Every business is a lot more than simply what its business model claims. The office space is an ant farm; a mini world of social mores and insider intricacies that must, without exception, lay down a foundation of stability without which no business, no matter how revolutionary, can survive.
I’m talking’ coffee grounds and post-a-notes here, people! I’m talkin’ layoff policies and political sensitivity.
I’m talkin’ human resources!
Michael Troy, president of human resource management company KnowledgePoint, warns that dot-com startups all too often overlook the importance of professional policy in a quest to create an “anti-corporate environment.” To curb that trend, KnowledgePoint announced this week that it has greatly expanded its “HRTools” offering, a content and services Web site that looks to fill the gaps in a startup’s HR needs.
The new site includes a bevy of advice for hiring, managing, developing and retaining employees, as well as professional guidance for keeping a company “legally compliant,” including direct techniques and a Q&A section for handling layoffs and preventing sexual harassment in the workplace. Twelve new “toolkits” have also been added to the site, each addressing specific areas like Recruitment, Performance Management, Training & Development, Benefits, etc., and each with tools, forms, checklists and training resources needed to perform the desired HR function.
Troy says the added services are a direct response to a revolutionary new business concept in today’s market; a strategy perhaps exemplified best in a recent TIME magazine CEO profile which quoted one stellar executive as saying, “the good ideas and venture capital money only get you so far sound management is critical for long-term success.”
“Here’s what you need to know, here’s what you need to do, and here are the tools and products to help you get there,” describes Michael George, VP of Internet services at the company. “Our mission is simple: If it can be done in HR, it can be done at HRTools.com.”
