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Many of the best HR people in small businesses don’t have any formal experience. What they do have is determination, curiosity, and a desire to improve the experience for all. While this can help you succeed in the role, everyone benefits from access to the best tools.
Whether you’re just starting out in your HR career or this is one of many hats you wear, the right HR software can make a huge difference. Instead of dealing with fragmented systems and spreadsheets, you can confidently manage data and navigate HR tasks like a professional.
There are plenty of HR platforms out there, but we believe there’s one that’s better than all the others for non-experts. Discover why Charlie is the ideal choice for non-HR professionals in small businesses.
Common challenges people with no HR experience face
HR can seem complicated, especially if you’re not familiar with it. With legislation, policies, and processes involved, it can introduce worry and confusion.
Some of the most common challenges we hear about include:
- Not knowing where to start
- Worried about getting something wrong
- Fear of making a legal or compliance mistake
- Not knowing what documents you need or which processes to set up
- Wasting time looking for templates
- Managing people admin alongside other responsibilities
- Worried about looking bad in front of a manager
- Not knowing what software and support is out there
These concerns are all completely normal, and most HR professionals and non-experts have dealt with some or all of these in the past. But the good news is that the right software can reduce or eliminate your worries and empower your confidence.
James Chessum, Founder at Red5 People
“Before Charlie, we were like sitting ducks with HR. I now feel so much more in control of what happens at the company, and it’s all automated.”
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Why CharlieHR is built for people with no HR experience
Historically, HR software had a reputation for being old-fashioned, difficult to use, and overly complicated. With Charlie, we wanted to make sure our platform was as easy to use as possible, with all the features you need and no distractions.
We’ve designed Charlie to be ideal for small business owners and non-HR experts, with benefits like:
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Clear and intuitive UI: A simple and modern interface, with no HR jargon, unnecessary workflows, or complicated settings.
- Ready-to-go processes: Customise your workflows, or use our ready-made processes for onboarding, time-off management, and performance reviews.
- Templates and automations: Save time with pre-built templates and policies, and settings to automate repetitive tasks.
- Built-in compliance: Make compliance easier with automatic reminders, secure processes, and compliant data storage.
- No training required: Get started straight away, set everything up in a day, and roll out access to team members with no training needed.
Charlie isn’t like traditional HR software. It’s a platform that has everything you need to take care of HR admin in a simple, streamlined, and confident way.
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Charlie’s best features for beginners
Every feature, workflow, and process within Charlie is designed to be easy to use, but there are some elements that are especially helpful for non-HR experts:
Onboarding
Our onboarding feature allows you to welcome new hires to your company and to your all-in-one HR platform in a fast and easy way. New hires can submit all the details you need, and you can take care of compliance from day one.
Highlights for non-experts:
- Collect employee data seamlessly
- Allow new hires to submit information
- Create or customise an onboarding flow
- Share information about the company
- Handle Right to Work checks
- Built for compliance with UK employment laws
Time off management
Every organisation needs a way to record different types of time off like holidays, sick leave, and more. Charlie’s time-off management feature enables you to request and approve leave, handle public holidays, and manage time from a shared calendar.
Benefits for non-experts:
- Meets legal requirements for UK employment law
- Easy self-service leave requests
- Simplified leave approval system
- Includes automatic leave carryover
- Bank holidays included
- Adjust to your own holiday policies
- No need to do manual calculations
Employee data
Charlie’s approach to employee data brings all your information to one place where it’s stored securely and easy to access. Create a single source of truth with an employee database, company-wide docs, and self-service access.
Highlights for non-experts:
- All mandatory fields are included
- No need to create your own forms or spreadsheets
- Data automatically updates
- All files, policies, and company documents in one place
- Data is securely stored
Performance management
Regular reviews and check-ins are a useful way to support, nurture, and develop employees. Charlie’s performance reviews give you an effective way to drive growth, without reinventing the wheel every time.
Benefits for non-experts:
- Helpful workflow for first time reviews
- Simple review builder
- Automatic launch and reminders
- Track progress with user-friendly dashboard
- Templates created by HR experts
Jonathan North – Head of Ops at Fix Radio
“It’s a great solution when you’re looking for a quick set up and a very intuitive UI. It’s also budget friendly which is exactly what small businesses like us are looking for, so go for it.”
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How Charlie can help you solve your HR tech issues
It’s clear that the fix isn’t to add more tools or try and manage with software that’s not fit for purpose. In most cases, simplifying your HR tools as much as possible is the route forward.
Here’s how Charlie can solve your tech overwhelm and cost issues.
All your HR tools in one place
With Charlie, all your must-have features are in one platform. Everything from your employee data and time-off management, to employee engagement and performance reviews happens in the same place.
All your data is stored securely in one location, and there’s no more hunting around to find the right spreadsheet or single-purpose app. You can manage your HR operations smoothly from one dashboard.
Easy to use
The last thing you or your team members want is to spend hours in training sessions. Charlie is user-friendly, and everything from the simple DIY onboarding to using the platform has been designed with ease-of-use in mind.
Your dashboard is clear and uncluttered, with alerts and notifications in the right place. Navigating between features is easy, and it’s clear how you complete tasks, goals, and processes. Charlie is designed to be easy to use whether you’re an admin or an end user.
Fit for small businesses looking to grow
You might be a small business now, but scaling and growth could be in your future. If you have plans to grow, you’ll be glad to know that Charlie can scale with you.
Nurture your company culture and support development with effective performance reviews. Keep team members engaged with polls and perks. And when you’re ready to hire at scale, consider investing in Charlie Recruit.
HR confidence without HR experience - join our customers
After dealing with challenging HR situations, James Chessum, the founder of Red5 People, knew they needed processes that they could rely on. With all the HR tasks falling on him, he needed a solution quickly.
James found Charlie and was impressed not only with the platform, but the optional Charlie Advice service.
James Chessum, Founder at Red5 People
“Life is pretty scary without Charlie. It’s so simple and reassuring, and it had a massive impact on our business on top of being budget-friendly. The HR advisors we work with just make us feel like they’re part of the team, always in our corner for support. We finally feel like a proper company with Charlie by our side.”
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Charlie has helped reduce anxiety and increase confidence for other businesses, too. James Gill, CEO at GoSquared, recognised that HR was just one of many areas he was responsible for — and that he wanted to get it right.
Signing up for Charlie allowed James and the team to take care of HR and compliance basics, and create a better employee experience.
James Gill, CEO at GoSquared
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“From day one, we got access to a safe place to keep all employee information. We had a smooth time-off process that literally ran by itself. We’ve never forgotten a team member’s birthday since. Charlie makes it harder to forget or ignore important issues, which helps reduce a lot of anxiety. It has helped us avoid making a lot of silly mistakes.”
Manage HR like an expert, even if you’re not (yet)
It’s normal to worry about taking care of HR properly at the start — it shows that you’re a good leader that wants to do the right thing for their team. But that worry doesn’t have to stick around. Turn your concern into confidence with the right HR software.
Book a demo with our expert team to discover how you can use Charlie to manage HR like a professional, even if it’s completely new to you. They’ll take you through all the features and answer any questions, then you can use our no-commitment free trial to explore the platform on your own — with the help of our friendly support team if you need them, of course.
Written by:
Jenny Tattum
Jenny is a Senior Product Manager at CharlieHR. She has years of experience with product planning and development, and user research too – she put together this guide by collecting data and information on competitors so we could improve our product and tailor it to small business owners.
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FAQs for running HR with no experience in HR
We’re here to help with all your questions about how to run HR as a non-HR expert.
Yes! Charlie is extremely easy to set up and use, with no previous HR or HR software experience required. Simply sign up, enjoy a free trial, and subscribe when you’re ready to get started.
No! You can fully use all of Charlie’s features without expert HR knowledge. Every feature is designed to be easy to use, with templates, workflows, and guidance to help you get started.
Some issues may require more specialist support. For moments like these, consider our Charlie Advice add-on where you can get access to expert HR advice.
Yes! Our platform is designed with UK employment law in mind, and the features and settings you find within enable you to stay compliant with employment law.
Our HR templates hub has a large collection of templates for checklists, forms, procedures, and surveys. Our expert advisors can also help with policies and contracts, as part of the Charlie Advice service.
No worries, mistakes happen! It’s easy to fix a mistake yourself, or you can always get in touch with our friendly support team if you need to.
All Charlie users get access to live chat support and our extensive knowledgebase. For an enhanced service with more support options, consider Charlie Concierge.
Absolutely! You can start using Charlie right away for even the smallest of teams, with affordable pricing that allows you to put the right HR foundations in place ready for growth.
If you need bespoke support from an HR expert or help creating a policy or document, our Charlie Advice service can help.
Yes! There’s a no-commitment free trial of Charlie, so you can fully explore the platform before you sign up for a monthly plan.
Of course! You don’t need a formal HR department or a designated HR role to use Charlie.
No training required! Charlie is so easy to use that most people can start using it straight away. If you do need support, our knowledgebase includes helpful guides and our support team is only a few clicks away.
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