No corporate playbooks: How HR can drive big impact in small companies

When I started in HR, I was an education major with a background in professional stage management, trying to figure out how I fit into the corporate world. I read every piece of business advice I could find but found the advice didn't directly apply to me. I had to adapt it.

Those early lessons in adapting served me well as I moved through the corporate world. When I landed my first leadership role, I was a standalone HR Director. I desperately wanted to make an immediate impact, but again, the advice didn’t fit. It was geared toward big companies, with big budgets. I had no budget, there was little process—and even less policy. I was their first strategic HR hire. I had no roadmap and the CEO was looking to me to identify the “what” and the “how.”  Over the years this scenario occurred over and over again, and with each job I learned more and more. With the intention of making the road I’ve traveled a little easier for those who follow, here is what I’ve learned about making a big impact in a small company.

1. Build trust – you will not be effective without it

Brené Brown says in her book, Dare to Lead, “It turns out that trust is in fact earned in the smallest of moments. It is earned not through heroic deeds, or even highly visible actions, but through paying attention, listening, and gestures of genuine care and connection.”

When I join a company, I set up 30-minute meetings with key stakeholders and, where possible, every employee. In the first 10 minutes I share my philosophy of HR, how I hope to partner with them, and any big picture goals; in the next 10 minutes I ask about their experience at the company and with HR; and in the last 10 minutes I invite them to share pain points.

I take note of what is important to them - hobbies, kids, motivations, or bad HR experiences. Referencing these notes when we collaborate allows me to genuinely connect and build a small foundation of trust.

Once you’ve begun to build that trust, you reinforce it by solving problems.

2. Solve problems, big AND small

In my introductory meetings, I gain insight into systemic issues, communication problems, staff friction, and more. Often, there are issues that the C-Suite has no idea about. Pairing that insight with company goals provides me with a north star of sorts, but larger issues take time to solve. Instead, you want to make an immediate impact, so I solve smaller problems that are big for employees, but easy because of my skillset and experience. For example, I created a system to fill open positions more efficiently, addressed performance issues with an employee a manager had been told was untouchable due to their FMLA (Family and Medical Leave Act) status, and helped an employee navigate their healthcare benefits.

While these may not be directly related to the larger goals of the company, they build trust and create a better work environment. When larger initiatives are introduced, you have earned the benefit of the doubt which helps with buy-in.

KCSA's CHRO says one-on-one meetings are key to building trust

3. Be flexible and see the bigger picture

Small companies have limited financial and human capital resources so priorities shift regularly. There are times when you make a proposal, get approval, move forward, and BAM…priorities shift and you no longer have funding. Maybe staff are reacting to external forces and additional change would be too stressful, or funding is needed for a more pressing issue. Being able to pivot, see the bigger picture, and support will help solidify you as not just a leader of HR, but of the company.

Small companies also tend to have an all-hands-on-deck culture. Sometimes, flexibility goes beyond day-to-day pivots and means doing tasks not typically in your job description.

Back in October 2012, I started as a senior generalist at a company located on 34^th Street in Manhattan. In my second week of work, Hurricane Sandy crippled the city and our workforce. Everything below 35^th Street was without power. We had employees whose homes were underwater and most of our senior leadership was without power and unable to leave their neighborhood because of debris. Our systems were down, because in addition to our main office lacking power, our backup system was in Queens, also without power.

I - who was not senior leadership - and our in-house legal counsel (whom to this day I am deeply grateful for), lived uptown and were the only two with consistent sources of power. I asked her if there was a business continuity plan. There was not, so I started to triage. We collected contact information and asked managers to contact their teams to make sure they were safe.

I established twice-daily conference calls where senior management would confirm employee status, prioritize and assign tasks, and work to get the company up and running again. Working from my apartment, and acting as a central point of communication became my first real contribution to the company. After the crisis passed, I was trusted to build a business continuity plan to prevent future disruptions, but more importantly, I built a solid foundation of trust that bolstered me throughout my time there.

Nothing I did during that time was in my job description, but I solved a big problem, I supported where I could, and from that day forward I had a seat at the table.

Create your own roadmaps

You don’t need a natural disaster to prove you’re a team player and gain trust. Maybe you help plan a company party because that person is on leave, or support the use of a budget set aside for employee wellness programs to fix an IT security vulnerability that puts the company at risk. Identify where your skillsets can be the most impactful, and don’t be afraid to utilize them.

At the start of my leadership career, I had to adapt big-budget advice to fit my small-team reality.  I hope these lessons help you do the same. The best leaders don’t just follow roadmap, we create our own. Build trust, solve problems, and be flexible – and you’ll guide your company to success.

Katie Roland is the Chief Human Resources Officer at KCSA Strategic Communications, a mid-sized agency delivering a unique brand of integrated communications that combines passionate, persuasive storytelling with pioneering strategies.