people

Feedback and reviews

• SBI for every piece of feedback: situation, behavior (observable, not character), impact. "You're careless" is an accusation; "the last three releases shipped without the checklist run, causing two rollbacks" is feedback.
• Continuous > annual: nothing in a review may be a surprise — if it is, the manager failed earlier. Reviews summarize known feedback.
• Ratings need anchors and calibration across managers, or they measure manager generosity, not performance.
• Self-review + manager review; peer input for seniors. Recency bias is the default failure — require examples spanning the whole period.

Hard conversations

Structure: state the purpose in sentence one → the evidence (SBI) → pause and listen genuinely → the ask or decision → next steps in writing. Never sandwich serious messages in praise — it buries the signal and reads as manipulation. Kind and clear beats nice and vague ("clear is kind" — Brown).

PIPs — fairness test first

A PIP is legitimate only if: expectations were clear beforehand, feedback was given and documented, support was offered, and success is genuinely achievable. A PIP designed to fail is a termination without honesty — say so and route to counsel instead. Structure: specific gaps with evidence, measurable success criteria, support provided, weekly check-ins, 30–90 days, outcomes stated up front. Lawyer review before delivery, always.

Surveys

Pulse: 5–10 questions max, same core items over time (trend beats snapshot), one open text. Anonymity threshold ≥5 respondents per slice. The iron rule: never ask what you won't act on — an ignored survey costs more trust than no survey.

Policy drafting

Plain language, the why included, edge cases acknowledged, owner and review date stamped. Draft from the country's mainstream pattern (websearch), flag every legally-variable clause (leave, overtime, termination, monitoring) for counsel. A policy nobody can find or read is not a policy.