There are plenty of great quotes from inspirational leaders that perfectly sum up the importance of workforce planning, but in my mind, none of them quite capture it like this one:

“Making a plan without the right tools is like making spaghetti without a pot.” – Kris Hughes, Content Strategy Consultant

You are absolutely not going to be making any spaghetti without a pot, or at least a pot-like vessel that will hold boiling water in a way so as not to burn the crap out of your hands in the process. When it comes to workforce planning, the spaghetti is your business and the pot…

Okay. I took the simile too far. You get the picture: if your business doesn’t have the right people in the right place, you got nothing.

Think beyond that: if the right people don’t stay or aren’t being utilized properly, you still don’t have a pot to… make spaghetti in.

There is a lot out there about workforce planning, and by a lot I mean, a frickin lot. It’s my job to do research and even I got a little dizzy trying to sort through all the different takes on what is or isn’t or could be/might be the best way to manage your workforce.

This post aims to simplify all that. I’ll cover the foundations of workforce planning, specific considerations for remote work, and examine some common methods for finding the right approach for your organization.

This Process Street post is designed so you can jump straight to the info you need to know, so feel free to skip ahead.

• Workforce planning foundations
• Challenges for remote workforce planning
• Future-back planning process
• Recruit, retain, reinforce
• Workforce management tools

Let’s get planning!
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You are an HR leader at an executive search firm and you have landed a big client, who has agreed to kick-off a retained search with your company. What’s your next move?

Who am I to know anything about executive retained search? Well, I am an ex-associate from one of the top executive recruiting firms in the industry. In an article from the Economist about corporate headhunters, it was said that:

“Nobody has ever studied to become a headhunter but the profession is becoming more diverse. Those serving in its ranks include ex-engineers, a former Olympic gymnast…”

– and me, a former visual artist and administrative assistant. Working in executive search, I developed a deep understanding of how each role on the search team can greatly influence the quality and success of the retained search.

The executive search business has been operating since the first World War, through the 1940s. According to AESC (The Association of Executive Recruiting Consultants), it’s likely that Thorndike Deland formed the concept of executive search back in 1926 when he founded the first retained executive recruiting firm.

Meaning, the executive retained search industry has been evolving for over 90 years and will continue to evolve with the digital revolution. Although, there are elements of the retained search business that will remain constant, like the drive to deliver the highest quality service.

I believe it’s crucial for everyone on the executive retained search team to understand how they fit together within the retained search process. However, to impact the performance of your retained search, you have to work on the system. 94% of problems and opportunities for improvement belong to the system, not the individual.

In this post, you’ll learn the difference between a retained search and a contingent search, how to optimize the retained search process (based on my personal experience and reports backed up by leading firms in the industry), and how to maximize the efficiency of your process, especially in the era of remote work (using digital tools like Process Street).

• What is a retained search?
• What is the difference between a retained & contingent search?
• The process of a retained search
• 5 lessons on how to run an effective retained search
• Mediocre to exceptional

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Netflix doesn’t do bonuses. They don’t do formal reviews and they don’t do staff training.

Instead, their HR practices involve heavily scrutinizing employees’ skills and capabilities, and ruthlessly firing them for being good, not great.

“Netflix and chill” it is not.

But, despite these seemingly harsh HR practices, 71% of Netflix employees would encourage their friends to become co-workers. They’re officially the best place in the world to work (even beating the likes of Google, Facebook, Amazon, and Apple). Their employee turnover is only 11% a year, which is below the 13% annual average for tech companies. They’ve maintained a voluntary attrition rate of 3-4% over the last two years, and they make around $2 million per employee.

“Netflix has not only captivated the attention of its customers around the world, but also continues to grow its reputation as an attractive, sought-after employer.” – Forbes, Incubating Culture: How Netflix Is Winning The War For Talent

So, why is Netflix the best place to work, how do they maintain such a productive workforce, and what lessons can we take from them?

Grab some popcorn and let’s find as we go through the following in this Process Street post:

• HR practices: How Netflix does things
• 4 HR practices that changed HR forever
• How Process Street embraces Netflix’s HR practices & why they work for us
• Are Netflix’s HR practices right for you?

Settle in for the story of the year (that you can’t stream)… 🍿

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This is a guest post by Laura Garber. Laura, also known as the Career Coaching Expert, works with CraftResumes and helps individuals with their resume writing.

What’s the hallmark of a successful business?

Well, from a consumer standpoint, it’s exceptional customer service. Understandably, customers have always aligned themselves with brands that value customer service.

A big part of a company’s success, therefore, can be attributed to its employees. Companies that invest in employee development and train their employees to deliver first-class customer service are likely to:

• Gain a competitive advantage;
• Attract and retain the best talent in the industry;
• Realize a 24% increase in their profit margins.

Obviously, training and developing your employees gives them the necessary tools to do their jobs, but there’s a lot more to it than that.

This Process Street post will explain it all, by answering the following questions:

• What is employee development & why do it?
• What’s the difference between employee development & employee training?
• What are the main challenges of employee development & training?
• How do I implement a successful employee development program?
• Why is employee development a long-term investment for success?

Ready to start training and developing your employees?
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Human resource departments get a bad rap.

While those in leadership roles predominantly feel that HR has strategic value, a majority of on-the-ground employees feel much differently.

The question is: Why? What can you, as your company’s HR manager, do to correct this?

Here at Process Street, we know a thing or two about HR best practices – and have a wealth of pre-made templates to boot. There’s always room for improvement, though, so lately, we’ve been doing some deep dives into GitLab’s handbook (like my post on how GitLab totally rocks their marketing strategy).

GitLab is unique in a number of ways – most significantly, their willingness to share internal tactics. This post is going to look at five essential concepts every HR manager needs to keep in mind based on GitLab’s own tried and tested processes.

• Why should I care about GitLab?
• Why employees hate HR managers
• 5 human resources best practices for better management
• Successful HR management in the digital landscape

Ready to manage some humans?
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This is a guest post by Romi Catauta at Toptal. Catauta works in the marketing field and is passionate about writing on web design, business, interior design, and psychology.

Did you know that 53% of developers said working remotely was a priority when looking for a new job?

Finding the right developers to add to your team can be one of the most challenging hiring tasks for your HR department. It’s a cut-throat market, with smart companies steering top talent away from competitors.

And when you consider most developers are looking for remote-based work, this makes developer onboarding a whole different ballgame.

To help, we at Process Street give you our top tips, tricks, and best practices that’ll help you identify, hire, and retain talented remote developers.

Whether you’re wondering how to hire a CSS developer, a full stack developer, or anything in between, this guide will help you find the perfect candidate for the job.

We at Process Street know a thing or two about remote work. The below advice has is therefore tried, tested, and approved as best practice.

What are you waiting for?

Click on the relevant subheader to jump to the section of choice, or scroll down for all.

• What is developer onboarding?
• Hiring remote developers: The advantages, drawbacks, and solutions
• The remote developer onboarding process with 11 onboarding best practices

Let’s get started!
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Once upon a time, the word “canceled” was only applicable to objects and things. Like the meeting you didn’t want to attend. The subscription to Netflix or any other subscription-based product. Your favorite TV series (Firefly, anyone?).

But since the mid-2010s, the word has evolved. It’s no longer objects and things that get canceled, but people and companies too.

Kanye? Canceled.

Scarlett Johansson? She’s canceled.

Bon Apetit? Canceled.

Pepsi? Completely, utterly canceled.

The specific reasons why these people and companies were canceled in the first place vary. But it’s ultimately their actions, statements, or sentiments that led them to be canceled by the internet-at-large.

To learn about their missteps — and ensure you don’t go down the same route — here’s this informative, insightful Process Street post where I’ll be covering:

• The definition of canceled and what it means to be canceled
• Cancel culture examples: Ellen, Kanye, and Pepsi
• How to stop cancelation from happening in the first place

Let’s get right into what is cancel culture and canceling.

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According to a report given by Queens University, 75% of employers rate teamwork and collaboration to be very important.

Despite this, reports by Globe and Mail and the Harvard Business Review indicate that 20-44% of employees experience workplace communication and collaboration challenges. And if you’re operating remotely, well, these challenges just became harder to overcome. There is a gap between want and reality.

In this Process Street article, we consider how using office hours can close this gap by supporting the effective implementation of an open door policy for your remote team.

Office hours are times in the week managers set aside to answer questions, address issues, and discuss topics with employees. This effectively implements an open door policy, to establish aspirational communication and collaboration goals. An open door policy is a culture that supports complete workplace transparency, communication, and productivity by establishing strong communication channels between employees and their managers.

Today you’ll find out exactly how office hours and an open door policy complement each other – plus top tips on managing your remote open door policy.

Click on the relevant subheader below, or scroll down to find out all.

• What do we mean by office hours?
• The top challenges with a remote open door policy
• Remote open door policy challenges (and how to solve them)
• The benefits of office hours and supporting an open door policy

Let’s get straight to it!
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I’d say we’ve all heard of the metaphor of the “glass ceiling”, right?

Here is a definition for those who need some clarification:

U.S. Department of Labor

The term became popularized in the 80s/90s where it was commonly used to describe the professional challenges women faced during that period.

Despite the advancements made in women’s rights since the 1980s, the metaphor of the glass ceiling is still very much valid today. Not just for women, but for minority groups and individuals as well.

Fortunately, we appear to be moving in the right direction when it comes to inclusivity in the workplace. 80% of employees consider inclusion to be an essential factor in choosing an employer and 69% of executives rate diversity and inclusion as an important issue.

But, what does it take to create a sense of inclusivity in the workplace?

In fact, what does inclusivity actually mean? And, how does it differentiate itself from diversity?

This Process Street blog post hopes to answer these questions (and more). Keep scrolling for an introduction on workplace inclusion and ten actionable strategies and metrics that’ll help to increase inclusivity within your organization or line of work.

Or alternatively, to jump to a specific section by clicking the links below:

• Understanding inclusivity and diversity
• 10 strategies to create an atmosphere of inclusivity in the workplace & their metrics
• Inclusivity in the workplace: Useful tools
• Inclusivity in the workplace: Further resources

Let’s get started! 🚀
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2/3 of HR managers agree that Human Resources is undergoing a digital transformation. And with this transformation comes a plethora of digital HR tools designed to optimize HR-related operations. These tools improve efficiency, employee experience, regulatory compliance, and save you money.

However, the sheer diversity of HR tools available brings a challenge. The challenge to find the right HR tools for you and your team, to build your ultimate HR toolkit. Your HR toolkit is a set of tools that aid HR-related functions, and it’ll be specialized for you and your business.

How do you choose the right HR tools to optimize your HR toolkit?

The answer to that question lies here. In this Process Street article, you’ll learn what HR tools are and how you can utilize the best HR tools for each specific HR-related function. After vigorous qualitative research and trial-and-error, we’re delighted to present you with our top 30+ HR tools to help you build your ultimate HR toolkit.

Click on the relevant subheader to jump to your section of choice. Alternatively, scroll down to read all we have to say.

• What are HR tools?
• Our top 33 HR tools to build your ultimate HR toolkit
• How to integrate Process Street with your HR tools

Let’s begin!
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