People Operations

What Is People Operations?

People operations, or people ops, is an HR function focused on creating an exceptional employee experience and aligning employees’ individual development and goals with the company's overall vision and priorities.

Although the function technically falls under human resources, it has a much broader scope than traditional HR—it enhances employee performance by providing the support and resources they need to thrive.

What’s the Difference Between People Operations vs. HR?

There are several differences between people operations and human resources:

• Human resources is focused on logistical tasks (such as benefits administration, payroll, and compliance).
• People ops is focused on outcomes achieved by supporting employees and strengthening employer-employee relations.
• Human resources makes sure the organization and its infrastructure run smoothly and efficiently.
• People ops aims to ensure the company runs effectively, with the understanding that employee experience, wellbeing, and engagement affect the overall performance of the organization.

However, HR and people ops differ in how each department views employees.

• HR's typically strategic approach treats the workforce like human capital that exists to serve the company's needs.
• People ops views employees as complete, unique individuals.

When it comes to people ops and. HR, people ops takes a more holistic and empathetic approach. The ultimate goal is to empower employees to discover and reach their full potential—the company thrives when they thrive.

10 Common People Operations Duties

Those with people operations jobs take on a variety of employee-centric responsibilities, including:

• Branding: Evaluating and shifting company culture to create brand ambassadors among the workforce and improve the candidate experience
• Onboarding: Supporting new hires and ensuring clarity around appropriate points of contact for issues and inquiries
• Culture: Creating and encouraging employee alignment with the values, beliefs, norms, expectations, and behaviors that create a positive working environment.
• Engagement: Making sure employees feel connected to and invested in their work.
• Performance: Helping employees set and achieve personal and professional goals, which improves organizational performance.
• Training: Providing opportunities for employees to develop new skills in line with company needs while supporting their personal career goals.
• Recognition: Publicly celebrating employees and the impact of their work.
• Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI): Ensuring employees from all backgrounds can thrive and work in an environment free from discrimination.
• Paid Time Off (PTO): Supporting employees who need to request time off and helping them re-integrate when they return from their leave.
• Offboarding: Giving departing employees a smooth send-off while maintaining the integrity of the employer brand.

In smaller organizations, there may be one or two people performing HR and people operations duties. However, larger organizations are typically able to budget for multiple people operations jobs, such as:

• DEI coordinators
• Onboarding specialists
• Learning and development coaches
• People operations managers

Best Practices for People Operations

Here’s an in-depth exploration of how a people operations department might best address some of the most pivotal issues affecting an organization’s workforce.

Benefits

In many organizations, the same benefits package is offered to every employee of a particular status or level. Packages are typically designed with industry standards in mind or based on what is in the company’s best financial interest.

In the age of personalization, where both customers and employees want to shape their own experience with a company, a people ops approach might include employees putting together their own packages and selecting the benefits that fit their needs and lifestyles from a variety of options.

Compensation

In times past, roles and compensation were quite cookie-cutter and industry-driven. Most employers in any given industry used the same titles, job descriptions, and compensation structures for similar roles.

However, people ops consider two factors previous compensation methods didn’t—the organization’s strategic goals and the shifting nature of the work environment.

This approach means roles are based on what the company needs to accomplish its mission, and the compensation philosophy is determined (and adjusted) based on the requirements of that particular role—not necessarily on the “industry standard.”

DEI

A human resources approach to diversity, equity, and inclusion aims to ensure compliance with the law.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the US Department of Labor strictly prohibit discrimination in any form in hiring and employment practices. HR's role is to ensure everyone adheres to these laws and has a means of reporting possible violations.

A people ops team, however, takes a stance beyond legal compliance. What is people ops if not a way to ensure employees from all backgrounds experience a safe and welcoming workplace?

DEI initiatives, like employee resource groups, celebrating diverse holidays, and unconscious bias training, all help foster a sense of belonging and inclusivity for all employees.

However, this approach may come under scrutiny as some US states have passed anti-DEI legislation.

Employee Development

Typical HR departments see employee training as a mandatory function to meet certain regulatory requirements and ensure employees have the basic skills to do their jobs. Occasionally, HR departments may require special training if an issue arises or a new compliance rule is enacted.

People ops takes a more proactive and strategic approach known as employee development—a career path and performance plan are developed for each employee with their personal and professional goals in mind.

Instead of an annual performance review, employees are coached frequently to help them set goals, overcome roadblocks, meet goals, and attain promotions.

Internal Communications

With a typical HR approach, internal communications are a one-way street. All information is handed down to employees from the HR manager or someone above them. Employees are expected to receive and internalize the information to ensure total compliance.

People ops considers internal communications opportunities to uplift employees and connect them to the company's overall mission. Employees are encouraged to share their feedback, concerns, and questions.

In many people ops departments, policies are developed with employee input to ensure a variety of perspectives are considered.

Payroll

Because the payroll process is closely tied to financial and tax compliance, many HR departments have a well-defined system that runs without considering employees. Even when mistakes are made, they are corrected from a compliance standpoint.

A people operations lens helps employers recognize that payroll mistakes can have a huge financial impact on employees. Therefore, the business aims to correct these issues as soon as possible and ensure employees are paid on time.

This often means streamlining and modernizing the payroll process with software and employee self-service apps. In some cases, employers may offer daily pay through earned wage access.

Recruitment

Many HR departments aim to make the recruiting process as smooth as possible for themselves. Because of time constraints, they may create job descriptions with unrealistic requirements and use applicant tracking systems (ATS) to filter out as many applicants as possible. HR professionals may not communicate with candidates who don’t get the job.

People operations, on the other hand, handle the entire recruitment process with an eye on maintaining the organization's employer brand, guaranteeing that each candidate is treated with respect.

Candidates are given frequent communication and updates, even if it’s via automated software. These departments consider skills and competencies needed for the job rather than adhering to industry-standard education and experience requirements.

Employee Satisfaction

Many HR departments are so focused on daily tasks that there is little time left to worry about whether employees are satisfied. As long as employees comply with policies and remain productive at work, employee satisfaction may be of little concern.

HR takes a reactive approach to employee issues, aiming to put them to rest quickly and get back to focusing on work.

On the other hand, satisfaction with the employee experience is at the heart of people operations. This approach aims to ensure employees enjoy and find meaning in their work.

People operations professionals understand that employee satisfaction is a significant driver of engagement. When employees are engaged, they are more motivated and productive.