People Operations Specialist

People Operations Specialist

When to Use

• Execute new-hire or contractor onboarding (accounts, paperwork, day-one)
• Run offboarding (access revoke, equipment, final pay coordination)
• Coordinate performance review cycle timelines and manager tasks
• Roll out HR policy or handbook updates to employees
• Fix HRIS data issues (title, manager, department, location)
• Design operational checklists for leave, promotions, or transfers
• Prepare people metrics for leadership (headcount, attrition, time-to-fill ops view)

When NOT to Use

• Board resolutions, entity formation, equity plan legal docs → corporate-counsel
• Vendor/customer MSAs and commercial negotiation → commercial-counsel
• Security control implementation or audit packs → compliance-engineer
• Customer onboarding and support SLAs → customer-ops-specialist
• Deal desk and order forms → deal-operations-administrator
• Legal interpretation of employment law → human counsel (not this skill)

Related skills

Core Workflows

1. New hire onboarding

1. Validate offer data in HRIS (start date, title, manager, location, comp band) 2. Trigger pre-boarding: background check, I-9, equipment, accounts 3. Day-one checklist: badge, accounts active, manager intro, policy acknowledgments 4. 30/60/90 check-ins scheduled

See `references/onboarding_offboarding.md`.

2. Offboarding

Trigger on resignation, termination, or contract end:

1. Confirm last day and separation type 2. Schedule access revocation (IT) aligned to last working moment 3. Equipment return, knowledge transfer, exit interview optional 4. Final pay and benefits COBRA info to payroll/vendor 5. HRIS status update and audit trail

See `references/onboarding_offboarding.md`.

3. Policy and handbook

• Version policies with effective date and audience
• Track acknowledgment in HRIS or e-sign tool
• Communicate changes via manager cascade + FAQ
• Align with corporate-counsel on code of conduct and insider trading updates

See `references/hr_policies_handbook.md`.

4. Performance cycle operations

• Set calendar: self-assessment, manager review, calibration, delivery
• Send role-based task lists; monitor completion %
• Escalate incomplete reviews to managers before calibration lock
• Do not substitute for calibration judgment (leadership-owned)

See `references/performance_cycles.md`.

5. HRIS and people data

• Single source of truth: HRIS for org chart fields
• Change requests: manager-initiated with HR approval for comp/title
• Monthly audit: orphan reports, missing cost center, incorrect FTE

See `references/hris_data.md`.

6. Workforce compliance ops (non-legal)

Operational checklist only—counsel owns legal interpretation:

• I-9 completion timing
• Training assignments (harassment, security)
• Work authorization expiry reminders
• Leave balances and LOA tracking handoffs

See `references/workforce_compliance_ops.md`.

When to load references

• Onboarding/offboarding → references/onboarding_offboarding.md
• Handbook rollout → references/hr_policies_handbook.md
• Review cycles → references/performance_cycles.md
• HRIS fields and audits → references/hris_data.md
• I-9, training, LOA ops → references/workforce_compliance_ops.md
• Lifecycle overview → references/employee_lifecycle.md

Employee lifecycle

Table of contents

1. Stages

Stages

Route compensation philosophy and executive hiring to HR leadership + counsel as required.

HR policies and handbook

Table of contents

1. Rollout steps 2. Acknowledgment

Rollout steps

1. Final text approved (HR + counsel for material changes) 2. Summary of what changed for managers 3. Employee notification with effective date 4. Acknowledgment window and reminders 5. Archive prior version; update intranet

Acknowledgment

Track per employee: policy version, date, method (click-wrap, e-sign). Report outstanding acknowledgments weekly until closed.

HRIS data

Table of contents

1. Core fields 2. Monthly audit

Core fields

Monthly audit

• Active employees without manager
• Contractors past end date still active
• Duplicate profiles
• Title vs job code mismatch

Onboarding and offboarding

Table of contents

1. Onboarding checklist 2. Offboarding checklist

Onboarding checklist

• [ ] HRIS profile created
• [ ] Offer letter and I-9 (or local equivalent) complete
• [ ] Payroll and benefits enrollment
• [ ] IT: email, SSO, laptop, required groups
• [ ] Manager: day-one agenda, buddy assigned
• [ ] Policy acknowledgments recorded
• [ ] Security training assigned

Offboarding checklist

• [ ] Separation date confirmed in HRIS
• [ ] IT ticket: revoke access at scheduled time
• [ ] Recover equipment and badges
• [ ] Forward or delegate email per policy
• [ ] Payroll: final wages, PTO payout per jurisdiction
• [ ] Benefits termination / COBRA notice triggered
• [ ] Exit survey or interview scheduled if applicable

Performance cycles

Table of contents

1. Cycle calendar 2. Completion tracking

Cycle calendar

Adjust for company cadence (annual vs bi-annual).

Completion tracking

Dashboard by org:

• % self-assessments submitted
• % manager reviews complete
• List of overdue > 7 days → nudge manager + skip-level if needed

Do not share calibration notes outside authorized forums.

Workforce compliance operations

Table of contents

1. Operational tasks

Operational tasks

This skill does not provide legal conclusions on employment law.