Interface diagnostic Last assessed 2 weeks ago · 23 respondents Friction rising

Operations ↔ People & HR

OP
Sending

Operations

Model health
72%
Block 3 of 10 · Capabilities
Sends out
12 handovers / week
Roster changes, training, leave
Interface owner Adetola Okafor · COO
Friction
64Interface score
Friction · drops 3 pts/mo
HR
Receiving

People & HR

Model health
56%
Block 2 of 10 · Services
Receives
12 per week
Routes to 4 teams
Interface owner Lerato Mthembu · CHRO

Six dimensions of interface health

Each dimension scored from a 12-question diagnostic with 23 respondents across both functions
Open the assessment
Ownership clarity
42 / 100 −9 pts this quarter
Top finding: 4 capabilities (planning, L&D, talent, comp) have ambiguous ownership between Ops and HR.
Handover quality
51 / 100 −5 pts
Top finding: Roster + leave handovers miss context 38% of the time. HR re-asks Ops for clarification.
Cadence & rhythm
68 / 100 Stable
Top finding: Monthly review forum exists but missed 2 of last 4. Standing agenda needs Ops items pre-circulated.
Escalation paths
71 / 100 +4 pts
Top finding: Critical-incident escalation is clear. Non-incident escalation (training gaps, capability shortfalls) less clear.
Shared measurement
82 / 100 +3 pts
Strength: Joint KPIs on safety, attendance, and contractor performance are clear and used in monthly review.
Communication
58 / 100 −2 pts
Top finding: Day-to-day comms rely on individual relationships. No formal channel for cross-team operational changes.

Score over 6 months

Both directions of the interface · target threshold dashed
Compare to peer interfaces
100 80 · target 60 40
JunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Operations → HR 64
HR → Operations 67
Target 80
Both directions trending down · monthly recalculation

Findings

Pulled from open-text answers + comment analysis
All findings
High Ambiguous capability ownership
Operations and HR both think they own capability planning, talent identification, and L&D delivery. Result: duplicated effort plus blind spots.
It's never clear if we should be running the upskilling programme or if HR is. We end up running it twice and confusing the supervisors.
High Roster handovers miss context
38% of leave / roster changes arrive with insufficient context. HR re-contacts Ops for clarification an average of 2.3 times per week.
Medium No formal channel for ops-led people changes
Day-to-day cross-team comms rely on individual relationships. When Marcus is on leave, HR loses visibility for 1–2 weeks.
Medium Monthly review missed 2 of 4
The cross-function review has no standing agenda. Two of the last four meetings were cancelled or shortened to under 20 minutes.

Linked actions

4 actions in flight to close the friction
All 47
ACT-0214 High
Define explicit ownership for capability planning · RACI between Ops + HR
Adetola Linked to Ops 5 · Roles
In progress Due 14 Dec
ACT-0215 High
Standardise roster + leave handover template (mandatory fields)
Lerato Linked to HR 4 · Processes
In progress Due 7 Dec
ACT-0216 Med
Lock the monthly review · standing agenda · 60 min · non-negotiable
Adetola & Lerato Linked to Ops 9 + HR 9 · Routines
Not started Due 21 Dec
ACT-0211 Low
Build shared Teams channel for cross-team people changes
Marcus Linked to Ops 7 · Systems of work
Closed Closed 2 days ago