How to scale your People & Performance function with us

Are you scaling a business? Don’t Skip the People & Performance Function. As companies grow from scrappy startups to structured scale-ups, one thing becomes clear: culture doesn’t scale on autopilot. That’s where a dedicated People & Performance function becomes a game-changer. We recently set up this function for a mid-sized tech business scaling across ANZ, and here’s what made the biggest impact Key Initiatives: 👉 Performance Frameworks: Clear OKRs and role expectations aligned to business goals 👉 Leader Enablement: Training programs to build confident, consistent leadership 👉 Feedback Culture: Embedded 360 reviews and real-time feedback loops 👉 Talent Development: Career pathways, internal mobility, and skills mapping 👉 People Analytics: Dashboards tracking engagement, retention, and productivity You can't ignore this ROI 👏+22% increase in employee engagement within 6 months 👏 30% faster onboarding and time-to-productivity 👏 Improved revenue per employee through aligned performance metrics Scaling isn’t just about headcount—it’s about building a system where people thrive and drive results. If you’re at that inflection point, investing in People & Performance isn’t a luxury—it’s your growth engine. Let’s connect if you’re building this out or want to swap notes. #PeopleAndCulture #ScalingUp #PerformanceManagement #HRStrategy #TechLeadership #ANZStartups

Strong organizations aren’t built on strategies or technology alone - they’re built on people. Employees don’t just bring skills to their roles; they shape the culture, energy, and resilience of the workplace. When people feel respected and supported, the ripple effects are clear: lower turnover, stronger collaboration, higher productivity, and even better customer experiences. Conversely, when employees feel undervalued, the costs - lost talent, disengagement, and weakened culture - quickly surface. Treating employees well isn’t just a moral choice. Investing in people means investing in sustainable success. How does your organization put people first in practice? #innovation #technology #future #management #startups

🌍 Every company dreams of scaling. But in reality, most businesses get stuck—not because of vision, but because of people challenges. Hiring the right talent. Managing performance. Retaining employees. These are often harder than building the product itself. That’s where the future of HR is heading: lean, data-driven, and scalable. Small businesses don’t need a full HR department to compete with giants. They need smarter systems, sharper insights, and affordable solutions. At RestartX, we believe the next wave of business growth will be powered not just by technology, but by the way we manage people. The question is— 👉 Are we preparing our businesses for that shift? #FutureOfWork #HR #BusinessGrowth #StartupLife #Leadership #RestartX

🧩 Ever had one of those weeks where your staffing plan looks more like a Sudoku puzzle than a strategy? That’s been my world for 20+ years… and I’ve loved every messy, problem-solving minute of it! ✨ Big News (with a side of fun): After decades in the trenches of Workforce Management—forecasting, scheduling, transformation, firefighting, herding cats (and yes, occasionally people 😅)—I’ve finally taken the leap. 🚀 I’m officially launching CustomEdge Workforce Solutions—a consulting practice built to help small to mid-sized businesses and BPOs stop running their teams in chaos-mode… and start running them like the growth engines they really are. Here’s the thing: I’m a little obsessed with WFM (no surprise to those who know me well)... I love turning: ❌ “We don’t know why the plan isn’t working” into ✅ “We just saved money, boosted morale, nailed client SLAs, AND grew revenue.” Because workforce strategy isn’t just about numbers—it’s about people, engagement, and giving leaders back the one resource they’re always short on: time to lead. ☕ Right now, I’m in building mode: connecting with my network, swapping stories, and setting up some lighthearted discovery chats (no slides, no jargon, just coffee and real talk). 💡 My belief: WFM done right isn’t back-office busywork—it’s the secret edge that lets businesses scale, satisfy customers, and keep their people happy. 🙏 Thanks in advance for cheering me on—it means more than you know. And if you know someone wrestling with workforce headaches, tag them here—I’d love to trade notes and help make the messy stuff make sense. #WFM #Consulting #SmallBusiness #BPO #StartUp #WorkforceOptimization #OperationsLeadership #EntrepreneurLife #WorkforceNerd #NewBeginnings

𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗹𝘆, 𝘄𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗮 𝗳𝗮𝘀𝘁-𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗳𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗼𝗻𝗯𝗼𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘀, 𝗼𝗿 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗳𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀. In just 90 days, we helped them shift from reactive to scalable People Ops with a simple roadmap: Month 1: Assess & Audit We started by interviewing managers and employees, mapping existing workflows, and auditing tools. The goal: understand where gaps were hurting both people and business outcomes. Month 2: Build & Standardize Next, we designed consistent processes. From structured onboarding to a lean performance framework, we gave managers clarity and employees a predictable experience. Policies and compliance were updated to match the company’s growth stage. Month 3: Launch & Align Finally, we rolled out the new system. We didn’t just train managers on “what to do” — we focused on explaining the why. That step built trust and ensured company-wide adoption. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁? Managers stopped firefighting. Employees felt supported. And People Ops became a trusted enabler of growth instead of a bottleneck. 👉 What’s the biggest People Ops challenge you’re seeing in your company right now? #PeopleOps #HRStrategy #ScalingStartups #TalentManagement #WorkplaceCulture #FintechGrowth #StartupScaling #BusinessGrowth #LeadershipDevelopment #OrganizationalExcellence #Onboarding #PerformanceManagement #HRProcesses #FutureOfWork #WorkforcePlanning #HR #olgafedoseeva #HRBP #TalentAcquisition #TalentManagement #UnitiQ

The Scaling Test: 10 to 50 Employees in 12 Months 🚀 Scaling isn’t about hiring more people. It’s about whether your systems can carry more weight. We’ll never forget when a founder told us with excitement: “We need to triple our team this year!” Series A funding secured. Major contracts signed. Growth momentum was real. So we asked: “Are your systems ready for 50 people?” That question shifted everything. Because growth isn’t just about headcount - it’s about building the infrastructure that allows people to thrive as the company expands. Here’s what usually happens as teams grow: 👥 At 10 people → Nimble, creative, everyone’s in the loop 👥 At 20 people → More voices, alignment takes more effort 👥 At 30 people → Communication becomes mission-critical 👥 At 40 people → Culture stretches, cracks start to show 👥 At 50 people → It’s no longer hustle—it’s whether your systems can carry the weight When companies invest in systems early, something powerful happens: ✅ Onboarding feels smooth no matter the team size ✅ Quality scales up, not down ✅ Communication strengthens instead of fragmenting ✅ Costs stay predictable ✅ Culture remains intact Systems don’t slow you down - they unlock your speed. With the right foundation, growth isn’t just possible - it’s sustainable. 👉 Our Foundation Setup Program helps businesses build this backbone for scale: https://lnkd.in/g7ikPuqw 💡 I’m curious - what’s been your biggest challenge when scaling: hiring, onboarding, or maintaining culture? 👇 #ScalingUp #BusinessGrowth #TeamBuilding #OperationalExcellence #Day16 #20daylinkedinchallengewithhaoma #VCAPPowerhousecohort

Things that just work when you're a small startup have a funny way of breaking when you hit the 50 employee mark. 🤕 To account for that, plan to modify your operating model at 50 headcount. ➕ Add in a bit more structure (e.g., rotating business unit reviews, employee engagement survey, etc.). ➖ But, don't only add. Also remember to subtract. Take a few key meetings — like the Company All Hands — and make them less frequent. 📅 Visualize the changes that you're going to make on an operating model. A simple GoogleSheet will do the trick. I've included a link to Fledge's Startup Operating Model template in the comments below. This will help you quickly see things like: - Are some months too busy? - Are there ways to combine executive travel with big decision points like annual planning? - Did we accidentally stack all the events that will tax our people managers (e.g., performance reviews, engagement surveys, OKR planning, etc.)? What would you add to your ideal startup operating model? __ 👋 I'm Melissa Theiss, 4x Head of People and Business Operations and advisor for bootstrapped and VC-backed SaaS companies.  🗞️ In my newsletter, “The Business of People,” I share tips and tricks that help People leaders think like business leaders.

Technology is only as good as the thinking behind it. We’ve seen companies invest millions in tools that go unused, because they never asked the most basic question: what problem are we actually trying to solve? When your people strategy is unclear or disconnected, even the best tech will fail. You’ll get dazzling dashboards with no action. Beautiful interfaces with no buy-in. And worse, you’ll lose trust along the way. Smart tech needs smart intention, clear goals, deep user empathy, and the humility to involve people in its design. Want transformation? Don’t start with features. Start with the culture you're trying to build. Read more: https://hubs.la/Q03HJjqg0

Growth-stage startups often realize that what got them here, won’t get them further. At this scale, HR isn’t just about hiring fast - it’s about building systems, structures, and strategies that sustain momentum. What could be the Top HR Priorities for 100+ employee startups: ▶️ Strategic org planning & succession – future-proof leadership ▶️ Full PMS setup – OKRs, review cycles & dashboards ▶️ Retention playbook – deep-dive into why people stay (or leave) ▶️ Talent acquisition roadmap – with executive hiring support ▶️ Role-specific ESOP design & review – build long-term stickiness ▶️ Employer branding strategy – audits, storytelling & LinkedIn presence ▶️ System automation & predictive analytics – scale smarter, not harder At this stage, HR is about moving from reactive firefighting → to proactive, data-driven growth enablement. 👉 If you’re leading HR in a growth-stage startup, what’s been your #1 challenge after hitting 100 employees? #StartupGrowth #PeopleStrategy #FutureOfWork #ScalingStartups #HRLeadership Sanam Rawal Disha Parekh

Developing a strong CRE strategy can feel like facing constant turbulence. Here’s why… So many variables. So many cross-currents. ➝ Headcount shifts. ➝ Hybrid patterns. ➝ RTO mandates. ➝ Cost pressures. ➝ Employee expectations. ➝ Adoption curves. Over the last 20+ years, our team has guided countless leaders through those waters and we’ve been there ourselves. One thing always stands out: the format of challenges rarely change. (𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘏𝘺𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘥 𝘰𝘳 𝘙𝘛𝘖 𝘯𝘰𝘸, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘈𝘉𝘞 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘕𝘞𝘰𝘞 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘺 🙂) Always too many questions. Not enough clear answers. Never at the pace leaders need. Everyone chasing time. Everyone chasing resources. Let's be honest. Some questions even went untouched - because fees, time or momentum simply ran out 🤷♂️ These 'were' chronic challenges of #CRE. And for too long, they were just accepted. That’s when we began looking upward. Star-gazing, in a way. Asking how we could break that cycle. That’s where the ideation began. We built proprietary frameworks. We refined LLMs through structured and unstructured learning. We tested with global CRE leaders, iterated, refined again and again. And yes, we had our moments of doubt. Moments of excitement. Times when we wanted to give up, only to start again the next morning. But then come the moments that make it all worth it. Like yesterday, when a CFO asked us a simple but process-heavy question. (𝘚𝘦𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘺𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘥𝘢𝘺) In minutes, we modelled multiple scenarios across space, cost optimisation and employee experience steps. We kept human in the loop.... BUT, what once took weeks, took minutes and became available in real time. That is the universality of the moment. The reason we built this. The outcome we set out to achieve. I couldn’t be more proud of the WorkTransformers.ai team in the moment. Thank you Team! 😇 Every late night, every round of iteration, has brought us here. And we’re not stopping. We’ll keep refining. Keep adding. Keep growing. 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 57 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐝 𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐨 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐚 𝐠𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐰. 👇 👉 As for you, please do follow us at WorkTransformers.ai and join us on this journey of building clarity, speed and better workplaces for everyone. We can’t bring disruptive change in isolation. We need to make this happen together 🙏 #AI #FutureOfWork #WorkplaceStrategy #Leadership