HR in SMEs - does size matter?

Claudia Fernandez Sainz, Head of People and Culture at work orchestration platform Shakers sheds light on whether size matters when it comes to heading up people management in an SME.

Claudia Fernandez Sainz

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Head of People and Culture, Shakers

Is HR different in an SME?

Yes, definitely. The people and culture team is central to Shakers. We play a key role in shaping the business and supporting its growth.

As a scaleup, we need to build an environment where junior team members can develop quickly, while also welcoming experienced senior hires who bring leadership and expertise. Balancing those needs can be challenging, but it also makes the team stronger.

Our team is relatively young, so one of our priorities is investing in internal career development. Promoting someone to a managerial role when they may have never held one before is risky without proper training, tools, and ongoing support. Our HR team makes sure that these young professionals are properly set up to build their careers.

What are the key HR initiatives you are working on at Shakers?

As Shakers continues to grow, it’s essential that we keep our processes agile. We plan to double our workforce by December 2025, growing from under 50 employees at the end of 2024 to around 100. We’ve developed new selection processes to accommodate this, such as by implementing an applicant tracking system to streamline vacancy management and automate routine steps as well as using standardised scorecards to evaluate the same core skills across all interviews, so we can compare feedback more effectively.

This kind of forethought helps to ensure new hires are completely aligned with our values and prepared to thrive during Shakers' growth phase. Our turnover rate is less than 8%, which is exceptionally low for our sector and reflects the strength of our approach to hiring.