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Why It Matters

“You can’t scale a culture you haven’t intentionally built.”

Startups and growth-stage companies hire VPs of Sales, Marketing, Product, and Engineering early. But they often delay hiring a Head of People — treating it like a “nice to have” instead of a strategic role.

That delay shows up in misalignment, burnout, hiring mistakes, and ultimately… attrition.

What a Head of People Actually Does

It’s not just HR admin. It’s not just culture.

  • They build scalable systems for hiring, onboarding, and development
  • They mediate between leadership decisions and employee experience
  • They ensure your values are more than a slide deck
  • They design org structure to match company goals

  • They’re the architect of your people infrastructure.

Mistakes to Avoid

  • Waiting until “people problems” surface before investing
  • Confusing HR generalists with strategic leadership
  • Thinking this role is reactive, not proactive
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When to Hire a Head of People

You’re likely overdue if:

  • Your headcount just passed 30 and hiring velocity is increasing
  • Your execs are spending more time putting out culture fires than building
  • Feedback loops are informal and unstructured
  • You’ve made one or more painful hiring mistakes at the leadership level

  • The earlier you invest, the less you have to rebuild later.

What This Role Unlocks

  • Cohesive leadership hiring
  • Structured performance management
  • A culture that scales
  • Better retention and engagement
  • A clearer link between business goals and human capital strategy

  • The Head of People is not a cost center. They’re a scaling partner.

What Great Looks Like

  • A Head of People with seat-at-the-table credibility, not just administrative access
  • A company that thinks about people as systems — not just sentiment
  • An executive team that can scale without losing trust, alignment, or culture

TL;DR: Executive Onboarding Cheat Sheet

  • Most companies wait too long to make this hire
  • It’s a strategy role, not an HR function
  • Culture, process, retention, and performance depend on it
  • Hiring this early saves you from rebuilding later
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