HR-led Initiatives to nurture women-led TECH startups

Professor Fiona Robson,

Head of the School of Social Sciences & Edinburgh Business School

HR is no longer just about recruitment and retention – there is a growing trend towards taking a more creative and innovative approach. This can involve looking at talent through different lenses rather than seeing it as a hierarchical talent management process focusing on vertical promotions within the organization.

In an age where HR rightly have a seat at the strategic table for decision making, they have the opportunity to ensure that appropriate levels of funding and expertise are used to develop a forward-looking talent strategy that goes beyond the norm. Artificial intelligence (AI) brings a plethora of opportunities for organisations to be braver in how they identify potential talent. Using AI to identify talent can be a useful starting point but when it comes to areas such as innovation and identifying an entrepreneurial mindset, it may be more difficult to pinpoint the traits which could indicate potential to innovate.

Where HR teams start to consider and plot non-traditional pathways they may be able to recruit and retain employees with diverse skillsets. Taking an entrepreneurial path opens up the talent pool as it isn’t as focused on people looking at the next hierarchical step up within the organisation. This is important as there are usually resource constraints about how many vacancies are available to fill at the highest pay grades in the organisation. These new pathways should provide opportunities for women to shine in different types of projects and recognise the strategic importance of creative thinking and innovation.

Providing testing opportunities

Depending on the level of finance available there are some additional resources that could be provided. Innovation sprints or challenges can be a great way to test out ideas and receive feedback from different groups of stakeholders. They may facilitate prototyping and identify issues that were not previously considered. Internal technology venture labs can also provide a safe environment to test out ideas and proof of concept. Collaborating with Universities who are experienced in running labs and sprints can be very beneficial, they may also have access to funding to support the development of new products and services. However, in order to be truly successful, they need to ensure that there is a sustainable follow up process before the momentum deflates.

Inclusive Procurement and Equitable IP Policies

Organisations can seek to lead the way and exhibit good practice by reviewing their procurement policies where practicable to ensure that they are inclusive. Examples may include having provision for flexible payment terms which would make it easier for those at the beginning of their entrepreneurship journey. Access to specialist support which could help women to set up their businesses in a more timely way could also break down some of the perceived barriers. Often the processes around procurement can be rather cumbersome so the provision of training which shows exactly how to navigate it could be helpful. Forward looking organisations might seek to approve a process whereby women entrepreneurs are given priority with their applications.

For many women, even thinking about intellectual property (IP) and patents can seem overwhelming if they have never had exposure to this world before. The introduction of simplified processes could act as a springboard to attract more women, particularly if the timeline can be expedited so that there is a shorter gap between the initial idea and when it is approved. Having access to real case studies showing how this happens would also be reassuring. In large organisations, the HR team may be able to encourage the legal team to provide some initial advice so that prospective entrepreneurs get a realistic insight into whether their proposal has merit or not.

Commercial Advantage Through Policy

HR can make a name for itself by encouraging innovation through widening participation and breaking down barriers to encourage, support and recognise innovation. For some HR professionals this may be quite a shift for them so they may also require some reskilling and retraining.

It would be good practice for organisations to regularly review their HR policies to ensure that they reflect the changing eco-system and that there are appropriate diversity clauses within the library of policies, procedures and practices. As part of this, ensuring that there is awareness of bias and how this can sneak into processes unconsciously and inadvertently disadvantage women. The establishment of women’s networks would be a proactive approach and could help them at all of the different stages of developing and executing their entrepreneurial ideas.

Providing funding opportunities may be one of the most impactful decisions that an organisation can make. Obviously this would need to have transparent parameters around it but it could be the difference between an idea being turned into practice or not. If the funding allocation is governed by stakeholders with appropriate expertise in different areas i.e. finance, law, governance and people, this would reduce the organisational risk of investing in small new businesses. Where there isn’t a potential conflict of interest, organisations could also make a significant impact by facilitating market entry and opening doors within networks and supply chains.