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Hey Reader 👋🏻

I am going to keep this short and sweet this week - it's been a very busy week, but a very good one! I shared a quick overview of what's been keeping me busy if you are interested to check that out.

That said, what I do want to share is a really critical aspect of the product-led approach which is being misunderstood or overlooked by many of the People Teams with whom I am in conversation with about shifting from traditional HR orgs to a product operating model.

It's very simple, I need you all to remember one thing as fundamental to successfully implementing a product approach to PX...

Ready?

💡 The functional work you currently deliver is/are NOT products.

If the work we deliver aren't products, then what is?

Fair question - let's try and make this practical.

What I see often with People Teams in the early stage of adopting a product-led PX approach is the labelling of existing work is products. So...

Onboarding is now called a product.

Performance is now called a product.

DE&I is now called a product.

Engagement is now called a product.

This is not the correct approach.

In some cases - like onboarding for example - what has been identified is not a product in isolation, but is a "Product Category" or to use a phrase Chris Metcalfe uses, you might call this a "problem space".

Not an isolated product, but a space where problems to solve exist which can be identified through insight, defined by discovery, and solved with a product or via a one-of intervention (project).

In other cases - like DE&I - what we are really talking about are key design principles and constraints.

DE&I is not a product in isolation. Rather, it's a fundamental consideration of product and experience design. If DE&I is genuinely an important component of you your work value proposition, you will make design choices which reflect that - Inclusive workplaces (physical and virtual) by design. Equitable policies and practices by design. Diverse working population and representation by design.

Not DE&I as a product - but product and experience design choices which intentionally consider DE&I.

A couple of useful definitions:

💡 Problem to Solve: In a product context, “problems to solve” are the clear, meaningful user needs or pains that a product exists to address, framed in a way that guides design and decision-making - without prescribing the solution. Clear problems to solve:

• Align teams around why you’re building something
• Prevent solution bias and feature bloat
• Make prioritisation easier
• Create a stronger link between user value and business value

📣 Another quick call out here - many People teams have an issue with even using the word "problem" - time and time again I get push back on this - "We can't say problem, it sounds too negative" - Hard truth folks, it's that kind of thinking that leads HR teams to avoid the most impactful work and remain firmly cemented as a support function.

A problem to solve isn't always a dysfunction or a problem in the true sense - it's just a clear and well defined opportunity to create value - sometimes by removing friction, sometimes by improving something that already exists, sometimes by building something new - but the objective is to create value for the user (employee) and the org.

Lean into problems to solve, don't be scared by the semantics. Problems to solve is where the value exists.

💡 Product: Coherent, enduring experiences that address user pains, needs, or desires. Products can be characterised as:

• Ongoing, coherent experiences
• Solve persistent user needs, pains, or desires
• Continuously improved over time
• Owned, evolved, and measured

💡 Project: Projects are one-off interventions with a clear end-point. Not all problems require a product solution. Projects can be characterised as:

• One-off interventions
• Clear start and end point
• Typically support or improve an existing initiative
• Often prescribed or time-bound

Key distinction: Projects end. Products endure.

Organise around problems to solve.

My recommendation is that you stop thinking in terms of work to be done, and start thinking in terms of problems to solve. As I wrote about last week - I believe the easiest way to start experimenting with true product models of deliver is to form product tiros around clearly defined problems to solve.

This helps to break down the functional siloes that exist within traditional HR orgs without the need for a full scale transformation, job title changes, and structure re-org.

Step 1: Identify your key "problem spaces"

Step 2: Collect insights about user/employee/org pains and needs within problem spaces

Step 3: Turn insights into problems to solve (+ categorise as a Product or Project)

Step 4: Prioritise problems to solve based on impact ROI (maximum impact relative to effort)

Step 5: Organise product trios around problems to solve and execute!

Honestly, this is a simple process any HR or People Team can experiment without the need for major re-skilling or re-org - although when you are ready for that, let me know 😉😆 - in the meantime, you can pick one problem to solve per month or quarter and run a product trio intervention alongside your BAU HR / People delivery.

Once you are comfortable solving one problem at a time, you can think about scaling the approach.

But you can start simply and you can start small.

Give it a go!

OK, that’s a wrap for this week.

Grab your coffee and open up your inbox same time next week for 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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