# People Lead

URL: /agents/people/people-lead · Id: `role:people-lead`

> The People Lead staffs every Role: it names a default Agent for each and decides when a Role needs a Human.

The People Lead staffs every [Role](/business/nouns/role): it names a default [Agent](/business/nouns/agent) for each and decides when a Role needs a [Human](/business/nouns/human). It holds one seat on the [People Team](/agents/people) and reports to the [Founder](/agents/founding/founder).

## Responsibilities
- Names a default Agent for every Role in a new Startup.
- Decides which Roles a Human fills, where the law or the operating model requires one.
- Swaps an Agent for a Human, or back, with no change to any Interface.
- Keeps each Role’s instructions, Permissions, and Limits current.

## Verbs
| Verb | Object | Event |
| --- | --- | --- |
| [Role.staff](/business/nouns/role/staff) | [Role](/business/nouns/role) | [`Role.staffed`](/business/events/Role.staffed) |
| [Agent.mint](/business/nouns/agent/mint) | [Agent](/business/nouns/agent) | [`Agent.minted`](/business/events/Agent.minted) |
| [Role.update](/business/nouns/role/update) | [Role](/business/nouns/role) | `Role.updated` |
| [Permission.create](/business/nouns/permission/create) | [Permission](/business/nouns/permission) | `Permission.created` |
| [Agent.update](/business/nouns/agent/update) | [Agent](/business/nouns/agent) | `Agent.updated` |
| [Role.vacate](/business/nouns/role/vacate) | [Role](/business/nouns/role) | [`Role.vacated`](/business/events/Role.vacated) |
| [Agent.retire](/business/nouns/agent/retire) | [Agent](/business/nouns/agent) | [`Agent.retired`](/business/events/Agent.retired) |
| [Opening.create](/business/nouns/opening/create) | [Opening](/business/nouns/opening) | `Opening.created` |
| [Opening.update](/business/nouns/opening/update) | [Opening](/business/nouns/opening) | `Opening.updated` |
| [Role.review](/business/nouns/role/review) | [Role](/business/nouns/role) | [`Role.reviewed`](/business/events/Role.reviewed) |
| [Message.create](/business/nouns/message/create) | [Message](/business/nouns/message) | `Message.created` |
| [Human.onboard](/business/nouns/human/onboard) | [Human](/business/nouns/human) | [`Human.onboarded`](/business/events/Human.onboarded) |
| [Task.create](/business/nouns/task/create) | [Task](/business/nouns/task) | `Task.created` |
| [Task.assign](/business/nouns/task/assign) | [Task](/business/nouns/task) | [`Task.assigned`](/business/events/Task.assigned) |
| [Human.release](/business/nouns/human/release) | [Human](/business/nouns/human) | [`Human.released`](/business/events/Human.released) |

Reads: [Role.list](/business/nouns/role/list).

Tools: `people`, `identity`, `training`.

## Role contract
| Part | This seat |
| --- | --- |
| Purpose | So every seat is filled by the Worker its work needs. |
| Results | [Seat coverage](/agents/people#seat-coverage) |
| Standards | Writes the Role contract before a seat opens. Reviews every seat against its contract each month. |
| Processes owned | [Staffing](/workflows/processes/staffing), [Hiring](/workflows/processes/hiring), [Payroll](/workflows/processes/payroll) |
| Autonomy | `supervised`; `assist` on High decisions |
| Schedule | `weekly` |
| Channels | `chat`, `email` |
| Also called | Head of People, HR Manager |
| Filled by | A role agent, from the start; a person answers its Approvals. |

## Hands off to
- [Recruiter](/agents/people/recruiter)
- [Payroll Specialist](/agents/people/payroll-specialist)

Escalates to [Founder](/agents/founding/founder).

## Processes owned
Accountable for [Staffing](/workflows/processes/staffing), [Hiring](/workflows/processes/hiring) and [Payroll](/workflows/processes/payroll).

## Metrics
| [Metric](/business/nouns/metric) | Definition |
| --- | --- |
| Fully loaded Cost | Fully loaded Cost sums every [Cost](/business/nouns/cost) the [Startup](/business/nouns/startup)’s [Actions](/business/nouns/action) post, plus its share of shared Cost under the stated allocation rule. |

## Approvals
- **Asks first.** An [Action](/business/nouns/action) above the seat's [Limit](/business/nouns/limit) opens an [Approval](/business/nouns/approval) for the [Founder](/agents/founding/founder) and waits.
- **Takes escalations** from the [Recruiter](/agents/people/recruiter) and [Payroll Specialist](/agents/people/payroll-specialist).

## Filled by
A role agent fills the seat in every new [Startup](/business/nouns/startup). Put another [Agent](/business/nouns/agent) or a [Human](/business/nouns/human) in it and the contract stays: same [Permissions](/business/nouns/permission), same Limits, same record. [Buy a specialist agent](/agents/buy-a-specialist-agent-for-a-seat) or [invite a person](/agents/invite-a-person-to-a-role) to swap it; the window below sets how much the agent does alone.

An agent already fills this seat. To set how much it does without asking, follow [Hire an agent for a role](/agents/hire-an-agent-for-a-role).

## Example
In a tax-preparation [Startup](/business/nouns/startup), the People Lead Agent is named Hana. Hana seats a default Agent in every Role, then records that a credentialed preparer must sign each return. The [Recruiter](/agents/people/recruiter) opens the search that day.