In Consideration of Agency in People Operations

When we talk about People Operations, it's easy to mistake the function for a neo-HR model that uses buzzwords to mask the same old tasks. 

Nothing could be further from the truth. Human Resources is, at its core, a transactional model that requires an exchange of quantifiable values. When it comes to data, compliance, and covering the brass tacks of your humans' work and total compensation exchange, HR is the bread and butter. You need HR as much as you need accounts payable and receivable. Those transactions are imperative to running a clean business and compensating time and effort with wages and benefits. 

How many CEOs over the past few years have stretched those HR professionals to strudel-thin limits? I mean, seeing the print behind the person kind of thin, driving them to weariness just by asking for what the core function was never intended to provide? And by that, I mean people strategy. Don't get me wrong, some of you folks have gotten really lucky with HR personnel who have developed their People Operations sensibilities and are willing and able to perform both. That doesn't mean that you're not getting two birds with one stone!

People Operations is about seeing the forest of the employment landscape as it exists in time and cultural contexts, and identifying solutions that serve organizations and their people. As we all should know by now, what worked in 2019 to promote positive and healthy cultures is locked in time and space that existed 5 years ago. If you had tricks up your sleeve that worked a few years ago, you probably want to consider changing your shirt for today's party. Nothing will turn off your employees faster than you insisting that they want to go where you are leading in exchange for a few cheap tricks. 

And that's where the concept of AGENCY comes in. Over the next few months, I'll be wrapping up my first book which delves into how great leaders can miss (and catch!) the boat entirely by overlooking the individual humanity of the folks under their umbrella. The business knowledge field is rife with books about personal empowerment, but how do leaders engage with their empowered employees/volunteers/constituents/congregants, etc?

People Operations is a business discipline that transcends HR by interacting with people as meaningful partners in successful organizations. If wisdom is knowledge applied, consider People Operations as human wisdom applied to the workplace (virtual and physical). In essence, wisdom + individual agency --> path to robust, sustainable, and scalable cultures. 

That's where J+C People Consulting comes in. We coach and train you and your leaders to mentally shift to a People Operations model, closing the gap between the culture you're in and the culture you want to build. When we come in, you can count on lower regrettable turnover and expect improved discretionary effort by employees. In short, J+C People is the path to a happier life for you and your employees! Visit JNCPeople.com for your complementary introduction!