👋🏽 Hey, you’re back at the right spot. To all the new subscribers, WELCOME to the mid-week party. 🎉

Yo. You’re on Mute has already tackled some pretty important topics. Case in point - we sent a big EFF OFF to imposter syndrome last week. It’s also been great talking to many of you + hearing how your journey has brought you to the present moment. Reading this newsletter. 🙏🏽

The connections we make today truly help us unlock the supercharge we may need tomorrow. Speaking of recharging, check out my Linkedin post that serves as a soft loud reminder to rest (and take your damn vitamins).

Today we are slightly remixing HR with one of my favorite things besides sneakers… movies. I love a great ‘heist’ film and Set it Off was a staple in my house. Let’s get into it.

⛽️ Fueling creativity + community + connections ⛽️

🗣 Special Sound Off: while many of us feel joy as we enter into the holiday season, not everyone can relate in the same way. Show some grace + compassion if you notice someone having a hard time or struggling with something. I may or may not plan some random Sunday newsletters to mitigate the ‘scaries’ and encourage you along the way.

If this email was forwarded to you, tap in and join the cool collective.

🧐 Could HR steal some success for strategic alignment?

Hold on. It’s not what you think.

In some of my favorite heist films like Set it Off, Ocean’s 11, or Den of Thieves - the goal was to secure the bag by any means necessary. We (HR/People Operations) don’t aim to manipulate or literally steal to get across the finish line. However, we can steal borrow valuable practices and strategies from other teams to enable alignment with business objectives.

In the fast-paced world of startups, our People Ops (AKA POPs team) often finds itself at the crossroads of growth, productivity, retention and business results.

🎬 Why would we want to pull off this heist?

A couple of reasons come to mind:

1) learning the biz from other orgs can support us being more well-rounded People professionals and;

2) we can identify the bright spots + pain points along the way.

Let’s work on how we evolve past the ‘traditional functions’ and emphasize the need for innovation and adaptability in HR.

🎬 Plot twist: I believe we can all do this together through a shared vision. 💪🏽 This also applies to any org who wants to understand the deep corners of the business. Tweak to fit your story + identify your supporting cast.

✋🏽 Organizations that actively promote cross-functional collaboration and knowledge sharing are more likely to report above-average financial performance.

Borrowing practices from other orgs in your company isn't merely a nice-to-have; it's a strategic imperative. The substantial benefits that HR can reap by collaborating and learning from different areas of the business can become a vital contributor to the overall company health + operational soundness.

But, in order to appreciate where we are going with this, we need to reflect on where we have been. Let’s go back to basics for a quick minute, shall we?

👀 HR can do a quick audit of self-reflection with these questions:

• How effectively do we communicate our company culture and values to potential hires?

• Are our People processes aligned with the company's growth objectives?

• How do we measure the success of our People initiatives, and are they contributing to retention?

• Are we regularly seeking feedback from employees to improve our People product (read: people experience)?

• Do we have a clear roadmap for People initiatives and goals, and are they aligned with the company's overall strategy?

• How agile are our People teams in adapting to changing priorities and business needs?

• Are we utilizing data and analytics to make informed People decisions and drive growth?

✋🏽 Remember, borrowing ideas and practices from other orgs is not about an easy copy+paste, but about collaboration and continuous improvement.

🎬 Now that we have the script, it’s time to connect the dots by crafting the roadmap (and the real narrative for valuable insights). Consider the following examples when meeting with the specific teams.

💫 marketing.

• Bridge how marketing principles can boost employer branding.

• Leveraging storytelling techniques in HR/POPs communications to make the company culture and values more relatable to potential hires + current employees.

• Work with marketing to do retros on campaigns + learn how HR/POPs can rally + create internal ambassadors to drive employee value proposition.

• Learn how marketing looks at the customer journey mapping; re-create for your users (read: the employees)

💫 operations.

• Ask and assess how does the Ops team manage change and adapt to new priorities quickly? Any adoption opportunities?

• Adopting agile stand-up meetings for HR/POPs teams to improve project management.

• Conducting weekly "sprint" meetings with HR/POPs teams to track progress on projects, identify obstacles, and adjust strategies.

• Be curious about how tech can be implemented to visualize HR/POPs tasks and their progress, making it easier to manage workload and deadlines.

💫 product.

• Ask how does this team continuously improve the products, and can we apply similar principles to HR/POPs processes?

• Implementing regular "retrospectives" where HR/POPs teams review their own processes, identifying what's working and what needs improvement.

• Taking inspiration from product roadmaps and applying a similar approach to plan and visualize HR/POPs initiatives and goals.

• Be curious about your user (read: employees) research + how to identify common threads through data-driven insights.

💫 customer service.

• Discuss the importance of the People experience and take a deep dive into the correlations to customer experience. PX to CX.

• Just as customer service strives to provide personalized solutions to meet individual customer needs, HR/POPs can offer tailored support to employees. Recognize that employees have unique goals, career paths, and challenges.

• Just an observation: the way we work hard to support our customers, keep that same energy for our employees.

time to sound off.

🎬 Less villian, more best supporting actress nominee energy. We could use a heist for good and focus on the People experience in a new way. No cliffhangers or are there?? 😎

As we are quickly moving into the end of the year and getting ready to activate our “Let’s circle back after the holidays” responses, let’s carve out a jam session where we commit to a listening tour with at least one org leader this year.

How do we stand out in HR/People Operations? We learn as many parts of the business as possible. Lean into your curiosity without being overly critical. We can sharpen our active listening skills through practice. PRACTICE?! [in my Allen Iverson voice]. YES, we are already highly proficient in this skill set given our roles. I believe in you.

🗣 Just as satisfied customers are more likely to drive brand loyalty, satisfied employees are more likely to become more engaged + opted into the subscription (AKA People experience). 

⚡️QUICKSTRIKE HR + OUT OF THE BOX NEWS

The HR/People Operations landscape is evolving. As the HR World Turns 🌎 could be its own show. Check out some of the happenings below.

• Need a coach to help you take your career up a notch? Dana Whiteaker is the truth and offering some great holiday specials.

• Team retros are essential, but how should you approach the planning? Check out this step-by-step guide from Jill Felska at Want to Work There. Her gems are endless.

• New hires more likely to head for the door within the first year? Yikes. Check it out here.

• To spin the block on People experience as a product in depth, I will again highly recommend ‘Built for People’ by the amazing Jessica Zwaan.

👟 ONE TO ROCK, ONE TO STOCK

Some HR people may like pilates and shopping trips to Ulta. You could say my thing is sneakers + streetwear. If you enjoy sneaker culture - this section is for you.

• A Ma Maniere is not only releasing a beautiful collection with Jordan Brand, but their storytelling is top f*cking tier. Check out the short film ‘Still We Rise’ that is accompanying the release.

• Kick Confessions 👟 I’ve had this New Balance pair in my e-cart just staring at me. It’s time to make a decision.

• Nike going through a digital re-org + impacted team members? Tap in to read.

🗣 LET’S COME OFF MUTE + CONNECT

Supporting the small biz/brand owner is important to me. Each newsletter, I’ll introduce you to some talented people in my network and beyond.

• Danielle Fanfair, founder of Confusion to Clarity, developed a curriculum that is centered in empath-driven leadership. Tap in here.

• Ever met a 10-year old CEO? Victoria Zara runs her own lemonade business in Houston. Her flavors are no joke, thank me later.

• Streetwear Flea is actively creating dope events to bring sneaker + streetwear enthusiasts together. Stay connected.

🎧 A SONG I DIDN’T SKIP ON MY PLAYLIST TODAY

I know we were all hoping for that Andre 3000 rap album. 😂 Outkast was one of the most creative duos of all time. It makes me a little sad that the younger generation didn’t get to experience their genius in real time. Consider this your weekly affirmation. Enjoy.

👏🏽 Transparently, I’d love to hear what you have enjoyed about Yo. You’re on Mute. so far? What keeps you coming back? What would you like to see more of? Reply to this newsletter or tap into my Kicks x Coffee link to chat.

🔐 Keep it locked in for more POPs point of views + the sneaker tech space + a small series next month focused on what we’re investing in as it relates to 2024.

Next on the agenda… we get into setting those boundaries and the Out of Office messages next week. 😎