Automate HR admin and get unlimited HR advice from your dedicated consultant
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Automate HR admin and get unlimited HR advice from your dedicated consultant
Streamline your payroll and get compliance advice tailored to US startups
Get support on employee issues, contracts and policies from this HR consultancy firm
One-off legal support for when you want to ensure you’re compliant
There are so many performance management software and tools out there. Each with their own features, pros, cons and pricing. It can be very difficult to choose one.
In this guide, I won’t tell you which software to pick – I’ll simply lay out the information I have found by doing hours of research as part of my job. Yes, I work for Charlie and we do performance review software too, but that doesn’t mean we can’t make information available to you, whilst showing you how Charlie can help your business achieve its goals.
The choice is yours to make, but it’s better to hear from someone on the inside rather than pretend we just happened to write this guide. Just for your information, this page was last updated in October 2023.
My name is Alisa, and I work as HR Advisor at CharlieHR, an HR software and advice service for small businesses.
I used my expertise and previous experience working at big HR consulting companies to draft this shortlist; and I also researched other options when it comes to outsourcing HR as a small business.
Of course, I’ve included CharlieHR in the mix — I’m here to promote our offering, but I also genuinely think that small businesses can benefit a lot from our combination of HR software and 1-to-1 HR advice.
My nThere are 3 main options for startups looking for HR outsourcing services:
At Charlie, we combined the best of these HR services into a new solution:
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An HR software platform that saves you hours on HR admin every week
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An HR Advice service, where your dedicated advisor can act as your own HR manager (for a fraction of the cost of hiring someone in-house)
Find out more below 👇
Charlie gives you all the tools you need to put solid HR foundations in place for your startup, while also reducing your workload.
Automate all your HR tasks with software built specifically for UK startups:
Tap into HR expertise by phone, email or live chat (and without making a full-time hire):
HR software
HR Advice
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You can choose to get only the software or only the Advice service if you’re not interested in both
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No setup fee
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Cancel anytime
We were building our HR processes from scratch while also growing our team. Charlie really facilitated managing this complex process — it transformed it into something quite simple.
Charlie means I can focus on all the other million jobs as a startup founder and don't have to become an HR professional at the same time.
Free for 7 days
No credit card needed
Cancel any time
Similarly to Charlie, Zenefits offers an HR advisory service plus an HR platform to streamline your HR basics (with a specific focus on payroll). However, Zenefits is built specifically around the needs of HR departments based in the United States.
Versatile for international teams: available in English, Spanish, Russian, Latvian, Estonian, Czech, Polish and Thai, SageHR is a great software to cater to international companies.
Get unlimited access to a team of payroll experts:
HR software
HR advice
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You will have to pay for minimum 5 employees, even if your team is smaller than that.
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You need to be a paying software customer to be able to buy the Advice add-on.
I love how the benefits, payroll, and the org-chart is there for me in Zenefits. I love how it's so versatile!
LighterHR is an HR consulting service offering advice on a wide range of HR topics, not only for startups but also for large, enterprise companies. They don’t offer any HR software solutions.
Get access to HR experts to solve complex issues and to lead on special projects:
LighterHR don’t state their exact pricing on their website - you’ll need to get a quote from a sales representative. However, they offer the following types of contract:
Lighter HR has been a great resource for our company. They are professional, prompt and thorough.
Charlie helps you banish manual and repetitive HR tasks, so you can focus on what really matters.
Free for 7 days
No credit card needed
Cancel any time
If you find yourself in a situation where you think you may be in breach of the law, it is advised to get support from a solicitor.
We will not recommend any specific law firm — as that depends on where you are based — but will list some of the most common HR services employment lawyers can help your startup with.
Get the peace of mind of always complying with the law:
Pricing will vary depending on the services you need - solicitors usually charge per hour. One thing to be aware of is that this type of support can soon build up to thousands of pounds per month, so it’s best used on one-off occasions, especially if you are a startup with a tight budget.
The guidance we received never really made sense in the context of a small, fast-moving and fast-growing company like ours. There were times we’d be advised to follow a 12-step action plan – and for a company of 10 people, that felt like overkill.
Yes, outsourcing HR services is generally cheaper than hiring a full-time HR manager, especially when it comes to HR for startups.
Let’s say you hired a junior HR manager in your HR team with a gross monthly salary of £4,000. That is much more compared to what you would spend for some of these outsourced HR solutions:
We hope this guide has helped you understand some of the options available to you.
In terms of picking the right one for your business, ask yourself these three questions:
Charlie helps you banish manual and repetitive HR tasks, so you can focus on what really matters.
Free for 7 days
No credit card needed
Cancel any time
