Creating Scalable People Operations for a Growing Startup
The Situation
A rapidly scaling startup with more than 40 team members was struggling with a lack of structure in their HR operations. There were few formal policies in place, hiring managers felt disconnected from the hiring process, and the onboarding process depended on who was managing it. Feedback systems, both to and from employees were inconsistent and unscalable. Policy documentation was vague or non-existent in some cases.
They needed someone to build a people operations foundation that could grow with them.
What I Did
Brought in as a fractional Head of People, I worked directly with executive leadership to build the entire HR infrastructure from scratch.
Policy and Compliance Work
Reviewed existing HR policies for compliance and cultural alignment
Drafted all core HR policies, including parental leave, FMLA alignment, performance documentation, and an updated team member handbook
Partnered with legal for review and guidance where needed
Performance and Team Management
Built a performance improvement plan (PIP) process with clear documentation and expectations
Trained managers on how to have direct, supportive conversations with team members
Onboarding and Off-boarding
Clarified onboarding processes ensuring standardized documentation was available to all department heads
Created standardized exit interviews and offboarding workflows to ensure insights weren’t lost when team members left
Hiring and Interview Process
Developed job-specific interview guides and candidate evaluation rubrics
Facilitated training for managers to create a more structured and inclusive process
Automation and Documentation
Replaced ad-hoc communications with automated workflows for onboarding and project updates
Built process documentation using Loom, Scribe, and ClickUp to reduce manual admin
The Results
100% policy adoption across the team, including signed acknowledgments for handbook and updates
30% faster onboarding from first day to full productivity
20% increase in retention for new hires within six months
Managers reported increased confidence in hiring decisions and performance conversations
Reduced team lead workload by over 40% for routine people ops tasks
Why It Mattered
The team got the clarity, structure, and support they needed to focus on doing great work. And leadership gained confidence that their people operations could scale with the business.
