Jessica Zwaan

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.

Jessica Zwaan, a seasoned COO and author of 'Built for People,' shares her insights on innovative compensation strategies tailored for startups. She discusses how applying product management principles can revolutionize HR practices. Key topics include performance-based pay, the importance of transparency in compensation, and the need for flexibility in pay structures. Jessica emphasizes the dangers of freezing salaries during financial strain and offers practical advice for building trust and engagement among employees, ensuring teams thrive in dynamic environments.

Jessica Zwaan, COO at Talentful and author of Built for People, brings insightful perspectives on people operations. She discusses the evolution of 'human ops' versus 'people ops', emphasizing that perfection isn't required in these frameworks. Zwaan also highlights the transformative impact of AI on HR, advocating for a balance between technology and human touch. Listeners can expect engaging tips on agile practices and how to effectively navigate team dynamics in a rapidly changing work environment.

Jessica Zwaan, COO of Talentful, discusses performance management and challenges traditional reviews. They talk about the effectiveness of OKRs, using organizational network analysis, and measuring employee performance in remote work. They highlight treating employees as customers and the importance of collaboration in team performance.

Learn about structuring startups correctly with Jessica Zwaan, covering operations, finance for non-experts, and non-paternalism at work. Explore team management, COO responsibilities, global workforce challenges, and creating engaging workshop titles. Delve into the transition to law school, dual roles in operations jobs, and the importance of accountability in organizational design.

Jessica Zwaan, a People Ops expert and author of 'Built for People,' shares her journey into the innovative world of PeopleOps as a Product. She reveals the origins of this game-changing framework and discusses how a pivotal blog post inspired her book. Jessica dives into the challenges and achievements of launching MPL Build, a collaboration aimed at enhancing team methodologies. She highlights shifts in perceptions about PeopleOps and explores the growing adoption of agile practices in the U.S., setting the stage for the future of HR.

Jessica Zwaan, an Amazon Best Selling author and founder of a consultancy focused on people operations, shares her insights on transforming HR practices. She discusses her unconventional career path and the evolution of People Operations, advocating for a blend of product management principles. The conversation highlights the impact of COVID-19 on workplace dynamics and the concept of Employee Lifetime Value for enhancing retention strategies. Jessica also teases an innovative 24-hour live-stream podcast idea, promoting collaboration in the HR space.

Jessica Zwaan, COO of Talentful, discusses bringing product management practices and a commercial focus into HR. She shares insights on transitioning from HR to COO, structuring meetings for accountability, infusing product management practices into people ops, and fostering a culture of curiosity and innovation.

Jessica Zwaan, author of Built for People, discusses using product management principles to transform the employee experience. Topics discussed include the value of employees, work as a product, tracking cost versus value of employees, and the shift towards designing work that people love.

Jessica Zwaan (Author, Built for People) and Ryan Bonnici (CMO, Gympass), joined us on The Modern People Leader.   We talked about why HR should be considered a revenue generating function, how to align yourself closer to revenue as an HR leader, and why you don’t need to get the metrics perfect for every single people program.  ---- (2:17) Good news stories (7:14) How Ryan and Jessica became Aussie besties (10:15) Ryan’s career journey: flight attendant —> Salesforce —> HubSpot —> CMO at G2 —> CMO at Gympass (15:40) Built for People is out (22:05) How HR leaders can align themselves closer to revenue (29:06) The CHRO role is the hardest role in the C-Suite (31:15) HR is a revenue generating function (32:32) Looking at things like the CAC to LTV ratio for employees (37:06) You don’t need to get the ROI or the metrics perfect (41:26) The waterfall style that HR has traditionally operated within (47:40) Crawl, walk, run approach to marketing HR programs (49:31) Rapid fire questions ---- 📬 Subscribe to our weekly newsletter to get key learnings & career advice from Modern People Leaders 🛎 Follow Jessica Zwaan on LinkedIn 🛎 Follow Ryan Bonnici on LinkedIn 💡 Follow The Modern People Leader on LinkedIn 😊 Follow Daniel Huerta on LinkedIn 😊 Follow Stephen Huerta on LinkedIn ---- We're gifting free copies of Jessica's book, Built for People. The first 5 people to shoot me (⁠Daniel⁠) a LinkedIn DM get one.