I help businesses solve people problems.

Solving People Problems. Driving Business Success.

At Peoplyst, we help businesses solve workforce challenges with solutions that get it done - and keep it done. Whether it's hiring, leadership, compliance, or organizational change, we create and implement strategies that improve performance and simplify people operations.

With decades of experience in talent acquisition, workforce strategy, leadership development, and HR technology, I’ve helped companies from startups to Fortune 50 firms build stronger teams, improve engagement, and scale effectively.

Where Companies Struggle (And How We Fix It)

Talent & Hiring
Finding and keeping the right people shouldn’t be a struggle. We help businesses align hiring with growth, improve candidate experience, and optimize onboarding to retain top talent.

Workforce Performance
A high-performing team isn’t built by chance—it’s built with strategy. We create engagement, leadership, and accountability systems that turn employees into a company’s greatest asset.

HR Compliance & Technology
HR should work for you, not against you. We streamline operations, implement the right HR tech, and ensure compliance so businesses reduce risk and stay efficient.

Change & Growth Strategy
Growth is good—when it’s managed well. We help companies navigate transitions, scale effectively, and align leadership and culture with their long-term vision.
If your people aren’t thriving, your business isn’t either. Let’s fix that.

Message me to discuss how Peoplyst can help.

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Had enough pain and want to discuss making your People Problems disappear?
Book a call with me here: https://calendly.com/bryan-howard-mpg/fix-your-people-problem

"We need someone who can hit the ground running," he said.

I looked at the stack of rejected resumes on his desk.

"How many have you passed on this week?"

"Twelve. Maybe fifteen."

"Why?"

"Gaps. Job hopping. Overqualified. Underqualified."

I picked one up. "This one?"

"Eight-month gap. Next."

"Did you ask about it?"

"Didn't need to. If they were good, they'd be working."

I set it down.

"Let me tell you about the last 'gap' I investigated."

He leaned back, arms crossed.

"Operations manager. Fifteen years of experience.
Promoted three times at the same company.
Then her husband got diagnosed with cancer."

"Okay..."

"She asked for temporarily reduced hours.
Company said no. 'We need full commitment.'
So she left to take care of him."

"That's different."

"Is it? She didn't leave because she couldn't do the job.
She left because the company wouldn't bend.
Not even a little. Not even temporarily."

He shrugged. "We can't make exceptions for everyone."

"Fourteen months later, her husband recovered.
She started applying for new roles.
People like you looked at the 14-month gap
and said 'Next.'"

Silence.

"Here's what I've seen over and over," I said.

"Companies demand perfect availability.
Then act surprised when life happens.

They refuse flexibility.
Then call the fallout a 'red flag.'

They create rigid policies.
Then blame candidates for not fitting them."

"We have standards," he scoffed.

"No, you have blind spots.
You're filtering out people who've been through things.
People who've adapted. Figured it out. And survived.
You're choosing someone with a clean timeline
over someone with actual resilience."

"So what do you want me to do?"

"If they fit the role requirements,
ask the question. 'What happened during this time?'
Actually listen to the answer,
then choose the best candidate.

Because half the gaps you're rejecting?
Your policies would have created them, too."

The resume gap isn't the red flag.

Your refusal to ask about it is.

_____
If this sounds familiar, DM me.
I can help you rethink what you're filtering out.

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Follow Bryan Howard and click the 🔔 on my profile.

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Bryan Howard

People problems? Meet Peoplyst solutions. | Recruiting, Leadership & Employee Development, HR Tech and Change Management

The most damaging leader I ever saw never raised her voice.
She raised concerns about everyone else. And that's where the story begins...

Her name was Diane.

Director of operations. 
Executive presence for days.
She knew every process, every shortcut, every lever.

She also knew how to make people disappear.

Not by firing them.
By isolating them.

A whisper to the VP: "I'm worried about his judgment."
A casual aside in a meeting: "She's struggling more than she lets on."

No real evidence. Always quiet.
Just enough doubt, planted in the right ears.

Her manager once asked me about turnover on Diane's team.

"Three people in eighteen months," he said.
"All cited 'better opportunities.' What am I missing?"

"Did you ask them what they were running from?"

He hadn't.

I had.

One said she felt frozen out of decisions.
Another said his ideas got credited to someone else.
The third just said, "I stopped trusting anyone there."

All three mentioned Diane.
None of them filed a complaint.

"She hits her numbers," the manager said.
"She's got relationships across the company."

"And how many people have to leave
 before those numbers cost more than they're worth?"

He didn't answer.

Six months later, a senior leader, 
and someone they'd spent two years developing, 
walked into HR and resigned.

No drama or negotiation.
Just: "I can't do this anymore."

Exit interview revealed the pattern.
Diane had quietly undermined her for months.

That's when leadership finally asked the question:

"What has it cost us to keep her?"

Not her salary.

Her wake.
The people who left.
The trust that never recovered.
The ones who stayed but stopped trying.

Here's what I've seen too many times:

Toxic doesn't always look like yelling or harassment.
Sometimes it looks like competence and composure.
A great reputation with people who don't work for them.

You don't lose a team to one explosion.
You lose them to a hundred small cuts no one reports.

If your best people keep leaving the same department,
stop asking what's wrong with them.

Start asking what they're not telling you.
And why they don't feel safe enough to say it.

_____
If your retention math doesn't add up
and people aren't giving you the real story, 
that's what I help leaders figure out. DM me.

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Follow Bryan Howard and click the 🔔 on my profile.

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Wendy Pape

Great Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce event and incredible team from Peoplyst, including me, Erica Howard, honorary member April K. of Gentinuity LLC, Tearle Johnson, and Julius Richardson, SHRM-TA, M.S. OrgLeadership.

Life is good! People make all the difference.

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