Built for People: Using Product Management Principles to Design Work People Love | Jessica Zwaan, Revisited
Oct 25, 2024
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Jessica Zwaan, the Chief Operating Officer of Whereby and author of Built for People, shares her insights on transforming the employee experience using product management principles. She emphasizes the importance of viewing work as a product and highlights how organizations often overlook the value of employee experience. Zwaan discusses the distinctions between 'people operations' and 'human operations', along with strategies to enhance workforce engagement. Her vision encourages a shift towards more meaningful work that prioritizes both employee welfare and organizational success.
Understanding employee experience as a subscription product emphasizes the need for organizations to deliver consistent value to their workforce.
The distinction between people operations and human operations enables HR to balance qualitative and quantitative insights for effective management.
Employing product management principles in HR helps create tailored employee experiences that cater to individual needs, fostering engagement and satisfaction.
Deep dives
Understanding Complex Human Dynamics
Product managers excel in comprehensively understanding complex problems, a skill that is equally crucial in HR. They hold a significant responsibility for ensuring the effectiveness of every individual in the organization, which directly impacts the company’s mission. By enhancing their influencing abilities and fostering collaboration, HR professionals can promote positive behaviors rather than imposing control through traditional bureaucratic methods. This shift allows for a more engaged workforce and better alignment between employee performance and organizational goals.
The Evolution of Employee Experience
The modern employee experience is increasingly seen as a subscription product, where employees expect value from their organizations in exchange for their efforts. Organizations must recognize that they are simultaneously creating three interconnected products: the service offered to customers, the financial structuring for investors, and the employee experience itself. By prioritizing the quality of the employee experience, companies can cultivate a mutually beneficial system where each component supports and enhances the others. This approach fosters a culture of continuous improvement that benefits both employees and the organization as a whole.
Shifting from People Operations to Human Operations
The conversation around operational functions in HR emphasizes the need to distinguish between people operations and human operations. Human operations embody the qualitative aspects of working with individuals, such as providing personal feedback and understanding nuanced hiring decisions. In contrast, people operations focus on creating and enhancing organizational structures that serve as tools for management. By leveraging insights from both qualitative and quantitative data, HR can develop effective strategies that align with the broader mission of the organization.
Connecting Investment and Employee Value
Understanding the relationship between investment in human resources and the resulting impact on value creation is critical for effective management. Employees constitute a significant portion of operational expenditures, making it imperative for organizations to evaluate the returns on these investments. Yet, HR teams often struggle to link employee experience directly to profit, leading to underfunded initiatives aimed at improving workplace satisfaction. By adopting a more commercial mindset and tracking the contributions of human capital, organizations can improve decision-making and resource allocation in HR processes.
Creating Unique Employee Experiences
Individuals in various roles have distinct expectations from their work, which highlights the necessity of recognizing these diverse needs in employee experience design. Organizations that approach work as a product can cater to varying employee demands, ensuring meaningful engagement and satisfaction. By integrating principles from product management, HR can create tailored experiences that resonate with different segments of the workforce. Acknowledging and addressing the individuality of employees fosters a more vibrant workplace culture where everyone feels valued and supported.
The philosophy behind HR and our way of working predates most of the tools we use. While companies focus on sales and productivity, most neglect to measure one of the largest sources of value within the organization – the employee experience. Jessica Zwaan has made it her mission to teach executives and their companies how to transform the employee experience using product management principles, maximizing value for all stakeholders involved.
Jessica Zwaan is the author of Built for People, the current Chief Operating Officer of Whereby, and a former COO advisor for clients like Soundcloud, Talentful, and Bolt, among others.
In this episode, Dart and Jessica discuss: - The 3 things every company sells - Distinctions between people operations and human operations - Viewing work as a product and determining its value - Tracking the cost versus value of employees - The 3 aspects employees want out of their work - Value vs. volume when it comes to employees - 2 maxims of product management applicable to HR - And other topics…
Jessica Zwaan is an author, speaker, and early-stage start-up executive. She is the current Chief Operating Officer of Whereby and a former COO advisor for clients like Soundcloud, Talentful, and Bolt, among others. Her latest book, Built for People, helps teach organizations and leadership how to transform the employee experience using product management principles.
With a background in operations, people, and talent, Jessica’s work has spanned across three continents. Jessica holds a First-Class Honours law degree from the University of Law in London. She is an international panelist and speaker and also hosts the podcast “There's This Thing at Work.”
Work with Dart: Dart is the CEO and co-founder of the work design firm 11fold. Build work that makes employees feel alive, connected to their work, and focused on what’s most important to the business. Book a call at 11fold.com.
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