Remember the time when a question took the entire world of HR by storm:

Is there any need for an HR person in a startup?

Startups at the time were figuring out how to ride this wave, and a lot of businesses started being inquisitive about the role of their HR teams and if they are adding value to the business bottom-line.

While this article is not about whether startups should have or not have HR but one thing we all agree that the onset of startups changed the role or defined the #NextCurve of HR. How? Read on to know more:

The offbeat but ‘cool’ office culture 

If there is one thing that makes startups stand apart from the big corporations, is their ability to innovate, experiment, and maintain a quirky culture.

Take this example of Zomato India’s Trial Week. Trial week is a program where engineers are hired to work at Zomato for a week. The company takes care of the travel expenses, and food is on the house, like for every other employee. This is an excellent way for both the employee and Zomato to gauge the actual work experience first hand, without committing.

Another company, Buffer has a concept called Open Salaries wherein the company provides the information about how an employee's salary is calculated. The company has a formula to calculate salaries and these are shared with the whole team. Open salaries are a step towards the ultimate goal of Buffer being an Open Company.

Startups: The millennials-attracting machine

Millennials seek from their employers to value their contribution, which gives them a sense that they are actually making a difference and not just following a process. At the same time, they are a generation that wants work-life balance and would much rather prefer a workplace that allows them to leverage technology for flexible and remote working than one that bogs them down with a 9 to 5 routine. 

Offering next-gen rewards and benefits

From gift coupons to travel during holidays to paying for your internships, startups offered the best and most luxurious perks and benefits that companies are offering this year.

Take this instance of VMWare. The company recognizes employees who have been with the company for four, six, eight, and 12 years. At each of these milestones, employees get certain amount of money that they can give to any charity of their choice. At the 12 year mark, they’re given $12,000 for this purpose. 

Startups get a lot of advice. One of the most confusing pieces of advice is perhaps the question of when and how a company should add HR or People functions. The right time to adding HR function is still a conundrum for many startups. However, one thing is sure that they compelled HR function to reinvent the overall wheel of employee experience.