Starting a new company? Do these things first

Posted by amrina alshaikh on March 28th, 2022

The world is living with a ‘new normal’ and new businesses that commence operations in a post-COVID 19 world must work with revised rules and norms. What we know of business and communication has been turned on its head in the years 2020 and 2021. New entrepreneurs must now tread with optimism but caution. If you are starting a new company this year, you must take the following points on board:

* Complete all registration formalities.

You have a company name and other details in hand; you now need to register your company as a business operational in India, get a Professional Tax (PT) number, GST number, current bank account in the company’s name, and so on. Do not skip any of the legal and tax formalities required to start and run your business. You must have all the necessary paperwork completed before you start operations, and be diligent about filing your monthly/quarterly GST as well. Due registration helps you open a bank account in the company’s name, issue and accept payments, pay taxes, file your tax returns, etc. The company becomes a legal entity functioning with transparency.

* Buy group health insurance for your employees.

The first thing to do after hiring a core team of employees, is to buy a good group health insurance plan. Of all the health insurance plans in India, group health insurance is the sole one that employers offer to their staff members as an incentive to work for the company. It is often one of the drivers for an individual’s desire to stay employed with the company and not quit the job unless necessary, because the employee feels valued when health insurance is offered. It helps in employee retention without costing much to the company. The best group health insurance plans in India have low premiums and multiple premium payment options as per your preference. They also offer huge tax benefits to the company.

* Create a flexi-hours working system and performance incentives.

After the Coronavirus struck and people were forced to work from home, organisations began to experiment with hybrid working models where employees would not need to be present in office every day of the week. Now, as lockdown restrictions are lifted in most States in India and working life resumes normalcy, it makes sense to not invest in a large office space or have too many employees attending office if they can work remotely. Remote working saves costs for you and time for your employees, so it is better to devise a flexi-hours working system based on who can come to office easily and who cannot, and who would like to continue working from a remote location. Meanwhile, you can devise a new system of performance incentives that are based on short term deliverables instead of project outcomes, so that employees remain motivated constantly.

* Have regular team building initiatives with the staff.

Though the novel Coronavirus’s Omicron variant is showing signs of ebbing, it continues to play with our minds. Being in isolation, contracting the illness itself, facing pay cuts and loss of jobs…the virus has wreaked havoc on our collective finances and psyche. You must bear in mind when starting your company, that some employees may be in a fragile state of mind and need to be handled gently if they struggle to cope with deadlines. Have a policy of one free day in the last week of the month where the day is devoted to team-building activities. It could be as basic as playing team games, or creative workshops, or meditation and de-stressing techniques from visiting experts.