How a manufacturing company in Plovdiv built an HR function from scratch

About the Company Company:

Mid-sized manufacturing company specialising in metalworking.

Employees: 85 (before the project) Industry: Manufacturing and Metalworking Duration: 6 months (2024–2025)

The Challenge The company has been operating for 12 years but never had a dedicated HR specialist. With rapid expansion and the hiring of 25 new employees in 6 months, problems became critical:

— Lack of documentation: Non-standardised employment contracts and missing job descriptions — Legal risk: Multiple gaps in compliance with Bulgarian labour law — Administrative burden: The owner was losing 3-4 hours daily on HR administrative work — Employee dissatisfaction: Lack of clear rules and processes was creating tension within the team — Turnover: 30% annual turnover, costing over 60,000 BGN per year

Our Methodology

Diagnostic Phase: — Full audit of existing HR documentation — Interviews with managers and key employees — Analysis of current hiring and onboarding processes — Identification of legal risks and gaps
Strategy Development: — Prioritisation of critical areas — Development of a 6-month action plan — Definition of key success indicators

Implementation Step 1: Building the HR Foundation — Standardisation of all employment contracts and job descriptions — Development of internal rules and HR policies — Introduction of an employee records management system — Ensuring full compliance with Bulgarian labour law

Step 2: Process Optimisation — Development of a structured onboarding process for new employees — Introduction of a performance management system — Creation of clear communication procedures between managers and teams — Training managers on core HR processes

Step 3: Building Team Culture — Conducting an employee satisfaction survey — Introduction of a recognition and reward programme — Development of clear career paths for each position

Results Turnover: reduced from 30% to 12% annually Owner's administrative time: reduced from 15 hours to 2 hours per week Time to onboard a new employee: reduced from 3 weeks to 1 week Employee satisfaction: increased from 45% to 78% Labour law violations: from multiple to zero

Additional Outcomes: — Over 40,000 BGN saved annually from reduced turnover — 100% of documentation brought into legislative compliance — The owner now focuses entirely on business development