People Operations is a business function in charge of crafting the employee experience at an organization. Those who work in People Operations help their companies empower, engage, and retain employees.
Coined by Google in the mid-2000s, the term ‘People Operations’ spread through tech and later to many other types of organizations.
Laszlo Bock, Google’s first Head of People, introduced this term to challenge a traditional style of Human Resources that focused on compliance and protecting the company first.
Alongside Human Resources and Talent Acquisition, People Operations is a sub-function within a People department.
Human Resources focuses on the logistics of employment. With a focus on tax setup, payroll, benefits, and administration, Human Resources helps a company pay people and comply with labor laws.
Talent Acquisition sources and hires new employees for an organization.
People Operations builds and executes programs — like new hire onboarding — that shape the work experience of current employees. People Operations ensures employees are resourced, supported, and empowered at work.
All organizations need People Operations.
Modern workplace dynamics are changing. Employees have higher expectations for their work experiences than ever before.
Employees now expect:
If your company doesn’t deliver, your employees will find another that does.
The emergence of remote work means that your employees have more workplace options than ever before. The top talent will leave companies that do not invest in their day-to-day workplace experience.
People Operations is business-critical for companies that want to attract and retain the best talent.
A People Operations team is responsible for designing and running programs to enhance the day-to-day employee experience. Some of the most important responsibilities of the function include:
People Operations equips new employees with the tools they need to be successful starting on Day 1. These resources range from the technology new hires require to do their jobs to the social support and training they need to navigate the company.
Example activity: Sending a welcome email to a new hire.
People Operations disseminates company-wide information alongside leaders and champions the organizational culture.
Example activity: Coordinating an all-company meeting
People Operations leads diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives to ensure an organization is supporting an inclusive workplace.
Example activity: Maintaining employee resource groups
People Operations creates shared spaces to build trust and community among coworkers.
Example activity: Organizing a company-wide happy hour event
People Operations supports managers with training and education
Example activity: Running a new manager training program
People Operations implements a standardized framework for measuring employee performance.
Example activity: Leading a performance review cycle
People Operations supports employees in their career development and provides educational programs across the organization.
Example activity: Facilitating a workshop to help employees develop a new skill
People Operations recognizes an employee's impact and time spent at an organization.
Example activity: Celebrating work anniversaries
People Operations manages time off for employees and ensures they are supported returning to work after time away.
Example activity: Re-onboarding an employee returning from parental leave
People Operations closes out relationships with employees to ensure a smooth departure.
Example activity: Coordinating an exit interview
Sometimes, those with People Operations titles also take on some responsibilities of Human Resources like:
or those of Talent Acquisition like:
Outstanding People Operations teams have a few approaches in common:
A strong People Operations team is process-driven and builds programs that will scale alongside the company. The team effectively implements software to complement the manual work they do.
A strong People Operations team can articulate how their programs help advance company-level goals and priorities.
A strong People Operations team is driven by results. If they create a program that no one uses, they see that as a failure, instead of a box they checked.
A strong People Operations team knows that human connection is at the heart of a positive employee experience. The team thinks about how to put people at the center of the programs they build.
People Operations is still an emerging field. During the pandemic, the responsibilities of the function increased significantly, especially with respect to internal communications.
Pressure to surface DEI initiatives in daily work, to adapt to hybrid-remote work, and to accommodate for a changing talent landscape has dramatically reshaped the People Operations function.
We will continue to see People Operations evolve into a more complex, indispensable, and operational field in the near future.
Back in 2019, we wrote about the challenges that People Operations teams would face in the coming years. Do you think they hold today?
