HR Operations

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name: hr-operations description: Manage hiring pipelines, analyze compensation data, create performance review templates, and design onboarding checklists. Use when building HR processes, conducting comp analysis, designing review cycles, or structuring employee onboarding. tags: [hr, hiring, compensation, performance-management]

HR Operations

Operational HR framework for hiring pipeline management, compensation analysis, performance reviews, and employee onboarding. Covers the process-oriented side of people operations — not strategic workforce planning (which is the CHRO agent's domain).

Use this skill when

• Designing or analyzing a hiring pipeline (stages, conversion rates, time-to-fill)
• Conducting compensation benchmarking and pay band analysis
• Creating performance review templates and calibration processes
• Building employee onboarding checklists (pre-start through 90 days)
• Calculating HR metrics (attrition, eNPS, cost-per-hire)
• Designing org-level review cycles

Do not use this skill when

• Setting company-wide people strategy or culture (use CHRO agent directly)
• Planning OKRs or goal-setting frameworks (use brainstorm-okrs)
• Running employee engagement surveys (use CHRO agent for strategy)
• Handling legal employment matters (use legal-contract-review for contract aspects)

Instructions

1. Identify the HR operation — hiring, compensation, performance, or onboarding.
2. Apply the relevant framework from the sections below.
3. Use templates to standardize output across the organization.
4. Track metrics using the HR Metrics Framework for ongoing measurement.

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Hiring Pipeline Dashboard

Pipeline Stages & Benchmarks

Stage	Description	Target Conversion	Target Duration
Sourced	Candidate identified (inbound or outbound)	—	—
Applied / Screened	Resume review passed	20-30% of sourced	2-3 days
Phone Screen	Recruiter screen completed	40-60% of screened	3-5 days
Technical / Skills Assessment	Skills evaluation passed	30-50% of phone screens	5-7 days
Onsite / Final Interview	Full interview loop completed	50-70% of assessments	5-10 days
Offer Extended	Offer made	70-90% of onsites	2-3 days
Offer Accepted	Candidate accepts	80-90% of offers	3-7 days
Started	First day completed	95%+ of accepted	Per start date

Pipeline Health Metrics

Metric	Formula	Benchmark	Action if Off
Time-to-Fill	Days from req open to offer accepted	30-45 days (IC), 45-60 days (manager+)	Review bottleneck stage
Cost-per-Hire	(Internal costs + External costs) / Hires	$3-5K (IC), $10-20K (senior/exec)	Optimize source mix
Source Effectiveness	Hires per source / Candidates per source	Referrals: 2-5x better than job boards	Invest in high-yield channels
Offer Acceptance Rate	Offers accepted / Offers extended	>85%	Review comp competitiveness
Quality of Hire	Performance rating at 6-12 months	>80% meeting/exceeding expectations	Review interview process

Pipeline Report Template

## Hiring Pipeline — [Period]

**Open Requisitions:** [X] | **Hires This Period:** [X] | **Avg Time-to-Fill:** [X] days

| Role | Stage | Days in Stage | Recruiter | Hiring Manager | Notes |
|------|-------|--------------|-----------|----------------|-------|
| | | | | | |

### Funnel Conversion (Period)
| Stage Transition | Volume | Conversion | Benchmark | Delta |
|-----------------|--------|------------|-----------|-------|
| Sourced → Screened | | % | 25% | |
| Screened → Phone | | % | 50% | |
| Phone → Assessment | | % | 40% | |
| Assessment → Onsite | | % | 60% | |
| Onsite → Offer | | % | 80% | |
| Offer → Accepted | | % | 85% | |

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Compensation Analysis Framework

Market Benchmarking Process

Step	Action	Data Source
1	Define comparison cohort (industry, size, geo, role)	Radford, Pave, Levels.fyi, Option Impact
2	Pull market data at P25, P50, P75	Survey data + real-time platforms
3	Map internal roles to market equivalents	Job architecture / leveling framework
4	Compare internal comp to market percentile targets	Internal HRIS data
5	Identify outliers (below P25 or above P75)	Comp analysis output
6	Build adjustment recommendations	Budget-constrained optimization

Pay Band Design

Level	P25 (Below Market)	P50 (Market Rate)	P75 (Above Market)	Spread
IC1 (Junior)	$	$	$	±15-20%
IC2 (Mid)	$	$	$	±15-20%
IC3 (Senior)	$	$	$	±20-25%
IC4 (Staff)	$	$	$	±20-25%
M1 (Manager)	$	$	$	±20-25%
M2 (Director)	$	$	$	±25-30%
M3 (VP)	$	$	$	±25-30%

Total Compensation Modeling

Component	IC (Individual Contributor)	Manager+
Base Salary	60-70% of total comp	50-60% of total comp
Variable / Bonus	10-15%	15-25%
Equity (RSUs / Options)	15-25%	20-30%
Benefits	5-10%	5-10%

Internal Equity Analysis

## Compensation Equity Review — [Department/Team]

| Employee | Role | Level | Tenure | Base | Total Comp | Market % | Compa-Ratio | Flag |
|----------|------|-------|--------|------|------------|----------|-------------|------|
| | | | | $ | $ | P[X] | X.XX | |

**Compa-Ratio:** Employee pay / Pay band midpoint (1.0 = at midpoint)
- <0.85 = Below range (retention risk)
- 0.85-1.15 = Within range (healthy)
- >1.15 = Above range (review justification)

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Performance Review Templates

Self-Assessment Template

## Self-Assessment — [Name] — [Review Period]

### Accomplishments
1. [Achievement with quantified impact]
2. [Achievement with quantified impact]
3. [Achievement with quantified impact]

### Areas for Growth
1. [Skill or behavior to develop]
2. [Skill or behavior to develop]

### Goals for Next Period
1. [Specific, measurable goal]
2. [Specific, measurable goal]

### Career Aspirations
[Where I want to grow in the next 12-24 months]

Manager Assessment Template

## Manager Assessment — [Employee Name] — [Review Period]

### Performance Summary
**Overall Rating:** [Exceeds / Meets / Developing / Below]

### Key Accomplishments
1. [With business impact]
2. [With business impact]

### Strengths
- [Strength with evidence]
- [Strength with evidence]

### Development Areas
- [Area with specific examples and improvement plan]
- [Area with specific examples and improvement plan]

### Rating Justification
[Evidence-based narrative — avoid recency bias, include full period]

### Compensation Recommendation
- Merit increase: [X]%
- Promotion: [Yes/No — if yes, to what level]
- Equity refresh: [Yes/No — amount]

Calibration Process

Step	Action	Participants
1	Managers submit initial ratings	Direct managers
2	Pre-calibration: review distribution	HR Business Partner
3	Calibration session: discuss outliers	Manager peers + skip-level
4	Adjust ratings based on cross-team view	Managers
5	Final approval	Department head
6	Deliver reviews to employees	Direct managers

Rating Distribution Guidance (avoid forced ranking):

Rating	Target Distribution	Notes
Exceeds Expectations	15-20%	Truly exceptional, not just "good"
Meets Expectations	60-70%	Solid performance at level
Developing	10-15%	New to role or specific growth areas
Below Expectations	5-10%	Requires performance improvement plan

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Employee Onboarding Checklist

Pre-Start (Before Day 1)

• IT equipment ordered and configured (laptop, monitors, peripherals)
• Software accounts provisioned (email, Slack, GitHub, HRIS, etc.)
• Building access / badge arranged
• Welcome email sent with Day 1 logistics
• Manager prep: 30/60/90 plan drafted, buddy assigned
• Onboarding calendar populated (orientation, training, 1:1s)

Week 1: Orientation

• HR orientation (benefits enrollment, policies, compliance training)
• Manager 1:1: goals, expectations, communication preferences
• Team introductions and stakeholder meetings
• Buddy assigned and first buddy check-in
• Dev environment / tooling setup (engineering roles)
• Review team norms, rituals, and documentation

Day 30: Foundation

• Completed all required compliance training
• Attended at least one cross-functional meeting
• Delivered first small contribution (PR, analysis, design, etc.)
• Manager 1:1 review: progress check, blockers, feedback
• 30-day survey: onboarding experience feedback

Day 60: Contribution

• Independently handling core responsibilities
• Building relationships beyond immediate team
• Participated in team planning/sprint activities
• Manager 1:1: development conversation, skill gaps identified
• Buddy check-in: social integration and cultural acclimation

Day 90: Integration

• Fully productive at expected level for tenure
• Probation review completed (if applicable)
• Manager 1:1: formal 90-day review, goal-setting for next quarter
• 90-day survey: onboarding effectiveness
• Onboarding formally concluded — transition to steady-state 1:1 cadence

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HR Metrics Framework

Metric	Formula	Benchmark	Frequency
Attrition Rate	Departures / Avg headcount x 100	<15% annual (tech)	Monthly
Regrettable Turnover	High-performer departures / Total departures	<30% of total attrition	Quarterly
eNPS	% Promoters - % Detractors	>30 = good, >50 = excellent	Quarterly
Offer Acceptance Rate	Accepted / Extended x 100	>85%	Monthly
Time-to-Fill	Avg days from req open to accepted	30-45 days	Monthly
Cost-per-Hire	Total recruiting spend / Hires	$3-5K IC, $10-20K senior	Quarterly
Span of Control	Direct reports per manager	5-8 (IC teams), 3-5 (manager of managers)	Annually
Diversity	% representation by dimension	Set org-specific targets	Quarterly

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Common Mistakes

• Compensation decisions without market data — internal perception of "fair pay" often diverges from market reality; always benchmark
• Performance reviews without clear criteria — vague criteria lead to bias; use rubrics tied to level expectations
• Onboarding that ends after Day 1 — orientation is not onboarding; the 30/60/90 framework is the minimum
• Hiring pipeline without source attribution — if you don't know which sources produce the best hires, you can't optimize
• Forced ranking — forces managers to label good performers as poor; use guided distribution instead
• Ignoring span of control — managers with 15+ reports cannot coach effectively; restructure before it becomes a retention issue

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Additional Resources

• Related skill: brainstorm-okrs (goal-setting alignment for performance reviews)
• Radford / Pave / Levels.fyi — compensation benchmarking data
• SHRM — HR operations best practices