To empower US small businesses to put their people (employees) back into the center of their business.
Why? Because (and you’re sick of hearing it..) the “world of work has changed.”
Employers, in response to an increasingly unsettled mindset among workers brought about through the pandemic, had to adjust how they treated employees. The “Great Resignation” became the “Great Reflection” and then…the “Great Reshuffle.”
Business owners were struggling to find ways to attract and retain talent. Among other things, they considered adjusting outdated policies, introducing flexible/remote work, and increasing benefits.
As a result HR — an often overlooked department — suddenly had a critical role: to help chariot this transformation.
Zenefits responded by creating a broad marketing campaign to educate and empower US small business owners on “a better way” to approach workforce management…one that puts a greater emphasis on employee well-being, while not losing business success.
It’s called People Operations — or POPS.
POPS is a new way to manage human capital that leverages tech to complete nitty gritty aspects of HR so that “People Teams” can focus time/energy on more “human” aspects of people management (how to create happy teams; motivate individuals; retain top talent).
Our goal was to provide a fiscally-feasible opportunity for any business owner to:
Learn about POPS
Become educated in its best practices
Have tools necessary to shift from HR to POPS
Our campaign slogan says it all: Goodbye HR, Hello People Operations.
Target Audience:
Any US small businesses (small business is defined by the federal government as companies with 1-500 employees).
Core Challenge:
Small businesses represent myriad industries, geographic regions, stages of business growth, etc. Connecting with such a varied group of people requires connecting via a broad approach for information dissemination. Small businesses also often have limited budgets, so we had to create tools and resources they could use on the cheap or for free.
Key Execution Details:
The campaign had to connect with the broadest audience possible, leveraging mass media outlets (or in other words, media channels outside Zenefits’ media properties) to provide educational information.
To successfully chariot a transformation in business, the campaign had to anticipate all the resources / digital tools small businesses would need to be successful: education, frameworks, templates, thought leadership, tools for their teams, etc.
The Final Build:
Created a multifaceted design identity tying an entire campaign into consistent visual language. Our dynamic approach consists of four related visual concepts, lending itself to a playful, ever changing execution, while maintaining recognisable look and feel.
Wrote and published People Operations the book selling digitally on Amazon - $30
Audible (Digital)
Kindle (Digital)
Created a weekly podcast available on Spotify and where all podcasts are streaming covering the most challenging / pressing / confusing aspects of the new world of work - FREE
Spotify
Apple Podcasts
Google Podcasts
iTunes
Stitcher
Created an online school to train HR administrators on the People Operations methodology (this will be an accredited course for continuing education credits in the near future, this was not obtained by the date of this submission) - $450
Created a ~100-page PDF workbook that helps businesses bring philosophy into action for moving HR to People Ops. A digital companion piece to the book. - $45
Created 14 eBooks / PDF resources that break down People Operations into key topics (a few examples listed below) - FREE
Created an interactive microsite that educates users on People Ops - FREE
Distributed more than 100 social posts with bite-sized education on People Ops
Sent 15 emails to our customer / email database to educate on People Ops & deliver thought leadership
Trained the entire internal Zenefits staff (~350 people) on the principles and best practices of People Ops.
>> See our youtube video for a highlight reel.
We had two goals.
(Goal #1)
To provide a fiscally-feasible opportunity for any business owner to:
Learn about People Ops
Become educated in its best practices
Have tools necessary to shift from HR to People Ops
(Goal #2)
To make a significant impact on our lead volume, sales, and revenue.
First…
Results for US Small Business Community
The People Operations book became a two-time Wall Street Journal bestseller for business books
Two businesses wrote to us, telling us they bought the book for their executive teams, using it as a key piece in annual executive planning / training.
Amazon reviews:
“Recommend for anyone in HR ready to pivot their organization to an employee-first mindset. Using some of the exercises to kick off our employee retreat.” - Natasha Miller
“If you’re an entrepreneur, business owner or HR/People Ops person you should do yourself a favor and get this book! Then read it. Then take action and implement it!” - Eve Baxter
“People Operations speaks to the pivotal shift in thinking of human resources...As a people leader is (SIC) gives you a blueprint to successfully build a best in class employee experience. The book is easy to read yet interactive, enabling the reader to put the philosophies into (immediate) action. Overall, a MUST READ, for all! :)” - Tamara Bucher
8 companies completed the POPS Academy certification
...and secondly
Results for Zenefits
The POPS Integrated campaign top-of-funnel content generated $14M in annual recurring revenue (ARR) in 2021, an increase of more than 30% from previous fiscal year; the philosophy underlies all content pieces and go-to-market, driving the creation of more than 150,000 prospects, more than 13,000 opportunities and the largest increase in both ARR and Closed/Won deals in five years...
