HR process consulting for Charitable foundations: simple HR basics for a team of ten
A foundation with a team of eight does not need a large HR department. It needs a handful of simple processes that stay clear when trustees, staff and interns all work together.
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Share your requirementsWhy HR process consulting matters in charitable foundations
In small foundations HR happens in conversations. The chief executive hires, the finance head handles leave, and a trustee offers advice on a pay rise. This works while everyone knows each other. It strains when a new officer joins, when two people disagree or when a trustee changes. Then it turns out nobody can say what the rule was.
HR process work for a foundation is deliberately light. It identifies the five or six things that must be clear: who decides on hiring and pay, how leave and expenses are handled, how performance is discussed, how concerns are raised and where records sit. Each gets a one page note, written in plain words, approved by the board and reviewed yearly. The goal is fairness and calm, not paperwork.
How to set it up
1. List the HR decisions that come up
Hiring, pay changes, leave, expense claims, discipline, ending a contract. Note who makes each today and who thinks they should.
2. Set decision lines with the board
Agree what the chief executive decides alone, what needs trustee approval and what the board only hears about. Put it in a half page.
3. Write short notes for the routines
One page each for leave, expenses, performance talks and raising concerns. Keep to what staff really need to know.
4. Create a single staff file
A folder per person with the contract, role description, pay history and review notes, kept in one place with limited access. The HR documentation process can set up the layout.
5. Review each year with trustees
A short session where the chief executive and a trustee check what worked, what was questioned and what needs updating.
Check these first
Before changing anything, find out what is true today. These take an afternoon and use your own records.
- Ask three staff how a pay change is decided and compare their answers.
- Check that every person has a written contract and role description.
- See whether a trustee has instructed staff directly in the last year.
- Find how a staff member would raise a concern about the chief executive.
GullyHR can do this with you. Read how we approach HR process consulting in general, or share your requirements and we will tell you where to start.
Questions owners ask
It needs a few short ones. Without them, decisions rest on memory and personality. A handful of one page notes, agreed by the board, keeps things fair and saves arguments.
A named trustee, usually the chair or a designated person. Staff should know who it is and be able to reach them without going through the chief executive.
Once a year, and after any case that revealed a gap. Keep each note short so that review takes minutes, not weeks.