The way organisations manage people is undergoing a transformation. With emerging technologies, changing workforce expectations, and increased complexity in the business environment, people functions must evolve to stay relevant. A recent article from McKinsey highlights a bold new direction: a people operating model that is strategic, data-driven, tech-enabled and, crucially, more human.
This shift isn’t just about automation or digital tools. It’s about rethinking how organisations attract, develop, and retain talent. The new model advocates for hyper-personalised employee experiences, where learning, feedback, coaching and benefits are tailored to individual needs. At Mind-Gap, we are trying to both model this change ourselves as a business, and seeking to help our customers do the same! Our approach, develops people through both digital and leadership development by using coaching interventions rooted in real-world needs of local businesses.
Organisations that embrace this approach are also considering how to restructure how their HR provision operates. The traditional Ulrich model is giving way to more agile teams, where people strategists, scientists, and people technologists collaborate on business-critical priorities.
What stands out in the McKinsey insight is the emphasis on human leadership in a tech-powered world. As automation frees up time, leaders are expected to focus more on empathy, inspiration, and ethical decision-making. Mind-Gap advocates for this too by encouraging those we work with to embed reflection, values-based decision-making and emotional intelligence into everything they deliver- equipping leaders to lead both people and change.
If your organisation is exploring how to modernise its people strategy, the time to act is now. Talk to us! Whether you’re just beginning, or scaling up your transformation, we can support your journey to build a people operating system that’s more personal, more tech-enabled and more human.
Read the full McKinsey article here: https://www.mind-gap.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/a-new-operating-model-for-people-management-more-personal-more-tech-more-human.pdf
