The CEO of Bolt just got rid of most of his HR department, keeping only a tiny People Ops function.
The internet is losing its mind. "How can you not care about people?" "This is why companies have toxic cultures!" "Employees need HR protection!"
But here's the thing: I actually agree with him.
Not because people don't matter. The opposite.
Because people matter too much to be handed off to HR.
The HR Dumping Ground Problem
When I started wattsnext almost 20 years ago in Australia, we worked with small to medium businesses as their external HR department. But the whole point was never that we would "deal with the staff" for them.
The point was that we would build the systems, processes, role clarity, performance frameworks, and manager capability so their managers could actually manage their people.
That's always been the distinction for me.
HR should not become the place managers send the conversations they don't want to have.
What's Really Happening
Here's what I see everywhere, but noticed even more when I moved to New York: The default response to any people issue is "Send it to HR."
Someone's performance is slipping? HR problem. Team conflict brewing? HR problem. Employee seems disengaged? HR problem. Difficult conversation needs to happen? HR problem.
But here's the uncomfortable truth: Most of the time, these are management issues.
A performance issue is not automatically an HR issue. A difficult conversation is not automatically an HR issue. A culture problem is not automatically an HR issue.
The Real Problem Isn't HR
When managers constantly refer people management back to HR, it tells me one of two things:
Either the business hasn't built the right structure around its people, or the managers haven't been developed to lead properly.
Usually both.
We've created a system where managers think their job is to assign work and HR's job is to handle humans. That's backwards.
What HR Should Actually Do
Don't get me wrong - there's absolutely a role for people operations. Compliance, documentation, risk management, required admin. That work matters and needs to be done properly.
But it should not become the substitute for real management.
The best businesses don't use HR as a dumping ground for people problems. They build managers who know how to:
- Communicate expectations clearly
- Give real-time feedback that actually helps
- Hold standards without drama
- Create the kind of employee experience that drives performance
The System That Actually Works
Strong people architecture. Commercially focused support. Managers who actually manage.
That's it.
When you have role clarity, performance frameworks, and managers who are trained to lead, most "HR issues" disappear. Because they were never HR issues in the first place.
When managers know how to have difficult conversations, they don't need HR to have them for them.
When performance expectations are clear and feedback happens regularly, performance issues get addressed before they become "HR problems."
When culture is built through daily management practices, you don't need HR to fix toxic team dynamics.
The Bolt CEO Gets It
I've believed this for 20 years. It's just interesting that now everyone seems to be talking about it.
The Bolt CEO isn't saying people don't matter. He's saying people matter too much to outsource their management to a department.
He's betting that managers who are accountable for their people will do a better job than managers who can dump their people problems on HR.
I think he's right.
The Question Every Founder Should Ask
Are you building managers who can manage people, or are you building an HR department to manage people for your managers?
Because those are two very different strategies. And only one of them actually scales.
The future belongs to businesses that understand the difference.
