Suggestion Guru: People. Feedback. Solutions.

Performance Reviews – Keep, Dump or Change?

Lara Fordis — Tue, 25 May 2010 21:40:00 +0000

Take a look at your organization’s review process. Are your performance reviews an annual occurrence or a year-long performance and feedback process? Your performance reviews are probably working well only if your organization successfully:

1) Makes accountability linked to key business drivers part of the performance management system.

2) Communicates consistently and effectively to all employees while involving them in managing their own performance year-round.

3) Spends at least as much time developing employees as it does evaluating them.

If that sounds far from what’s happening, take comfort. Most organizations do not engage in effective performance reviews and feedback according to these criteria. Not surprisingly, most employees feel formal annual performance reviews are a waste of time. Key reasons why most performance review sytems are misguided are that:

1) Almost everyone hates performance reviews. Most managers consider performance reviews as one of their most disliked tasks. Employees usually dislike and distrust the process.

2) Performance reviews overemphasize quantifiable data at the expense of more nuanced factors. Many employees’ most valuable and important contributions to a workplace may not fit into ratings, scores or check boxes that appear on traditional performance reviews.

3) The existence of annual performance reviews become an excuse for not evaluating performance the rest of the year. When managers don’t give employees ongoing specific, timely, and relevant feedback (both good and bad), they fail to be an effective manager.

In most cases, performance reviews are not only a waste of time but also often can undermine motivation and hamper workplace happiness.

In light of this, for the vast majority of organizations, I suggest you consider moving from having formal performance-management reviews to an alternative that benefits your organization and its employees. Ensure that all employees receive constant feedback and appreciation in person and/or using one of the online tools available so that they know at any given time what they do well and what to improve.

Contact us by emailing info@suggestionguru.com or calling 818-478-8211 to discuss options for achieving your performance management goals with a year-round solution that really works. We’ll talk to you to assess the right fit, which could be anything from Rypple to InputLadder to several others.

If yours is one of the RARE organizations who has the time, money and resources to truly achieve best practices on performance reviews, the following are a list of providers to consider (alphabetical order; none currently singled out for recommended – this list is for your convenience):

Acadia Human Capital Solutions – Acadia Performance Management Tool

Cognology

Cornerstone Performance Appraisal Software by Cornerstone OnDemand

Element 78 Solutions – Carbon360

EmpXtrack by Saigun Technologies

EPIC Software – EPIC

ETS – Employee Performance Management

Halogen eAppraisal by Halogen Software

Jakoba Software – Employee Performance Management Solution

NuView Systems – NuViewHR

PeopleStreme – Performance Management

Pilat HR Solutions – HR Pulse

Plateau Performance by Plateau Systems

ReviewSNAP by Applied Training Systems

SilkRoad technology – WingSpan

StepStone Solutions – Performance Management

SuccessFactors Performance Review Software by SuccessFactors

Talent Platform by iCIMS

TrakStar Professional by Promantek

Ultimate Software – UltiPro

viaPeople – viaPeople Performance Evaluation

Workstream – Workstream TalentCenter

If after seeing the work that lies ahead in choosing a solution, let alone the challenges of properly implementing it, you want to talk, call us at 818-478-8211 or email info@suggestionguru.com today. If you’ve decided to explore less cumbersome, more flexible solutions, we can get you up and running within days at a fraction of the cost of traditional performance review systems.

Why I Love Feedback.com

Lara Fordis — Tue, 18 May 2010 15:16:42 +0000

I love Feedback.com because it provides a free and easy way for people with genuine concerns — rather than snarky comments – to offer honest, constructive feedback about their experiences. Unlike Yelp!, Feedback.com solicits comments that help companies make positive changes since feedback is focused on action. For people and companies who care about authentic communication, Feedback.com is a must-try tool.

Sure, there are lots of tools I like and use for different purposes. I use Yelp! and PlanetFeedback myself. But Feedback.com holds promise as being what I’ve been waiting for – a “Rypple”-style tool for companies, meaning people can express themselves, proactively solicit feedback and no one gets hurt! And it’s totally free for consumers and even for single-location businesses.

So what’s different? Unlike Yelp!, where people who relish sharing excruciating details of their experience with drama or the more activist PlanetFeedback, Feedback.com is about making things better for everybody. It embodies the true spirit of communication and striving for continuous improvement.

It’s a win-win since Feedback.com benefits companies while tapping into the pervading drive for people to share their experience.

The easier it is for customers to provide companies with feedback, the more feedback they get; the more feedback companies get, the more likely they are to create – or refine — products or services that meet customers’ needs. Nonetheless, many companies make it difficult for customers to give feedback.

Afraid of being overwhelmed or perhaps of what they might hear, they limit feedback to a few hard-to-reach channels. Feedback.com, on the other hand, lets people give feedback in a way that is fair and accessible 24/7. For companies receiving negative feedback, however, directing customers to feedback.com instead Yelp! or PlanetFeedback offers clear advantages, since it is constructive for both the giver and the receiver.

I’ve heard rumblings of new features on the horizon, but as of now, here is how the innovative Feedback.com tool works.

Go to http://www.feedback.com today to sign up for your free account!

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Post tags: Feedback.com, how Feedback tools work

Exciting Ways to Use Rypple

Lara Fordis — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 14:26:39 +0000

Check out some fantastic uses for Rypple below. These have been excerpted from Rypple’s blog:

———————–

Personal Feedback (AKA: “What do you think about me?”)

What’s it about?: The classic! Many people want quick, actionable feedback

on a specific task, deliverable, or behavior. Personal feedback helps

Rypplers to improve and advance their careers.

Sample Request: “What’s one thing you liked about the presentation I gave

today and one thing you would suggest I change for next time?”

———————–

Customer Outreach (AKA: “How is our company doing serving you?”)

What it’s about: Knowing what your customers think about the service you

provide is key whether you’re kicking off a project, running a promotion, or

simply running your business! Knowledge is power.

Sample Request: “Do you feel your recent project kickoff meeting has set you

up for success? How can we best support you moving forward?”

———————–

Team Feedback (AKA: “What do you think about us?”)

What’s it about?: It’s about US. How are we doing as a team? What feedback

do you have for the group?

Sample Request: “How we can improve and collaboration and communication

within our team?”

———————–

The Micro-Poll (AKA: “Hey Everyone! Can I quickly get your thoughts on

this?”)

What’s it about: Forget email or long surveys that people hate filling out

(or don’t bother responding to)! Asking a large group one simple question is

a surefire way to get the quick answers you’re looking for!

Sample Request: “What was the highlight of this year’s user conference for

you? What’s one thing we can improve for next year?”

———————–

Decision Support (AKA: “What do you think about this idea?”)

What’s it about: Need to make a decision and want input from others?

Getting everyone together and slowly coaxing out suggestions takes too long!

Meetings can be painful when everyone is gauging their opinion by what

everyone else is saying.

Sample Request: “What do you think our team’s top priorities should be for

2009?”

———————–

Executive Outreach (AKA: “How have we been treating you?”)

What it’s about: Engage your people by showing them that their feedback

matters!

Sample Requests: “What do you like best about working here and how can we

make our company an even better place to work for you?”

———————–

Rapid Peer Reviews (AKA: “What do you think about this person?”)

What it’s about: Supplement those hard-to-organize (and costly) 360 reviews!

Quickly ask for feedback to help coach your team to success.

Sample Request: “Briefly describe your experience working with John Smith

during Q2 of 2009.”

———————–

Review of Input Ladder

Lara Fordis — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 20:16:55 +0000

Overview

Input Ladder is an employee relations company that provides an innovative employee feedback platform. Designed to facilitate open-communication, Input Ladder allows employees to communicate with management and choose to do so either anonymously or by identifying themselves. Input Ladder offers various services, which includes an HR Docs section that serves as an online filing cabinet to post valuable internal documents that employees can access from home, work or elsewhere.

Recommended by Suggestion Guru for:

Teams or departments of 5-50 people.
Organizations of 10-100 people with minimal layers or hierarchy.
Organizations wanting innovative ways to communicate about new initiatives, hear about employee conflicts, receive suggestions, get complaints and solicit basic comments.
Companies seeking tools to boost employee productivity, company morale, and team cohesion.
Cultures that believe employees will become more productive when people are given the opportunity to speak freely.

Not recommended by Suggestion Guru for organizations with:

Employees who do not have Web access
Micromanaging or overly controlling senior leadership who are uncomfortable with publicly visible feedback.
Companies with a teenage or adolescent workforce or companies with employees who tend to use offensive language during verbal speech

Features

The individual who provides feedback can be anonymous or identified. No name will appear when you post an anonymous comment unless the user prefers to. Feedback that is posted as a public comment, which means all employees can view the comment, can be responded to by company administrator.
Anonymous feedback is NOT visible, identified feedback is visible. In both cases, the name of the feedback giver is not publicly visible? Feedback that is posted as a public comment, which means all employees can view the comment, can be responded to by company administrator. Feedback that is posted privately, which means that only the administrator can view the comment, cannot be responded to.

Special Features:

The HR Docs section, or human resources documents section, is an online filing cabinet. This area is used for management to post valuable internal documents for employees to access. Once uploaded, a user can download the document directly to their computer. For example, a manager can post documents that workers may need to access from home.
Instructional Aids: Input Ladder will create and send 8 ½ x 11 poster sheets that inform and explain how users can access their company’s account on Input Ladder.
IP Tracking Access: Upon request, Input Ladder will provide the IP address ( Internet Protocol Address Number) for specific comments (This is typically used for inquiries involving legal matters)
24/7 Customer Support
Introductory Emails to Employees

Pricing

Suggestion Guru Subscribers benefit from the value-added services of Input Ladder. There are 4 available packages, ranging from $29.99 to $69.99 per month. Each package offers unique features and each offer a different amount of available comments.

For example, for the Basic Package, at a price of $29.99 per month, you can receive 100 monthly comments, with 24/7 user support. For $49.99 per month, you can receive 1,000 comments per month, 24/7 user support and Instructional Aid posters that will inform employees on how to use Input Ladder.

The two larger packages offer 5,000 and 10,000 comments per month, respectively, at a monthly rate of $59.99 and $69.99, respectively. Each of these packages have additional features such as an online filing cabinet that allows users to remotely access documents on InputLadder.com, or IP Tracking which allows management to have access to IP Address numbers, primarily for protection during legal issues.

Each package can be paid, monthly with a one-year commitment, or can be paid all up front. Unlike other systems, Input Ladder is priced based on features and volume of comments, not the number of users.

FAQs

Available at http://www.InputLadder.com

Why Use Feedback Tools?

Lara Fordis — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 20:05:21 +0000

What Benefits and Results Can I Expect from Using “Virtual Suggestion Boxes”?

A: You’ll Show that You’re Open to–and Committed to–Continuous Improvement
Feedback software tools allow your employees to reach out to you confidentially with their suggestions, feedback and ideas.

A: You’ll be Able to See–and Seize–Unexpected Opportunities

Most employees will look elsewhere if they feel as though no one is paying attention to their needs. Adopting well-designed feedback solutions lets people know you’re listening–and helps you build the loyalty you need to increase professional success and desired results.

A: Improve Communication and Professional Relationships
Research shows that unhappy employees can adversely affect the customer experience by providing poor customer service. Life at an educational institution has the same parallels. Communication issues reveal themselves in employee satisfaction surveys, exit surveys, 360 surveys and almost any organization research measure–regardless of organization size or industry.

A: Improve What You Do
Every day, we tackle the question, “How can we improve what we do?” The answer may include increasing retention and student success — or, perhaps, boosting sales, focusing marketing, optimizing operations, and finding great people.

With feedback tools, you gain efficient and effective ways to capture the insight you need from the people who know your organization best: the employees.

Some facts about our recommended feedback solutions…
and advantages over direct email or traditional online surveys:

* Anonymity is assured — or the feedback provider can CHOOSE to share identifying information

* Method of information gathering is flexible — it can be sent as a survey or incorporated into an email signature

* Choice of one-on-one or mass communication adds to flexibility.

* Optional blog style provides a perfect forum for issues that warrant ongoing dialog and input

* Ensure results can be kept private (password protected) or publicly accessible

* Feedback can be downloaded into a PowerPoint report, as well as Excel, Word and other formats

Review of “My Review Room”

Lara Fordis — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 20:00:15 +0000

Overview

MyReviewRoom (www.myreviewroom.com) to help teams facilitate application acceptance, evaluation and decision making. The review process used in MyReviewRoom’s private virtual room is totally customer-configurable and provides unique advanced capabilities that are both easy to use and affordable. The review process can be implemented in a matter of minutes to manage feedback on applications and any document/video submissions.

Recommended by Suggestion Guru for managing:

• Employment candidate evaluation, tracking and decision making

• Employee Performance Review (360 review)

• Any externally focused competitions for community support, PR, etc. (scholarships, essay contests, internship admissions, grants, etc)

Not Recommended by Suggestion Guru for:

• For reviews requiring only simple polling

• One to One dialogs between individuals

• For public reviews/ratings

Features

• Reduce Costs and Simplify the Management of the review process through automated communications, tracking, real-time results, reduction in face to face meetings, and more

• Go green– Reduce paper, mailings, travel to meetings, and allow participants to join on their own time

• Enable greater participation by applicants, reviewers, recommenders/references, … while lowering overhead

• The commenting system allows for generic & granular comments on documents, pictures, and videos. ReviewRoom organizes comments and supports threaded discussions. Also, complete evaluation/ranking surveys are supported (FluidSurveys.com is built-in to provide the full benefit of easily creating entry and ranking forms, as well as conducting expansive data analysis)

• Model the ReviewRoom process to match your exact requirements including forms, required tasks, scheduling, work flow, branding, access permissions, etc. Quickly re-configure your ReviewRoom for new applications in a matter of minutes.

• Reinforce your image as a leading edge organization leveraging ReviewRoom’s uniquely advanced and cost-effective web-based collaboration capabilities

• All services are available through the web and can easily be linked to an existing website

Special Features:

• Can be branded to match the customer’s desired look

• Additional types of user groups can be included such as mentors to provide constructive feedback to participants. Recommenders can also be included to provide confidential references

• Data can be analyzed with charts, crosstabs, pivot tables, filters, and more. Administrators can use these analysis tools in real-time to come up with useful statistics with a click of a button and export data for presentations as needed.

• Optionally include reference documents and managed discussion topics

• Supports self-registration which can include team members

• Messaging is supported between all users

• Supports download of information for offline viewing

Pricing

Depending on the uses/features you need in your review room, the prices range from $299/year for the Pro version, to $995/year for the Ultra, to $2995 for Enterprise. The key difference is mainly in the variety of user groups supported and the amount of admin control. Video submissions are also supported at the Enterprise level. Additional information on pricing, including detailed feature lists are available at http://myreviewroom.com/pricing/.

FAQs

Most questions are answered on http://myreviewroom.com, which includes descriptions of uses, capabilities by user group, a short video, and other information. Demos are available on request to richf@chide.it.

FluidSurveys for Customer Feedback

Lara Fordis — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 19:52:44 +0000

FluidSurveys allows you to make advanced online surveys and polls while showcasing a very simple drag ‘n drop interface. FluidSurveys has all the typical features that you’d expect in a tool of its kind, except it’s much more intuitive. As a result of the application’s design, what used to take hours to do in other tools can now be done in minutes. The simple layout makes everything easy, from dragging and dropping questions into your surveys to administering changes within your survey.

Recommended by Suggestion Guru for:

• Time-strapped survey administrators, whether for employee-related topics or customer satisfaction.

• Organizations with IT departments that need assurance that a survey provider meet World Wide Web Consortium’s Accessibility Guidelines (both Priority 1 and Priority 2) in addition to 508 Compliance Standards, as well as Secure Socket Layer (SSL) connections for extra security.

• Situations where you are only doing one survey in six months, since they are one of the rare companies that does not require a subscription. (You pay a one time fee and can create a survey with unlimited responses. You can access the data gathered with this survey at anytime. You can continue gathering data with this survey until you please.)

• Surveys requiring functional enhancements by the vendor (typically there is no charge for these as long as the enhancement is useful to others)

Not Recommended by Suggestion Guru for:

• Organizations than need independently commissioned normative data.

• Organizations where employees don’t have Web access

Features

• Export results into PowerPoint, as well as PDF, Word, Excel and SPSS

• View tabular and graphical results in real time

• Create cross tabulations and filters quickly and easily

• Design yourself with user-friendly interface, including drag n’ drop feature (see more below)

• Advanced data extraction, branching, piping and more with wizards for ease of use

• Support website integration, prompting, polling

• Customize your survey URL

• Multi-user role management for use across organizations

Special Features?

• One of the distinguishing features of FluidSurveys.com is the drag and drop interface in its survey editor. Creating a survey using drag and drop is extremely fast and easy. Traditionally, researchers would create their surveys in a Text Editor (such as Microsoft Word) and then spend the time to “program” their survey onto an online tool. Using FluidSurveys’ intuitive and free flow editor, you can create your surveys on FluidSurveys.com directly. This will save you the time and the hassle of creating your questions twice! Multi-lingual surveys are managed as one for combined data analysis.

Pricing

Depending on the features you need, the prices range from $19/month for the Pro version to $59/month for the Ultra to special pricing for Enterprise use. The key difference between Pro and Ultra is in advanced branching, question types and publishing options. Enterprise comes with support for role management, SPSS export, and panel management integration. If you are unsure, you can learn more from the website…or just call Suggestion Guru to review which is right for your needs.

FAQs

Most questions are answered on the features page, which is available at http://fluidsurveys.com/features.

Demos are available on request to richf@chide.it .

FluidSurveys for Employee Feedback

Lara Fordis — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 16:02:52 +0000

Overview

Recommended by Suggestion Guru for:

Time-strapped survey administrators, whether for employee-related topics or customer satisfaction.
Organizations with IT departments that need assurance that a survey provider meet World Wide Web Consortium’s Accessibility Guidelines (both Priority 1 and Priority 2) in addition to 508 Compliance Standards, as well as Secure Socket Layer (SSL) connections for extra security.
Situations where you are only doing one survey in six months, since they are one of the rare companies that does not require a subscription. (You pay a one time fee and can create a survey with unlimited responses. You can access the data gathered with this survey at anytime. You can continue gathering data with this survey until you please.)
Surveys requiring functional enhancements by the vendor (typically there is no charge for these as long as the enhancement is useful to others)

Not Recommended by Suggestion Guru for:

Organizations than need independently commissioned normative data.
Organizations where employees don’t have Web access

Features

Export results into PowerPoint, as well as PDF, Word, Excel and SPSS
View tabular and graphical results in real time
Create cross tabulations and filters quickly and easily
Design yourself with user-friendly interface, including drag n’ drop feature (see more below)
Advanced data extraction, branching, piping and more with wizards for ease of use
Support website integration, prompting, polling
Customize your survey URL
Multi-user role management for use across organizations

Special Features?

Pricing

If you are unsure, you can learn more from the website…or just call Suggestion Guru to review which is right for your needs.

FAQs

Most questions are answered on the features page, which is available at http://fluidsurveys.com/features.

Demos are available on request to richf@chide.it.

What is SuggestionBox.com?

Lara Fordis — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 15:35:17 +0000

What is SuggestionBox.com? Here are the basics–it’s all about managing your customer feedback, collaborating with your customers, and promoting your Suggestion Box. (Click on the image for fuller info on their site.) Look for my analysis and review in May.

Leveraging Your Email Signature

Lara Fordis — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 15:10:05 +0000

Put an anonymous suggestion box into every email signature!

Since we rely more and more on e-mail to conduct business and personal matters, e-mail signatures play an increasingly important role in providing contact information–as well as in setting the tone of communications. A signature is a fundamental aspect of communication that we have come to expect and value. It can also add a personal touch and offer many more possibilities than signatures in letters can.

Many professionals like to include their business contact information so that clients and others can reach them easily. Sometimes, a signature might include a message–such as a reminder to recycle printer paper–or even a favorite quotation. Why not use your signature as a vehicle for gathering information that benefits you?

Although millions of customers and clients share their experiences with countless products, services and people, Suggestion Guru’s email signature options enable you to let your coworkers and customers reach out to you confidentially with their suggestions, feedback, and ideas. When people see your personalized suggestion box link or the eye-catching suggestion box logo on your website and e-mails, they will know that you are forward-thinking, proactive, and open to receiving feedback of all types.

Comments are

online
anonymous
welcomed

With a “virtual suggestion box” email signature, you’ll:

Boost your image
Seize unexpected opportunities based on real-time suggestions and feedback
Improve what you do and how you do it.

To get more information on integrating a virtual suggestion box into your email signature, contact us at Info@SuggestionGuru.com