A M P L I F Y P R E S E N T S:

The Founder’s Playbook:

Building Modern HR and People Teams for Growth

About the Founder’s HR Playbook

This playbook was initially created by Lars Schmidt (Founder, Amplify) for a workshop at IESE's School of Founders Foundations of Scale course.

It was updated and open-sourced to extend the resources, tools, and resources to the broader global startup ecosystem.

Few things will make or break your startup like your people and talent strategy. This playbook will help you understand how to think about all the people considerations that can make your company thrive.

Want to go deeper? Check the appendix at the end for curated articles and resources.

How to Access the Founder’s HR Playbook

You can navigate the playbook on the above right menu, scroll through it below, or download the open-source pdf via the button below.

Download the Playbook

HR Playbook Chapters

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Topics covered:
Culture Framework, Understanding Culture & Values, Values Alignment, Psychological Safety = Innovation
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Topics covered:
Build a Magnetic Employer Brand, Interview Benchmarking, Recruiting Funnel, Interview Process Optimization, Measuring Success
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Topics covered:
Avoid Over-Hiring, The Importance of "We" Hires, HR Principles of Scale
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Factors to Consider, Actionable Steps to Build Inclusive and Equitable Team
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Internal Communications, Remote and Hybrid EX, The LLAMA Method, Engagement = Revenue
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Topics covered:
Four Ingredients of Performance, Building Your Team's Growth Mindset
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Topics covered:
Understanding the Field, Impact Drivers for Modern Heads of People, Heads of People Motivations and Drivers, Tips for Hiring Your Head of People, Interview Questions, People Team Health Metrics
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Topics covered:
Work Tech Investments, Core HR Tech Stack, Level Up HR Tech Stack
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Connect with Amplify.
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A curated collection of external resources to support your work in these areas.

Thanks & Acknowledgment

Special thanks to all the contributors who added their wisdom, case studies, resources, and advice: Amplify Academy, Catherine Alani, Josh Bersin, Brittany Blumenthal, Lindsey Caplan, Daniel Illes, Donald Knight, Sim Lamb, George LaRocque, Natalie Ledbetter, Jevan Soo Lenox, Shane Loidolt, Seyka Mejeur, PeopleTech Partners, Milica Radojevic, Kori Rahaim, Kim Rohrer, AJ Thomas, Dr. Erin L. Thomas, Ambrosia Vertesi

My background and why I want you to succeed.

INTRODUCTION: WHO’S LARS

Lars Schmidt is the Founder of Amplify, a firm that connects, develops, and empowers the next generation of transformative people leaders through HR executive search and the Amplify Academy learning and leadership development platform.

Lars has spent over 25 years in the industry, building a range of leading global companies, including NPR, Ticketmaster, SpaceX, and Hootsuite.

He’s a writer for Fast Company, author of the bestselling Redefining HR book, co-author of Employer Branding for Dummies, and Host of the Redefining Work podcast.