The technology sector is growing rapidly. Innovation in new software products to support all facets of life such is becoming the norm - artificial intelligence, machine learning, data science, cloud, and the list goes on. Canada is a global leader and many start-ups are scaling up rapidly to sizes where founding teams and leaders need to pay close attention to their employees. These companies can no longer manage teams like they did when they were small. They need to build a strong and effective HR strategy to attract, engage and retain the best talent possible. If you think you can just read articles on Medium and wing it? Think again. You'll fail, and your competitors will leap far ahead of you. The employee experience matters more than anything else in business today. Your employees hold the key to your success. They always have and they always will, more so now in today's highly competitive labour market. This guide was created from 20 years of HR leadership experience working with dozens of leading Canadian companies. Take note that what your company does needs to be unique to your company. If you think you can take this deck and slam dunk it successfully into your organization, you're dreaming. But, I hope this will help.

1. HR Planning for Success
SMB Tech Companies
www.jeffwaldman.ca Jeff Waldman

2. My i s y
on H ...
Bla l l … b a
b a b ...

3. TALENT
ATTRACTION
TALENT
ENGAGEMENT
TALENT
RETENTION
EMPLOYEE
Organizational Values
Organizational Values
OrganizationalValues
OrganizationalValues
Employee
Experience

4. HR views employees like
Marketing views customers
The Experience Matters

5. Everything I do follows these principles...
HR is
Business -
Engagement
is King
Employee
Feedback &
Participation
Matters
Constantly
Iterating w/
Employees
Values Drive
Behaviour &
Decisions
Employee Experience

6. Zero - Six Months
Getting Up to
Speed
Recruiting
HR Tech
Stack
Compensation
New
Employee
Onboarding
Employer
Brand

7. Getting Up to Speed
● Gain clarity on all facets of the
business.
● Begin to establish working
relationships and credibility.
● Start to learn and understand the
unique company culture.
Objectives
● 1-on-1 meetings with each business unit lead.
● Meet with the Board (if one exists) and/or advisors.
● Participate in team meetings, stand-ups, events, etc…
● Review important documents - financials, strategy, etc…
● Help resolve “long hanging fruit” HR-related items.
Activities
Listen & Ask
Questions
Immerse
Myself Into
the Business
Identify
Brand
Channels
Strategize &
Launch

8. Recruiting
● Understand what we are doing
currently - processes.
● Understand challenges.
● Get acquainted with software.
Objectives
● Map current organizational design and needs.
● Understand what tools we are currently using.
● Build and map future organizational design and related
hiring plan (i.e. workforce plan).
● Build recruiting strategy - focus on talent pipelining,
enhancing processes and leveraging tools.
Activities
Demand &
Supply
Forecasting -
Talent
Pipelining
Candidate
Experience -
Align to
Values
Leveraging
Employee &
Network
Referrals
Technology &
Online

9. New Employee Onboarding
● Understand what we are doing
currently - processes.
● Understand if we’re maximizing
new hire experience.
Objectives
● Map current onboarding process - leveraging existing
processes and software?
● Feedback from employees on current experience - the
great and areas of opportunity.
● If required, enhance current process.
Activities
Workplace
Culture
Company
Vision
Positive
Experience

10. Compensation
● Market competitive.
● Internally equitable.
● Incenting desired behaviours.
Objectives
● Map current compensation practices.
● Evaluate current compensation against 3 objectives -
leverage my own process.
Activities
Identify Job
Levels - Slot
Jobs
Market
Research
Create Pay
Bands
Assess
Make
Changes as
Required

11. HR Tech Stack
● Are we optimizing? Efficiency and cost.
● Are processes clear? Can we scale as we grow?
● Where are the gaps?
Payroll Recruiting HRIS
Agile
Performance
Collaboration

12. Employer Brand
● Understand brand perception
internally and externally.
● Enhance our ability to influence
the brand to our audiences.
Objectives
● Understand brand perception of our 2 core audiences -
current employees and employee prospects.
● Identify employee value proposition - align to values.
● Strategize - career site, online properties.
● Employee participation - strategize, launch, ongoing.
Activities
Identify
Goals
Identify
Employee
Value
Proposition
Identify
Brand
Channels
Strategize &
Launch

13. Six - Twelve Months
Agile
Performance
Personal
Development
& Growth

14. Agile Performance
● Understand what we are doing
currently - tools and processes.
● Enhance if required.
● Note: critical to align employee
and company goals.
Objectives
● Map out current performance management process.
● Feedback from employees on current experience -
what’s working and not working?
● Evaluate skills of people managers.
● Make changes - get employee feedback - iterate.
Activities
Goal Setting
- More
Frequent
Managers
Coaching
Employees -
Leadership
Continuous
Feedback &
Support
Faster
Moving -
Collaborative
& Publicize

15. Personal Development & Growth
● Understand what we are doing
currently - tools and processes.
● Enhance if required.
● Note: core influencing factor to
boost employee engagement.
Objectives
● Map out current practices - get employee feed on
current experience - what’s working and not working?
● Assess if we’re effectively integrating personal
development into performance management.
● Make changes - get employee feedback - iterate.
Activities
Career
Pathing - “I
see a future
for me longer
term”
On-the-Job
Experiential
Learning
Stretch
Projects
Fully
Integrated
Into
Performance
Management

16. Deliver. Win. Repeat.