WHAT DOES A DIRECTOR OF PEOPLE OPERATIONS DO?
Published: Dec 02, 2024 - The Director of People Operations is responsible for leading and managing all operations components within the People Team, including total rewards, benefits, wellness programs, and compliance, while ensuring effective systems and processes are in place. This role partners with executives and department leaders on change management, policy communication, and process enhancements to support the company's overall objectives. Additionally, the Director oversees employee relations, manages reporting on compensation and operational metrics, and ensures the company meets its legal and business obligations.
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A Review of Professional Skills and Functions for Director of People Operations
1. Director of People Operations Duties
- Collaborative Leadership: Work collaboratively with the CEO and Executive team with support from the MRC HR Team
- Talent Strategy Development: Develop an integrated talent management strategy that attracts, develops, and retains employees in support of the business strategy and long-term vision of the organization
- Talent Management Implementation: Implement Talent Management across the business including performance management, salary reviews, DEI, career pathing, and learning and development
- Open Door Policy: Create an open door environment for HR
- Employee Advocacy: Serve as a trusted advisor to and advocate for employees while operating with professionalism and always in the best interest of the business
- Manager Coaching: Serve as a trusted partner and coach to managers navigating regular change, high-growth, global expansion, and critical business drivers
- Best Practices Establishment: Establish best-practices that ensure consistency and equity across all HR programs
- Workflow Development: Develop scalable, repeatable workflows for onboarding and offboarding
- HR Metrics Accountability: Drive accountability for key HR metrics including employee engagement and retention
- Employee Recognition: Implement programs at the individual employee level in partnership with managers that recognize, reward, grow, and promote employees regularly
- Employee Relations Management: Establish standard operating procedures for employee relations across business and serve as lead on all escalated ER cases
- Culture and People Initiatives: Work on projects and key initiatives related to culture and people
2. Director of People Operations Details
- Recruitment Management: Maintain responsibility for the recruitment, hiring, and onboarding experience, ensuring we create a “Wow” experience for each candidate.
- Targeted Recruitment: Develop and implement targeted recruitment strategies to ensure a robust and diverse applicant pool for all openings.
- Hiring Process Management: Manage the hiring process to ensure consistency across departments and appropriate communication among staff, including supervision of the onboarding coordinators.
- Onboarding Services: Provide onboarding services and orientation in partnership with the Training Team for all new staff members and ensure department and/or program level orientations are standardized and effective.
- Talent Planning: Facilitate bi-annual talent planning process including reporting and ongoing development plans for incumbents in key positions.
- Trend Analysis: Monitor and interpret trends and metrics around associate satisfaction, attrition, and turnover.
- Benefits and Payroll Administration: Ensure consistent administration of benefits/payroll/compliance reporting.
- Benefits Evaluation: Evaluate and submit feedback to the COE regarding benefits usage and associate experience.
- Salary Research: Research salary scales and raise recommendations supported by data.
- Payroll Supervision: Supervise payroll and benefits administration ensuring timely completion of state tax requirements and processing of changes with required approvals.
- Compliance Reporting: Respond to all regulatory and compliance reporting (e.g., EEO-1, AAP, Benefits Fringe) and sales requests for compliance-related employment data.
- People Administration: General People Administration, Systems and Employee Relations Management.
- Legal Compliance: Understand, interpret, and share relevant laws related to personnel management and ensure all People processes and actions comply with these laws.
- HRIS Management: Act as the main liaison to manage all HRIS systems with technical support from the Data Systems Analyst, IT, and the COE.
3. Director of People Operations Responsibilities
- Operations Leadership: Create and lead the operations component to the People Team including total rewards, benefit and wellness programs, People and Talent systems, policies, analytics and reporting, immigration programs, compliance, and more.
- Process Standardization: Serve as a leader for the People Team in establishing efficient, standardized departmental processes, policies, and procedures.
- Team Development: Provide employee development and coaching to the growing People Team.
- Change Management: Partner with department leaders and executives on change management initiatives, especially as it relate to operations, process enhancements, and policy communications to ensure effective adoption and understanding across the organization.
- Compensation & Reporting: Provide compensation, equity, and operational reporting and expertise to executives and board members.
- Collaboration with Recruiting: Partner closely with Recruiting on performance management, employee engagement, D&I, career architecture, and L&D.
- Communication with Leaders: Regularly communicate with department leaders on People programs and practices in support of overall company objectives.
- Strategic Oversight: Provide strategic oversight of People Operations to ensure both legal and business obligations are met.
- HR System Review: Review current HR systems and explore, and ultimately implement, new systems based on organizational needs.
- Employee Relations Management: Manage and report on employee relations complaints and feedback.
- Trend Analysis and Recommendations: Identifying trends and providing recommendations to mitigate concerns or repetitive issues.
- Manager Advisory: Advise, assist, and counsel managers in the employment process to include proper forecasting, hiring, and performance management.
- Ad Hoc Tasks: Perform other ad hoc tasks and projects related to personnel and employment requirements.
4. Director of People Operations Job Summary
- Program Design: Design and implement our people operations programs, processes, and policies to effectively scale with our organization.
- HRIS Management: Own the management of BambooHR, our HRIS program, and other tools to support our scaling efforts.
- HR & Benefits Administration: Perform all matters regarding HR, benefits administration, and organizational development.
- Employee Support: Act as first point of contact and support for employee changes including professional development, employee performance, leave, and day-to-day support.
- Culture Development: Cultivate our creative culture and implement innovative human capital programs that support our team.
- Team Building & Events: Support the overall cross-functional team in managing our employee team building and culture events.
- Employee Engagement: Develop and deploy initiatives to drive employee engagement and a sound sense of connection across our highly distributed international company including but not limited to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
- Lifecycle Management: Own the documentation and management of end-to-end employee lifecycle processes, in consultation with Payroll/Accounting, Finance, other teams, and hiring managers including new hire onboarding, orientation, training, immigration, employee relations, performance and salary reviews, termination, compliance, etc.
- Process Automation: Determine methods for automating and streamlining processes.
- Risk & Legal Coordination: Coordinate with the executive team and in-house and outside counsel on risk and legal-related matters.
- Recognition Programs: Manage the delivery of employee recognition and engagement programs, and continually seek feedback from key stakeholders to improve, add or remove programs.
- Communication Strategy: Determine and implement an appropriate communication strategy to educate employees on programs and changes.
- Vendor Relationship Management: Manage HR-related vendor relationships, including negotiating contracts and services.
- Benefits Program Administration: Manage all filings, reports, and audits related to the administration of employee benefit programs.
5. Director of People Operations Accountabilities
- Program Implementation: Oversees the implementation of People Operations programs through the People Operations team.
- Improvement Identification: Identifies opportunities for improvement and resolves any discrepancies.
- Budget Management: Develops and monitors the annual budget that includes People Operations services, team member recognition, sports team support, Pay it Forward, and administration.
- Goal Setting: Leads the development of department goals, objectives, and systems.
- Engagement Leadership: Leads the Engagement process and initiatives at the hotel.
- Team Participation: Participates in guidance, management, team meetings, and other meetings at the hotel.
- Culture Planning: With the General Manager, annually plans the company's culture initiatives and Pay it Forward program.
- Learning Program Definition: Defines all People Operations learning programs and assigns responsibility of People Operations and managers within those programs.
- Performance Management: Leads the implementation of the performance management system that includes performance development plans (PDPs) and team member development programs.
- Team Member Learning: Facilitates an in-house team member learning system that addresses the hotel’s learning needs including new team member immersion, onboarding, management development, service culture, and standards.
- Recruiting & Hiring: Oversees the standard recruiting and hiring practices and procedures necessary to hire a talented team.
- Policy Communication: Partners with management to communicate People Operations policies, procedures, programs, and laws.
- Employee Relations: Determines and recommends team member relations practices necessary to establish a positive employer-employee relationship and promote a high level of team member morale and motivation.
- Investigation Management: Manages investigations when team member complaints or concerns are brought forth.