Main Responsibilities and Required Skills for a Head of People
A Head of People is a dynamic and strategic leader who is instrumental in shaping the culture, talent, and success of an organization. Formerly known as the Head of HR or Chief People Officer, this role extends beyond traditional HR functions, encompassing a broader view of organizational development, employee experience, and strategic workforce planning. In this blog post, we describe the primary responsibilities and the most in-demand hard and soft skills for Heads of People.
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Main Responsibilities of a Head of People
The following list describes the typical responsibilities of a Head of People:
Act as
Act as an advocate for employee concerns.
Address
Address employees' queries (e.g. on compensation and labour regulations).
Analyze
Analyze the effectiveness of HR operations and policies.
Assess
Assess and work towards optimal training programs across departments.
Assess training needs to apply and monitor training programs.
Assist with
Assist with other HR-driven initiatives as required.
Bridge
Bridge management and employee relations by addressing demands, grievances or other issues.
Build
Build and lead the People Ops function in a fast-growing company.
Build and roll-out a company-wide performance evaluation framework within 6 months.
Build a performance culture.
Build on HR frameworks, processes, policies, data and systems.
Build on the strong internal culture and behaviours.
Champion
Champion and perpetuate growth mindset that's rooted in learning from feedback.
Champion diversity and inclusion efforts.
Champion our mission, vision & values, both inside and outside the organization.
Coach
Coach and counsel people at all levels within the team.
Coach and mentor our Managers, helping them to be the best leaders they can be.
Collaborate with
Collaborate with leadership on planning the growth and organizational structure.
Communicate
Communicate and educate employees on HR policies and programs.
Competence
Competence to build and effectively manage interpersonal relationships at all levels of the company.
Conduct
Conduct exit interviews for departing employees.
Contribute
Contribute and support the business strategy and associated change management efforts.
Co-operate
Co-operate with line managers on defining and implementing effective organization.
Craft
Craft and implement management processes and structure to help the team develop.
Create
Create a KPI dashboard and work closely with the rest of our People and Leadership Teams.
Create and implement innovative and efficient.
Create and maintain a positive work environment.
Create and maintain social, educational, and wellness programs.
Create and update HR policies.
Create a people strategy and roadmap that will enable Acin to accomplish its objectives and vision.
Create a talent sourcing strategy.
Create high performing teams who are recognised across the Industry.
Create strong and scalable recruitment processes across the business.
Curate
Curate a roster of training vendors and resources.
Define
Define and embed Kroo's values and operating principles.
Define and support the management of candidate experience from first interaction to onboarding.
Define processes for reviews, performance management and pay negotiations.
Define the look and feel of our end to end employee experience.
Design
Design and deliver an end to end talent acquisition cycle and assessment process.
Design and drive people initiatives throughout the business (D& I, L& D, Engagement, etc.).
Design and ensure the implementation of activation plans and communication with business leaders.
Design and execute recruiting strategies to attract, evaluate and hire the best external talent.
Design and implement forwarding thinking People strategies (inc Talent Acquisition).
Design competitive compensation structures.
Design our employee's hiring experience - from interview to onboarding.
Design processes to maximise output from employees to reach companies goals.
Design recruitment processes, tests and challenges.
Design strategies to create a diverse, equitable, and inclusive work environment.
Design the organisational structure to ensure that we are set up to hit our business goals.
Develop
Develop and execute workforce strategies.
Develop and implement a strategy for talent management and leadership development.
Develop and implement Companywide wellbeing programme.
Develop and implement legal compliance strategy for the Fulfilment function.
Develop and implement succession plans.
Develop and lead the companywide HR / People strategy.
Develop and maintain employee KPIs.
Develop and manage engagement initiatives.
Develop and manage strategic HR plans that prepare Matternet for scale.
Develop and monitor overall HR strategies, systems, tactics and procedures across the organization.
Develop and provide insightful, data-driven reporting to the leadership team.
Develop an exceptional employee experience that means the best people stay to develop their careers.
Develop a organizational and performance management system.
Develop a performance improvement framework.
Develop effective internal communication.
Develop policies and procedures, in partnership with other Heads of HR, to meet business needs.
Develop recognition programs.
Develop retention initiatives.
Develop the internal framework to deliver OKRs, career progression and people engagement strategies.
Devise
Devise, implement and maintain all relevant people-related policies and procedures.
Diagnose
Diagnose needs & construct development plans.
Draft
Draft internal comms on significant or sensitive topics.
Drive
Drive all compliance aspects of Safety within the organization.
Drive and manage the Employee Diversity Committee.
Drive best-in-class performance management process.
Drive core, common and consistent practices throughout the business where appropriate.
Drive initiatives for organizational growth.
Drive the use of people centric data and identify areas for development.
Engage
Engage with business leaders and hiring managers to drive staffing plans.
Enhance
Enhance and promote the employer brand.
Ensure
Ensure and operate within corporate compliance and regulatory standards.
Ensure company policies and procedures align with Matternet values.
Ensure compliance with labor laws and regulations.
Ensure Echo's EVP is well communicated and that we are attracting great people.
Ensure employees requests and grievances are responded to and resolved in a timely manner.
Ensure hiring managers are properly trained on all talent acquisition processes and practices.
Ensure legal compliance in all areas of HR, from recruitment to terminations.
Ensure legal compliance throughout human resource management.
Ensure privacy compliance.
Ensure recognition is aligned with our core values.
Ensure that our policies and procedures are scalable as we continue to grow.
Ensure that people are integrated well into Echo through strong onboarding practices.
Ensure that people are integrated well into Wattbike through strong onboarding practices.
Establish
Establish a successful talent acquisition and progression framework that supports our growth.
Establish feedback mechanisms.
Facilitate
Facilitate and encourage regular communication within and between teams.
Facilitate leadership development programs.
Facilitate learning events & workshops by respecting the unique learning experience.
Facilitate the movement of talent within and across functions.
Facilitate the Performance Management process in Sanofi Genzyme.
Finite
Finite State conforms to the spirit as well as to the letter of all applicable laws and regulations.
Formalize
Formalize onboarding training and development.
Foster
Foster positive employee relations.
Govern
Govern a performance driven culture.
Handle
Handle employee conflicts and disputes.
Help
Help defining learning / development programs for employee groups.
Help existing riders troubleshoot any issues they experience.
Help initiate creative and scalable changes to our existing recruiting strategy.
Help to define values and behaviour across the studio.
Help us build, automate and champion a world-class working culture.
Hire
Hire, manage and develop a multidisciplinary People team.
Identify
Identify and prioritize what needs to be built to set our people up for long-term success.
Identify, recruit, develop and reward internal speakers / trainers.
Implement
Implement HR strategies globally.
Implement, improve and manage equitable compensation philosophies and programs.
Implement performance evaluation systems.
Implement wellness programs.
Improve
Improve experience standards and culture to continue to develop and hire the best team.
Influence
Influence and foster company culture that aligns and support Cubii culture and values.
Interpret
Interpret data and articulate opportunities for change initiatives to the Executive team.
Lead
Lead and develop programs that foster professional development of team members.
Lead and executive our people strategy across four locations in three geographies.
Lead annual budget process for the designated business unit / function.
Lead on defining and embedding the values and culture that will underpin our success.
Lead on embedding succession planning and introduce progression frameworks across the business.
Lead on executive recruitment.
Lead on pay review and benefit review processes.
Lead organizational change initiatives.
Lead recruitment efforts to attract top talent.
Lead succession planning efforts for leadership positions and critical roles throughout the function.
Lead talent acquisition and oversee organizational growth by running the recruitment process.
Lead the creation of new processes that are scalable and automated where possible.
Lead the Global Talent Management Process for Sanofi Genzyme.
Leverage
Leverage digital learning tools.
Leverage technology to automate People processes.
Leverage technology to automate systems and processes, reduce costs, and create efficiencies.
Liaise
Liaise with line managers and the HR Manager on individual HR issues.
Look
Look into and establish levelling within the company and carve out career paths and progression.
Maintain
Maintain pay plan and benefits program.
Manage
Manage and mentor HR and talent team members.
Manage a small team of local recruiters and people ops specialist.
Manage a team of two HR professionals.
Manage group benefits (including open enrollment) , company insurances and payroll through Gusto.
Manage HR aspects during crises.
Manage partnership with external.
Manage recruiters and the full hiring process across the different countries we operate in.
Manage the full team member lifecycle from onboarding to exit.
Manage the People and Talent team.
Manage the performance management initiatives, driving high expectations with assigned client groups.
Manage the recruitment and selection process.
Measure
Measure the learning impact for continuous improvement and communicate to the business.
Mobilize
Mobilize key stakeholders to ensure Learning efficiency.
Monitor
Monitor the budget allocated and optimize learning investments.
Optimise
Optimise our onboarding experience for new joiners and hiring managers.
Organise
Organise team / company wide learning events as required.
Oversee
Oversee accurate record-keeping for regulatory compliance and in-house purposes.
Oversee all functions end to end of our local people department in France.
Oversee and check the updating of employee records (using CharlieHR in the UK and Gusto in the US).
Oversee and provide advice related to any workers' compensation issue or leave of absence issue.
Oversee employee training programs.
Oversee HR technology systems.
Oversee our recruitment, interview, selection, and hiring processes (we use Workable for our ATS).
Oversee seamless onboarding processes.
Oversee smooth operation of day-to-day HR activities.
Oversee the company's HR plans in ways that support our mission and overall strategy.
Own
Own all people data and analytics, seeking better ways to automate processes where possible.
Own all People initiatives and partner with the CFO and Exec Team on a regular basis.
Own and update the people strategy and delegate initiatives through the organisation.
Own benefits sourcing and selection, ensuring we are meeting the needs of our employees.
Own professional development, defining the framework and managing the processes.
Perform
Perform remediation and requalification prior to return to production.
Perform visual and functional in-process and final inspection of product, devices or labels.
Promote
Promote strong collaborative relationships between the teams.
Provide
Provide a best in class experience throughout the employee lifecycle.
Provide change management support in the roll out of new processes / policies as needed.
Provide consultation for addressing employee issues and concerns.
Provide documentation, equipment & tools to enable the team to focus on doing their jobs.
Provide guidance on state and federal laws and regulations.
Provide guidance to HRIS and Total Rewards COE on policy / process development and HRIS needs.
Provide HR policy guidance and develop new HR strategies.
Provide leadership of people related issue and policies across the Group.
Provide outstanding career development opportunities for your team.
Provide regular, clear and specific feedback.
Provide sourced, screened, interviewed lists of talent to other company leaders.
Provide strategic people insights and support to the senior leadership team.
Put
Put on your business hat as well, taking part in discussions and decision-making about the business.
Read
Read the Series D press release.
Re-engineer
Re-engineer HR and talent processes to ensure maximum efficiency.
Review
Review and maintain the company's benefits package including work with external providers.
Review recruitment needs, advices local line management and sources appropriate service.
Run
Run performance management processes with the support of line managers and senior management.
Set
Set hard goals, ask lots of questions and learn every day.
Source
Source, interview and hire the right people for the FR team.
Strategize
Strategize and execute on programs and initiatives to maintain and increase employee engagement.
Support
Support compensation review through external benchmarking and overseeing internal practice.
Support managers in creating development plans and growth opportunities for their teams.
Support objective setting and monitor progress (we use an OKRs framework).
Support our Managers in navigating performance management challenges.
Support the Finance team with payroll and pension processes.
Support the organisation's transition from startup to global leader.
Track
Track and measure employee engagement, happiness, and satisfaction.
Track record of partnering at all levels in an organization to drive initiatives.
Work with
Work closely with the finance department on monthly payroll.
Work with co-founders to build and champion a world-class company culture.
Work with our immigration attorney on visa and other immigration applications.
Work with providers of benefits, payroll and other resources to assure the team needs are met.
Work with the CFO and CEO to define and implement the company's people strategy.
Work with the leadership team to ensure the right people are in the right roles at the right time.
Work with the senior leadership team to plan and execute the people strategy and roadmap.
Most In-demand Hard Skills
The following list describes the most required technical skills of a Head of People:
HR Information Systems (HRIS) Management
Data Analytics and Reporting Tools
Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) Proficiency
Compensation Management Software
Learning Management Systems (LMS) Expertise
HR Compliance Software
Change Management Tools and Methodologies
Talent Management Software
Workforce Planning Tools
Employee Engagement Platforms
Performance Management Systems
Global HR Systems and Strategy
Employee Wellness and Well-being Platforms
Survey and Feedback Tools
Communication and Collaboration Software
Privacy and Compliance Software
Succession Planning Software
Conflict Resolution Software
Time and Attendance Tracking Systems
Crisis Management Tools
Most In-demand Soft Skills
The following list describes the most required soft skills of a Head of People:
Leadership and Visionary Thinking
Effective Communication and Listening
Emotional Intelligence
Adaptability and Change Management
Problem-Solving and Decision-Making
Collaboration and Team Building
Strategic Thinking and Planning
Influencing and Negotiation
Crisis Management and Resilience
Ethical and Values-Driven Leadership
Conclusion
A Head of People is crucial for organizations seeking to navigate the complexities of the modern workforce. By honing the hard and soft skills outlined in this post, these leaders can drive positive organizational change and foster a workplace that attracts, retains, and empowers top talent.
