Client background
The client is a financial services firm operating in the asset management space with a headcount of 11 to 50 employees. As a newly established business, the organisation was operationally active and growing but without the formal HR systems, structures or policies required to manage its people effectively and sustainably.
For a firm operating in regulated financial services, the absence of formalised HR infrastructure carries both operational and reputational risk. The need to build these systems quickly, correctly and in a manner aligned to culture and strategic direction was not an administrative exercise, it was a governance and growth imperative.
The mandate
The client engaged Crimson Oak Partners under a retainer to design and develop its HR systems from the ground up. The scope covered two interconnected workstreams.
- Organisational Design. Establishing structural foundation: how the business is organised, how roles relate to one another, and how culture would be articulated and embedded.
- HR Systems Development. Designing end to end HR infrastructure: the policies, frameworks and operational tools required to manage the full employee lifecycle.
Our approach
We approached this as a build from scratch HR design exercise, requiring not just technical HR expertise but a thorough understanding of the client's business context, growth ambitions, regulatory environment and organisational culture. We began with a Discovery Meeting to establish priorities, followed by a dedicated Strategy Session focused on culture as the foundation of all subsequent design work.
- Context first design. Every framework tailored to sector, size and stage of growth, not drawn from generic templates.
- End to end thinking. Deliverables designed to function as an integrated system, with each component linking logically to the others across the employee lifecycle.
- Practical operability. Every document developed with implementation in mind, accompanied by supporting tools and forms for immediate use.
- Cultural alignment. Culture recommendation anchored every downstream decision, so policies and structures reflect the organisation the client intended to build.
Workstream 1. Organisational design
The Culture Recommendation was grounded in a participatory process. Before writing the framework, we distributed a culture survey to existing staff so employees were active contributors, not passive recipients. The insights informed the values, behavioural norms and working principles in the final Recommendation, giving it authenticity and organisational ownership.
- Culture Recommendation, informed by staff survey.
- Organisational Structure Chart with reporting lines, role hierarchy and functional groupings.
- Salary Comparator Analysis benchmarking compensation against relevant financial services data.
For a new business in financial services, well designed HR systems are not optional. They are foundational. Getting structure, culture and process right from the outset sets the conditions for compliant, scalable, people centred growth.
Workstream 2. HR systems development
- Performance Management Policy. Goal setting, reviews, feedback and consequence management aligned to strategy.
- Recruitment Policy plus supporting forms: Requisition, Pre Interview Questionnaire, Interview Evaluation, Employee Data, Employment Reference, and Conflict of Interest Declaration.
- Onboarding Policy and Checklist covering pre arrival, first day, role induction and probation.
- Offboarding Policy and Exit Interview Form for knowledge transfer, access management and structured separation.
Deliverables at a glance
- Culture & Structure. Culture Recommendation, Organisational Structure Chart.
- Compensation. Salary Comparator Analysis.
- Performance Management. Performance Management Policy.
- Recruitment. Policy plus 6 supporting forms.
- Onboarding & Offboarding. Onboarding Policy, Checklist, Offboarding Policy, Exit Interview Form.
- Total. 15 documents across 5 HR domains.
Consultant's reflections
Designing an entire HR system for a new organisation, rather than improving an existing one, means every design decision carries weight. The foundations laid at this stage shape how the organisation manages its people for years to come.
In a regulated environment, HR systems are also risk management instruments. The Conflict of Interest Declaration, the rigour of performance management and the structured approach to offboarding all reflect that. Every document was designed with both people and compliance in mind.
By designing these frameworks as an integrated whole, the client received not a set of documents, but a coherent, operable HR infrastructure.
