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Hey Reader 👋🏻

I have been thinking a lot about the nature of the Work product.

I've always been of the opinion that Work as a Product is more than simply applying product mindset and practices to the projects and programmes we deliver - although, that is definitely an awesome thing to do and something I actively encourage, conceptually and practically when helping People teams with their product transformation.

During the past few weeks I have been fortunate enough to read a pre-release edition of Jessica Zwaan's new book - spoiler alert, it's f*cking dope. I won't talk about any of the specifics, that would be totally inappropriate before the book is released, but what I can say is that it poses some deep questions about the purpose of work and the implications that purpose has on how we define and design the product of work.

Once the book launches and I am free to share my reflections fully, I have much to contribute and build on the Jessie's work - which much like Built for People, I think will become a seminal text in the evolution of how we think about our relationship with work, and how we build businesses, architect jobs, and organise ourselves around shared and personal experiences of work.

For the time being, I want to move away from the philosophical and focus on some fundamental truths about the product of Work which have become clear to me over recent weeks, and which I think can help simplify the conceptualisation of Work as a Product, whilst also elevating the impact of People teams beyond merely delivering programmes and initiatives, to solving problems which directly connect to organisational growth and enablement.

The 3 Tangible Pillars of the Work Product

As is usually my way, I have started by creating a deliberate over simplification to visualise my thinking in a way which I hope makes the concept immediately understandable and actionable.

So here it is, the tangible product of work distilled into a neat quick glance view:

I told you it would be a simplification, no awards for visual design coming my way - although, as I have spoken about previously, sometimes less is more is the best design principle to follow!

Here's a quick breakdown of the model:

Alignment: Identify the top objectives and priorities of the organisation. NOT the top objectives and priorities of the HR / People function... The focus should be on driving people and business growth. So, we need to be be able to measure the amount of impact we have on business performance (outcomes), not on the volume of "HR initiatives" delivered (outputs).

Problems to Solve: Continuous discovery to identify high impact problems, opportunities and bottlenecks which exist across the business relevant to enabling the attainment of the top objectives and priorities of the organisation. Again, for the purpose of simplification, these can be seen in 3 categories:

• People "Problems" - challenges relating to people experience and performance
• Enablement Opportunities - New unlocks and growth opportunities
• Business Bottlenecks - operational friction preventing progress

The Work Product: The core Work Product is comprised of People, Processes, and Technology. This doesn't tell the full story of course, but for the purpose of simplification and making the work product tangible, essentially, all businesses are a combination of people, processes and technology - The product of work is the orchestration of these 3 components for maximum system performance and optimal people experience.

To me, this feels like a much clearer positioning. You can use this simplified interpretation to present why the People Product approach is for more strategically imperative than the traditional HR approach. It's clear from this simple view that the the work of the People team is no longer in support and in service of the businesses (as it is with traditional HR) - It is now a critical enabler of growth, performance, and organisational health.

The role of a People Product Team

With this view in mind, what is the role of a People Product Team and how can we succinctly communicate this role and intent to the wider business?

I have had a go at a first draft:

Why is the why blank?

Good question.

It seems to me, owing to the philosophical question about purpose and work, not least the individual culture and contexts in which work happens, a universal why needs deeper thought - for now it's open to interpretation.

If I was forced to draft a universal why for People Product teams today, it might read something like:

This feels like a nice statement, but I wonder if it is too philosophical or even ideological. In any case, I will go with it for now for the purpose of completing this V1 model:

As always I am thinking out loud here, let me know what you think this model - does it simplify how you could communicate the role and impact of a People Product team? OR does it present more questions than answers... 🤔

Let me know!

OK, that’s a wrap for this week.

Grab your coffee and open up your inbox same time next week for more insights, tips, and resource flags on how to smash HR silos, add strategic value and turn your People function into a growth driver 🚀

With love,

Luke ✌🏻

PS, when you are ready you might like...

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