Many organizations continue to readjust the role of HR within their organizations. While “people operations” may be a new term interchangeable with HR at some organizations, others may use the term for a team within or adjacent to HR designed to supplement and improve a workforce. In general, people operations is a forward-thinking approach to rethinking or expanding the role of people in the workplace. It’s meant to fuel data-driven decision-making. Larger companies, including Google and IBM, are rolling out people operations teams with a more holistic business approach.
This article explores the role and benefits of people operations in the workplace.
What Is People Operations?
People operations, often shortened to people ops, is a strategic business function that focuses on creating systems and strategies to maximize employee value and engagement. It’s about putting the employee first and humanizing impersonal systems. Ultimately, successful people operations create a company culture that makes employees feel happy and proud to work at the organization.
While traditional HR focuses on administrative tasks such as payroll, compliance and employee relations, people operations takes a more holistic and strategic view. The goal is to gather and leverage organizational data to help support and influence other initiatives, ultimately turning insights into action.
Key responsibilities of people operations include the following:
- Mapping and managing the employee journey and lifecycle, including interviewing, orientation, onboarding, performance reviews, learning and development, change management and exit interviews
- Developing employees through skills training, career pathing, and other types of learning and development opportunities
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- Supporting employee reward and recognition systems, which can provide a sense of accomplishment and make
employees feel valued for their contributions - Engaging employees continuously by connecting with them to understand their experiences and any pain points
- Monitoring key HR metrics—such as turnover rates, cost per hire, best time to hire and absence rates—to gauge and track employee satisfaction, engagement and retention
- Connecting individual performance to overall company goals by reinforcing how critical and meaningful employee contributions are
- Connecting HR goals and objectives to organizational goals by making HR a strategic partner instead of a cost center
- Developing and championing company culture, mission and values
Overall, people operations aims to build employee trust by engaging and empowering them while facilitating their day-to-day work experience. The focus of people operations is people.
The Benefits of People Operations
When executed correctly, people operations can help overcome common HR challenges. Organizations that pursue people operations aim to:
- Enhance employee productivity. A positive work environment and effective performance management lead to higher productivity and better business outcomes. For example, pulse surveys or other similar metrics can help identify engagement factors (e.g., career development and recognition) that may be impacting productivity, morale and retention.
- Improve employee satisfaction. People operations help create a more satisfied and motivated workforce by prioritizing employee experience and engagement. As with enhancing productivity, real-time feedback gauging employee sentiment can identify areas of dissatisfaction, concern or improvement before they become dire.
- Positively impact workplace culture. With employee productivity, engagement and satisfaction high, data-driven decision-making can continue to positively impact workplace culture. Fostering a sense of belonging boosts morale and collaboration, and analytics can help gauge this sentiment and make informed decisions related to it.
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- Increase employee retention. Engaged and fulfilled employees are more likely to stay with an organization, reducing turnover and associated costs. Data can help identify at-risk employees, predict turnover and then drive proactive strategies to retain workers. Data from exit interviews or surveys can also help shed light on reasons why employees leave and identify patterns.
- Align organizational strategy with HR. Aligning employee initiatives with business goals can strategically drive sustainable growth. For example, analytics can help with a skills gap analysis, scenario modeling and succession planning.
This strategic connection to the organization enables people operations to focus on long-term talent needs instead of short-term recruitment. Every organization is unique and will have its own set of capabilities, challenges and opportunities. However, there’s great potential for employers to harness the power of data in people operations to influence employees, operations, and related responsibilities and strategies.
As workplaces continue to evolve, so does the role of HR. People operations represents a forward-thinking approach that prioritizes employee experience, data-driven decision-making and strategic alignment. By embracing this model, organizations can shift their HR function from administrative to transformative, fueling both employee growth and business success. Partnering with a PEO like Tilson gives you the tools, support, and expertise to turn people operations into a true strategic advantage. Ready to elevate your HR approach? Let’s talk.
