In high-performance environments, people strategy is no longer a back-office function. It is a competitive differentiator. That idea sits at the heart of a recent UC Today conversation, where Kristian Mann speaks with Hayley Mann, Chief People Officer at Formula E, about how the all-electric racing series is evolving its approach to workforce management.
Formula E, now over a decade into its journey, operates in a uniquely demanding context. With a globally distributed workforce, frequent travel, and the pressures of live sporting events, its people operations must move at pace while maintaining consistency. The organization has partnered with HiBob to unify and enhance its HR processes, aiming to support both operational efficiency and employee experience.
Hayley Mann brings a grounded, practitioner-led perspective to this discussion. As CPO, she offers insight into how a mid-growth, high-intensity organization navigates scaling challenges, platform consolidation, and cultural alignment. Her experience provides a clear lens into what modern HR leadership looks like when performance and agility are non-negotiable.
From Fragmentation to Focus
A central theme in the conversation is the complexity that comes with growth. Formula E, described by Mann as being in a teenage phase, faces the dual challenge of expanding capabilities while maintaining cohesion. Over several years, the organization introduced multiple tools, systems, and frameworks designed to support its workforce.
However, this expansion created unintended friction. As Mann explains, there was just a lot of stuff in lots of different places, leading to a fragmented employee experience. For line managers in particular, people management risked becoming a secondary task, something separate from their core responsibilities rather than embedded within them.
This fragmentation also impacted consistency. In a fast moving organization, inconsistent processes can quickly undermine performance. Mann highlights the importance of ensuring that employee lifecycle management, communication, and engagement are aligned across the business, regardless of geography or role.
Another critical pressure point was connection. With a workforce split between on the ground race teams and office based staff, maintaining authentic, meaningful engagement proved challenging. The need for a unified platform that could bridge these gaps became increasingly clear.
Consolidation and Cultural Fit
Rather than launching a traditional vendor search, Formula E took a more pragmatic route. The organization already had HiBob in place but had not fully utilized its capabilities. The decision, therefore, was less about replacement and more about optimization and consolidation.
Mann emphasizes that effectiveness, not feature overload, was the priority. We were not trying to do 20 things, just a couple of things really well. This reflects a broader shift in enterprise tech strategy, where usability and integration often outweigh breadth of functionality.
A standout factor in HiBob’s favor was its alignment with Formula E’s culture. Mann describes the importance of a platform that feels dynamic, interactive, and reflective of a high performance environment. Features such as a social media style interface and intuitive communication tools helped reinforce this alignment.
