HR for Startups: The Ultimate Guide

We’ve condensed everything we know about building startups into one simple guide.

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HR software your team will love

Everything you need to manage your people
- all in one place.

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HR software for UK small companies
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Are you a founder? See why Charlie would be a good fit for your team.

I'm a founder
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Control the chaos of running teams...

Onboard new hires

Collect and store employee records securely

Manage time off and sickness

Simple request/approval and easy to track

Access professional HR Advisors

Instant legal support for contracts, handbooks and policies
Onboarding the team with an HR software
Collect and store employee records securely
Company calendar in HR systems
Simple request/approval and easy to track
Employee details in HR system
Instant legal support for contracts, handbooks and policies
Jess May, Head of People

Charlie helped simplify our payroll, holiday and onboarding processes

Jess May, Head of People

Wonderbly, 90 people

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...so you can build a great place to work

Performance management

Appraisals, probation reviews and monthly check-ins

Employee engagement surveys

Collect, evaluate and act on feedback

Perks and benefits

Discounts on over 30,000 of your favourite brands
Performance reviews, appraisals and monthly check-ins included in the HRIS system
Appraisals, probation reviews and monthly check-ins
Run employee engagement surveys to improve HR
Collect, evaluate and act on feedback
Perks and benefits available through an HR tool
Discounts on over 30,000 of your favourite brands
Charlotte Hamill, COO

Charlie is central for creating an amazing culture – enabling us to hire the best people

Charlotte Hamill, COO

Born Social, 45 people

The entire employee lifecycle
– all managed in one HR system.

One system to look after your team from their first day to their last.

ONBOARD MANAGE PROTECT DEVELOP REWARD THRIVE Add new hires and collect their details and documents Ensure your company is legally compliant, always Approve and track holidays, sickness and working from home Roll out a consistent performance review process Attract and retain talent with industry leading perks Survey your team to learn how you can improve culture

Simple. Delightful. HR Software.

Quick to get started

Less than 10 mins to set up

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Gold standard security

ISO27001 and GDPR compliant

Learn how secure

Fast and friendly support

We're always on hand to help

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Built with love – because while building a business is hard, running one shouldn’t be.

Read our story See open jobs

Ready to join over 10,000 small companies loving charlie?

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HR software built for small businesses

At Charlie we’re building the tools to make work better for everyone working at a small company.

Our focus is on helping teams run the people side of their business more successfully.

This mission is now more important than ever. The world of work is changing. In 2020, the days of working solely for a paycheque are long gone. Now, people expect more from their work.

They expect their managers to help them grow personally and develop professionally. They expect their company to listen to them and act on what they say. They expect a workplace that runs seamlessly and is run in a way that is fair, productive and supportive.

With Charlie you can...

  • Keep employee information safe, secure and all in one place
  • Manage the time off process seamlessly and fairly
  • Reward your team with fantastic Perks & Benefits
  • Grow and develop your people through meaningful conversations
  • Keep your finger on the pulse with company engagement surveys
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FAQs

Why does a small business need an HR software?

Any company that is using spreadsheets and emails to manage the people side of their business is wasting time on admin and making life more difficult for themselves. A well designed HR system automates menial tasks allowing business owners to focus on the strategic work of growing the business.

What does an HR system actually do?

HR systems fulfill two main functions. They help you manage and automate the admin side of the business - like managing time off, storing your team's personal data securely & onboarding new members to the team. HR software should also help make work better for your team - this could be through providing perks, giving them the chance to give you feedback or by allowing you to run a structured performance review process.

What sized companies does Charlie work best for?

Charlie's HR system is built for small businesses in the UK. It is the perfect platform for companies sized between 1-150 team members to manage and scale their teams.

Who signs up for an HR system?

Founders, business owners, operations teams, office managers, HR professionals are the job roles that tend to sign up and be responsible for the system before rolling it out to their teams.

How do you choose the best HR software for your business?

The most important factors affecting your decision are things like the size of your company, the working patterns of your team (for example full-time vs part-time working patterns), and user experience. It's important that your team actually use the system otherwise, as a company leader, you won't get any of the benefits the software is supposed to deliver - the best way of ensuring this happens is to pick a system that is well designed.

How secure is Charlie?

Charlie is Cyber Essentials and ISO 27001 certified. These are some of the highest standards of information security management. We take the security of your data incredibly seriously.
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