People Ops Track
Perfect for: leaders who are helping a growing company attract, train, and retain top talent in a competitive startup scene.
"Why is culture so important to a business? here is a simple way to frame it. The stronger the culture, the less corporate process a company needs. When the culture is strong, you can trust everyone to do the right thing." - Brian Chesky
Learn how successful companies approach hiring, company culture, building a mentor network and managing a remote workforce.
Ready to connect with your peers in people operations and HR? Get your free ticket for Startup Boston Week 2023 on Sept 11th - 15th today!
All sessions are available BOTH in-person at Suffolk University and virtually.
Company Handbooks: Marrying Compliance with Culture to Create Policies that Work
Mon, Sept 11th: 8:00am - 9:00am EDT
Design your company handbook and create policies that work! In this Lightening Talk, our expert speakers will each share one example of policy creation or handbook design. They’ll answer questions like:
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What is the value of the Company Handbook?
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How do you create a handbook and policies that actually add value for your EE’s?
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Where is the line between legal and culture creation?
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How do EE’s partner with Legal to understand that?
This event is part of the People Ops Track for Startup Boston Week 2023. This is perfect for early stage Founders, Legal Teams and People Ops professionals who are responsible for communicating company expectations.
From “Toby in HR” to Guiding Star: Becoming the Strategic People Leader your Startup Didn’t Know They Need
Mon, Sept 11th: 9:15am - 10:15am EDT
For growth stage startups, the People Team is essential to business success, but getting a seat at the table can be tricky! Learn from our expert panel about the evolution of HR into People Ops as a strategic C-Suite partner:
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What’s the historic role of HR and how has the paradigm of People Ops changed?
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What does the future role of People Ops look like?
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Why do people leaders struggle to be seen as strategic executives?
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What is a strategic people leader's responsibility to the C-Suite and the company?
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What skills does a strategic People Ops leader need?
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What sort of influence does a tactical leader have vs a strategic leader?
This event is part of the People Ops Track for Startup Boston Week 2023. It is perfect for HR and Talent Leaders, current or aspiring Founders, and CEOs who want to better leverage their People Team.
Finance Fundamentals for Non-Finance Folks: What to Know and How to Grow
Mon, Sept 11th: 10:30am - 11:30am EDT
Understanding the basics of financials can help HR and People Ops leaders to strengthen their position as a business partner within their respective organizations. This session will include both a presentation and an interactive workshop to hone the skills that non-finance people should know in order to strengthen their business acumen and company’s success:
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Why does HR need to understand the business’ financials?
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How do you become a good partner to your Finance team?
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What financial terms and topics should HR be familiar with?
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What financial metrics should HR understand and why?
This event is part of the People Ops Track and Founder Track for Startup Boston Week 2023. It is perfect for Founders, Executives, and HR/People Ops professionals who want to take a more hands-on role in their organization’s growth.
Compensation Philosophies: Learn All About It!
Mon, Sept 11th: 11:45am - 12:45pm EDT
Developing a compensation philosophy for your early and growth stage company is essential. In this presentation we’ll cover how to implement or pivot your comp philosophy and explore different options for structuring and communicating your organization’s value. Whether it’s your first time or you’re an old pro, keeping up with comp is always a new conversation!
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What does having a comp philosophy entail?
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How do you communicate that philosophy to candidates and through the employee experience in a way that demonstrates its value?
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How do equity, leveling and promotions play into your comp philosophy?
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What are various ways to do cost of living and merit increases and their pros and cons?
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What is the life cycle of a comp philosophy and how do you handle any changes?
This event is part of the People Ops Track and Founder Track for Startup Boston Week 2023. This is perfect for Founders and Finance/Accounting Team Members, anyone who needs to approve offers or equity programs, People Ops professionals, Recruiters, and Hiring Managers who need to be able to understand how to communicate compensation.
Retrain and Retain: Leveraging Professional Development and Transferable Skills
Tues, Sept 12th: 8:00am - 9:00am EDT
We are all capable of learning new skills regardless of our titled role within an organization. Whether you’re looking to rise through the ranks in your current department, considering a career pivot, or looking to retain highly valued employees and colleagues within your company, this panel is for you.
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When is retraining and reallocating your workforce necessary?
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When does it work, and when doesn’t it?
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How does upskilling impact both acquisition and retention of strong talent?
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How can highly valued contributors be pivoted internally during tough economic times?
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How is strategic workforce planning impacted by retraining and retention programs?
This event is part of the People Ops Track for Startup Boston Week 2023. This is perfect for Team Managers, Executives, People Leaders who are likely to participate in workforce planning and gap analysis programs, and anyone who’s looking for a new job or wants to prepare for how they could pivot their career!
Talent Partner Tales: How to Leverage your VC in a Growth Phase
Tues, Sept 12th: 9:15am - 10:15am EDT
Understanding the role of your VC’s Talent Partner (TP) will help you leverage the support you can receive in this relationship. In this Fireside Chat with [a Founder and their VC] we’ll learn about their experience working together and will dive into answering questions that shed more light on this partnership and why it works. We’ll cover topics like:
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What is the TP’s goal in supporting hiring and retention at their portfolio company?
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What are some “ah-ha!” moments that a founder working with their TP has had? What do they wish they’d known to reach those realizations sooner?
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How does a TP leverage their network to help their founders?
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How do you know when your company’s needs surpass the capacity or capabilities of your TP and what does that transition look like?
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How do you handle recommendations from a VC that you disagree with?
This event is part of the People Ops Track for Startup Boston Week 2023. This is perfect for anyone looking to understand the relationship between VC’s and Founders when it comes to Talent Mapping. Good for ventures at the idea, early and growth stages.
Competency-Based Interviewing: A Tool for Bias Reduction and Equitable Hiring
Tues, Sept 12th: 10:30am - 11:30am EDT
It’s important that early stage and growth stage leaders understand and can confidently execute the fundamentals of competency-based interviewing to reduce bias and increase equitable hiring. In this presentation, we’ll discuss competency + skills-selection for a role, the importance of consistency in interview questioning, and how to ensure you’re hiring an equitable, representative talent base for your startup. We’ll cover:
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What is competency based interviewing?
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Why is it critical to reduce bias in the interview process?
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How can you institute competency based interviewing, while still leaving room to “hire for potential”?
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How does competency based interviewing work together with hiring for culture-add to make a great hire?
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Are there any drawbacks or challenges with competency based interviews?
This event is part of the People Ops Track for Startup Boston Week 2023. This is perfect for Executives, Founders, HR and Talent Leaders, Recruiters, Hiring Managers, and anyone involved in interviewing candidates at their company.
Mergers & Acquisitions: So You’ve Been Acquired, Now What?
Tues, Sept 12th: 11:45am - 12:45pm EDT
Congrats on the acquisition! Now what? This Ask-Me-Anything with [Speaker] will address late stage companies / IPOs and the impact of M&A on organizations and the people who keep them running. We’re tackling topics like:
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What are the varying levels of information transparency versus uncertainty?
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How does access to that knowledge change the experience of an acquisition?
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What are the change management impacts of acquisition and how do you prepare your EEs and managers to go through this change?
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What do varying types of mergers and acquisitions mean for equity/stock?
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What are some people trends that tend to occur after acquisitions?
This event is part of the People Ops Track for Startup Boston Week 2023. This is perfect for anyone curious to learn about the organizational impacts of M&A, anyone planning a M&A, and anyone being affected by a M&A.