Case Study · HR POLICIES & DIGITAL HR
How PNAC's HR Advisory in Noida designed, implemented, and digitised end-to-end HR policies for a 180-person IT services company, delivering full statutory compliance, a 63% drop in admin overhead, and an HRIS that scaled with the business from day one.
Client Brief
This Noida-based IT services company had grown from a 40-person startup to a 180-employee organisation across two Sector 62 offices within three years. The growth had been product-led and sales-driven, which meant that every people process had been deprioritised, deferred, or improvised. There were no written HR policies. There was no HRIS. Leave was tracked on shared spreadsheets. Onboarding was a verbal walkthrough. Performance conversations happened informally or not at all.
The consequences were now visible and costly. A statutory audit had flagged three compliance gaps under the Uttar Pradesh Shops and Establishments Act and the Code on Wages 2019. Two senior engineers had resigned, citing unclear promotion criteria. A new institutional investor had made a formal HR policy framework a condition of its next tranche of funding.
Leadership recognised that the business had outgrown its founding-stage approach to people. What they needed was not just policies on paper, but a fully digitised HR function built for a company that intended to double in headcount within eighteen months.
They engaged PNAC as their dedicated HR Advisory and HR Consulting partner for Noida to design, implement, and digitise the entire HR policy and operations infrastructure from the ground up.
What Was Holding Them Back
No Written HR Policies Across Any Function
The organisation had no documented policies covering leave, attendance, performance management, grievance handling, code of conduct, or separation. Every HR decision was made on managerial discretion, creating inconsistency, resentment, and legal exposure that no HR Advisory partner could leave unaddressed.
Statutory Non-Compliance Under Indian Labour Law
Operations in Noida triggered obligations under the Uttar Pradesh Shops and Establishments Act, the Code on Wages 2019, and PF/ESI regulations. Three active compliance gaps had been flagged. Without immediate HR Consulting intervention, the business faced penalty exposure at a critical funding stage.
Entirely Manual HR Operations
Leave requests, attendance tracked via email. Payroll is processed manually with no HRIS integration. The accumulated manual burden was consuming over forty hours of HR and manager time per month that should have been invested in people development.
Opaque Performance and Career Frameworks
There were no defined performance review cycles, no competency frameworks, and no transparent criteria for appraisals or promotions. Two senior engineers had already exited, citing a lack of clarity on growth paths, a direct consequence of missing HR policy infrastructure.
Investor-Mandated Policy Compliance Deadline
A formal HR policy framework was a contractual condition of the next institutional investment tranche. The business had a defined delivery window. Without a specialist HR Partner, the organisation had no realistic path to meeting this deadline without disrupting core operations.
Inconsistent and Unstructured Onboarding
New joiners received no standard onboarding experience. System access was delayed by an average of five days. First-impression attrition within the first ninety days had reached an unacceptable 18%, haemorrhaging both talent and institutional knowledge.
PNAC's Approach
PNAC deployed a three-phase HR Advisory methodology: Audit, Architect, and Activate, across all HR functions in the Noida offices. Every policy was written, approved, communicated, and digitised within a single integrated programme. Zero disruption to live delivery operations.
HR Policy Audit and Compliance Risk Assessment for Noida
PNAC began with a comprehensive HR policy audit across both Noida offices, mapping every people process against the requirements of the Uttar Pradesh Shops and Establishments Act, the Code on Wages 2019, PF/ESI, the Maternity Benefit Act, and the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Act. A prioritised compliance remediation roadmap was delivered within the first two weeks, sequenced by statutory risk and investor timeline requirements.
End-to-End HR Policy Design and Implementation
As the client's dedicated HR Consulting partner, PNAC designed and drafted a full suite of HR policies covering leave management, attendance and work hours, performance management, grievance redressal, code of conduct, disciplinary procedures, anti-harassment, data privacy, separation and notice periods, and travel and expense reimbursement. Every policy was drafted in plain language, reviewed with leadership, approved by legal counsel, and communicated to all 180 employees in Noida with structured awareness sessions.
HRIS Selection, Configuration, and Go-Live for Noida
PNAC led the evaluation, selection, and full implementation of an HRIS platform configured for the Noida operation with UP state holiday calendars, PF/ESI deduction logic, automated payslip generation, and digital document management. Fourteen manual workflows were eliminated at go-live. The platform was live and processing 100% of HR transactions within sixty days of engagement start.
Digital Onboarding Architecture
PNAC redesigned the end-to-end onboarding experience for Noida, replacing the ad-hoc verbal process with a structured digital onboarding journey. Pre-joining documentation, digital offer letter signing, system access provisioning, induction scheduling, compliance briefings, and buddy assignments were all integrated into the HRIS. Average time-to-productivity dropped from eleven days to four. First-ninety-day attrition fell from 18% to under 4%.
Performance Management Framework and Career Architecture
Our HR Advisory team designed a transparent, role-specific performance management framework covering goal setting, mid-year reviews, annual appraisals, and promotion criteria for every grade in the Noida office. Competency matrices were built for all technical and non-technical tracks. For the first time, every employee in Noida could see a defined, achievable career path within the organisation.
Manager Capability Building and HR Policy Adoption
PNAC designed and delivered an HR Policy and People Management training programme for all sixteen people managers across both Noida offices. Sessions covered applying the new policies consistently, handling grievances under the framework, conducting fair performance conversations, and using the HRIS for day-to-day operations. Manager confidence in handling HR matters increased from 34% to 89% post-programme.
We went from having no HR policies whatsoever to a fully digitised, audit-ready HR function in under nine months. PNAC did not just write documents for us. They built something our people use, trust, and benefit from every single day.
FOUNDER AND CEO, IT SERVICES COMPANY, NOIDA
Outcomes Delivered
Within nine months, the Noida IT services firm had a fully operational, digitised HR function built on a robust policy foundation. The investor milestone was met ahead of schedule. The organisation scaled its headcount with confidence, knowing its people infrastructure could support the growth.
Full Statutory Compliance Achieved Across Noida Operations
All three compliance gaps identified in the statutory audit were closed within the first thirty days of engagement. Employment contracts, wage structures, leave policies, PF/ESI filings, and the Noida-specific Shops and Establishments registration were brought into complete alignment. Zero compliance findings in the investor-mandated audit that followed.
63% Reduction in HR Administration Overhead
The HRIS implementation and digital workflow automation eliminated the manual processes consuming forty-plus hours of manager and HR time every month in Noida. Leave approvals, attendance records, payslip generation, and onboarding documentation now run without manual intervention, freeing the HR function to focus entirely on people strategy.
Investor Milestone Delivered Ahead of Schedule
The complete HR policy framework, covering seventeen distinct policies, was documented, approved, communicated, and loaded into the HRIS eleven days ahead of the investor deadline. The institutional investor confirmed that the HR infrastructure met all contractual conditions. The funding tranche was released without conditions.
91% Employee Satisfaction With HR Processes
A post-implementation employee pulse survey recorded a 91% satisfaction score for HR processes and support. Employees cited clarity of policies, speed of HR responses via the HRIS, and the fairness of the new performance framework as the primary drivers of the improvement.
First-Ninety-Day Attrition Reduced from 18% to Under 4%
The structured digital onboarding programme transformed the new joiner experience in Noida. First-ninety-day attrition collapsed from 18% to under 4% within two onboarding cohorts of the new system going live. The organisation retained the institutional knowledge it had previously been haemorrhaging.
Scalable Digital HR Infrastructure Built for Growth
The HRIS, policy architecture, and HR operating model PNAC delivered were designed with deliberate capacity for the organisation's growth plan. When the business expanded to 250 employees in Noida, no HR infrastructure rework was required. The digital HR function simply scaled.
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