

And by creating a happier, more productive workforce, you’ll see increased turnover and profits as a result.

This is the return on your investment.

However, hiring your own HR department is no easy task. Especially when you don’t know what makes a great HR professional.

That’s why we’re here to offer our expertise to bridge the gap and to take away the stress of this task.

We can help you hire, onboard and develop your new team until they’re ready to take over and be a success.

This guide talks you through our process and the steps we’ll take to do this for you.

Let’s get started…

The first two steps are all about getting your house in order.

Step 1: Goal setting

Before you hire your team, you need to be clear on what your company goals are, what your new HR team looks like and what your expectations of them are.

There are lots of things to consider here and we’ll be able to walk you through this process to ensure everything is thought through, giving us the best possible starting point.

We may consider completing employee surveys at this point to give us more insights into what needs to be worked on and prioritised. This will help us when it comes to creating your People Plan and Roadmap.

Step 2: Create a People Plan and Roadmap

A People Plan is an extension of a Business Plan – it’s an important, strategic document that outlines the management and development of your HR and people.

In other words, how are you going to use your people to help you achieve your business goals? This is what your People Plan will answer.

To that end, we’ll create a People Plan for you based on your goals.

This will not only create a Roadmap of things for us to work on, but it will also highlight what skills we need from your own HR team, which is important before we start hiring.

Are you looking for an HR strategist who works more with overseeing, or do you need someone who can be more involved in day-to-day responsibilities? Do you need them to be familiar with your particular industry and any specific regulations around that, or is this not important?

All of these things will be discussed with you and agreed upon before the hiring stage.

Step 3: Hiring

Once we know what type of team and people we’re looking for, we can then go ahead and start to recruit for the position.

We’ll sort everything for you: the job ad, initial screenings and interviews.

You can be involved as little or as much as you’d like, but it’s important for you to be part of the main interview process, as your new HR Director or Manager will be an integral part of the leadership team.

Our expertise throughout this process is crucial to help you find the best person for the job and negotiate the most competitive package.

Step 4: Onboarding

Onboarding your new HR team in the right way is super important.

Our first job is to help them learn more about you, as a company, and your vision, so that they can understand what is required of them.

Luckily this will be easy because we’ve created the People Plan. This will outline everything for them and will act as their Roadmap, ensuring that they’re onboarded as quickly and easily as possible.

The goal of onboarding is to get your new HR team to the point where they can run the show and start working on projects to achieve key objectives.

They’ll need to be involved in this process, but the outline of their work will already have been decided and agreed between us, so you’ll know what to expect.

Step 5: Training and development

Every day is a school day in HR. We never stop learning. And your new team may need some additional training and support to ensure they feel confident.

Throughout the hiring and onboarding process, we’ll keep a close eye on your new team to highlight any training and development opportunities that may be beneficial.

Once discussed with you, we can then go ahead and get this training organised.

Investing in your new team in this way, is a great way to show your support and to engage your new HR team.

Step 6: Handing over

Once your team are ready to take over, we’ll agree on a phased handing-over process to ensure there aren’t any disruptions to current operations and projects.

Step 7: Ongoing support

As your new team settles in, you may have some questions or concerns. Equally, they may have some questions and concerns too. That’s why we’re here, on call, to bridge the gap and to iron anything out that may need addressing.

Time for a chat?

Setting up an in-house HR department can feel daunting, but with the help of an experienced HR consultant, you can get your new team up and running in no time.

If you would like a confidential chat about this then please get in touch.