Glossary
The words we use, defined.
Wellbeing, HR, and data-protection language can hide more than it reveals. This page defines the terms we use in Pulse — and a few from the wider field — in plain English, without the jargon or the marketing gloss.
- Anonymous check-in
- A short, structured prompt sent to a team where responses are stored without any link to the person who answered. Managers see aggregated themes, never individual replies.
- Aggregation threshold
- The minimum number of responses required before Pulse shows a breakdown. Below the threshold, granular slices are withheld so an individual can't be re-identified from a small sample.
- Crisis signal
- Language in a response that suggests someone may be at risk of harm. When detected, Pulse surfaces a calm protocol for the manager — what to say, what not to say, and where to direct the person — rather than trying to handle the crisis itself.
- Manager coaching
- The practice of giving line managers structured prompts, scripts, and frameworks so they can have better conversations with their team — instead of relying on annual surveys or escalating everything to HR.
- Sentiment trend
- The direction a team's wellbeing signals are moving over time. A single low score is noise; a four-week downward trend is a signal worth acting on.
- Pulse (the check-in)
- A single round of the weekly check-in. Distinct from Pulse the product. Teams typically run one pulse per week, with the option to send an extra when something significant happens.
- EAP
- Employee Assistance Programme. A third-party service that offers counselling and practical support to employees, usually paid for by the employer. Pulse is not an EAP — we point people toward one when they need it.
- UK GDPR
- The UK's data-protection regime, derived from the EU GDPR and in force since 2021. Governs how personal data can be collected, stored, and used. Pulse is designed to be UK GDPR-aligned by architecture, not just policy.
- Data Processing Agreement (DPA)
- The contract between a controller (the employer) and a processor (Pulse) that sets out how personal data will be handled. Available on request from any Pulse customer.
- Psychological safety
- The shared belief that a team is safe for interpersonal risk-taking — saying you don't know something, admitting a mistake, raising a concern. The single best predictor of whether a check-in tool gets honest answers.