I have a brain goblin.

At least, that’s what I call it. Others might use neurodivergent, neurodiverse, neuroatypical – a lot of neuro-something, basically – or the more specific category they fall into (ADHD, autism, etc.). 

Everyone has their own relationship with language, though – personally, culturally, socially – and for me, “brain goblin” sums up my experience pretty well.

Around 20% of the world’s population is neurodiverse. A CDC estimate places about 5.5 million adults in the US. 

That’s the total population of LA and Dallas combined – and that’s just the number of adults.

“Neurodiverse” covers a lot of territory, but it’s safe to assume that – with 1 in 8 people considered to be neurodiverse – some of them are your employees, even if you aren’t aware of it. In fact, they may not even be aware of it: Less than 50% are aware they could be considered neurodiverse. 

The aim of this post is to give you some actionable steps you can take to improve neurodiversity inclusion in your organization. 

Come to think of it, a lot of your employees would probably appreciate them, not just the ones caring for brain goblins. 

• Neurodiversity 101: The very basic basics
• Accessibility challenges for neurodiverse employees
• The importance of words for neurodiversity inclusion
• Building an inclusive work environment
• Neurodiversity inclusion: Understanding thought processes
• Fixations & obsessions: Mastering flexibility
• Executive dysfunction in neurodiverse employees
• Neurodiversity inclusion & the human factor

I’ll be honest: I dread all 30 days of June. 

This year, I found myself looking at the Process Street LinkedIn page, now sporting a rainbow logo, and contemplating how I felt about that.

Is it rainbow-washing? What else does Process Street do to support the queer community? Why can’t I answer that question?

I don’t think it’s rainbow-washing, but I should definitely be aware of what the company I work for is doing for the queer community.

I have complicated feelings about Pride. On one hand, I do believe in the immense importance it has. Pride creates a platform for big-picture political actions as well as the more personal experience of just not being in the minority for once. 

As more companies paint rainbows on their marketing materials from June 1 to June 30, it’s equally become more about commodification than community. 

I see you sweating as you glance at all your packed-up Pride material in the corner. You just wanted to show your support. What does rainbow-washing even mean? 

How do startups and small businesses show their allyship is genuine and not just part of a marketing campaign? 

There are no simple answers to any of this, but there’s only so much room in a blog post, so I’ll give you some actionable things you can do throughout the year to keep up your support long after Pride month is over.

• What is rainbow-washing?
• Allyship 101: Taking pride in Pride
• Back to the beginning
• Further resources

There’s a dark underbelly to process management that no one wants to talk about, but it’s time to speak out: 

There are bad process management systems out there. Not just bad – these are some really nasty characters who will destroy your carefully built business from the inside out. 

We have to keep this between you and me, though, because I’m not supposed to be saying any of it. Process management is a dangerous world, folks. You don’t even know. It seems all efficient and useful, increasing productivity and reducing errors – great stuff all around – but when was the last time you checked in on your innovation?

Been a while, right? Now you’re starting to put it together. 

Come here, quick. I’ll run through what I know:

• Process management: What it was meant to be
• The secret truths of process management systems
• BPM adoption: Fighting the good fight
• Rosemann’s 5 stages of process management adoption
• The Process Street process management playbook
• Source List

This never happened, okay? 

“[Human resources is] like what a malevolent AI would come up with if they were trying to sound like they […] don’t simply consider them food to be consumed at the end of the machine. It has the least humanity of any name I could come up with.”

– Jay Hanlon, People & Ops consultant

HR is dead.

For roughly two years I’ve been charged with writing expert content for our loyal “HR” readers. For roughly two years I’ve argued that “HR manager” is absolutely the wrong word. 

When this post came up on the roster, I begged our head of marketing to let me have it. Little did he know that he was about to play the part of Pandora. 

Make no mistake: HR, People Ops, what people think, and what those departments do are very dramatic debates with intense arguments from every side (and then some). Naturally, I intend to do a reverse somersault in pike position from 10 meters. 

(Apparently, that’s a difficult dive according to… diving people. )

While I’m certainly no diving expert, I am a bit of a maestro when it comes to rigorous research routines so you can bet I intend to make a splash:

• People Ops vs. HR: What’s the difference?
• People Operations: Rebranding or rethinking?
• Process Street poll: The public has spoken
• 3 key factors to shift from HR to People Operations

(Don’t worry – that’s the extent of my diving puns.) 

People are at the heart of any company. After all, what is a business without its employees? This is why it is so essential to build a company culture that values and supports the people who work there. To achieve this, a strong peer-to-peer recognition strategy is essential.

HR teams across a range of industries are starting to see the importance of employee recognition. It is just one of many vital HR processes that work to support any great team.

Let this Process Street article be your one-stop shop for all things related to peer recognition! We’ll cover what exactly we mean by peer-to-peer recognition, how it can benefit your company, and six best practices to include in your recognition strategy. 

• What is peer-to-peer recognition?
• What are the benefits of peer-to-peer recognition?
• 6 best practices to try now

Actively engaged employees. Disengaged. Unengaged. Actively Disengaged. Non-Engaged. 

The term “engagement” gets a lot of traction these days. 

You see posts everywhere with topics like “What is Employee Engagement and Why Is It Important? A Complete Guide” or “Employee Engagement: How to Get a Happy, Productive Team.” 

My favorite is “Employee Engagement & Motivation Policy: Why You Need One For Retention – Yesterday.”

The thing is, though, what do these terms actually mean – and how are they different from each other? 

How do you tell if an employee is really engaged or just a high-performer? What about an employee who has low output versus one who’s actively disengaged?

And what’s this “unengaged” thing about? 

Process Street has answers. This post will walk you through how to identify engagement, figure out the cause, and get your employees excited about their work again. 

• Know your employee (dis)engagements
• Digging out the root of unengagement
• 5 strategies to re-engage your employee
• A final tip before we go

What do a neuroscientist, a DJ, a college professor, and a bartender have in common? 

They all work at Process Street. 

Part of that is due to being a remote company (wider talent pool). Part is the type of person typically drawn to startup work (liminal weirdos). And part is a company culture that understands tacit knowledge is just as valuable – sometimes more valuable – than explicit training. 

This particular cocktail adds up to a company made up of people with diverse backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives collaborating towards a shared objective. 

The outcome – to use the technical term – is very cool.

This is the genesis of our Employee Spotlight series. Not only are our people highly talented in their company roles, but they bring with them a wealth of stories that make for some very entertaining small talk at the beginning of our monthly all-hands meetings.

In honor of International Women in Engineering Day, putting one of our engineers in the spotlight was a no-brainer. 

Allow me to introduce our Senior Frontend Engineer, wife, futsal star, dog-parent, and all-around exceptional human being: Leti Escanciano. 

25% of employees are at risk of leaving their job this month due to unhappiness at work. 

Not taking into consideration the financial, labor, and time resources required to replace a single employee, what would it cost to lose 1/4th of your workforce right now?

How quickly could you replace them?

More importantly: How quickly could you replace their unique knowledge and skills?

Probably not before the next 25% walked out the door. 

Sure, this is all a bit hyperbolic. That 25% is spread across companies and industries but it drives the point home.

Replacing even one employee isn’t cheap, quick, or easy. To rephrase my previous question: How many employees can you afford to lose per month?

No worries. Process Street has you covered. This post will go over everything you need to know (plus a few free templates) to keep those flight-risk employees grounded:

• What creates flight-risk employees?
• How to identify an at-risk employee
• 5 ways to keep flight-risk employees on board
• Parting is such sweet sorrow

While 52% of senior managers feel the annual engagement survey is an accurate assessment, 48% of employees do not. Factor in that 1/4 of managers think the surveys are pointless and you have a problem.

Annual surveys encompass such a long period of time that it becomes difficult to accurately measure which initiatives have been effective and which are not. 

In addition, it limits the ability to make changes to engagement and motivation policies as they need to happen and before it’s too late to correct any potential damage. 

An employee pulse survey is useful as a tool for monitoring engagement, but it can also be applied to other situations. A pulse survey might be used to evaluate new procedures, strategies, and business practices to measure their effectiveness. 

Paired with annual surveys, the pulse survey is a powerful tool that can keep your goals targeted and productive. 

This post for Process Street will cover everything you need to know about employee pulse surveys – and provide a template you can start using immediately with your free Process Street account.

• Employee Pulse Survey template
• What’s the difference between a pulse survey & an engagement survey?
• Pulse survey best practices
• Optimize employee engagement with this free pulse survey template

Let’s dive in!

Perhaps you’ve heard about The Great Resignation, the record number of employees quitting their jobs. In September of 2021, 4.4 million Americans quit their jobs. Each industry has experienced a varying level of employees leaving their positions, though certain ones, like the foodservice industry, were particularly hard hit.

In this post for Process Street, We’ll explore this phenomenon affecting the working world and look at some ways your business can continue to onboard top talent despite the shortages of workers. 

• The Great Resignation: Causes & effects
• How companies can win the talent war