In the age of expanding technology giants and remote teams, People Operations (PeopleOps) keeps getting traction in businesses. Andre Gobran, PeopleOps Manager at Doist, said that PeopleOps represents a shift in the way companies understand the value of their employees. In the past, employees were seen as resources that are paid to do a job and could be replaced if no longer useful. Yet, there has been a growing realisation within an organisation that their people are actually their competitive advantage. And PeopleOps is responsible for investing in this fight for engagement and development of employees. 

In simpler terms, people operations is more focused on employees and the development of employees rather than the abundance of corporate administrative tasks. Does this sound much like the job you want? If yes, being a PeopleOps specialist should definitely be your next career move. Here is how to be one. 

See also: Step-by-step Guide To Be The Next CHRO

Key accountabilities PeopleOps need to have 

Although people operations differ from HR management, both are sharing each key responsibility in its job desk, such as follows: 

Note: These key accountability are the general responsibility of people operations. Different firms might provide different descriptions to align their needs. 

• Develop HR solutions by collecting and analysing information, recommending courses of action
• Prepare executive and management reports by collecting, analysing and summarising data and trends
• Improve manager and employee performance by identifying and clarifying problems, evaluating potential solutions, implementing a selected solution, coaching and counselling managers and employees
• Protect organisation’s value by keeping information confidential 
• Update job knowledge by participating in educational opportunities, reading professional publications, maintaining personal networks, participating in professional organisations
• Enhance department and organisation reputation by accepting ownership for accomplishing new and different requests, exploring opportunities to add value to job accomplishments 
• Provide support for associates, including completion of onboarding and offboarding issues 
• Conduct exit interviews for all individual contributors and collaborate closely with People Business Partner team to support with administration related tasks 

PeopleOps competencies 

Most industries that hire people operation specialists will require these soft and hard skills in their candidates, including the following: 

• Excellent operational and sales expertise
• Good relationship management
• Strong critical thinking, analytical skills, and problem-solving 
• Excellent leadership and emotional maturity skills
• Excellent communication and work ethics (both spoken and written)
• Able to work under pressure
• High self-initiative and knowledge in handling general office equipment
• Physical capabilities of standing or sitting long hours each workday 

Job requirements 

Many companies that hire people operations specialists prefer their candidates to have 5+ years of experience in HR roles with a demonstrated track record of building and optimising processes, systems, and structures, and 3+ years of experience in leading people and cross-functional organisations. If you are interested in this role, you should have a minimum BA degree in HR, Organisational Development, Organisational Leadership, or other related fields. B.S. in Business of the Social Sciences with demonstrated ability to understand language of business, SPHR or other HR certifications will boost your chance of getting hired. If you are keen to get a specified People Operations certification, Agile PeopleOps Framework could be your choice. 

Salary range

Based on PayScale salary report, the average people operations specialist is $51,373 per year, from $41,000 to $83,000 yearly salary range. There are also bonuses and profit-sharing with total salary could reach up to $77,000 annually. If you are interested in an independent PeopleOps job, you may set your hourly pay from $19 – $36, with the average pay is $25.56. 

Read also: Step-by-Step Guide to be a Good HR Virtual Assistant