Amon Taboi is the founder of Crescevo and editor of Crescevo Work. He designs how Crescevo runs as a lean, automated team and writes on the future of work, hiring, and people ops for small teams.
work
TL;DR * A skills inventory is a strategic asset that allows organizations to make informed restructuring decisions, rather than just reducing headcount, by providing visibility into existing skills and capabilities. * Competency mapping involves defining 3 to 5 critical competencies per role family, at 2 or 3 levels each, to create
work
TL;DR * Male candidates tend to apply for jobs when they meet 60 percent of the listed requirements, while women and underrepresented candidates often require meeting 90 to 100 percent of the requirements to apply. * According to Iris Bohnet, Professor of Public Policy at Harvard Kennedy School, every requirement listed
work
TL;DR * A spreadsheet-first workforce planning model requires only 8 to 10 hours of focused work per quarter and data that most HR teams already have, making it accessible to lean HR teams. * Implementing a workforce planning model can help companies avoid reactive hiring, which can result in spending more
work
TL;DR * Most performance reviews are designed to justify a compensation decision that has already been made, with a rating attached to an annual summary of the previous year's work. * The annual review should synthesize, not surprise, with feedback delivered in real time, such as through monthly career
work
TL;DR * Liz Fosslien, Head of Content at Humu, states that an onboarding process that leaves someone waiting a week for laptop access, two weeks for system permissions, and a month to understand their real objectives is a sign that the organization did not prepare for the new hire. * Equipment
work
TL;DR * A purpose-built lean HR stack can cover core functional areas for under $200 per month for teams under 50 people without sacrificing key functionality. * The Notion team plan costs $8 per user per month and can be used to create a people wiki for HRIS and employee records,
work
TL;DR * A score of +20 on the Employee Net Promoter Score is considered a benchmark for high manager quality and strong psychological safety, but does not directly measure these factors. * The predictive factors for retention and performance include manager quality, psychological safety, clarity of contribution, and growth trajectory, which
work
TL;DR * A conflict-reducing hybrid policy has four essential sections: async defaults, synchronous anchors, presence anchoring, and exception handling to effectively manage hybrid work. * Only 5 specific activities are recommended to require synchronous participation: project kickoffs, decision-making that requires deliberation, performance conversations, team retrospectives, and onboarding. * Writing down async defaults
jobs
Related reading * The Remote Onboarding Checklist That Cuts Time-to-Productivity in Half * The Hybrid Work Policy Template That Actually Reduces Conflict * Deep Work Is Dead. Here's What to Do Instead.
newsletter
TL;DR * Cal Newport's Deep Work was published in 2016 with advice that is no longer applicable to most knowledge workers in 2026 due to changes in work environments and requirements. * The async-first expectation gap, AI tools requiring interactive engagement, and the compression of the value cycle for
newsletter