HR toolkits · Apps · Courses · Insights
Templates, training and straight talk for managers and HR professionals navigating difficult conversations, performance, employee relations and everything in between.
Editable templates, Excel dashboards, browser-based HR apps and printable checklists you can use today.
Shop on Etsy 02Self-paced courses that build real confidence for the conversations you dread.
See the courses 03Short, honest essays on leadership, feedback and how people actually work.
Read on SubstackTemplates & toolkits
Every toolkit is practical, editable and ready to use the moment you download it.
For when two people can’t work together: the Conflict Management Simulator, the Difficult Conversations simulator, the Conflict Resolution Toolkit (assessment worksheet, mediation guide, 60-minute agenda, coaching questions and action plan) and the Escalation Decision Tree, with a start-here guide.
Seven manager tools in one download, organized by step: the Performance & Goals Command Center app, the Difficult Conversations simulator, plus the goal setting, one-on-one, difficult conversations, write-up and performance review toolkits, with a start-here guide.
Everything you need from the first 24 hours to the final report: intake form, investigation plan, three interview guides, evidence and chain-of-custody logs, a findings worksheet, an escalation matrix and three sample policies to adapt. 35 pages.
50 word-for-word scripts, conflict resolution tools and documentation templates for managers.
A coaching-focused review template, performance policy and leader training slides.
A goal setting framework plus leader training slides for clear, fair goals.
An Excel meeting tracker and a leader guidebook full of conversation starters.
Headcount, turnover, recruiting, DEI and absence metrics in one executive-ready Excel dashboard.
Forecast headcount, plan your labor budget and map succession risk.
18 pages from pre-boarding through day 90, with tasks tagged by department.
Document coaching, written warnings and PIPs consistently and professionally.
HR web apps
Download once and open with a double-click. No subscription, no account and no software to install.
NewManager training
Two people. One room. You in the middle. Mediate a conflict with both employees reacting to every reply, then read what each of them texted afterwards.
Also included in the Conflict Kit.
Manager training
Practice the conversation before you have to have it. The employee reacts to every reply, and the debrief shows what they texted their friend afterwards.
Also included in the Manager Performance Kit and the Conflict Kit.
Investigation training
Practice the hard part before it’s real. Work three realistic investigations from the first report to the 30-day check-in, then see how your file would hold up as Exhibit A.
Running a real one? Pair it with the Internal Investigations Toolkit: the same process as templates, checklists and interview guides.
Performance management
Set clear goals, hold better check-ins and walk into review season prepared. Built for small businesses, HR teams and people leaders.
Also included in the Manager Performance Kit, with five manager toolkits.
Onboarding
Every new hire, every task, one calm dashboard. Add someone’s start date and they get a dated checklist from pre-boarding to day 90, automatically.
Every app saves only in your own browser on your device. Nothing is stored online, so use the built-in backups and keep confidential employee information out.
The Real Talk series
True-to-life stories from inside the function, with the scripts and questions you can use the next morning.
Book One · E-book
The job description did not mention the ketchup. Or the arrest in the HR office. Or going from a board update to a PTO question before lunch. A candid, funny field guide to the work behind the title.
Book Two · E-book
One leader has a concern about another. The second has a different concern about the first. And now you’re the approved route for every message nobody wants to deliver directly. Surviving executive conflict, competing agendas, and the politics nobody put in your job description.
Book Three · E-book
Same idea. Different messenger. Completely different reception. For the capable professional in a room that has already decided how much you know, and for the leaders who want to make room for the next one.
Book Four · E-book
“Go ask HR.” Three words. Five seconds. Cleaning up after leaders who should know better: what managers own, what HR owns, and what happens when those lines get blurry.
Book Five · E-book
A meeting is not progress just because it happened. A candid, funny look at workplace dysfunction: the update meetings, the “per my last email” energy, the approval maze, and the circle-back that never circles back.
NewBook Six · E-book
You can be a safe place for other people without pretending you never need one yourself. The emotional labor, impossible expectations, and realities of being the person everyone else turns to.
Courses
Practical, self-paced training for HR professionals and people leaders.
Prepare for and lead tough conversations and workplace conflict with a clear, repeatable approach.
Enroll on UdemyBuild a performance management approach that is fair, consistent and coaching-focused.
Enroll on UdemySet clear goals and expectations your team can understand and achieve.
Enroll on UdemyRun fair, well-documented workplace investigations from intake to close.
Enroll on UdemyCore employment law fundamentals for HR professionals and people leaders.
Enroll on UdemyEditable templates and dashboards you can put to work in your very next meeting.
Browse the toolkitsInsights & thought leadership
The employees who care the most about doing well are sometimes the people most emotionally impacted by criticism.
Read the essayRecent essays
About The HR Edit
The HR Edit was created to bridge the gap between HR theory and the realities of leading people. After more than 15 years in human resources leadership, the founder has seen that some of the most important moments at work don’t come with a playbook: difficult conversations, employee relations challenges, investigations, performance concerns and leadership decisions.
These toolkits, courses and essays are the resources every HR professional and manager deserves: practical, clear and built from real experience.
Our mission: to empower HR professionals and people leaders with practical resources and real-world training that turn workplace challenges into opportunities for stronger leadership.
A toolkit for tomorrow’s meeting, a course for the skills behind it, or an essay for perspective.