SHUTTERSTOCK ILLUSTRATION
siders vacation time earned income, so
you have to pay any accrued vacation
when someone quits. You can have a
maximum accrual level, but you can’t
have a use-it-or-lose-it policy. Vacation
time is critical for most job candidates,
so check out what your competitors do
— and match or beat it. Make sure you
set a maximum accrual; otherwise, if
you have an employee who never takes
time off and then quits, you have to
pay out a vast amount of money. That’s
not good for your business or their
mental health.
Sick leave is another benefit important
to potential employees. In California,
employers must provide and allow
employees to use at least 24 hours or
three days of paid leave per year, and
some local jurisdictions such as San
Francisco require more. (You can see
why you want a local HR consultant and
an employment attorney advising you.)
Other benefits and perks can wait
until you have a staff to see what they
think is important. Want to offer free
lunches to lure people from the Googles
of the world? People you hire might
have food allergies or dietary requirements.
Want to have a dry cleaner come
by once a week to pick up clothes? That
wouldn’t make sense if everyone is
wearing jeans and T-shirts. So assess
your staff first before deciding on these
kinds of perks.
Determine your culture
It’s a new business, and you’re the boss,
so you get to choose. But you can’t say,
“We have a free-thinking, open-door
policy” and then yell at anyone the
second they ask questions. But is on-site
attendance mandatory, or can people
work at home at will? Are hours strict
or flexible?
Think through what you’re comfortable
with. Employees love flexibility,
but if it will drive you crazy to not have
everyone at their desks by 8:05 a.m.,
be upfront about it. There are plenty of
people who also enjoy this type of workplace.
Don’t pretend to be something
you are not.
Get all your legal policies
in order
Your consultant should have a template
for you. It will include things like
at-will and nondiscrimination policies,
employee conduct guidelines, expense
reimbursement, and other things you
haven’t considered. You don’t want to
accidentally violate a law because you’ve
never heard of it.
Put it all into a handbook
Your handbook is an important tool in
explaining the culture and the rules.
Your handbook legally binds you, so
make sure it says what you want it to
and is compliant with federal, state and
local laws.
Get an HR information system
Sure, you can do everything in a spreadsheet,
but please don’t. There are a lot
of options for small businesses that are
relatively inexpensive and will make
your life more comfortable in the long
run. There are rules regarding employee
data, and a professionally run HR information
system can help you follow them.
I realize everything discussed here
has dollar signs attached, and you may
be panicking about how much it costs
just to develop policies. Still, a good,
legally vetted handbook at the start of
your business will save you thousands of
dollars later on.
Suzanne Lucas spent 10 years in corporate
human resources, where she hired,
fired, managed the numbers and doublechecked
with the lawyers. On Twitter
@RealEvilHRLady. Send questions to
[email protected].
How did you handle human
resources for your startup
company?
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