Every company deserves good HR fundamentals – the building blocks you need to take care of your employees’ needs and treat them well. You probably know there are things you need early on like a compliant handbook and inclusive hiring processes. You may not have internal HR yet, and you might not even have a lot to spend. We’ve heard from plenty of early-stage startup founders that even $5k is too high a price tag and outside of their budget in the early days of growth.
Our goal is to help create access to the HR tools and processes that are going to help you grow while creating a healthy, inclusive culture. That’s why Reverb has designed a set of affordable, high-quality HR and people development options with startups in mind.
Our best-kept secret? We don’t just offer nonprofit discounts – early-stage startups, B Corps, and other purpose-driven organizations and/or minority-owned companies may also qualify for a discount.
Everyone needs a compliant, readable employee handbook.
What are some of the things you need to get right early on so they don’t derail you later? The first thing that comes to mind is usually your employee handbook, closely followed by other HR compliance policies and requirements. You probably don’t know exactly what those are, but you know they’re important to make sure you’re doing things right and to help mitigate risk.
I once worked with two founders of a twenty-person company. They had downloaded ten sample employee handbooks from different websites and were trying to merge them together. Instead, they decided to outsource their handbook and policies so they could focus on the best use of their time, building their product, and finding customers. This is why we created an HR Starter Kit – so that busy leaders can focus on their day jobs, and HR experts can help them get their HR basics in place.
Problem: “I don’t know what I don’t know about HR.”
Solution: HR Starter Kit
Price: Under $2,000
What’s included:
- One-on-one time with an experienced HR consultant to help you customize your handbook and policies, and prioritize what needs to get done now.
- Tools and resources including twenty customizable templates and benchmarking data.
- HR best practices guides:
- Inclusive interviewing and hiring
- Effective new hire onboarding
- Creating an intentional culture and values
- Prioritizing diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB), managing compensation, performance management, and more.
Did you know manager quality has a direct impact on employee wellbeing?
The next challenge that comes up for fast-growing companies is that they need people managers. Often, startups promote from within because they already have people who are passionate about the product and have demonstrated strong performance. That’s a great place to start! But remember new managers need help building the skills required to successfully manage teams. Unfortunately, according to Slate, nearly 100% of managers believe they need more training, and that lack of expertise directly affects their teams.
Did you know that managers have an outsized impact on people’s experience at work, and even on their well-being? According to Forbes “New data suggests that for almost 70% of people, their manager has more impact on their mental health than their therapist or their doctor—and it’s equal to the impact of their partner.” This is yet another reminder of why we need to invest in manager training.
Problem: “We’re growing! I have new people managers, and they need training.”
Solution: Management 101: Practical Skills for Great People Leaders
Price: $199 per person/cost decreases with groups of 10 or more
What’s included:
- Interactive modules on building trust, giving feedback, delegation, and more.
- Workbook including thought-provoking exercises and activities
- Facilitated virtual community discussions hosted by Reverb
- Resource library with relevant books, articles, and podcasts
Where do your employees go for advice or when they need a sounding board?
As you continue to grow, it’s not only managers and senior leaders who need support. All employees including individual contributors run into situations where they’re looking for guidance. Often when employees encounter a challenging situation for the first time, whether that’s not seeing eye to eye with their manager or struggling to collaborate with peers, they don’t have the skills to manage it on their own.
People may be reluctant to reach out to HR or their manager, for a variety of reasons. They’re more likely to talk to friends or colleagues, which can help but only to a point. There may be personal details they don’t want to share that are interfering with their work. A proactive solution is offering people a place they can go to get real-time help, which will also help them navigate more easily in the future. We believe in confidential spot coaching as a way to offer everyone the help they need when they need it.
Problem: How can I help people who are struggling and worried about confidentiality?
Solution: Spot Coaching
Price: $500 – 1500
How it works:
- Spot coaching is short-term and results-oriented
- It helps people solve problems, improve relationships, and put new skills into practice.
- An employee meets with a coach one to three times.
- Coaching is focused on a specific goal or situation.
- You decide who’s eligible and for how many sessions.
In summary, your business is too valuable to leave HR to chance. You want to get your HR basics in place early to take care of your people and protect the company. Developing managers and supporting employees helps with wellbeing which leads to loyalty as well as increased productivity and engagement. We build for startups and these tools are designed to be budget-friendly so cost should not be an issue. What are you waiting for? Let’s start the conversation.
