How to avoid HR fails as a founder: 6 real-world examples

🔥 Founders, let’s talk HR fails 🔥 You’re amazing at building products, closing deals, or running a creative agency. Yet here you are, navigating vague promises, unclear policies, and onboarding mishaps that cost you time, trust, and money. Here are 6 cringe-y scenarios where winging it went hilariously (and expensively) wrong, and how to avoid them. These real-world examples prove what happens when founders guess their way through HR.  https://lnkd.in/eYgKHGw7

Most HR Departments of One are drowning because they confuse being responsive with being strategic. Here’s how to fix that without quitting your job or cloning yourself. 1. Separate “urgent” from “important.” If it won’t get your company sued, fined, or on the news, it’s probably not urgent. Start each day with three columns: 🔹 Must Do Today 🔹 Should Do This Week 🔹 Would Be Nice Someday. The first column gets your time. The others get scheduled, not ignored. 2. Systemize your repeat offenders. Every task you repeat more than twice deserves a checklist, template, or automation. Employee changes? Template. Onboarding? Template. Exit process? You guessed it. You’re not “too busy to document” you’re too busy because you haven’t. 3. Speak the business language. If you can tie HR work to money, risk, or time, you’ll finally get the attention you deserve. Instead of saying, “We need better onboarding,” try, “We’re losing $4,000 per new hire due to preventable turnover.” That’s how you go from HR firefighter to HR strategist. No one hands you that credibility - you build it by showing your work in business terms. If you’re ready to stop being the office therapist and start being the trusted advisor, follow me. I teach HR pros how to make the business listen - even when you’re a team of one.

🧭 5 HR Essentials Every Workplace Needs Whether you have 5 employees or 500, strong HR foundations keep your team aligned, engaged, and protected. Here are five must-haves every (small business and non-profits....are you listening?) workplace should have in place: 1️⃣ Employee Handbook – Your culture and compliance playbook. It sets expectations, defines policies, and keeps everyone on the same page. 2️⃣ Job Descriptions – Clear roles drive accountability and help team members understand how their work connects to the bigger picture. 3️⃣ Documented Employment Changes – Offers, promotions, and pay adjustments should always be in writing. Clarity prevents confusion and protects everyone involved. 4️⃣ Regular One-on-Ones – Forget the once-a-year review. Real growth happens in ongoing conversations where feedback, goals, and support flow both ways. 5️⃣ Organized Personnel Files – Keep all employee records secure, accurate, and up to date. Good systems save time and build trust. 💡 Bonus: A strong Onboarding & Offboarding Process — how you welcome people in (and how you send them off) says a lot about your culture. Great HR isn’t just about compliance, it’s about consistency, communication, and connection. 👉 Which of these areas could your workplace strengthen right now? #HRConsulting #LeadershipDevelopment #PeopleFirst #GrowWithKLO #EmployeeEngagement

Don’t follow this HR advice… ➜ “You don’t need HR until you’re 40+ employees.” It’s one of the most expensive myths growing companies believe. Because here’s the truth: HR isn’t about policies. It’s about building the foundation your team needs to grow without burnout, confusion, or chaos. When I work with SMEs, we don’t start with handbooks. We start with real questions: 1. What’s slowing your team down? 2. Where are decisions getting stuck? 3. What’s missing that would help your people thrive? That’s how you build systems that actually support growth, not just check compliance boxes. One company I worked with delayed hiring full-time staff for a year… because they feared “Hiring risk.” After we mapped a simple structure? They hired 3 employees in 3 months, and finally feel in control of their growth. So no, clarity doesn’t start with a 50-page manual. It starts with the right questions. Educate. Don’t over-engineer. P.S. What’s one “official” HR task you’ve been told to do, but secretly question?

❌ Common HR Pitfalls for Small Businesses ❌ When you’re growing fast, managing people can feel like the least urgent thing on your list. But in reality, a few simple HR missteps can cost you time, money, and your best people. Here are some common pitfalls we at Saxon HR Consultancy Ltd see business owners make (and how to avoid them): 👇 1️⃣ No written contracts or unclear terms “We’ll sort the paperwork later” often leads to confusion (and legal risk). 👉 Every employee should have a clear, signed contract — it protects both sides of the relationship. 2️⃣ Reactive hiring Hiring only when you’re desperate leads to rushed decisions. 👉 Always be building your talent pipeline — even when you’re not actively recruiting. 3️⃣ Ignoring onboarding You’ve spent weeks finding the right person — don’t lose them in week one. 👉 A simple onboarding checklist makes a huge difference to retention. 4️⃣ Not documenting performance issues It’s uncomfortable, so many people avoid it. But lack of documented discussions can come back to bite you later. 👉 Keep clear notes, set expectations and goals, and follow up regularly. 5️⃣ No clear policies or processes If your team doesn’t know how things work — from holidays to grievances — confusion and frustration follow. 👉 A few simple, written policies create fairness and consistency for everyone. ✨ HR doesn’t have to be complicated — it just needs to be intentional. A little structure early on builds trust, saves headaches, and helps your business scale with confidence. If you’re a small business owner who’s grown your team faster than your HR systems, you’re not alone — and it’s never too late to get the foundations right. #SmallBusiness #HRConsulting #PeopleStrategy #EmployeeExperience #Leadership #BusinessGrowth #CompanyCulture

You were doing HR the moment you hired your first person you just didn’t call it that yet. Every founder I talk to eventually realizes this. Somewhere between hiring employee number three and losing employee number six, they start to see that “HR” isn’t a department, it’s the connective tissue of the business. It’s the late-night Slack message checking in on someone who’s been quiet. It’s the awkward first attempt at giving feedback. It’s deciding to pay someone more because it’s the right thing to do, not because you had to. Founders often see HR as something they’ll “build later,” once the company is big enough. But the truth is, you’re already doing it, it just doesn’t have structure, language, or support yet. The invisible work you’re doing to make people feel safe, motivated, and seen is the foundation of your culture. The question isn’t whether you’re doing HR, it’s whether you’re doing it intentionally.

HR isn’t just the office of bad news. But sometimes, it sure feels that way. We get the terminations, the complaints, the “we need to talk” moments. And yes, that’s part of the job. But it’s not the whole story. Recently, my former colleague Nima J. Vahdat, CMB made the comment he should: “Check in with HR. They take on a lot of crap.” 🤫 HECK YES! was my response. The dialogue reminded me that when I was in corporate work, I started asking employees to say hello. Just "hi." My office was at the end of the hallway and sometimes I got stuck in there all day in between calls, meetings, and "hard conversations." A few employees (and one manager, thank you Cody McNeil) took me up on it. They’d swing by my desk, give a short hello or how ya doin'. It wasn’t much—but it meant everything. 💕 Because HR isn’t just here to clean up messes. We’re here to build trust, offer perspective, and support the humans behind the roles. So, if you’re a business owner or department head, here’s your nudge: Encourage your team to check in with HR before the storm. We're actually nice people (most of us). And if you’re in HR, ask for the hellos. You deserve them. ~~ Follow Sarah Lester, SHRM-CP for more perk up tips!

“Small HR Actions that Create Big Organizational Impact” “You Don’t Need a Title to Make a Difference in HR.” As a HR Executive, it’s easy to think big change only happens from the top. But in truth, HR transformation starts with small, consistent actions. Here’s what I’ve learned: ·      A simple conversation with an employee who feels unseen can turn into retention. ·      A creative onboarding tweak can transform first impressions into lasting commitment. ·      A thoughtful email to a new hire can set the tone for culture. HR is not just about policies and pay-roll, it’s about people moments that quietly shape the organization every day. Whether you’re drafting letters or coordinating interviews, you are shaping the employee experience. So, show up with purpose, empathy, and curiosity and you will see the ripple effect is real. #HumanResources #EmployeeExperience #HRExcellence #Motivation #PeopleFirst

Everyone thinks HR is just about following rules — hiring, firing, and handling paperwork. Let me tell you — it’s so much more than that. 𝗠𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗛𝗥 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗼𝗹𝗱 𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗱𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼𝗼 𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗹𝗲. The toughest part of HR isn’t managing tasks — it’s RETHINKING MINDSETS. It’s about questioning, evolving, and BREAKING OUT of “this is how we’ve always done it.” Because staying stuck in old patterns doesn’t solve new problems. HR isn’t just about enforcing policies. It’s about building trust, fostering growth, and creating workplaces where people ACTUALLY WANT TO STAY. It means: ✅ Asking why a process exists, and figuring out if it still works. ✅ Adapting policies to match how the world, and people, are changing. ✅ Pushing for better employee experiences. Yes, it’s hard to challenge traditions. Yes, it means having tough conversations. Yes, it’s ongoing work. But the key to great HR isn’t to just keep the system running. It’s to make the system better. Behind every decision, there’s someone trying to evolve an outdated system for the better. 𝗕𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗛𝗥, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗻𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂’𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗮𝗳𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴. 🟢 HR friends, when’s the last time you challenged the way something was done? Let’s hear it in the comments.

You’ve Reached... Not Your HR Department” At least once a week, we get a call like this: “Hi, is this HR?” “I need to talk to someone about my paycheck / PTO / hostile work environment / benefits / all of the above.” And we have to say: “This is The HR Innovator Group. We don’t work for your company... but we hope someone does.” Cue: awkward pause. Maybe a sigh. Definitely disappointment. And every time it happens, I think the same thing: Why don’t employees know how to reach their own HR team? Is it buried in a handbook? Sent once during onboarding? Guarded like a state secret? If the Google search “how to reach HR” leads to us instead of their actual employer… That’s not just a funny mistake. That’s a systems problem. 💡 Pro tip to every company out there: If your HR function is invisible, it’s not strategic, it’s inaccessible. HR shouldn’t be a mystery. It shouldn’t feel like finding the Bat-Signal just to ask a question about your 401(k). If employees are calling me instead of you… You might want to check your contact page. And your culture. #FridayFunny #HRConsulting #PeopleOps #InvisibleHR #ThingsHRConsultantsHear #TheHRInnovatorGroup