From the first job adto the last day.

The People Playbook: four worked standard operating procedures for Chapter 9. Book One, Recruiting and Hiring. Book Two, Onboarding. Book Three, Developing. Book Four, Retaining. Together they run people at a firm from the first job ad to the last day. Book One is a complete working system with named owners, clocks and templates; the other three follow the same pattern.

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Word and PDF · Four books, 130 pages · Free to download. Part of The Law Firm Operating System Implementation Workbook.

First page of Book One of the People Playbook, Recruiting and Hiring: the document owner, approver, version and effective date.

What is inside.

Four books. Each opens with how to use it, the six placeholders to customize, a legal disclaimer, and roles and responsibilities, then runs its stage of the employment relationship section by section, with appendices of working forms.

The four books

Book	Covers	Ends At
Book One: Recruiting and Hiring	Requisition through signed offer.	The signed conditional offer and a cleared background check.
Book Two: Onboarding	Signed offer through Day 90.	The Day 90 decision.
Book Three: Developing	Day 91 onward.	Continuous. Runs for as long as the person is employed.
Book Four: Retaining	Engagement, compensation cadence, turnover, and separations.	Continuous.

What each book holds

Book One: Recruiting and Hiring: A thirteen-stage pipeline with owners, clocks and exit criteria, the 30-day schedule, a calibration key for role tiers one to four, Gate 0 requisition approval and its five-question test, the role scorecard and job description, the job ad, sixteen KPIs, the recruiting budget, resume review, the screening call, two interviews, references and background checks, the offer, and the handoff to onboarding. Appendices A to K.
Book Two: Onboarding: Employee standards, the program at a glance, pre-arrival preparation, Day One hour by hour, Week One, Month One, the 60-day review, Day 90 and its four outcomes, the handoff to Developing, five onboarding KPIs, and compliance notes. Appendices A to G.
Book Three: Developing: Role clarity and its audit, job descriptions and KPIs, the meeting cadence of accountability, coaching and ongoing feedback, the semiannual review, raises and the 3 to 12% band, promotions, career pathways, what to do when someone is off standard, and six development KPIs. Appendices A to H.
Book Four: Retaining: The seven drivers of retention, compensation and benefits and the three numbers, career growth, work environment and culture, leadership, recognition, engagement, addressing concerns promptly, five retention KPIs, keeping people before they resign, separations, and offboarding. Appendices A to F.

How to use it.

Customize the placeholders
Each book opens with six bracketed placeholders to find and replace: the firm name, the people lead or recruiting coordinator, the approver, and the months and systems the book runs on.
Have counsel review it
Every book opens with the same warning: this is a template, not legal advice. Books One and Two ask for employment counsel licensed in your state to review them before first use and re-review annually. Book Three asks for review before first use. Book Four asks for review, and for counsel before any involuntary separation.
Run the books in order
Book One ends at the signed conditional offer and a cleared background check. Book Two ends at the Day 90 decision. Books Three and Four run continuously, for as long as the person is employed.
Work from the appendices
The blank forms live at the back of each book: the requisition, the scorecard, the screening sheets, the review sheets, the one-on-one, the improvement plan, the stay conversation, the exit interview, and the offboarding checklist.