Audit Your People Strategy in 5 Questions

A practical framework to identify and close gaps in how your organization supports talent

People strategy is one of the most critical components of business success, yet it often lacks the same structured review that financial or operational strategy receives. Without intentional audits, organizations may unknowingly rely on outdated processes, inequitable systems, or assumptions that no longer match the reality of the workforce.

Instead of beginning with a complex diagnostic tool, start with five questions. These questions are informed by behavioral science, organizational psychology, and evidence from high-performing companies. They are designed to uncover gaps, prompt reflection, and help leadership teams prioritize what matters most.

1. Do your systems align with how people actually work?

Work design often assumes linear workflows and constant productivity. In reality, cognitive energy fluctuates, collaboration requires clarity, and interruptions degrade focus. According to research by Mark et al. (2008), employees are interrupted every three minutes, and it can take up to 23 minutes to refocus.

If your performance systems or tools assume constant availability and ignore this reality, you are designing for dysfunction.

What to examine:

• Does your meeting cadence allow for deep work?

• Are your productivity metrics realistic or performative?

• Do your tools support flow or fragment it?

Example: Atlassian implemented “Focus Fridays” across teams to protect uninterrupted work time, reporting improvements in productivity and employee satisfaction.

2. Are your leaders equipped to make decisions, not just manage tasks?

Most companies promote people into leadership without re-training them for strategic thinking, systems awareness, or coaching others. Leadership becomes about task oversight rather than enabling others’ success.

In a study of 1,000 companies by Zenger & Folkman (2019), only 27% of leaders were rated as effective coaches. Coaching and decision-making are not soft skills. They are teachable, behavioral capabilities with real outcomes.

What to examine:

• Do managers receive ongoing training in feedback, coaching, and communication?

• Are decision rights clear at every level?

• Do leaders model clarity under ambiguity?

Example: Google’s Project Oxygen introduced structured leadership development around eight core behaviors. Teams with managers rated highly on these behaviors showed higher productivity, retention, and psychological safety.

3. Are your people systems equitable by design, or only in intent?

Many organizations articulate commitments to diversity and equity. Fewer audit whether their systems uphold those values in practice. Research from McKinsey (2023) shows that equitable access to mentorship, stretch assignments, and promotion criteria is often uneven, even when policies appear neutral.

What to examine:

• Who receives informal mentoring, and how is access distributed?

• Are promotion decisions documented and normed across managers?

• Do feedback systems account for bias?

Example: Salesforce redesigned its promotion process to require a “growth summary” and peer calibration, reducing manager bias and increasing diversity in promotions by 13% in one year.

4. Does your onboarding produce contribution, or just compliance?

First impressions shape belonging, learning, and retention. Yet many onboarding programs focus on policy, not purpose. Research from Bauer et al. (2007) shows that structured onboarding improves job satisfaction and time-to-proficiency, especially when it emphasizes early wins and social connection.

What to examine:

• Do new hires understand not just what to do, but why their role matters?

• Are they connected with peers, mentors, and cross-functional partners?

• Do they receive feedback and a development plan within their first 60 days?

Example: HubSpot redesigned onboarding as a 100-day journey with defined milestones, peer cohort support, and early access to real projects. The result: a 25% reduction in early attrition.

5. Is learning treated as a process, not a perk?

Learning programs often focus on content delivery rather than skill development. But adult learning requires relevance, repetition, and reflection. The 70-20-10 framework—70% learning by doing, 20% by feedback, 10% by instruction—remains a useful guide.

What to examine:

• Is learning tied to real business problems?

• Are managers held accountable for coaching?

• Are there clear pathways for reskilling and advancement?

Example: Schneider Electric created an internal “Open Talent Market” platform to match employees with short-term projects, mentoring, and learning opportunities. It increased internal mobility and learning engagement by 30%.

Conclusion

People strategy cannot be effective if it is invisible. These five questions help organizations bring visibility, accountability, and evidence into their workforce practices. You do not need a new platform to get started. You need the discipline to ask the right questions, examine your assumptions, and build a system that aligns with how people really work.

References

• Bauer, T. N., Bodner, T., Erdogan, B., Truxillo, D. M., & Tucker, J. S. (2007). Newcomer adjustment during organizational socialization: A meta-analytic review of antecedents, outcomes, and methods. Journal of Applied Psychology, 92(3), 707–721.

• Mark, G., Gudith, D., & Klocke, U. (2008). The cost of interrupted work: More speed and stress. In Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems.

• McKinsey & Company. (2023). Diversity wins: How inclusion matters.

• Zenger, J., & Folkman, J. (2019). Why Do So Many Managers Forget They’re Human?. Harvard Business Review.

• Google re:Work. Project Oxygen. https://rework.withgoogle.com/