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    Zwyrtek
    People Operations

    People Operations Managed Services.

    We take over responsibility for the day-to-day operational handling of people processes — from HR and payroll, through HR administration and reporting, to automation, AI and change management.

    We are not merely an HR and payroll service provider. We form an external HR Operations team that supports employers in efficiently managing the entire employee life cycle and gives the board reliable data for decision-making.

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    Foundation

    The foundation of People Operations is properly run HR and payroll administration.

    People Operations Managed Services does not replace HR and payroll outsourcing — it builds on it. All operational processes rely on reliably maintained employee documentation, correctly calculated payroll and compliance with labour law and social insurance regulations.

    Explore our accounting, HR and payroll outsourcing
    Definition

    What is People Operations?

    People Operations is a way of managing people processes in which every process has an owner, a deadline, a measure and data. The maturity model below shows the difference between calculating payroll and truly managing people operations.

    1. 01Payroll

      Calculating salaries, contributions and taxes. A narrow, technical scope — ending with payroll and declarations.

    2. 02HR administration

      Contracts, personnel files, records, leave, employment certificates. Formal compliance with labour law, with no impact on how processes are organised.

    3. 03HR Administration

      Handling documents, medical checks, health and safety training, benefits and certificates. Administration grows with headcount and starts to need its own team.

    4. 04HR Operations

      Organised processes: who is responsible for onboarding, how a role change proceeds, what offboarding looks like, what the deadlines and checkpoints are.

    5. 05People Operations

      People processes managed like business operations: a process owner, SLAs, data, reporting for the board and CFO, automation and continuous improvement.

    Conclusion: most organisations do not immediately need a large HR department. They need organised operational processes — with clear responsibility, deadlines and data.

    Starting point

    What problems do employers come to us with?

    • HR is drowning in administration.

      The HR team spends most of its time on documents, certificates and answering questions. There is no room left for development projects and manager support.

    • No one knows who is responsible for onboarding.

      Some tasks are done by HR, some by the manager, some by IT. A new employee falls into an organisational gap, and the company loses the first weeks of their work.

    • Chaos in employee documents.

      Personnel files are incomplete, some documents exist only on paper, and reconstructing employment history takes hours. During an inspection, that is a real risk.

    • No one keeps track of medical checks and qualifications.

      Deadlines for periodic medical checks, health and safety training and industry qualifications are scattered across spreadsheets and inboxes. Reminders depend on one person's memory.

    • Employees send hundreds of emails to HR.

      Certificates, leave, benefits, salary questions. Without a single reporting channel, matters get lost and come back as escalations.

    • HR data is inconsistent.

      The HR system, managers' spreadsheets and accounting data show different headcounts. Every report requires manually reconciling the numbers.

    • The CFO doesn't know the real cost of employment.

      Labour cost is only visible after the month closes, and only in aggregate. There is no breakdown by department, project, location or contract type.

    • The board doesn't see turnover.

      Departures are described anecdotally, without metrics, trends or the cost of replacing an employee. Decisions are made on impressions.

    • There are no HR dashboards.

      Reports are produced manually, on request, in different formats. Every board question triggers several days of analytical work.

    • Onboarding takes too long.

      Equipment, access, training and documents are launched sequentially. The employee reaches full productivity much later than the budget assumed.

    • Offboarding is chaotic.

      Settling leave, collecting equipment, cutting off access and final documents have no single checklist. This creates legal and security risks.

    • The company is growing faster than HR.

      Processes designed for 60 people serve 250. Scale grows in leaps, while the HR structure stays the same.

    • HR works purely operationally.

      There is no time for development, appraisal, workforce planning and manager support. HR is seen as an administrative function.

    • There is no automation.

      The same data is entered several times, in several tools. The company pays for time that should be handled by a workflow.

    • Employees don't use the systems.

      The company bought an HR system, but requests still circulate by email. Implementation stalled at the licensing stage, without changing habits.

    • No one knows who owns the process.

      The process exists, but has no owner, deadlines or performance measure. When one person is absent, everything stops.

    • Every company in the group does it differently.

      The group of companies has no common HR standards. Comparing data between companies requires manual work and assumptions.

    • The knowledge is in one person's head.

      An HR administrator leaving means losing know-how about processes, exceptions and the history of decisions. The company has no documented process.

    Service model

    Four levels of cooperation.

    The levels form a natural path for expanding cooperation. You can start with HR and payroll compliance and expand the scope to include administration, data and process transformation.

    01

    People Core

    The foundation of HR and payroll compliance.

    • HR administration
    • payroll
    • ZUS
    • PIT
    • PPK (Employee Capital Plans)
    • personnel files
    • contracts
    • employment certificates
    • compliance
    • support during PIP inspections
    • monitoring changes in law
    • SLAs
    02

    People Operations

    Full administration of the employee life cycle.

    • onboarding
    • offboarding
    • HR Helpdesk
    • employee communication
    • benefits
    • medical checks
    • health and safety
    • equipment
    • access
    • checklists
    • reminders
    • HR administration
    03

    People Insights & Analytics

    HR based on data and supporting management decisions.

    • dashboards
    • personnel controlling
    • labour costs
    • absences
    • turnover
    • budgets
    • forecasts
    • reports for the CFO
    • reports for the board
    • reconciling data with accounting
    04

    People Transformation

    Transformation of people processes.

    • AI
    • automation
    • digitalisation
    • workflow
    • chatbots
    • self-service
    • AI Assistants
    • AI Act
    • change management
    • training
    Employee life cycle

    What does the employee life cycle look like?

    1. Recruitment
      The company's responsibility

      Remains with the company — we are not a recruitment agency.

    2. Onboarding
      We take over

      Documents, medical checks, training, access, equipment, checklists and deadlines.

    3. Administration
      We take over

      Personnel files, contracts, annexes, records, certificates, HR and payroll.

    4. Development
      Jointly

      Records of training, qualifications and budgets; development decisions remain with the company.

    5. Role changes
      We take over

      Annexes, salary recalculations, updating data and access rights.

    6. Absences
      We take over

      Leave, sick leave, absences, settlements and absence reporting.

    7. Benefits
      We take over

      Enrolments, changes, settlements, deductions and communication with providers.

    8. Reporting
      We take over

      Labour costs, FTEs, turnover, dashboards for the board and CFO.

    9. Offboarding
      We take over

      Settlement, final documents, equipment collection, access removal.

    Scope of competence

    People Operations is more than HR and payroll.

    People Operations
    • HR administration
    • Payroll
    • Labour law
    • Compliance
    • Finance
    • Controlling
    • AI
    • Automation
    • HR
    • ERP
    • Workflow
    • Change Management
    • Dashboards
    • Governance

    One team. One operational responsibility. One source of employment data.

    Practice

    Typical projects.

    • Manufacturer, 250 people

      Taking over HR administration, payroll and HR administration for a production plant with shift work and overtime settlements.

    • Retail chain, over a dozen locations

      Standardising HR support across all locations, one reporting channel and a shared calendar of medical checks and training.

    • Group of companies, 5 entities

      Common standards for people processes and a single headcount report for the whole group.

    • Family business, 120 people

      Professionalising HR after years of informal practices: documented processes, documentation, division of responsibilities.

    • Software house, 180 people

      People Analytics: project team costs, turnover, FTEs and a salary budget forecast.

    • Manufacturing company, high turnover

      Onboarding automation — a workflow that launches documents, medical checks, equipment and access with a single request.

    • Services company, 90 people

      Launching an HR Helpdesk with an SLA for employee and manager requests.

    • Holding company, 400 people

      A labour-cost dashboard reconciled with accounting, available to the board and CFO on a monthly cycle.

    • Company in transformation, 300 people

      Restructuring: annexes, communication, a schedule of changes and change-management support.

    • Entity with foreign capital

      HR and payroll support compliant with Polish law and reporting in the standard of the parent group.

    Examples have been anonymised. More case descriptions are available in our case studies section.

    Implementation

    What does the implementation look like?

    1. 01

      Analysis of current processes

      We map the actual state: documents, systems, workflows, exceptions and the team's real workload.

    2. 02

      Division of responsibilities

      We agree what we take over, what remains with the company, and what the points of contact and SLAs are.

    3. 03

      Migration

      We transfer data, files, records and system configuration. We verify completeness and compliance.

    4. 04

      Launch

      We start operational support: HR administration, payroll, the helpdesk, the deadline calendar and reporting.

    5. 05

      Stabilisation

      We close out exceptions, correct processes, and measure timeliness and quality of request handling.

    6. 06

      Development

      We introduce automation, self-service, analytics and further levels of cooperation.

    People Insights & Analytics

    People Analytics.

    HR data has value when it answers questions from the board and the CFO, not when it is merely complete in the system. That's why we build reporting around decisions: the employment budget, staffing, project costs and turnover risk.

    • labour costs broken down by department, location and project
    • FTEs and workforce structure
    • absences and their cost
    • overtime and shift work
    • turnover and the cost of replacing an employee
    • salary budgets and their execution
    • employment cost forecasts
    • HR KPIs (onboarding time, timeliness, request handling)
    • board dashboard
    • CFO dashboard

    Reconciliation with accounting: we reconcile all cost figures with accounting data. The HR report and the financial statements show the same numbers, so the CFO doesn't need to reconcile two sources of truth. We describe the broader context in our accounting, HR and payroll service and in our business advisory (Available in Polish).

    Technology

    AI in people processes.

    We do not implement AI for its own sake. We start with the process and the places where repetitive work, delays and errors occur. Only then do we choose the tools — most often as part of digital transformation and our artificial intelligence practice (Available in Polish).

    • Automatic HR responses

      Recurring employee questions are answered instantly, with a link to the current procedure.

    • Request classification

      Requests reach the right person and queue without manually sorting the inbox.

    • Reminders and deadlines

      Medical checks, training, qualifications and contract end dates monitored automatically, with escalation to the manager.

    • AI Assistant HR

      An assistant answering questions based on the company's own procedures and policies, not the model's general knowledge.

    • Workflow

      Onboarding, role changes and offboarding as task sequences launched with a single click.

    • Document OCR

      Reading and indexing HR documents instead of manually transcribing data.

    • Digitising files

      Organising and digitising employee documentation in line with legal requirements.

    • Knowledge base

      A single source of current procedures, available to employees and managers.

    • Document analysis

      Comparing contracts, annexes and policies for consistency and risks.

    • AI Act compliance

      Selecting AI applications with regard to risk classification, human oversight and data protection.

    Decision-making roles

    We most often work with.

    • Owners

      Want predictable costs and no dependency on individual people in the organisation.

    • CFO

      Need reliable labour-cost data, forecasts and reconciliation with accounting.

    • COO

      Responsible for operational continuity, shift staffing and process timeliness.

    • HR Manager

      Want to reclaim time for development projects instead of administrative work.

    • Office Manager

      Often carry out HR tasks alongside their main duties — they need support and procedures.

    • HR Director

      Builds the people strategy and needs an efficient, measurable operational backbone.

    • Management Boards

      Expect reporting, compliance and reduced employment-related risk.

    • Operations Director

      Needs fast onboarding and data on absences and overtime.

    Starting cooperation

    What does the first consultation look like?

    1. 01

      Understanding the processes

      We talk about how HR administration, payroll, onboarding, requests and reporting work today.

    2. 02

      Responsibility map

      We establish who is really responsible for each process and where the gaps arise.

    3. 03

      Risk identification

      We point out legal, documentation, data and business-continuity risks.

    4. 04

      Model recommendation

      We propose the level of cooperation, the scope of processes taken over and an implementation plan.

    Scope of exclusions

    What we don't do.

    • We are not a recruitment agency

      We do not run recruitment or candidate selection. We take over processes from the moment of the employment decision.

    • We are not a software house

      We do not build systems from scratch. We design processes and implement available tools and automations.

    • We do not provide staff leasing

      Employees remain employed by your company. We take over the handling of processes, not employment itself.

    • We are not a temporary employment agency

      We do not provide temporary staff or act as an employment intermediary.

    • We are not a personnel adviser

      We do not carry out competency assessments or coaching. Our role is the operational management of people processes.

    Our role is to take over operational people processes and responsibility for their timeliness, compliance and measurability. We resolve legal matters together with our legal advisory team (Available in Polish), and the tax consequences of employment forms and benefits with our tax advisory team (Available in Polish).

    Related

    See also.

    FAQ

    Frequently asked questions.

    HR and payroll outsourcing covers calculating salaries, keeping documentation and settling with ZUS (Social Insurance Institution) and the tax office. This is a technical scope, usually priced per headcount. People Operations Managed Services goes further: we take over responsibility for how people processes run throughout the entire employee life cycle — from onboarding, through administration, absences and benefits, to offboarding. On top of that there is a single reporting channel for employees and managers, a deadline calendar, labour-cost reporting reconciled with accounting, and gradual automation. The client is not just buying a settlement service, but an external HR Operations team operating at agreed service levels. HR and payroll remain the foundation, but they are just one of four levels of cooperation.

    We do not replace the strategic HR function. We take over the operational and administrative layer so the in-house team can focus on what cannot be outsourced: organisational culture, people development, manager support and workforce planning. In smaller organisations without a dedicated HR function, we effectively act as an external HR Operations team and work directly with the board or the Office Manager. In companies with a developed HR function we act as the execution backbone: we handle documents, requests, deadlines and reports. The scope is always set out in a responsibility map, so no area is left unowned and no work is duplicated.

    Yes. Onboarding is one of the first processes we take over, because the effect of putting it in order is visible fastest. We handle document collection, referrals for medical checks, health and safety training, records of qualifications, manager checklists, and coordination of equipment and access with the IT department. We set deadlines and checkpoints, so a new employee has their workstation ready on day one. Recruitment and the hiring decision remain with the company — we take over the process from the moment a candidate is accepted. In later stages of cooperation, onboarding can be automated: a single request triggers a sequence of tasks, reminders and documents.

    Yes. We run offboarding according to a single checklist, because this is the process where legal and security risks most often arise. We handle termination documents, settlement of leave and other entitlements, employment certificates, deregistrations and final settlement. We coordinate the collection of equipment, cutting off access to systems, closing email accounts and handing over duties. We also keep records of the reasons for departures, which feed into turnover reporting for the board. In contentious situations or collective redundancies we work with our legal team so that documentation and the timetable comply with labour law.

    Yes. The HR Helpdesk is a single reporting channel for employees and managers, with a defined response and resolution time. We handle questions about salaries, leave, certificates, benefits, contracts and procedures. Every request is logged, classified and assigned to an owner, so matters do not get lost in private inboxes. We report the number of requests, their structure and handling timeliness, which shows where processes generate the most questions and what is worth simplifying or automating. The helpdesk can be run via email, the client's ticketing system, or a tool we provide.

    Yes. We prepare documentation, compile personnel files, working-time records and evidence of the employer's obligations. We take part in preparing responses to inspection findings and recommendations, and point out which areas need correcting before an inspection. If a matter requires a legal assessment or representation, we bring in the Zwyrtek Group legal advisory team. We also carry out preventive reviews: checking the completeness of documentation, deadlines for medical checks and training, correctness of working-time records, and policies. We usually carry out such a review at the start of cooperation, so we take over processes with a known risk level, rather than surprises.

    Yes. A dashboard is a standard element of the People Insights & Analytics level. We build views for the board and for the CFO: headcount and FTEs, labour costs broken down by department, location and project, absences, overtime, turnover and salary-budget execution. Data comes from the HR and payroll system and is reconciled with accounting, so the HR report and the financial statements tell the same story. We agree the scope and frequency with the client — usually a monthly cycle with a commentary on variances. We build dashboards in the tools the company already uses, or in a solution we recommend after the analysis.

    Yes, and we treat this as one of the key elements of the service. We report total employment cost, not just gross salaries: employer contributions, PPK (Employee Capital Plans), benefits, overtime, leave provisions and the cost of turnover. We present the data in the breakdowns needed for decisions — by department, location, project, contract type and period. We also prepare forecasts and a comparison of plan versus actual. We reconcile all figures with accounting, so the CFO doesn't have to reconcile two data sources. As a result, a conversation about employment costs stops being a reconstruction of numbers and becomes an analysis of causes and scenarios for the coming months.

    Yes, but we do not sell AI as a goal in itself. We start with the process: we check where delays, repetitive work and errors occur. Only then do we choose the tools. Typical applications include request classification, automatic answers to recurring questions, an assistant based on the company's own procedures, document OCR and consistency analysis of contracts. We design every implementation with regard to the AI Act, personal data protection and human oversight of decisions affecting employees. We do not automate processes that have not first been put in order — automating chaos only produces faster chaos. We describe our approach in more detail in our artificial intelligence practice.

    Yes. Workflow is a basic tool for putting people processes in order. We design flows for onboarding, role changes, leave requests, benefits, document workflow and offboarding. Every step has an owner, a deadline and a status, and the system handles reminders and escalations. We implement them in tools the company already has — including our technology partners' systems — or recommend a solution suited to the organisation's scale. What matters most, however, is not the tool itself but the responsibility map agreed beforehand. Without it, a workflow simply reflects the existing chaos. That's why the order is always the same: process, responsibility, tool, automation.

    Yes. Groups of companies and multi-branch businesses are one of our core client groups. We standardise processes between companies while preserving differences arising from legal separateness, collective agreements or plant-specific factors. We handle HR and payroll for each company separately, but we also build reporting on a consolidated basis, so the group's board sees headcount and labour costs in one place. We agree common standards for documents, the deadline calendar and request handling. In transactions or reorganisations within the group, we support transfers of undertakings, working with our legal and tax advisory team.

    Yes. We serve Polish companies belonging to foreign groups, including entities just starting operations in Poland. We handle HR and payroll in accordance with Polish law, while also preparing reporting in the format required by the parent company — with an agreed closing calendar and glossary of terms. We communicate with headquarters in English and explain the differences between Polish regulations and group standards. We also support the documentation side of employing foreign nationals and cooperation with immigration advisers. Broader context on entering the Polish market is described in our Doing Business in Poland section.

    Yes. Reorganising HR is a typical moment when companies come to us — usually after a key person leaves, after rapid headcount growth, or before implementing a new system. We start with a map of processes and responsibilities: what is being done, by whom, in what time and at what cost. We then propose which tasks are worth keeping in-house and which are better taken over externally. We prepare a transition plan, process documentation and a data-migration schedule. The result is a structure in which HR does not depend on one person's knowledge, and continuity of service is secured by an agreement and service levels.

    Yes. We describe people processes in the form of operating procedures: who does what, when and on what basis. We also prepare documents required by law — work regulations, remuneration policy, a remote-work policy, and procedures on monitoring, whistleblowing or the protection of employee data. Formal documents are developed together with our legal advisory team, so they comply with current law and case law. In parallel, we look after the practical version: short instructions and checklists for managers and a knowledge base for employees. A procedure that no one reads does not change how an organisation operates — that's why we always combine a document with a process and a tool.

    Yes. Changing the model for handling people processes affects all employees, so we treat communication as part of the implementation, not an add-on. We prepare a communication plan, information materials, meetings with managers and instructions for teams. We establish what changes in day-to-day work: where to report matters, how quickly they will get a response, and who is responsible for each process. We train managers, because they are usually the first point of contact for employees. We monitor adoption: the number of requests through the new channel, handling time and questions that keep recurring despite communication. We run change support based on the Zwyrtek Group change-management practice.

    We match the billing model to the scope. The People Core level is usually billed based on the number of people served and the types of contracts. The People Operations and People Insights & Analytics levels are billed as a monthly flat fee for the agreed scope of processes, reports and service levels. Transformation projects — automation, workflow implementations, digitising files — are priced separately, as project work with a defined outcome. The scope, SLA and price are set after analysing the processes, so pricing is not based on assumptions. You do not need to move through all the levels at once: most clients start with People Core or People Operations and expand cooperation after a stabilisation period.

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