Finance, HR & G&A department
HR and people operations, run as a department
HR administration grows with every new hire: contracts to prepare, new starters to set up, leave to track, questions to answer, leavers to process. When it lands on a founder or an overstretched manager, it gets done late and inconsistently. Nexoryl runs HR and people operations as a managed department, remotely in your HR system and to your policies.
The first button opens an email to info@nexoryl.com.
You bring
- Your HR system and policies
- Contract and letter templates
- Managers who approve changes
Nexoryl runs
- Onboarding
- Employee records
- HR helpdesk
- Leave and absence
- Offboarding
You get
- New starters ready on day one
- Accurate employee records
- Questions answered consistently
- Operating model
- A managed HR operations team with documented processes, an HR helpdesk and monthly people reporting.
- Delivery model
- Remote. Work happens in your HR system, shared drives and helpdesk, with access limited to what each task needs.
- Usual starting scope
- Onboarding, offboarding and records administration, then an HR helpdesk for employee questions.
- Typical roles
- An HR operations lead, HR administrators and an HRIS specialist.
- Runs inside
- BambooHR, HiBob, Personio, Breathe or Workday, with your ticketing tool for the helpdesk.
- Engagement
- A process review, then a monthly retainer.
Overview
What is HR and people operations?
HR and people operations is the administrative side of managing employees: contracts and letters, onboarding and offboarding, employee records, leave and absence, HR system upkeep, employee questions and people reporting.
It's different from HR strategy and employee relations, which involve judgement about people and employment law. People operations makes sure the processes around employees run accurately and on time.
Nexoryl model
What does Nexoryl's HR & People Operations department do?
It runs the employee lifecycle administration: preparing documents from your templates, onboarding and offboarding, maintaining records and your HR system, answering employee questions, tracking leave and preparing payroll inputs.
Decisions about people, such as hiring, pay, discipline, grievances and dismissals, stay with your managers, and employment law advice stays with your advisers. Hiring itself is handled by Talent Acquisition / RPO.
- Responsible for
- Lifecycle administration, document preparation from templates, records and HRIS upkeep, HR helpdesk, leave and absence tracking, payroll inputs and people reporting.
- Not included
- Employment law advice, decisions in disciplinary or grievance cases, in-person HR meetings, and running payroll.
- Connects to
- Talent Acquisition / RPO, IT Service Desk, Finance & Accounting and Knowledge Management.
The employee lifecycle
The administration behind every employee, start to finish.
Six stages, each with a checklist, so nothing depends on someone remembering.
- 01
Offer and contract
Offer letters and contracts prepared from your approved templates.
- 02
Onboard
Accounts requested, documents collected and a first-week plan shared.
- 03
Employ
Records kept current, questions answered and leave tracked.
- 04
Change
Role, pay and team changes processed after manager approval.
- 05
Review
Performance review cycles scheduled and tracked.
- 06
Leave
Offboarding checklist, access removal requests and exit administration.
Where HR admin breaks
Four signs HR administration needs an owner.
These usually appear once a company grows past the point where everyone knows how everything works.
Messy onboarding
- Shows up as
- New starters arrive without contracts, accounts or equipment requests made.
- We look at
- Onboarding steps and who triggers them.
- What changes
- An onboarding checklist started the day an offer is accepted.
Records nobody trusts
- Shows up as
- Job titles, salaries and managers differ between systems.
- We look at
- HR system data quality and how changes are recorded.
- What changes
- One source of truth, updated only through approved changes.
The same questions, every week
- Shows up as
- Managers and HR answer holiday and policy questions from memory.
- We look at
- Question types and where answers live.
- What changes
- An HR helpdesk with documented answers and response times.
Leavers keep access
- Shows up as
- People who left still appear on systems and payroll inputs.
- We look at
- Offboarding steps and system access removal.
- What changes
- An offboarding checklist with access removal requested on the leaving date.
What the department covers
HR and people operations services.
The administration around employees, done consistently and to your policies.
Onboarding
New starters ready on their first day.
- Offer and contract preparation from templates
- New starter document collection
- Account and equipment requests
- First-week plans
Employee records and HRIS
One accurate record for every employee.
- HR system setup and upkeep
- Change processing after approval
- Data quality checks
- Document filing
HR helpdesk
Employee questions answered consistently.
- Policy and process questions
- Letters and confirmations
- Response time tracking
- Escalation to your HR lead
Leave and absence
Time off tracked accurately.
- Holiday and leave administration
- Absence recording
- Return-to-work reminders
- Leave reporting
Payroll inputs
Clean data for whoever runs payroll.
- Starter, leaver and change inputs
- Pay change records
- Payroll input checks
- Queries routed to your payroll provider
Offboarding and reporting
Clean exits and a clear picture of the workforce.
- Offboarding checklists
- Access removal requests
- Headcount and turnover reports
- Policy document upkeep
How remote delivery works
How an HR operations engagement runs.
Processes are documented first, so the work is consistent from day one.
- 01
Step 1: Review
Current HR processes, system data and pain points reviewed.
- 02
Step 2: Document
Checklists, templates and approval rules agreed with your HR lead.
- 03
Step 3: Set up
HR system, helpdesk and trackers configured.
- 04
Step 4: Operate
Lifecycle administration and the helpdesk run within agreed response times.
- 05
Step 5: Report
Monthly people reporting and a review of processes.
Employee data is accessed only as each task requires, under data protection terms agreed in advance. Decisions about people always stay with your managers.
Scope and boundaries
What's included, and what stays with you.
Administration sits with the department. Judgement about people, and legal advice, stay with you.
✓Included
- Onboarding and offboarding administration
- Contracts and letters from approved templates
- Employee records and HR system upkeep
- HR helpdesk for employee questions
- Leave and absence administration
- Payroll inputs and people reporting
✕Not included
- Employment law advice
- Decisions in disciplinary, grievance or dismissal cases
- In-person HR meetings or investigations
- Running payroll or making payments
- Supplying or employing staff
→What you provide
- Access to your HR system and document storage
- Your policies, handbook and templates
- Managers or an HR lead who approve changes
- Your payroll provider's contact details
Tools and platforms
Where the work happens.
In your HR system, with a helpdesk tool for employee questions.
- HR systems
- BambooHRHiBobPersonioBreatheWorkday
- Documents and signatures
- DocuSignGoogle DriveSharePoint
- Helpdesk
- Jira Service ManagementZendeskFreshservice
- Reporting
- Your HR system's reportsSpreadsheetsPower BI
Named as examples of tools we work in. They don't imply a partnership or certification.
Measurement
How an HR operations department is measured.
Accuracy and timeliness of the processes that affect every employee.
Onboarding
- New starters with documents complete on day one
- Contracts issued on time
- Account requests made on time
Records
- HR system data accuracy
- Changes processed within agreed time
- Missing documents
Helpdesk
- First response time
- Questions resolved without escalation
- Employee satisfaction
Offboarding
- Access removal requested on the leaving date
- Exit administration completed
- Payroll inputs correct
These are measurement categories, not promised figures.
Who does the work
The people running your HR administration.
Sized to headcount, hiring volume and the number of countries you employ in.
HR Operations Lead
Owns processes, escalations and monthly people reporting.
HR Administrators
Handle lifecycle administration and the HR helpdesk.
HRIS Specialist
Keeps the HR system configured, accurate and reporting correctly.
A good fit when
- HR administration lands on a founder or busy manager
- Onboarding is inconsistent or late
- Your HR system data is out of date
- Employees wait days for answers to simple questions
Probably not the right fit when
- You need employment law advice
- You need someone to run disciplinary or grievance meetings
- You need staff supplied or employed for you
Ways to start
Three ways to begin.
A process review shows where HR administration is inconsistent or late.
HR process review
Lifecycle processes, HR system data and templates reviewed, with a plan.
HR system clean-up
Employee records corrected and the HR system configured as a scoped project.
Managed department
Ongoing HR administration and helpdesk on a monthly retainer.
Fees depend on headcount, countries and services in scope, and are agreed after the review.
Related departments
Departments that work alongside HR and people operations.
People operations connects hiring, IT access, payroll data and documentation.
Talent Acquisition / RPO
Hiring, from sourcing to accepted offer.
IT Service Desk
Accounts and access for joiners and leavers.
Finance & Accounting
Payroll journals and people costs in the books.
Knowledge Management
Employee handbook and policy documentation.
Browse every function on the Departments page, or read why Nexoryl runs work as managed departments.
Questions
Questions about HR and people operations.
If your question isn't here, email us. Most answers depend on headcount and countries.
What does an HR operations team do?
It handles employee lifecycle administration: contracts from templates, onboarding and offboarding, employee records, HR system upkeep, leave tracking, employee questions and payroll inputs.
Do you give employment law advice?
No. Employment law advice stays with your employment lawyers or HR advisers. The department follows your policies and the advice you've been given.
Do you handle disciplinary or grievance cases?
We can manage the administration, such as scheduling and keeping records, but decisions and meetings stay with your managers and advisers.
Can HR administration be done remotely?
Yes. HR systems, e-signature, document storage and helpdesks are all online, with access limited to what each task requires.
Do you run payroll?
No. We prepare accurate payroll inputs, such as starters, leavers and pay changes, for whoever runs your payroll.
Which HR systems do you work with?
BambooHR, HiBob, Personio, Breathe and Workday, among others.
How is employee data protected?
Access is limited to what each task requires, under data protection terms agreed before work starts, and all records stay in your systems.
What do you need from us to start?
Access to your HR system, your policies and templates, managers or an HR lead who approve changes, and your payroll provider's contact.
Next step
Take HR admin off your managers' desks.
Tell us how many people you employ and where HR admin is slipping. We'll review the processes and show you what to take over first.