simongonzalezdc Lead People
The people layer: who does the work, when, at what cost.
What this skill manages
Role design
- Define each role: title, responsibilities, success metrics
- Identify the founder-dependence score (what breaks if the founder is absent?)
- Plan the transition from "founder does everything" to "founder + GM + staff"
Hiring
- Job description template (role, pay band, schedule, required experience)
- Where to post (industry-specific + local + community)
- Interview guide (structured questions per role)
- Trial shift design (paid, structured evaluation)
Onboarding
- Day-1 checklist (systems access, uniform/tools, safety, intro to team)
- Week-1 training plan (SOPs, POS, customer service standards)
- 30-day review template
Scheduling
- Labor-to-sales targeting (labor % of revenue by daypart)
- Shift template (minimum coverage per hour)
- Founder-hours tracking (covenant compliance if applicable)
- Overtime prevention (CA daily OT after 8 hours)
Performance
- Weekly check-in template
- KPI per role (tickets/hour for baristas, satisfaction for service)
- Underperformance conversation guide
- Offboarding checklist (final pay, equipment return, access revocation)
Labor cost rules
- Labor as % of revenue: 25-35% typical for food service, 20-30% retail
- Always calculate BURDENED cost (wage x 1.18-1.35 for payroll taxes, workers comp, benefits)
- Prime cost = COGS + Labor: target 60-65% of revenue for food service
- The founder is not free: log founder hours and assign an opportunity cost
Key outputs
- Role definition document
- Staffing plan by stage (solo, founder+1, founder+GM+staff)
- Schedule template with labor cost projection
- Hiring funnel (post, screen, interview, trial, hire)