Best-In-Class HR Practices Without An HR Department (No Kidding!)

Believe-it-or-not, my previous workplace had no Human Resources Division for 17 years. I joined the company eight years after it was founded when it had less than a thousand employees.

The recruitment function was handled by the Executive Assistant to the General Manager, and a colleague in the finance team managed the PF and allied matters. The policies came from the founders, and many of there were industry-firsts.

Crafting a Culture of Care

1. When I joined, those working in the office beyond 9 pm could order dinner from wherever they wanted up to a specific budget – a handsome amount in those times. You could order your preferred dish from your favourite restaurant (if it had a delivery option).
2. A year later, when the headcount significantly increased, dinner was served in a buffet. The food was so good that some bachelors preferred to stay back citing work to avoid cooking at home. 😊
3. It started the practice of providing evening snack boxes to all employees.
4. The founders would bring back fancy chocolates for everyone when they returned from a foreign tour.
5. On Deepawali, all employees, irrespective of their joining date or position in the organisation’s hierarchy were entitled to a bonus, which for people at the junior-most grade amounted to almost equivalent to their annual salary. Right from the General Manager down to housekeeping and pantry staff, everyone received the same cash amount.
6. The office provided cabs for pick up and drop if you had to come to work early morning or leave for home late evening. If a female employee was travelling alone in a cab, a security guard would accompany her. The cab driver was instructed not to leave before the lady entered her home.
7. The founders would be the first to arrive and among the last to leave at the annual office party and would ensure you had the time of your life.
8. Free medical insurance was provided to employees and their families. If any accident, illness, or injury occurred in the line of duty or even while commuting to work, the company took care of its staff till they returned to good health.
9. Imagine being paid for six months after childbirth while on leave at a time when, legally, Indian workplaces were required to offer a 12-week maternity leave policy.

I worked for nine years, and the HR team was formed only after I checked out. The company had grown large, and it was no longer possible to manage without it.

The Transformative Power of People Practices

The company’s founders had a strong sense of social responsibility and employee welfare and believed that happy employees would lead to happy customers and shareholders. Employees were treated as family members and were given autonomy and flexibility in their work. The company celebrated its achievements and milestones with its employees. Every success was toasted in the newsroom with cake and champagne.

The benefits of having such people practices were evident in the company’s growth and success. The company had a loyal and engaged workforce that stayed with the company for long periods. The turnover rate was low compared to the industry average. The productivity and performance of the employees were also high as they felt valued and motivated by the company.

HR practices are about more than just policies and procedures. They are about creating a culture and environment that supports and nurtures your employees. They are about aligning your vision and values with your actions and decisions. They are about making your employees feel part of something bigger than themselves.

This tale of this company’s journey without a dedicated HR department is a testament to the power of visionary leadership and innovative people practices. While their circumstances can be unique, the underlying principles can guide any organisation to foster a harmonious, empowered, and high-performing workforce.

Whether you’re starting up or already established, nurturing a workplace culture that aligns values, nurtures talents, and uplifts spirits will ultimately lead to triumphs that extend far beyond the confines of HR protocols. This story should serve as a beacon of inspiration, igniting the spark of transformative people practices within your organisation, daring to think outside the conventional HR Box.

Finally, it all stems from the top. Much of what I experienced in my previous workplace flowed from its founders –Radhika & Prannoy Roy. Their actions demonstrated the age-old adage, “Where there’s a will, there’s a way”, and paved the way for some of these practices to be accepted and adopted in the industry.

Their love and care extended to former employees too. I can never forget how they offered a job to a former employee who met with an accident that paralysed his body. He was picked up and dropped off by an office car daily and would try to make himself useful in any way his reduced brain faculties could handle.

This is only one example. Everyone who worked there would have one such story.

What I learned just by observing the Roys has taught me some invaluable lessons that I hope stay with me for life.

“True wealth is of the heart, not of the purse” – Og Mandino

The Roys embody the spirit of kindness. The wealth that they have accumulated over decades cannot be bought with money.