Most software-as-a-service (SaaS) companies begin as startups, starting with a small staff. Human resources (HR) might seem a far-flung future item that receives little attention in the planning phase. You need to plan your HR future from the outset though, especially with a SaaS company that typically starts online with all parties working remotely. Follow these tips used by successful SaaS companies to ensure the success of your SaaS project.
Tip 1: Structure your company for now and later.
Create an organizational chart for your current structure and a goal-setting organizational chart of how you want to grow. Structure helps you scale. Define company size by the number of employees instead of revenue generated and consider your growth stage, too. Each SaaS company falls into one of four types. Start with the type that best describes your SaaS company and its current phase of development. Create your current organizational structure chart and map out your planned future growth.
Type 1
Type 1 consists of five to 20 full-time employees and typically features about three founders with each one assuming a departmental role for which they qualify. These senior team members form the company core and will each eventually need to hire other employees.
Type 2
Type 2 consists of 25 to 50 full-time employees and represents the founding members’ initial stage of authority delegation to employees. It’s frequently marked by a reluctance on the part of founders to relinquish operational tasks to employees. Company leaders may require training from an outside source on leadership and management essentials, so they avoid the dangers of micromanaging or helicopter management. Clearly defined roles and position expectations can alleviate part of the problem.
Type 3
Type 3 consists of 50 to 100 full-time employees. At this point, founders typically transition to formal C-suite titles if they haven’t already. This includes the CEO, CTO, CMO, CRM and CFO, vice presidents, and directors.
Type 4
Type 4 consists of more than 100 full-time employees. At this growth stage, the company creates vice-president positions, typically for the departments of customer success, sales, and marketing. The company structure might also add regional directors to focus on the development of target markets with all of these positions reporting to the CMO.
Tip 2: Establish your company’s remote work policy.
Once you’ve nailed down your structure, you need to develop your HR policies. Formalize your company’s remote work policy, even if you just founded the company and everyone works remotely. The policy should cover schedule options, and work expectations, such as hours and tasks accomplished, plus company-provided tools. The latter creates a more realistic way for every employee to meet expectations since it creates an equitable level of tools. If as in-office employees, your staff would use company software, provide that for them while they work remotely, too. The same goes for Internet access and VPNs. While your company consists of founders, you probably all start on the same level with similar tools, but many SaaS companies continue to operate fully in the cloud, so planning now to provide work tools later alleviates problems. Using company software or subscriptions also creates a tracking of work accomplished. Include in this policy the expected frequency and method of communication.
Tip 3: Create a digital company culture for your firm.
Your SaaS company may work in the cloud but that doesn’t absolve you from developing a company culture. Your human resources department should help develop and set the organization’s culture, creating an atmosphere of respect and value that employees and contractors can enjoy working within. Use other SaaS applications, cloud apps, and video events, such as seasonal parties via Zoom or book clubs using Go To Meeting to create the feel of a water cooler without the physical meeting. Instead of a golf or bowling league, a fantasy football league or other online sports-related option offers all remote employees an opportunity to interact with co-workers outside of work.
Tip 4: Harness existing technologies.
Use technology and software to improve remote work by increasing productivity, making communication simpler, creating better project management, and offering easy-to-use data storage. Choosing an office suite and providing a professional subscription ensures that all employees use the same program. Opting for one messaging program, such as Skype, Slack, or Google Hangouts also empowers employees. When HR and IT work together from the outset to decide on appropriate work software and the company provides an official subscription to it, you enable work tracking while making available work tool equity. For help with this, turn to custom SaaS solutions to meet your company’s specific needs.
Tip 5: Offer an employee feedback platform.
Rather than waiting for your employees to reach out to you, make contact with each of them every few weeks to check in. Schedule a one-on-one meeting with each employee to discuss their work experience. In-office personnel typically bring up different problems than remote personnel, so prepare yourself for a diverse set of challenges to overcome.
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Operating a SaaS company includes challenges not faced by other businesses. The SaaS form of business has only existed for about two decades, so little educational materials exist on its operating procedures and best practices. At Strategics360.com, we work hard to change that by offering original research and actionable methods of SaaS company success.