Redefining Work Reports are short podcasts recapping some of the top stories, news, and trends in the new world of work. In this episode, Lars introduces the new open-source Founder’s HR Playbook.

Building companies is hard. Great ideas alone won’t become the next decacorn. You need solid people systems to ensure your teams are equipped and supported to drive your vision forward. I built this open-source playbook to help you success. Here’s why.

My mission is to build a better world of work by elevating the field of HR.

As a founder, you play a direct role in that. I want you to understand the impact a high-impact people team can have on your business - and your bottom line. In this deck I want you to know what to expect from a great HR team, how to build it, and how to enable its success - and in doing so, unlocking yours.

Learn more about the Founder HR Playbook in the special episode of Redefining Work Reports below. You can also view and download the Playbook directly.

You can also listen/share the episode directly syndicated on any of these channels: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts | Stitcher

Jump Ahead

[00:01:28] Keys to building modern HR teams.

[00:06:23] Operationalizing culture and values.

[00:09:15] Celebrating failure at X.

[00:14:57] Principles of scaling HR operating systems.

[00:19:07] Connection between engagement and revenue.

[00:21:12] Hiring your Head of People.

[00:25:10] WorkTech industry size and scope.

Episode Overview

In today's fast-paced business world, it is essential for companies to have a modern HR team in order to ensure growth and success. Without an effective HR team, companies can struggle to keep up with the ever-evolving landscape and remain competitive. Fortunately, there are resources available to help companies build modern HR teams for growth.

One such resource is the Founders Playbook on Building Modern HR and People Teams for Growth, created by Lars Schmidt. This 75-page guide provides founders and HR leaders with the necessary tools and information to create a successful HR team. It covers topics such as culture and values, optimized recruiting, building for scale, diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging, employee experience, building a high-performing team, hiring a head of people, and HR tech stack. The playbook also includes case studies, practitioner spotlights, and a collection of highly curated resources.

Build modern HR teams for growth

The goal of the Founders Playbook is to help founders and HR leaders understand what modern HR and people operations look like today, how they function, and how they impact the business. It also provides a framework for founders who may not have worked with high-impact people teams before, giving them a better understanding of what to expect from the HR function. The playbook is designed to be practical and tangible, providing real-world examples and insights that can be implemented immediately.

Building a modern HR team is essential for any company looking to succeed in today's competitive landscape. The Founders Playbook on Building Modern HR and People Teams for Growth is an invaluable resource for founders and HR leaders alike, providing the necessary tools and information to create a successful HR team. With its practical and tangible approach, it is the perfect starting point for any company looking to build a modern HR team for growth.

Recruiting is key to success

One of the most important aspects of a successful HR team is the recruitment process. Recruiting the right people for the right roles is key to success. The Founders Playbook offers a comprehensive look at the recruitment process, beginning with employer branding and understanding the core pillars of a successful culture. It also highlights the difference between culture and values, and encourages founders to think about culture as a fluid concept that evolves with each hire and values as more stable, consistent guiding principles. Additionally, the playbook provides an invaluable values alignment checklist to help founders operationalize their values.

The Founders Playbook also emphasizes the importance of psychological safety in order to foster innovation within the company. It provides an in-depth look at how to create an environment where innovation can thrive and even offers a case study on celebrating failure at X, which is an event that celebrates failed projects and helps normalize failure.

Finally, the Founders Playbook dives into the nitty-gritty of the recruitment process. It provides data on time-to-fill metrics, open rates for different functions and demographics, and even pass-through rates. This data, which was pulled from the 2022 recruiting benchmarking report, provides valuable insight into the recruitment process and can help founders understand if their process is better or worse than average.

Overall, the Founders Playbook is an invaluable resource for any founder looking to build a modern HR team for growth. Its comprehensive approach to recruiting is key to success and provides the necessary tools and information to create a successful HR team.

Invest in diversity early

One of the most important chapters in the playbook is the one on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB). DEIB is essential for any modern HR team, and it is especially important for early-stage startups. As the podcast transcript highlights, there have been 185,673 layoffs in tech in 2023, and this number is only growing. This is a direct result of “growth for the sake of growth”, and it is important for founders to invest in diversity early in order to avoid this kind of carnage.

It is essential for founders to understand the importance of representation in their organization. As the podcast transcript notes, it can be difficult for a person of color to feel comfortable in an interview process that consists of only white men. Therefore, it is important for founders to prioritize diversity and representation in their organization early on. This will help create a culture of mobility and growth that can be leveraged for success.

In addition to representation, it is important for founders to prioritize pay equity early on. This will help ensure that all employees are paid fairly for their work. It is also important to avoid “diversity debt”, which is the tendency to hire diverse candidates later in the process in order to make up for a lack of diversity earlier on. It is important to avoid this kind of “catch up” mentality and to focus on recruiting and hiring diverse candidates from the beginning.

Overall, it is essential for founders to invest in diversity early in order to create a successful HR team. This will help create a culture of mobility and growth and will ensure that all employees are paid fairly for their work. It is also important to avoid “diversity debt” and to focus on recruiting and hiring diverse candidates from the beginning. By investing in diversity early, founders can create a successful HR team that is built for scale and is representative of the world we live in.

Links from this week’s episode

• Download: Founder’s HR Playbook: Building Modern and People Teams for Growth

• Are you enjoying Redefining Work Report? I’d greatly appreciate it if you’d leave a review on Apple Podcast