When Jaylene Gonzalez joined online learning platform Skillshare as its people operations manager in November 2024, the company was in the midst of yet another reorganization.
So, while she was acclimating to her new role, Gonzalez embarked on a listening tour. Over the course of a few weeks, she scheduled 30-minute, one-on-one conversations with employees across different levels and functions. She asked about their roles, satisfaction, goals, priorities, and thoughts on what the company was and wasn’t doing well. From their feedback, she shared insights with Skillshare’s executive team and devised a strategy for improving the employee experience.
“With that listening tour, we were able to make some really positive changes for the employees and take their feedback and turn it into action,” she told HR Brew.
For other HR pros who may join a company during a similar period of change, Gonzalez recommends taking the time to listen to employees—all employees.
“Speak to people at all levels of the business. Don’t just start from the top or speak to middle management. Talk to any level of employee, because everyone has a different experience,” she said. “There’s so much information that you can get from the team, especially the team who has been there for a solid amount of time [and] understand the business through and through.”
This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
What’s the best change you’ve made at a place you’ve worked?
One of the most impactful changes was reimagining our company-wide engagement strategy post-reorg. I led a full pulse survey and listening tour initiative that gave employees a real voice, then turned that feedback into actionable programming around transparency, well-being, and culture-building. It was a moment that really shifted how we think about engagement—less as an HR “check-the-box” and more as an ongoing, two-way conversation.
What’s the biggest misconception people might have about your job?
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That it’s all policies, hiring/firing, and paperwork. People ops is just as much about strategy and storytelling as it is about compliance. There’s a real human side to this work—whether you’re coaching a manager through a tough conversation, building a program to recognize employee contributions, or rolling out change in a way that actually lands. Every system or policy we create touches someone’s day-to-day, and I take that seriously.
What’s the most fulfilling aspect of your job?
Knowing that the work I do has a direct impact on how people feel about coming to work. When someone feels seen, supported, or excited to be part of something—we’ve done our job. That, and I genuinely love creating experiences that bring some levity, creativity, or connection into the workplace. The little wins (like a great intern kickoff or a team shoutout in Slack) really add up.
What trend in HR are you most optimistic about? Why?
I’m really excited about the shift toward employee experience being treated as a strategic function. It’s no longer just about engagement surveys—it’s about thoughtfully designing the full lifecycle experience with purpose, from onboarding to offboarding, and being more human-centered in how we lead. Especially in creative and mission-driven orgs like ours, there’s so much opportunity to build people strategies that energize teams and reflect the culture we want to nurture.
What trend in HR are you least optimistic about? Why?
I’m a little wary of the overreliance on AI in people decisions. Don’t get me wrong—tech should absolutely make our jobs easier (and it does!), but I think we have to be careful about where we automate versus where we need that human nuance. People ops work is deeply relational, and we can’t afford to let efficiency override empathy or context.