Fabien Pinel - BuddiesHR

A meeting table viewed from above with six seats. Five seats are dim and empty, and one glows softly with a speech bubble above it, next to the text "Who talks first?"

Remote and Hybrid workplace

Icebreaker questions: 60 that actually get real answers

A large bank of icebreaker questions for remote teams, standups, 1:1s and new hires, plus the research on why some get real answers.

A single lit doorway in a row of closed, unlit doors, representing being seen without being spotlighted.

Employee engagement

Psychological safety at work: measure it, don't guess

Almost every team claims to feel safe. Few can prove it. Here's why psychological safety surveys fail small and remote teams, and how to track it on a cadence instead of a one-time scan.

A spreadsheet grid with most cells filled and the last three columns left empty and outlined, under the line "the columns nobody fills in".

Human Resources

Employee directory template: the three columns that matter

Most templates give you fourteen columns. Eleven of them your systems already know. Here are the three worth asking a human for, and a builder for the rest.

Four faint empty cards fading out beside one solid blue card on a dark field, with the line: one app per chore.

Human Resources

Slack apps for HR teams: the seven worth installing

Most lists of Slack apps for HR teams are sorted by category, which is how you end up with nine apps and six dead ones. Sorted by chore instead: seven jobs, what runs each, and why five point tools cost more than they look.

A single lit point in a dark field, with a faint unlit grid of squares nearby, and the line "Recognition first. Rewards later."

Employee recognition

Rewards vs recognition: why recognition has to come first

A rewards catalog nobody redeems is worse than none. Recognition has to be a real habit first. Here's the order that actually works, and why a separate rewards portal undoes it.

A centered org chart mid-redraw against a dark background, one branch glowing and moving into a new position on its own, faint ghost lines showing where it used to be.

Human Resources

Employee directory software: only 2 live in Slack or Teams

Most employee directory tools ask you to open a new app. We looked at the six that come up most often and found only two that don't.

A field of small grey dots with one lit in blue and faint lines converging on it, under the line "who do I ask about this?".

Human Resources

Employee directory software: two reasons nobody uses yours

Directories fail in two ways. They go stale, or they hold nothing worth searching. Both end with everyone asking in the channel instead.

A grid of connected dots that starts neat and ordered on the left, then drifts apart into scattered, fading points on the right, under the line "accurate the day you made it".

Human Resources

Org chart software: how to pick one that stays accurate

Two very different products are sold as org chart software. One makes a picture, the other maintains itself. Here's how to tell which one you actually need.

A wide scatter of small blue marks on the left that gradually converges into a single tidy line of dots on the right, under the line "none of it is hard, all of it is interruption".

Human Resources

HR Automation for Small Business: What to Automate First

Most HR automation advice is about payroll and hiring. If you're a team of one, your time goes somewhere else: time off, org charts, status meetings and everything you have to remember.

Performance Reviews

Asynchronous Feedback for Remote Teams: How to Improve Clarity and Collaboration

Learn about asynchronous feedback for remote teams. Discover how it improves clarity and collaboration, psychological safety, and allows for deeper thought.

Performance Reviews

Software Engineer Performance Review: Step-by-Step Guide with Real-World Examples

Structure a software engineer's performance review with clear competencies, 360-degree feedback, and real-world examples. Run smart 360 reviews with Simpleperf.

Performance Reviews

Performance Evaluation Customer Service: A Step-by-Step Guide for Managers

Master customer service performance evaluations with our step-by-step guide. Set measurable KPIs, use 360-degree feedback, and drive exceptional service quality.