Startup HR Toolkit and Coaching

68% of Startup Failures are Due to People and Culture Issues.

Don’t Take People for Granted.

Why Work With Us for Your Startup’s Interim HR and People Strategy? It’s a No-Brainer!

We understand how important it is for a startup to be cost-efficient during different growth stages. Unfortunately, people and culture often get sacrificed during this time, which can spell disaster for a startup longer term. That’s why our Startup HR Toolkit and “Lean People Strategy as a Service” framework for Startups and SMBs is flexible and customizable to companies at different stages and capital structures.

We help you postpone or avoid the large cost and risk of bringing on a full-time Head of HR/People by providing best-in-class interim HR leadership. With our tools and training, we’ve helped startups reduce operating costs for HR up to 55% using our framework.

Here’s how we’re different:

Our small but mighty team have all been strategic people strategy and change management leaders at top companies across various industries. So, we bring a strong business focus to the people ops function to boost your ROI.

Our toolkit uses advanced people analytics tools and partners to measure your company’s unique needs and help you fill urgent roles faster.

We utilize our expertise in HR training and coaching to improve employee engagement and team productivity.

You get your startup’s unique HR and People Strategy Playbook as part of the HR toolkit. This contains your People Strategy roadmap, key processes, compensation strategy, learning and development, career paths, and more.

Ultimately, our toolkit and services can replace the cost of hiring a full-time HR leader for up to 12 months, saving you tons on your costs!

Read a case study of our Startup HR Toolkit in action here

Our Interim HR Offerings

A Helping Hand (1-3 months)

Best for companies of 30 employees or under

Mini-organizational effectiveness assessment

Usually includes…

-Recruiting support

– Full Startup HR Toolkit

– Culture and DEI support

-2 hours of Team leader/manager coaching

– Ideal compensation framework

– Employee Handbook

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A Shoulder to Lean On(3-6 months)

Our full talent and organizational assessment

Our people analytics tool to cut recruiting time in half

Usually includes Everything in a Helping Hand PLUS….

– Ideal Recruiting process

-Career paths mapping and succession plan

– Communications and operations improvement

– Lightweight info sharing/data governance process

-Learning and development strategy

-Diversity and inclusion

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A Full Mind-Body Experience(6-12 months)

Best if you need interim HR Leadership

Usually includes Everything in a Shoulder to Lean On PLUS….

– Ideal org and team design/re-design

– Strategic short and long-term people strategy roadmap

– Learning and development plan and implementation

– Change management as needed

– Your company’s People and Culture Playbook

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We create value for startups by combining our unique expertise in…

Data and Analytics

Business Strategy

Neuroscience and Behavior

…And Some Creativity and the Arts

What is My Company’s Culture? A Quick Company Culture Assessment

Coaching in the Workplace, People and Culture

Our team often get asked two questions:

1. How do I know what my company culture is? and

2. How do you change it?

Well, you could say these are both “loaded questions”!

#2 is something that if we had a formula or recipe for, we would be out of work. It is so rich, nuanced, and complex.

But here is one of our frameworks for answering #1 with a quick company culture assessment.

A Super Quick Company Culture Assessment

Each organization lives somewhere on a series of spectra.

To discover your organizational culture and how healthy/unhealthy it is, there are a few levers to analyze. While a full company culture assessment can’t be done without a significantly more detailed assessment, this mini-assessment can give an individual leader or employee a snapshot.

Rather than overthinking, I encourage you to just note your immediate impulse on where your company falls.

Where would you rank your company on a scale of 1-5 for each of these words?

Competitive(1) — — — 2— — — —3 —— — —4 — — — —(5)Collaborative

Passive Aggressive(1) — 2— — — —3 — —4— (5)Open Communication

Status Quo(1) — — — — 2— — — —3 — — — —4 — — — -(5)Innovative

Hierarchical(1) — — — 2— — — —3 — — — — 4— — — —(5)Flat

Uniform(1) — — — 2— — — —3 — — — — —4 — — — — — -(5)Diverse

Favoritism(1) — — — —2 — — — —3 — — — —4 — — — — — -(5)Fair

Cliquey(1) — — — 2— — — — — 3— — — — — 4— — — — — -(5)Inclusive

No Work Life Balance(1) — —2– — -3— — 4— — (5)High Work Life Balance

Resentful Employees(1) — —2 — —3 —— 4 — — — -(5)Engaged Employees

Low Autonomy (1)— — —2 — —- 3 — — — —4 — — (5)High Autonomy

Opaque Leadership(1) — —2 — —3 — — —4 — — (5)Transparent Leadership

Siloed Teams(1) — — —2 — — — 3— — — -4 — — (5)Collaborative Teams

Now, add up your score.

If you scored 45–60: Your culture is pretty good! Sure you have some problems, but who doesn’t? Overall, you are working in a company that DOES prioritize culture, and so if you find anything you think can be improved, speak up.

If you scored 20–44: Meh….things could certainly be better. It’s up you if it’s tolerable or not. You’re not in a horrible situation, especially if they’re paying you well. Just don’t let the toxic parts of your culture rub off on you- be mindful. Try to change things for the better where you can.

If you scored below 20: Oh dear. Your company needs some drastic measures to improve employee engagement and overall performance. Talent and culture are the lifeblood of the organization(literally!). They can’t be neglected the way they are at your organization.

How healthy is your organization’s culture? And the more important question is, are you ok with it?