A startup’s path to success begins on day one, but many businesses forget to prioritize the power of Human Resource (HR) teams to get across the finish line. In a recent spotlight with CEO World Magazine, Laura A. Cooper, Esq., CEO of Cooper HR Solutions, spoke out on the strategic power of HR and its unique ability to help startups achieve profitability and sustainable growth from the moment the new company launches.
With 20 years of experience in Human Resources, Laura Cooper is well-acquainted with how companies generally approach HR work. Most companies use HR teams to manage paperwork and compliance, but this CEO believes that traditional expectations are far from the discipline’s true value.
Instead, Laura recommends expanding the role of HR to leverage profitability-focused HR strategies starting on day one to avoid expensive pitfalls and empower startups to reach their full financial potential, citing these strategies as equally important as financing and products. Prioritizing strong HR solutions straight out of the gate can provide critical enhancements to a startup’s development process, and making these approaches a priority early on can help companies in several ways, including supporting the startup’s operational and financial runway.
“A great culture is only as great as the worst behavior it tolerates. When companies have empty values that they don’t implement, they lose tremendous ground by failing to align impactful attributes into hiring, performance, and business practices. However, when company values and behaviors are meaningful and regularly rewarded, employee morale and productivity exponentially grow, accelerating productivity as well as market share,” Cooper explained in the CEO World Magazine article.
She also encourages effective workforce planning aligned with strategic goals so start-ups don’t lose precious cash from expensive overhiring or mis-hiring, which can cost a fortune to endure or rectify.
Building an ideal culture starts with recruiting, another critical component that Laura calls out when exploring culture, profitability, and prosperity. To grow effectively, she explains that startups need top-quality talent in their workforce, and finding those high performers is completely dependent upon the recruiting process. “Recruiting correctly, both strategically and operationally, can accelerate startup growth by catching the attention of aligned top talent, exciting them about the mission, and installing them in the company where their talents and skills will be put to amazing use,” shared Cooper.
Strategic Human Resources strategies empower startups to turn each new project into a success, allowing them to meet their goals along the way. While many startups rely on people they know to bring their businesses to life early on, failing to seek out top talent that fits the role can have detrimental effects. Cooper recommends doing a deep dive to understand fit and behavior needs for each role to help staff companies for success.
Once the top performers are hired, Cooper explains that companies must continue to create an environment that continuously incentivizes high performance; she recommends a culture focused on meritocracy. Identifying and incentivizing employees based on merit significantly improves company performance. It also fosters teams filled with high achievers who are aligned through a strong emotional commitment to the growth and success of the company as well as themselves.
“Overall Company performance improves rapidly when employees perceive the organization’s commitment to individual performance. When optimizing their workforce, she advises startups to prioritize two key areas: addressing low performance and enhancing employee retention.”
Working with countless startups has taught this HR veteran that startups often prioritize fast and furious growth to achieve market share, but often lose sight of strategic solutions that can help them achieve profitability, which is just as important. If a startup wants to grow and achieve sustainable profitability, Cooper HR Solutions’ Laura Cooper recommends the prioritization of HR foundations as a core part of the business strategy.
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