This Week I Learned: People Ops > HR

Despite our core focus on tech-enablement, we often talk about mental health counseling being the ultimate “people business” and that no amount of software, particularly in the near term, is going to change that. The success of mental health counseling depends on the quality of the human connection between counselor and client, making it a field that is centered on people and their well-being. Therefore, our ability to attract, hire, and retain great clinicians is fundamental to the success of the business.

For some companies, your most valuable assets walk out the door every day and if you don’t take the employee experience seriously, they may decide not to come back the next day. This is of particular importance in mental health counseling where our team is facing stress and emotional exhaustion due to the nature of the work. Certainly this creates challenges, but it also offers valuable opportunities for organizations willing to think beyond the traditional scope of HR to build a People Operations function. 

But what is People Operations? Building a high quality People Ops function is so much more than HR and potentially the most strategic part of the business. While HR primarily focuses on administrative tasks such as payroll, benefits, and compliance, People Ops takes a more strategic and comprehensive view of the employee experience. It encompasses all aspects of an employee's journey within the organization, from attraction and recruitment to onboarding, development, engagement, and even offboarding. People Ops teams strive to create a positive and inclusive workplace culture, foster employee growth and well-being, and align individual goals with organizational objectives. 

Software plays a crucial role in running People Operations efficiently and effectively. It automates repetitive tasks, streamlines processes, and provides valuable data-driven insights that inform strategic decision-making. For example, applicant tracking systems (ATS) simplify the recruitment process, human resource information systems (HRIS) centralize employee data and manage benefits administration, and performance management software facilitates goal-setting, feedback, and employee development. Moreover, engagement surveys and analytics tools help People Ops teams measure and improve employee satisfaction, identify areas for improvement, and track the impact of their initiatives. Since our acquisition of Stokes Counseling we have implemented JazzHR for ATS, Lattice for employee survey engagement, and we are evaluating HRIS systems for next year. In addition,  just last week, we published our Tech Recipe on leveraging software to build an effective onboarding process for new hires. 

While the vast majority of our team's focus is on creating an exceptional environment for our clinicians and administrative team, we can’t build a best-in-class People Ops function overnight. We’ve made significant progress in particular since we hired Steve Donnelly as our Chief People Officer. A great People Ops function requires a dynamic leader and we are fortunate to have Steve leading the way. Yet, we are reminded weekly that despite all the additional improvements we want to make, that resource constraints require us to think creatively and make tough decisions. But we can and will find ways to provide the best support we can to our team. Just this past week we rolled out a new PTO policy that increases the amount of vacation days employees can accrue. In addition, we wanted to reward and encourage those employees with longer tenure to accrue even more days with tenure-based tiers for PTO. In addition, we recently launched an employee recognition initiative where teammates can recognize one another for representing one of our core values which gets shared with the broader organization. It’s a small, but important way to build comradery and recognize the effort our team puts in each and every day. 

While we’ve made significant progress we’re reminded that there is still so much more to do and also that we don’t get everything right. Sometimes employees decide to leave or we learn that we’ve made a poor hiring decision. Unfortunately, in people-intensive businesses, this can and will happen. How you manage these offboarding moments is critically important as well and again just this week, we were reminded of the importance of this. Managing employee offboarding effectively is just as important as onboarding, yet it often receives less attention. A well-executed offboarding process ensures a smooth transition for both the departing employee and the organization ideally minimizing disruption. It involves conducting exit interviews to gather valuable feedback, transferring knowledge to remaining team members, and handling administrative tasks such as revoking access to company resources and processing final payments. Don’t overlook the value of the data that can be generated from this process. Organizations can gain valuable insights and learn important lessons that contribute to the continuous improvement of their People Operations. Exit interviews, for example, provide a unique opportunity to gather candid feedback from departing employees about their experiences, the company culture, management styles, and areas for improvement.

Building a best-in-class People Operations function is a strategic imperative for any organization, especially in people-centric businesses like mental health counseling. By focusing on the entire employee life cycle, from attraction and recruitment to development, engagement, and offboarding, companies can create a positive and supportive work environment that drives employee well-being, retention, and ultimately, organizational success. While there will always be challenges and room for improvement, investing in a strong People Ops function is a critical step towards building a resilient and high-performing organization. As we continue to grow and evolve, we remain committed to putting our people first and creating an exceptional employee experience that enables our team to thrive and provide the best possible care to our clients.