Comprehensive HR Business Plan for a Custom Pet Food Startup

This document presents a human resource management plan for a startup pet food business that allows customers to customize ingredients for their pets' food. The plan details the required personnel, including a website technician, social media manager, veterinary nutritionist, cooks, and kitchen assistants, along with their respective roles and responsibilities. It includes a cost assessment covering supplies, salaries, and benefits, with a focus on cost-saving measures such as contracting a veterinary nutritionist and utilizing trained cooks instead of chefs. The plan also outlines job descriptions, providing a clear understanding of the skills and qualifications needed for each role. The document also includes a discussion of employee benefits such as sick leave and health benefits for cooks. This comprehensive plan aims to streamline operations, ensure quality control through nutritional analysis, and manage costs effectively for the online pet food business. Desklib provides access to this document and many other solved assignments for students.

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Human Resource Management: Business Plan
For the pet food business that we are running currently, it is essential to understand that
even though the business is currently online, a whole lot of backend work is still in process and
requires proper management from our end. While the business is running swiftly online and has
all the required elements to be successful, we have to ensure that with the progress going on the
field, we do not neglect the organization as a whole. Here, it is important to note that the best
way to build and strengthen the organization is to strengthen its HR.
We will now focus on completing the HR plan for the company; present and for future to
streamline the functions and ensure that everything goes according to what is planned.

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Human Resource Requirement
The first and foremost requirement is the manpower which is required for the business.
Since the business is currently online, the requirements are not too different from that of a
regular retail shop (Srivastav 1). However, a few changes still persist.
Following is the human resource requirement for the pet shop: website technician, social
media manager, veterinary nutritionist, cook and kitchen assistant and supply chain partner. This
is the entire human resource which is currently working, and shall be maintained for the future as
well (can be extended on basis of requirement and business flow).
The website technician and the social media manager will work extensively on
maintaining the website and getting orders, getting visibility for the company using social media
and data analytics for further online business expansion. Furthermore, these people will also be
responsible for online sales support as well. post-sales services are important and these people
shall take care of it actively.
The veterinary nutritionist is the most important link in this business chain. This person is
responsible to test the quality and health friendliness of our food and certify it. The person has to
be extremely qualified and has to give honest opinions about the food and how it can be further
improved in terms of taste, nutrition and pet friendliness. The person hired for this job is a vet
with the Quebec Animal Hospital and freelances with us on a monthly payment.
The kitchen staff has been chosen wisely to cut cost. The kitchen is not run by a chef but
by trained cooks for animal feed. Both of them have been working in making animal feed for
long and are well aware of the task. They have two kitchen assistants with them.
Lastly, the supply chain manager. This person/company is concerned with delivering our
product to the people. We work with them on a contract basis; they delivery our products for pre-

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decided subsidized delivery charges. Since we have a good order volume and regular dispatches
in a month, this arrangement suits us best.

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Cost Assessment
After determining the people who will be required to run the company, the next step is to
determine the cost that will be encountered in running the business. Unlike the conventional
retailing business, e-retail has the advantage of cost maximization and saving as well (Doherty
and Ellis‐Chadwick 11).
The cost can be divided into three major sections:
• Supplies
• Salaries and Benefits
• Miscellaneous
Supplies
The Supplies which are needed by the company are majorly website maintenance, van for
delivery and kitchen supplies. Not having a store has been the saving factor here. Initially, since
we are at the financial crunch, we shall not immediately buy a van for delivery, but rather
continue with our delivery partner (MBN 1). Once the money starts coming in, we shall invest in
a decent delivery van; a 2015 GMC Savana 2500 3/4 Ton Cargo Van, Fully Loaded. This van
shall cost us about $20,000 including all the services but customization will be extra.
Next, the kitchen supplies will a monthly purchase. It will require all the food
ingredients, fruits, added nutrition and flavours and meat. Since the food ingredients will be first
confirmed by the vet, it is recommended to not buy in bulk. Nutrition in the food is important,
and all the supplies have to be best (Lee 1)
The kitchen utensils are a one-time purchase a skillet, pan, spoons, stir etc. ($100). The
food packaging will be purchased in bulk (100 boxes/$2).
The supplying/delivery cost is $2 flat per order.

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Salaries and Benefits
The salary and benefits of the people will differ be set pretty much in advance. Since the
business is not yet established, there are not many benefits to be given except a few.
The salary bifurcation is:
• Website technician: as the need arises (contractual). A one-time payment of CAD120 or
building the website has been given
• Social Media Manager: CAD 150 month
• Vet: CAD 10/Sample. The vet will be given this for every sample he/she checks and
gives feedback on. Since hiring the vet will be difficult, it is better to put them on contract than
on payroll (Leonard)
• Delivery: CAD 2/delivery as decided by mutual consent and market rate analysis
• Cook: CAD 20/hour. Quebec has a minimum wage of CAD 12 per hour (RCC 1).
Keeping this in mind, the cooks will be given this wage since they are required to work for
special orders, and the work distribution has been designed so that every cook can make at least
six orders in one hour. This pay allows cost saving for the company as for an hour, a lot of work
is being extracted. This is the primary reason for setting up and hourly wage (KRAMER 1)
• Kitchen Assistant: Quebec has a minimum wage of CAD 12 per hour. Keeping
this in mind, the kitchen assistants will be given an hourly wage of CAD 16.
The benefits decided for all the employees will be four sick leaves in a month, Sunday
off, menstrual leaves for female employees and maternity leaves (Ann 2).

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Cooks are the most important link in this chain, hence, it is important to cover them under
health benefits and provide them with travel expenses covered as well (CAD 5/visit).
The vet does not need to be covered specially since they are on contract and already
employed elsewhere.
The site technician and the social media manager are entitled to all the general benefits
mentioned above as they too are hired by the hour.
Miscellaneous
There can be certain miscellaneous expenses such as fuel, price rise, promotions etc. for
this, a monthly reserve of $200 is maintained which is rolled over to the next month (Buchanan)

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Job Description
The job description of each and every individual in the company will be specifically
designed keeping in mind their roles and operation. The selection of the candidate will be based
on these job descriptions, skills matched and their performance in the interview.
Sample Job Description for Vet:
•Should have fir knowledge of cat and dog food
• Should have a fair knowledge of the nutritional value of the food
• Should be able to suggest a better and feasible alternative for taste and nutrition
•Should be able to provide certification for every food recipe passed
Work Cited
RCC. Québec – 2018 minimum wage increase. 2018.
<https://www.retailcouncil.org/advocacy/minimum-wage/quebec-2018-minimum-wage-
increase/>.
Srivastav, Ritika. HR strategies in e-commerce industry. 2016.
<https://www.peoplematters.in/article/hr-ready/hr-strategies-in-e-commerce-industry-
14591?utm_source=peoplematters&utm_medium=interstitial&utm_campaign=learnings-
of-the-day>.
Ann, Marry. Employee Benefits for Startups. 2018.
<https://www.startupnews.ca/2018/05/employee-benefits-for-startups/>.

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Doherty, Neil F. and Fiona Ellis‐Chadwick. "INTERNET RETAILING: THE PAST, THE
PRESENT AND THE FUTURE." INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF RETAIL &
DISTRIBUTION MANAGEMENT 38.11 (2016).
Lee, Elizabeth. How to Read a Dog Food Label. 2015.
<https://pets.webmd.com/dogs/guide/how-to-read-a-dog-food-label#1>.
Leonard, Kimberlee. Salaried Vs. Contract Employees. 2018.
<https://smallbusiness.chron.com/salaried-vs-contract-employees-11639.html>.
Buchanan, Eliot. Cash Is King: Why Small Businesses Should Care About Cash-Flow
Management. 2018.
<https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesfinancecouncil/2018/05/10/cash-is-king-why-small-
businesses-should-care-about-cash-flow-management/>.
MBN. What Is Rationing? Definition And Examples. 2017.
<https://marketbusinessnews.com/financial-glossary/rationing-definition-meaning/>.
KRAMER, MARY HOPE. The Pros and Cons of Earning an Hourly Wage vs. Salary. 2018.
<https://www.thebalancecareers.com/compensation-hourly-vs-salary-125647>.

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