Startup CXO

Chapter 39People Operations

While focusing on the culture and company you are trying to build, finding the right people to help you, and building systems to keep track of everything, you also need to focus on the transactional aspects of the function. These two broad areas—transactional work and culture—reinforce each other and as a startup it's best to create both of them in tandem. All aspects of transactional work will be influenced by company values and when you're growing rapidly it's tempting to recruit strong transactional people to the company right away. There are lots of people with the traditional skill sets, but I've found that being intentional about building the People Operations team sets the company up for rapid growth. Building the People Operations team with an Employee Value Proposition (EVP) mindset will help you develop effective processes, set the stage for long‐term growth, and attract the people you'd want in People Operations. The EVP is a broad term for the entire employee experience and in a nutshell answers the question, “What can the employee expect to gain by working at your company?” That answer is the foundation of your employment brand, which is not set in stone on Day 1, and rather changes as you grow. The EVP includes values and cultures, which can play a big role in why someone wants to work at your company.

Again, even while it may seem urgent to just get payroll and benefits started, you'd do well to consider your EVP even in the very beginning. ...