What this page is for
This page explains the Quarterly Pulse: our lightweight quarterly review process.
At our size, we do not need a 40-page HR manual. We do need to make sure no one is drifting. Quarterly Pulse helps you, your manager, and leadership stay aligned on your role, your growth, your performance, and how you are feeling at Helixiora.
What you should do
- Complete the Quarterly Pulse form when Slack sends it to you.
- Answer the open question with enough detail to be useful.
- Be honest about job fit, culture fit, and where support is missing.
- Bring the results into your next 1:1 and be ready to discuss mismatches.
- Treat the process as a way to catch drift early, not as a once-a-year performance verdict.
How the cadence works
Quarterly Pulse is automated so it does not become a distraction from the work.
Trigger
On the third Monday of the first month of every quarter, you receive a Slack DM with a link to the Google Form.
That means the expected months are January, April, July, and October.
Time
The form should take about 10 minutes.
Manager mirror
Your manager fills out the same form about your work for the same quarter. This gives both sides a direct comparison before the follow-up conversation.
What the form asks
Quarterly Pulse focuses on three areas.
How are you doing?
This should not be answered with only “good” or “fine.”
Take a few minutes to explain how you are actually doing. Include anything that helps your manager understand energy level, workload, motivation, friction, stress, confidence, or where you need support.
The form may use a minimum character count for this question to push for at least one useful sentence.
Job Fit
Scale: 1-10
Question: How much do your current projects align with your core strengths?
A high score means your current work is making good use of what you are strongest at. A low score means there may be a mismatch between your strengths, your assignment, and what the company currently needs from you.
Culture Fit
Scale: 1-5
Question: How much do you feel you have lived our team values this quarter?
This is about observed behavior and contribution to the way Helixiora works, not personality fit.
What happens in the 1:1
Once the forms are in, your manager reviews your answers alongside their own. The results are then discussed in your next scheduled 1:1.
If the scores match, the conversation can move quickly to what is working, what should continue, and what comes next.
If the scores do not match, the mismatch becomes the main topic. For example, if you score Job Fit as a 10 and your manager scores it as a 6, or the other way around, that gap is important. The goal is to understand why both views differ and what needs to change.
Why we do this
We want to catch drift early.
If you are unhappy, if expectations are unclear, or if your current work is no longer a good match for your strengths, we want to know within weeks rather than discovering it during an annual review a year later.
Quarterly Pulse is there to make support more timely and specific. It gives us a regular point to check whether the role, the work, the expectations, and the person are still aligned.
Who owns or approves it
The People lead owns the Quarterly Pulse process. Managers own reviewing responses and using the next 1:1 to follow up properly.
Where to go in the tool stack
- Slack for the automated quarterly prompt
- Google Forms for the Quarterly Pulse form
- Calendar for the follow-up 1:1
- Shared notes if specific actions or expectations need to be written down
What happens if something goes wrong
If you do not receive the form when expected, tell your manager or the People lead.
If the follow-up conversation does not happen, raise it in your next 1:1. The form only matters if it leads to a useful conversation.
If the form surfaces a serious concern, your manager or the People lead should agree on a concrete next step rather than leaving it as general feedback.