People operations: roles, priorities & steps for success

Modern organizations are rapidly changing, and a critical shift that’s taking place is the understanding that putting people first not only matters, but it makes an impact on the bottom line.

People operations (known as people ops or POPs for short) is a business function first coined in 2006 by Google’s former HR director, Laszlo Bock. It focuses on employees and puts the people who power an organization and their needs first. 

When done right, people operations create a happier, healthier, and more productive workforce.

What is people operations, exactly?

People operations is a strategic business function concerned with putting people first and taking care of the overall management of the workforce in a company. 

The people ops department champions the continual development and engagement of staff, creating smarter ways of working and fostering a sense of community and motivation within a workplace.

Typical responsibilities of people operations departments include:

• Facilitating the ideal employee experience
• Managing the employee life cycle
• Giving employees the tools to perform their best 
• Aligning people’s goals with company goals
• Increasing the value of the workforce with training and other opportunities
• Analyzing people & HR metrics 
  
  

The importance of people operations

Regardless of industry, business managers all over the world have woken up to the fact that people are the heart of any company. Your biggest customers are your employees. Without a solid workforce and key talent, your organization’s value will decrease.

Perhaps it’s easiest to quantify the value of people operations by first assessing the costs of getting it wrong. For instance, employee turnover averages 57.3% in the US. If people are unsatisfied with their roles, company culture, or workplace environment, they will leave, taking valuable knowledge with them. 

The cost of recruiting new people is also high. In 2023, the average cost of a new hire increased to $4,700 (up from $4,000 only a few years prior). Not to mention that costs to hire executives and leaders are 3 or 4 times higher than the overall average cost per hire.

There are also very tangible benefits to stepping away from the traditional bureaucratic and authoritarian role of HR by making people operations the heart of your HR department. That means:

• Recognizing people as valuable assets and not just as tools to make money
• Promoting a deep-rooted sense of inclusivity and being part of a community at work
• Actively improving company culture and the work environment
• Motivating employees who become more productive naturally
• Upholding a healthy work-life balance and boosting morale
• Increasing employee loyalty to the organization 

There’s no denying in the modern era of work, a business’s workforce is critical to enhancing the value of a company. 

People ops vs. human resources

While people ops is a strategic part of a company’s human resources department, there are some critical differences between POPs and HR.

Traditionally, HR departments have focused on the practical elements of managing employees, including logistical, legal, and contractual obligations, ethical considerations, and the day-to-day management of the workforce. HR departments that operate in this way can feel very bureaucratic, non-personal, and somewhat stale. 

People operations prioritizes people and their needs and identifies the causes of behavioral or systemic patterns in the workplace. It also values the employee experience and improves company culture, recognizes employee achievements, and humanizes workplace interactions.

Core people ops priorities

When it comes to people ops, strengthening employee engagement to minimize attrition and turnover is a top priority. But it’s not the only priority. Here are a few others. 

Optimizing the employee onboarding experience

Onboarding is a critical moment in the employee life cycle where people ops can establish trust with new hires. Important elements of onboarding include the level of transparency throughout the recruitment process and the support that helps new hires step into their role with confidence. When businesses don’t focus on these aspects, new hires are more likely to quit in a short time frame.

Chart the employee life cycle 

Every employee will inevitably transition through different phases in their career and relationship with an organization. Savvy HR teams will likely be aware of the employee life cycle and where each employee is in that continuum. 

However, many traditional HR teams focus exclusively on recruitment, onboarding, and offboarding, without paying much attention to the middle stages that relate to employee recognition, development, and retention.

People ops, on the other hand, takes a more holistic view and prioritizes the moments that matter for each employee to keep them engaged and build trust. 

Drive employee engagement and connection

Keeping staff happy and healthy involves activities that veer away from the model traditional HR teams may be used to. 

People ops teams can improve the employee experience by considering:

• Whether perks and benefits are desirable to employees
• How to gain deeper insights into employee motivations
• Objectively assessing the recruitment process from the eyes of a candidate
• Gathering information about whether people feel a sense of belonging in the workplace
• Assessing future learning and development opportunities for all employees
  
  

Provide learning and development opportunities

In the hustle of daily operations, business managers are often unable to provide avenues for professional development for their direct reports. 

That’s where people operations can step in to ensure everyone is progressing in their careers.

Well-trained employees are more likely to stay with the organization instead of looking for new work elsewhere due to feelings of boredom or the need to chase new challenges.

Recognize and reward employee contributions

Establishing a vibrant and healthy recognition culture takes some work. Traditional HR teams have a distinct lack of focus in this area which is why around 40% of employees feel demotivated at work due to a lack of recognition.

When people ops teams recognize good work, they are able to reduce turnover rates significantly. No matter how recognition becomes part of workplace culture, the important thing is that employees feel appreciated.

Support change management

In times of change and upheaval, people operations are responsible for creating stability as soon as possible. Key priorities during such events include:

• Clear communication about the change, delivered early and often 
• Preparing the people who will be affected before the change takes place
• Providing training to ensure everyone is confident with the new way of working 
• Offering avenues of support in case of concerns

People ops plays a critical role in ensuring such changes progress smoothly and seamlessly. The sooner employees can adjust, the fewer consequences and financial losses the organization will incur.

Handle employee offboarding

Every employee’s journey with an organization will inevitably come to a close, and it’s the role of people ops to ensure they part on good terms. This leaves the door open for past employees to refer clients or new hires to an organization, or they may even come back and work on projects. 

Track people metrics

It’s vital to track the right people metrics at every stage, including the qualitative elements people ops prioritizes. Traditional HR teams can benefit from tracking more meaningful data points.

Modern people ops managers track the following metrics:

• Time to hire
• Quality of hire
• Employee turnover
• Employee happiness
• Cost per hire
• Diversity ratings
• Employee attrition rate
• Absenteeism
• Job satisfaction
• Employee engagement
  
  

Key roles within the people ops department

If you’re considering creating a solid people ops department, here are some key roles to consider along with their responsibilities.

• Director of People Operations: Oversees the entire people ops team and drives the organization’s people strategy.
  • Connects the organization’s goals with its people strategy
  • Partners with managers to plug any talent gaps within teams
  • Supports leaders within the company on major employee relations issues
  • Joins strategic meetings and provides direction to other executives
• People Operations Manager: Oversees the employee life cycle from attracting the ideal candidates to maintaining relations with past employees.
  • Connects between executive leadership and employees
  • Manages critical functions like employee onboarding and offboarding
  • Typically handles many day-to-day HR functions like payroll processing and reviewing leave requests 
  • Enhances equal opportunities and diversity in the workplace
• People Operations Specialist: Maintains the administrative duties involved in day-to-day HR processes.
  • Documents company policies and procedures
  • Assists with offboarding and job information changes
  • Provides support to enhance the employee experience throughout all stages of the life cycle
  • Analyzes the data and analytics associated with the company’s HR strategy
    
    

How to develop a successful people operations program

When it comes to establishing a thriving people operations department in your organization, some important things to consider include:

• Ensuring the people in your workforce are at the center of people ops’ priority list
• Proactively improving employee happiness and satisfaction at work
• Setting up the correct technology to support people ops
• Continually evaluating how well people ops initiatives are received by employees 
• Giving employees an avenue to provide constructive feedback
  
  

Create a foundation   

The success of a new people ops division rests on your ability to implement the basics properly.

Start by using the data you have about your employees to identify key pain points at any stage in the employee life cycle. Make sure you tell employees why you’re collecting information and how you plan to use it. 

If your current culture doesn’t place people at its center, or if you don’t view your employees as your biggest customers, then this shift needs to happen pronto. Otherwise, you’ll face challenges with incorporating a successful people ops program.

Align the people ops strategy with company goals

People ops should align the people strategy with the company’s overarching goals. So, make it a habit to involve the Director of People Ops in conversations about the company’s strategic direction.

Focus on the entire employee life cycle

Don’t fall into the trap of treating people ops in the same way you do traditional HR. Break down the bureaucratic feel by being transparent with your workforce and understanding what motivates each person in the organization.

Use data to guide improvements

Finally, set up a tool like Happeo to help you gather meaningful data about your employee’s engagement rates. With the right data in your hands, your people ops team can proactively enhance employee motivation and engagement before it becomes a retention problem.

Power people ops with Happeo

No matter how big or small your company is, people ops is a central aspect of modernizing your HR strategy and attracting top talent.

With tools like Happeo, you can seamlessly enhance your people ops strategy by:

• Leveraging a central place to store all of the organization’s information
• Onboarding new employees quickly and seamlessly
• Automatically embedding your company culture in the digital footprint of your business
• Offering employees the opportunity to be recognized by peers and to grow in their role
• Powering productivity through crowdsourced information
• Helping you keep track of all the important metrics that matter 

Join hundreds of teams that have improved their people ops strategy in 6-8 weeks with Happeo.

While people operations, often referred to as people ops or POPs, is a strategic component of a company’s human resources department, there are fundamental differences in their core focus and daily execution. Traditional human resources typically takes a reactive approach, focusing heavily on administrative, legal, and logistical tasks. This includes enforcing compliance, managing database records, handling contract obligations, and processing salary adjustments. Historically, this model can feel somewhat bureaucratic and impersonal, prioritising strict policies and processes over the individual needs of the workforce.

In contrast, people operations is a proactive, agile, and holistic function that prioritises the employee experience and seeks to maximise the overall value of staff members. Rather than just responding to issues after they arise, people ops teams actively work to improve company culture, foster a sense of community, and humanise workplace interactions. They look at the bigger picture, using data and technology to identify systemic patterns or behavioural trends, allowing them to uncover the root causes of employee dissatisfaction before it leads to turnover.

Additionally, while traditional HR often operates in isolation, people ops connects all departments and is actively involved in strategic executive decision-making. Essentially, traditional HR focuses on managing compliance and administration, whereas people operations views employees as valuable assets to be nurtured, continuously striving to align individual aspirations with broader organisational goals to drive long-term business success.

Investing in a people operations strategy is crucial because employees are the absolute heart of any business, and failing to support them has severe financial and operational consequences. High employee turnover is incredibly costly for modern organisations. In the United States, average staff turnover reaches over fifty-seven percent, and the cost of recruiting a single new hire has risen to an average of forty-seven hundred dollars. When hiring for executive or leadership positions, these recruitment costs can easily spike to three or four times that amount.

Furthermore, when frustrated employees leave, they take invaluable institutional knowledge and experience with them, which directly decreases the company’s overall market value.

By implementing a dedicated people operations function, businesses can transition away from bureaucratic management and unlock tangible benefits that protect their bottom line. People ops recognises employees as valuable assets rather than mere tools for generating profit. This shift in perspective helps promote a deep-rooted sense of inclusivity, boosting workplace morale and encouraging a healthy work-life balance. When employees feel valued, supported, and connected to a community, their motivation increases naturally, making them more productive and loyal to the organisation.

Ultimately, a strong people operations strategy helps reduce costly attrition, safeguards intellectual property, and elevates the collective output of the workforce, directly enhancing the long-term value and stability of the entire company.

A people operations team manages the entire employee lifecycle by focusing on engagement, trust, and continuous development at every stage of a worker’s tenure. This begins with optimising the onboarding process, which is a critical phase for establishing trust. By ensuring transparency during recruitment and providing robust support, people ops helps new hires step into their roles with confidence, reducing early resignation rates. Once employees are settled, the team actively charts the ongoing journey, paying close attention to the middle stages of the lifecycle, such as career progression, recognition, and retention, which traditional human resources departments often overlook.

To keep the workforce motivated, people ops prioritises employee connection and engagement. This involves evaluating whether benefits are genuinely desirable, gathering feedback on workplace belonging, and offering continuous learning and development opportunities. Providing clear paths for professional growth prevents boredom and keeps talented individuals from seeking external challenges. Recognition is another vital priority; by establishing a vibrant appreciation culture, people ops addresses demotivation and significantly reduces turnover. Furthermore, during periods of organisational change, the team manages stability by delivering early, clear communication and training.

Finally, they handle compassionate offboarding and analyse key people metrics to gather insights. Through these structured priorities, people ops ensures that every individual feels appreciated and supported from their first day to their last.