Chief of People (COP) — Executive Onboarding & Role Charter
Document Status: WORKING BASELINE & EXECUTIVE DISCUSSION CHARTER. Reconciled from the Head of HR Onboarding Discussion Draft (v0.2) and the Chief People Officer Discussion Draft. This document formalizes the C-suite standing of the Chief of People (COP), company-wide people strategy, operational governance, and first 90 days roadmap.
1. Executive Purpose & Context
Welcome to Alas 9 & Alas Artistry
As Chief of People (COP), you architect and steward the people strategy, operational governance, leadership practices, and cultural foundations that allow our enterprise mission to scale without losing the principles that make Alas distinctive.
Alas Artistry is building a human-centered memory-preservation company combining handcrafted physical art, private augmented reality storytelling, connected experiences, and thoughtfully applied technology. Our core mission is “Carrying Forward What Matters Most,” and our standard is “Every tribute represents a life that matters.”
Our internal culture must reflect the exact same reverence and care that we ask grieving families to trust us with. The Chief of People is central to translating this mission into practical operating systems, clear accountability, healthy boundaries, and resilient employee experiences.
The Lens for the Role
Help Alas grow in a way that is humane, principled, compliant, clear, and sustainable — for the people doing the work, for the leadership team, and for the families we ultimately serve.
2. The Five Principles of Alas in People Leadership
Every policy, workflow, and human interaction across Alas is grounded in our five core principles:
| Principle | Core Meaning | Expression in the People Function |
|---|---|---|
| Trust | The Foundation We Earn | Protect strict confidentiality, communicate transparently, administer processes predictably, and follow through on commitments. |
| Integrity | The Standard We Uphold | Tell the truth about company stage and compensation; maintain rigorous document control; address mistakes directly rather than masking them. |
| Ethics | The Compass for Our Decisions | Ask not only what is legally compliant or operationally efficient, but what is deeply fair and respectful to the humans affected. |
| Customer Focus | The Heart of Our Work | Cultivate an internal environment of empathy and psychological safety; support staff who carry emotional memorial stories so their care reflects in customer delivery. |
| Stewardship | The Responsibility We Accept | Build durable people infrastructure, leadership habits, and institutional documentation that leave Alas significantly stronger for future generations. |
3. Position Snapshot & C-Suite Governance
Executive Position Snapshot
| Dimension | Specification | Notes / Strategic Context |
|---|---|---|
| Official Title | Chief of People (COP) (or Chief People Officer) | Executive peer role in the C-suite (CEO, COO, COP). |
| Primary Purpose | Build, scale, and govern the company-wide people strategy, organizational architecture, HR infrastructure, compliance, and culture stewardship. | Transcends administrative HR to serve as strategic business architect and culture conscience. |
| Reporting Relationship | Directly to Ryan Schwegman (Founder & CEO) | Regular strategic peer collaboration with Dante Lackland (COO). |
| Leadership Partners | Founder & CEO, COO, Creative Director, Grief Specialist, Artist in Residence, and functional team leads. | Core member of executive leadership triad (Ryan, Dante, Cody). |
| Workforce Scope | W-2 Employees, 1099 Independent Contractors, Artisans in Residence, and key external service providers. | Ensures clear worker classifications, fair agreements, and compliant lifecycle management. |
| Decision Authority | Direct ownership over People systems, HR compliance, onboarding/offboarding, personnel records, and employee relations; co-ownership with CEO/COO on compensation design and workforce planning. | Documented via the company Governance & Spending Authority Matrix. |
| Near-Term Posture | Hands-on builder and architect: establish foundational compliance, systems, and operating rhythms now; evolve toward strategic scaling as headcount expands. | Balance immediate operational needs with long-term infrastructure. |
Executive Triad Alignment & Governance
┌──────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Ryan Schwegman (Founder & CEO) │
│ Vision, Brand, Artistry, Product, Capital │
└──────────────────────┬───────────────────────┘
│
┌─────────────────────────┴─────────────────────────┐
│ │
┌────────────────┴──────────────────┐ ┌──────────────────┴──────────────────┐
│ Dante Lackland (COO) │ │ Cody Rice-Velasquez (COP) │
│ Operations, Technology, Delivery │ │ People Strategy, Governance, HR, │
│ Fulfillment & Physical Scaling │ │ Compliance, Culture & Organization │
└───────────────────────────────────┘ └─────────────────────────────────────┘
- Ryan Schwegman (CEO): Ultimate authority over entity formation, company operating agreements, corporate leases, debt/equity capital, IP ownership, and final hiring/compensation approval.
- Dante Lackland (COO): Operational backbone, technical stack, physical production lines, workshop logistics, supplier relationships, and fulfillment speed (3–5 day delivery window).
- Cody Rice-Velasquez (COP): People systems, talent acquisition, onboarding/offboarding architectures, regulatory compliance, performance accountability, total rewards design, psychological safety, and organizational records.
Financial Spending & Authorization Matrix
To ensure speed without compromising financial control, the COP operates under agreed spending thresholds:
| Tier | Dollar Threshold | Approver | Documentation & Control |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tier 1: Routine Operating | Up to $100.00 | Cody (COP) or Dante (COO) | Itemized receipt uploaded to Google Drive / Accounting within 48 hours. |
| Tier 2: Tools & Subscriptions | $101.00 to $500.00 | Cody (COP) with notice to CEO/COO | Documented business need; recorded in monthly operations reconciliation. |
| Tier 3: Significant Commitments | $501.00 to $2,500.00 | Ryan Schwegman (CEO) | Written business proposal, vendor comparison, and formal CEO sign-off. |
| Tier 4: Capital & Strategic Contracts | Over $2,500.00 or >3 mo. commitment | CEO Exclusively | Countersigned master services agreement, legal review, and CEO execution. |
4. Ten Core Functional Pillars of Responsibility
1. People Strategy & Workforce Planning
- Partner directly with Ryan and Dante on quarterly and annual headcount modeling, organizational charts, and team scaling tied to tribute volume goals (scaling toward 27,500 tributes/year).
- Translate commercial milestones into actionable capability profiles, identifying skills gaps and management bottlenecks before they impede delivery.
- Maintain organizational clarity: ensure every team member understands their core domain, decision rights, and support channels.
2. Recruiting, Selection & Talent Acquisition
- Build structured, bias-resistant hiring workflows that assess candidates for functional excellence, mission resonance, and ethical alignment with Alas values.
- Author standardized job descriptions, interview scorecards, candidate communications, reference protocols, and offer letters.
- Maintain clear boundaries and proper legal classification between W-2 employees, 1099 contractors, external agencies, and artisan partners in accordance with Indiana and federal standards.
3. Onboarding, Offboarding & Employee Lifecycle
- Develop a comprehensive, repeatable onboarding experience that immerses new hires in The Book of Alas, the Five Principles, systems access, and 30/60/90-day deliverables.
- Implement clear manager onboarding guides to prevent new-hire drift and ensure early relationship building across the leadership triad.
- Administer dignified, secure offboarding processes: prompt revocation of system credentials, equipment return, knowledge transfer, and compassionate exit reviews.
4. Policies, Governance, Compliance & Employee Records
- Create and maintain the Alas Employee Handbook and operational policy registers suited for an early-stage company preparing for scale.
- Safeguard confidential personnel files, Form I-9 verifications, tax withholdings (W-4 / WH-4), direct deposit records, and signed NDAs in restricted repositories.
- Coordinate with outside legal counsel, CPA/tax advisors, and payroll specialists; prevent informal or unverified employment practices from exposing the company to regulatory liability.
5. Performance, Feedback & Accountability
- Establish a lightweight, high-trust performance management framework built on transparent goals, regular 1-on-1s, and continuous feedback.
- Coach leaders and managers to embrace the operating standard: “Challenge the work without diminishing the person.”
- Design clear, fair protocols for role adjustments, performance improvement plans (PIPs), promotions, and disciplinary separations.
6. Learning, Leadership & Manager Development
- Equip functional leads (operations, art production, engineering, customer care) with foundational leadership competencies: delegation, empathetic listening, constructive feedback, and ethical problem-solving.
- Foster institutional memory: capture critical workflows in living SOPs and training materials so the organization is never vulnerable to single-person dependencies.
7. Compensation, Total Rewards, Benefits & Recognition
- Formulate a transparent, market-competitive, and financially sustainable compensation philosophy balancing cash liquidity with long-term incentives.
- Manage pay bands, offer approvals, bonus criteria, leave structures, and recognition programs.
- Coordinate closely with finance on workforce cost modeling, payroll accuracy, and compliant documentation for audits.
8. Employee Relations, Culture & Psychological Safety
- Serve as a safe, confidential, and objective sounding board for team concerns, interpersonal conflicts, and workplace friction.
- Uphold an anti-retaliation culture where respectful dissent and constructive challenge are actively valued.
- Memorial & Grief Care Protocol: In partnership with Angel Barraza, institute specialized wellness boundaries for staff handling emotionally heavy customer stories, bereavement voice recordings, and tragic memorial content. Provide clear escalation and decompression workflows.
9. People Operations, HR Systems & Data Infrastructure
- Select, implement, and administer fit-for-stage HRIS, payroll, time-tracking, and document-storage infrastructure (e.g., Zoho People, Gusto, ClickUp, restricted Drive).
- Track and report a lean dashboard of essential people metrics: time-to-hire, 90-day retention, team capacity/workload, and employee satisfaction trends.
- Enforce strict role-based access controls (RBAC) and privacy standards across all employee data.
10. Culture Stewardship & Growth Readiness
- Serve as the internal conscience of Alas, ensuring rapid growth never erodes the Five Principles or the dignity of our workforce.
- Participate in strategic leadership decisions where speed, cost-cutting, or volume expansion might risk compromising team wellbeing or customer trust.
- Ensure future leaders inherit an organizational architecture characterized by order, humanity, and operational excellence.
5. First 90 Days Executive Onboarding Roadmap
Days 1–30: Listen, Learn & Assess
- Executive Discovery: Conduct structured 1-on-1 discovery interviews with Ryan, Dante, Angel, Zhane, and Alex to map team workflows, pain points, communication styles, and immediate support needs.
- Audit Existing Assets: Review current workforce rosters, active contracts, payroll setups, ClickUp spaces, and operations repositories.
- Mission Immersion: Deeply study The Book of Alas, brand constitution, customer journey maps, and AR demo workflows to embody the company voice.
- Risk & Opportunity Inventory: Identify urgent compliance vulnerabilities, worker classification questions, immediate hiring needs, and missing documentation.
- Executive Alignment: Formalize COP decision rights, spending thresholds, meeting cadences, and immediate 30-day deliverables with Ryan and Dante.
Days 31–60: Design Foundations
- People Operating Plan: Propose a 6- to 12-month People Roadmap categorized into Now / Next / Later horizons.
- Core Policy Suite: Finalize the baseline Employee Handbook, Code of Conduct, Anti-Harassment Policy, and Remote/Hybrid Work Guidelines.
- Hiring & Interview Architecture: Create standard job templates, interview scorecards, and offer workflows for impending operational and artistic hires.
- Systems Strategy: Evaluate and recommend right-sized HRIS/payroll tools to eliminate manual tracking and automate onboarding compliance.
- Feedback Rhythm: Establish a regular 1-on-1 cadence and monthly leadership check-in structure.
Days 61–90: Implement High-Value Systems & Operating Rhythm
- Systems Rollout: Deploy approved HR/onboarding platforms; migrate personnel files into secure, encrypted document storage.
- Standardized Onboarding Kit: Launch the universal new-hire orientation packet and manager 30/60/90-day check-in toolkit.
- Manager Enablement: Lead initial coaching sessions for team leads on structured hiring, clear delegation, and objective performance feedback.
- Executive Review Dashboard: Institute a recurring monthly People & Operations review with CEO and COO, highlighting headcount, team health, risks, and upcoming milestones.
6. Priority Deliverables Matrix (Now / Next / Later)
| Priority Initiative | Deliverable & Strategic Objective | Horizon | Executive Lead |
|---|---|---|---|
| People & Risk Baseline | Full roster audit, worker classification reviews, agreement checks, emergency contact intake, and immediate compliance fixes. | NOW (Days 1–30) | Cody |
| COP Charter & Terms | Formal ratification of COP role charter, compensation terms, weekly commitment, and spending authority. | NOW (Days 1–30) | Ryan + Cody |
| Core Onboarding Toolkit | Standardized new-hire checklist, systems provisioning protocol, culture orientation, and 30/60/90-day templates. | NOW (Days 1–30) | Cody + Dante |
| Employee Handbook | Right-sized company policy manual reflecting the Five Principles, legal basics, leave policies, and confidentiality. | NEXT (Days 31–60) | Cody |
| Job Architecture & Pay Bands | Clear role descriptions, reporting lines, level expectations, and compensation bands for core artist and operations staff. | NEXT (Days 31–60) | Cody + Ryan |
| HR Systems Stack | Setup and cutover to unified HRIS/payroll platform with self-service document acknowledgments. | NEXT (Days 31–60) | Cody |
| Grief Wellness Protocols | Boundaries, debriefing routines, and escalation support for team members processing traumatic memorial stories. | NEXT (Days 31–60) | Cody + Angel |
| Manager Toolkit & Training | Comprehensive guides and workshops for managers on interview techniques, giving feedback, and resolving conflict. | LATER (Days 61–90) | Cody |
| Capacity & Headcount Model | Scaled workforce model forecasting labor requirements to fulfill 10,000 to 27,500 tributes annually. | LATER (Days 61–90) | Cody + Dante |
| Long-Term Total Rewards | Strategic evaluation of healthcare benefits, retirement plans, and equity/profit-sharing vehicles. | LATER (Days 61–90) | Cody + Ryan |
7. Working Agreements & Boundary Clarifications
- Company Operations vs. Personal Engagements:
Company time and resources are strictly dedicated to business operations, people strategy, and company infrastructure. Personal advisory services are handled under separate, explicitly agreed written scopes. - Living and Workspace Arrangements:
Informal room-and-board reciprocity or temporary accommodations are kept entirely distinct from employment agreements and do not constitute payroll deductions, tenancy agreements, or uncompensated labor obligations. - Business Expenses & Errands:
All legitimate company-related errands, mileage, travel, and operational out-of-pocket expenses are reimbursed according to company expense policies upon submission of itemized receipts.