The 5 core skillsets needed for the People Ops as a Product team

Jessica shared the 5 core skillsets needed for running your people team like a product team:

1. Human Ops - The advisory & problem-solving muscle. Its NOT just HR admin work.
2. Planning - Project management DNA. Setting sprints, mapping dependencies, and owning accountability frameworks.
3. Research - Running workshops, insight sessions & surveys. The qualitative side.
4. Testing - Building mini experiments to validate hypotheses. The analytical side.
5. Building - Taking ideas into reality. Creating integrations, processes & systems that actually get used.

She says the magic happens when you connect all 5.

Research informs testing, testing guides building, planning keeps it on track, and human ops ensures adoption.

Too many great people initiatives die because teams lack the full stack of skills to execute.

‍Why every team needs T-shaped talent

The best performers aren’t the ones who stay in their lane. They’re the ones who say “I’ll give anything a crack” when needed.

But here’s the example that really caught my attention - she mentioned how top performers at Dropbox share this trait: they HATE meaningless busy work.

These people find creative ways to solve problems:

• Quick Zapier automation instead of manual data entry
• Using AI to streamline repetitive tasks
• Building email workflows instead of sending the same quarterly updates

They’re not lazy - they’re efficient. They’re focused on impact over process.

This is exactly what modern People teams need. Not specialists who only do their assigned role, but adaptable problem solvers who’ll tackle whatever needs fixing.

Using case studies to spot product-thinking in HR candidates

Here’s a tip from Jessica.

When hiring People folks, give candidates a case study and let them work on it for a few days.

She likes giving an onboarding optimization case study.

Why? Because someone’s ability to keep a clean HR system tells you nothing about their ability to transform the employee experience.

The responses are telling:

• Some focus on more checklists and background checks
• Others propose Zapier automations and pre-start engagement programs

Guess which type builds the future of HR?

How to interview for a People Ops-as-a-product mindset

Hiring HR folks with product thinking? Here’s how to spot it in an interview.

Jessica says to start by reframing the role: “We think of the employee experience like a product - something to be researched, designed, tested, and improved. Is that interesting to you?”

Then go deeper with questions that surface the right instincts:

• Have you ever prioritized multiple initiatives at once? How did you decide what mattered most - and who needed to see your plan?
• Tell me about a time you realized an idea might be wrong before you built it. What did you do?
• Have you worked closely with product teams in the past? How did you collaborate?

You’re not just looking for people who’ve heard of People Ops as a product - you’re looking for signs they already work that way.

See you next week!

P.S. If you like MPL, help us grow the show by giving us a 5 star rating on Apple or Spotify.

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