Human Resources & 360 Blog | Grapevine Evaluations

The Tech that Keeps Employee Performance On-Track in the Summer

services@greenlotus.ca (Vimal Siva) — Mon, 15 Aug 2022 20:20:45 GMT

TIP: The Tech that Keeps Employee Performance On-Track in the Summer

Career expert Wendi Weiner claims the summer's laid-back atmosphere can factor in poorer productivity. "Due to the heat, people's attitudes shift, and they frequently prioritize self-care and self-improvement."

At this time of the year, any team working on significant, complex projects needs effective project management. This applies to all sectors where jobs are frequently extremely complicated, specialized, and time-sensitive. Fortunately, there are some things that can make everything easier. Read on to find out.

Investing in Employee Evaluation Software

How can employers maintain their employees' attention and progress this summer? The answer is in the 4-letter word: tech. Today, we dive into one of the most effective technologies you can invest in to ensure your team performs at its best.

By pre-defining a set of standards for various jobs in the firm, companies benefit by using some form of employee evaluation software. This tech helps management and businesses check each employee's output by comparing it with the demands of their position. When it comes time to do the yearly performance review, the software can also keep track of employee performance over the year, making the review creation process more straightforward.

Employee Evaluation Software is a fantastic resource for employers, and it can hasten the review procedure, and additionally, it might lead to more accurate performance evaluations. Because they are measured against pre-established standards, employees can better comprehend what their review means.

Accurate Tracking and Automatic Reporting

When managers fill up employee performance reviews on the spot, they may be prejudiced by recent occurrences and neglect to take historical performance aspects into account. With performance review software, supervisors can keep a rolling journal of notes that can chart an employee's development through time. As a result, performance appraisals are now less of a "snapshot" of an employee's performance and more of a window into their development over time.

Performance reports can now be printed, distributed, and kept more easily thanks to employee evaluation software, which also has advantages for personal growth. Employers are not required to sit down and manually draft lengthy reviews. The data gathered throughout the chosen time frame can easily be assembled and presented in the preferred format.

Employers can better determine an employee's needs for training and development with the complete picture of an employee's strengths and weaknesses provided by an employee evaluation software. After considering the feedback from many sources, employers could even be able to recognize the possibility for a worker to perform better in another division or sector of the business.

Reviews used to be something that both employers and employees dreaded. This is primarily a result of the importance given to annual or biannual reviews, which frequently determine promotions and pay hikes. All parties involved can see checks more favorably if they are conducted more often and inform employees of the excellent performance aspects and those that could be improved. Invest in employee evaluation software to ensure your team does and continues to do well in the summer and beyond.

Build a Connected Work Culture

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Mon, 10 Jan 2022 05:19:32 GMT

The COVID-19 pandemic has shifted the traditional work culture we all know. Being familiar with commuting to work and building your team from the office, the new transition of working from home could be challenging as there are many variables that can hinder the performance of the workplace and your employees.

With things slowly getting back to normal and many opting for a hybrid or full remote work business model, managers often wonder how effective their employees are when working from home. With this in mind, managers often resort to micromanaging and constant checkups. From an employee perspective, no one wants to be micromanaged - in any circumstance.

Here are some tips on how you can build a successful remote workforce:

Stay Connected with the Team

Building connections with your team is essential to a strong and efficient work environment. However, when managing a remote team it is more crucial that you stay “connected” with the team.

One way to do this is by having one-on-one meetings with your team members. It is a great way to connect with your employees on an individual level, understand their strengths and collaborate on solving problems together in order to work towards a common goal.

Keep the Culture Alive

Company culture is a huge part of a successful company. Replicating the culture from an at-work environment to an at-home experience may be difficult but can be very rewarding in the long run. Mirroring the same company culture for those who are remote means finding a way to keep them involved and always included.

Team building exercises and communicating with your employees is a great start.

Goal Setting and Flexibility

Being both flexible and setting goals as an employer is a great way to keep employees involved and motivated at work. By setting both long and short term goals for your employees, it gives you a way to measure their performance and productivity and allows you to connect with them one on one.

Goal setting should be outlined clearly so both employees and employers have a clear understanding of what needs to be done and what has already been completed.

Flexibility outside of the traditional 9 to 5 workspace is a great way to allow employees to strive and be productive on their own time. Allowing your employees to work when they feel they are the most productive will ultimately provide the best quality work at any given time. Try focusing more on the quality and amount of work that gets done as opposed to the amount of time the employee is working.

Build Trust with Performance Feedback

The more often an employee receives feedback the more likely they are to remain productive and engaged in the workspace. This is no different for the employees who are working remotely. By keeping them engaged and using 360 performance reviews to measure their work performance allows you to build trust and set goals.

A benchmark as an employer is to ask yourself how many times in a day did you stop for a quick chat, or ask your team how a project is coming along?

Managing employees remotely can be effective if done correctly. It does look a little different than an in-house structure but with the right approach you can boost the performance of your staff. Contact us for a free demo and learn how you can use our tools to build a connected work culture for your organization.

Grapevine provides an online 360-degree feedback employee evaluation software tool that makes it easy to perform a 360-degree evaluation, employee performance evaluation, employee assessment and employee performance review all using our online multi rater employee evaluation software survey system.

Employee Evaluation: How to Identify Employee Blind Spots

services@greenlotus.ca (Vimal Siva) — Fri, 23 Apr 2021 11:07:19 GMT

Professional blind spots, it's a heavy phrase to those who are hardworking and motivated. But what is it really?

A professional blind spot, in simple terms is an area of work and/or information where an employee does not have any knowledge or experience. For both the employer and the employee, these blind spots can become a problem if they are not identified or addressed.

The reality is, a professional blind spot is much like the blind spot of a vehicle. Making lane changes without checking your blind spot can be hazardous, so the same analogy applies for a professional blind spot. If you are able to help identify a blind spot, you'll be able to put in a system that allows you to progress and ultimately work around them.

Here are three quick tips you can Implement to help identify your employee’s blind spots.

Self-reflection:

Encourage your employees to start self-reflecting on situations that happen in the workplace that were unfavorable.

· Maybe there was a certain way that they reacted?

· How did they handle themselves?

· How did they interact with others?

Self-reflection is often considered the quickest way to identify any setbacks and challenges that an employee may face in the workplace.

Feedback and Questionnaire:

Providing your employee with some feedback is a great way to get them to understand how others perceive them in certain situations.

In some ways providing them with a 360 feedback questionnaire is a great step towards helping them toward the right track of identifying blind spots.

Training and Exercises:

Another method to help identify blind spots for an employee is through training and exercising.

Challenging them in areas that they feel uncomfortable is a great way to identify their blind spots. Put them in positions where they're out of their comfort zone and this should encourage behaviours to help them grow.

As an employer it is your job to make sure that your employees can grow and progress. The growth of your employees strongly correlates directly to the growth of your company. Remember, it isn't about doing everything quickly, it's about taking it slow to build relationships and learn from everyone's experience.

Grapevine has been the number one choice for effective Employee Evaluation Tools and 360 employee feedback and evaluation software for hundreds of companies across North America. Our 360 employee feedback and evaluation software makes creating, designing, and implementing surveys easier then ever. Contact us for a free demo and learn how you can use our tools to help identify blind spots that may be holding your company back from its true potential.

Build a Stronger Workforce: 3 Ways to Improve Employee Performance

services@greenlotus.ca (Vimal Siva) — Fri, 05 Mar 2021 05:57:41 GMT

A successful work environment not only focuses on customer satisfaction, but also ensures that employees are well taken care of. A positive work atmosphere can lead to lower churn and better productivity which can lead to a reduction in overhead costs.

As an employer, here are a few things you should consider doing to keep your employees motivated.

Provide Positive Feedback

Positive reinforcement is known to be one of the best driving factors to produce top tier results in the workplace. As an employer, focusing on what your employee has been doing right will ultimately allow you to condition them into producing positive results and maintain the core values of the company. You can do this one on one or even in performance reviews if need be.

Learn what really motivates your staff, click here.

Employee Involvement

Keeping your employees involved, not only in day-to-day work but also the overall goals of the business can reinforce their value to the company. Employees who feel valued by the company they work for tend to have more loyalty and think harder before they consider other business opportunities.

As an employer, you can also use this as an opportunity to gain insights and ideas from your team who may have different perspectives based on their position in the company.

Provide Room for Growth

As an employer, it is hard to keep employees motivated if there is no room for growth. The potential opportunity that can come, whether it be a raise or promotion, can keep productivity levels high and even encourage healthy competition.

Allowing growth opportunities at your company creates an environment where your employees can strive to take risks, learn, and grow with the support of their superiors and team. This is often reflected by the company’s culture.

Why Do Happy and Motivated Employees’ Matter?

Maintaining happy employees not only improves productivity and engagement but can also create a positive image for your company. Attracting great talent and reducing churn are just some of the most common benefits.

It is often overlooked how employee morale can lead to lower overheads, therefore improving the company’s bottom line.

For example:

· Better productivity can allow your team to handle more clients.

· Increase client retention, leading to more revenue.

· Lower employee churn reduces hiring and training expenses.

There is no downside to investing in your workforce.

Evaluate your Employees using Grapevine’s Employee Evaluation Software

Grapevine provides an online 360-degree feedback employee evaluation software tool that makes it easy to perform a 360-degree evaluation. With Grapevine’s employee evaluation software , not only can you use it to measure your staff’s performance but use it to provide insights on how motivated your employees are. Use our pre-designed templates or customize your evaluation from scratch.

Click here to request a FREE demo.

How to Conduct Performance Reviews at Home

services@greenlotus.ca (Vimal Siva) — Fri, 29 Jan 2021 00:30:43 GMT

Sure, employees can be expensive, but just because they are working remotely does not mean you should avoid performance reviews. Some may argue that since employees are working from home performance reviews are a must. Since the variable of you not being able to see the employee in person, understanding what they are doing today and how things are going is imperative to the company success. So as an employer here is exactly what you need to do to conduct performance reviews when your employees are working from home.

How to Prep for a Remote Performance Review

Preparing for a performance review is a step-by-step process that necessarily is not done all at once. Having a strong process in place that engages the employee from one-on-one talks, and interactive surveys to get positive feedback is helpful.

Gather all the information you need to perform an adequate performance review, and if you need help with that check on a 360-degree performance review process here . After you put together a performance review, make sure that you give all employees an understanding as to what they will expect for this performance review compared to previous years. It is a given that covid-19 has put a hindrance on the ability for one to work at office.

Now that we have covered the basics here is what you should consider.

Create Your Review Template

Create an employee template review, this is so you can go in and level the playing field between you and your employee. It helps you create a focused review allowing you to stick with what's meaningful which is the employee's performance.

Having created an employee review form puts you in a position where you can be Suited to evaluate accordingly and fairly.

Self-Assessment

One thing I can help many employees with is self-assessment. Allowing them to be accountable for their work ethic is a great way to help grow them in the organization. Not only does it allow them to set aside some time to evaluate their performance, but It also gives you the understanding to see whether or not the employee knows their impact on the workplace.

Video Meetings

Because of covid-19, having person-to-person interviews can be quite difficult to address that concern the easiest way to do this is set up a video conferencing software.

Of course, in many situations, personality, body language and facial expressions are some of the key factors to determine whether a performance review is going well. Using videoconferencing, this may not be as a parent, but it could help with any miscommunication and allow for a more personalized experience to make everyone comfortable.

Now that the performance process has been completed, the best thing to do would be to follow up with the employee and give your feedback. Allow for open communication so that their

How to Keep Your Team Motivated When Working from Home

services@greenlotus.ca (Vimal Siva) — Sun, 27 Dec 2020 23:55:43 GMT

The workplace as we know it today has been rapidly changing. Most recently due to one of the biggest changes in the global economy COVID-19. Companies across the globe are now forced to facilitate work-from-home experience for their employees. One thing is for certain, employees now realize that work is not just a location.

A work from home experience may provide a better work schedule, a work-life balance or even allowing companies to cut costs moving forward.

Realistically, as great as it sounds there are some drawbacks for both the employer and the employee. Which is, how do you keep your employees motivated while they are working from home?

Here are 5 tips companies can implement to help maintain motivation in employees.

Effective Communication

Effective communication is key. Since the employee and the employer are not face-to-face the chance of communication gaps or misunderstanding is there. It is encouraged that the employer communicates with the employee daily, to ensure needs are being met and any questions are being answered.

Certainly, when you keep employees informed about the organization regardless if they are working from home, makes them feel appreciated and their opinion is valued.

Goals and Growth

Identifying any new goals or spending on the growth of the employees is a great way to build on the relationships and keep them motivated.

Employees are working from home; they are being productive but at the end goal are they meeting their expectations? This is where you need to identify the goals that need to be done and give them a sense of direction. Regardless if the employee is a self-starter, as an employer you should give them that guidance they need.

As an employer giving your employee guidance, not only will help them stay motivated but it is also a way for you to show them how they can grow in their position.

Support and Equipment

A work-from-home experience can be great for any employee. But realistically, even if the employees skilled at what they do the motivation and productivity is hindered when the required tools for the job are not there.

When the shift is made from an in-house to a work-from-home, the employees often leave on their own to facilitate the right equipment, in most cases it comes out of their pocket. Offering the support to allow employees to take equipment as needed or expensed as needed will help them situate and remain productive.

Feedback and Recognition

All business owners know feedback and recognition is a great way to keep employees motivated. But when working from home, there is no face-to-face contact, no hustle and bustle of the office. Eventually resulting in employees feeling disconnected and isolated from the team.

One simple way to keep them motivated is just give them constant recognition and keep constant group video calls via Skype or Zoom. It can really make a difference in productivity levels for the team.

Trust

We have mentioned many different things you can do as an employer to keep your employee motivated. This one stands above all else, and can you really make or break the performance of your employees.

As an employer the most important thing you should do towards your employee is trust them. You should have enough faith and trust that they will do the job correctly, efficiently, and correctly without having constant touch points to see what has been completed.

Keep in mind, this is a fine line to tread, if you constantly check up on your employees it can be misconstrued as micromanaging which will heavily decrease the motivation and quality of work. On the other hand, if you do not check up on your employees, they could potentially take advantage and do little to no work at all.

Keeping your employees motivated during COVID-19 is probably one of the biggest challenges many businesses are facing. The few points above can really change the work-from-home experience for them for the better. Giving support and comfort they need to preform is what will help your team strive.

Benefits of Leadership 360 Appraisals

services@greenlotus.ca (Vimal Siva) — Wed, 16 Sep 2020 14:54:27 GMT

Leadership 360 appraisals are an invaluable tool for any company. As an employee rises in the company ranks to an executive level, the feedback they receive on their performance becomes less reliable because of perceived biases, power differentials and perceptions of status. This, in turn, can limit the effectiveness of executive performance and ultimately affect company success.

Top 3 Benefits of Leadership 360 Appraisals

1. Identify and Build Great Leaders

Leadership 360 Degree Feedback provides executives with the opportunity to gain a holistic assessment of their leadership skills and performance based on ratings by direct reports, peers, employees, and even clients. Great leaders are few and far between, and this assessment gives a company the ability to identify natural leaders within their organization, and the opportunity to foster their development and growth for the benefit of employees and the company as a whole.

2. Improve Workplace Collaboration

Leaders who are open to feedback, and value the professional opinions of others within the company, are individuals who lead by example. Building trust and respect amongst colleagues, subordinates and employees is immensely valuable to a company. It fosters workplace collaboration which not only benefits company success, but every single employee as well.

3. Build Workplace Morale & Engagement

When employees see their leaders and executives undergo a 360 Degree Evaluation similar to their own, there is an inherent respect for the fact that they also strive for continuous self-improvement, and recognition that everyone, at every level of the company, can work to improve themselves. This brings leaders and executives onto the same playing field as every employee, and can help build a positive workplace environment that encourages engagement.

Leadership 360 Degree Evaluations can help companies assess business processes and the effectiveness of roles, and gain invaluable insight into business culture, leadership and management.

Are you interested in 360 appraisals for your company? Contact us today, our experts will introduce you to Grapevine’s comprehensive 360 Degree Evaluation Tool and answer any questions you might have.

Our 360 Degree Feedback Reports are Detailed & Actionable

services@greenlotus.ca (Vimal Siva) — Thu, 10 Sep 2020 20:59:18 GMT

Grapevine’s 360 Degree Feedback Report contains a wealth of information useful to employees and companies as a whole, and serve as a detailed point of comparison for employee performance and company growth!

360 Degree Feedback Report Highlights

Gap Analysis

An Employee’s 360 Degree Report includes a Gap Analysis (available as a radar chart and line chart) plotting the responses of managers, peers, direct reports and the self-report of the employee in question. Data also includes company averages so employees can accurately see how they rank in the eyes of those they work with as well as against company averages. Large discrepancies in the Gap Analysis might indicate areas and processes that need more attention.

Strengths and Areas of Opportunity

An employee’s top 5 strengths identified by the 360 Degree Feedback Assessment demonstrate where the employee excels, as identified by high ratings. The top 5 areas of opportunity are also identified and demonstrate competency areas where the employee can focus their attention and self-development.

Hidden Strengths and Blind Spots

Hidden strengths are identified as areas where raters scored the employee high on a competency, while the employee scored themselves low. These are skills and abilities that others appreciate and recognize as the employee’s strengths and positive contribution to the company, and deserve to be commended.

Blind Spots are competencies identified by high self-rating but low average rating, resulting in a significant gap. These are areas where the employee feels they excel, but average ratings indicate that the employee does not perform as well as they believe. Blind spots are perfect opportunities for self-development and training.

Custom Report Comparisons

Grapevine’s 360 Degree Feedback Reports can be generated to include different levels of comparison including company-level, division-level, department-level or work team-level so that the employee can view their ratings in contrast to the company averages, their division averages, department averages, etc. Executive summary reports are also available at custom group levels as well, giving managers and executives a top down view of every division, department, team and employee.

Don’t forget that Grapevine’s 360 Degree Feedback Reports have multiple customization features including branding, messaging, survey question options. Need help? Contact us today, our experts will introduce you to Grapevine’s comprehensive 360 Degree Evaluation Tool and answer any questions you might have.

6 Tips To Provide Feedback After a 360 Degree Assessment

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Thu, 13 Aug 2020 13:29:04 GMT

Employee feedback is a delicate matter and a process that should not be taken lightly. In order for a 360 degree feedback assessment to be productive, it must have actionable outcomes and follow-ups with employees, departments and management.

1. Review Results One-On-One

Review every employees’ results with them one-on-one without bias, judgement or inferences. Offer a balance of both positive and negative feedback, and focus on keeping the employee motivated and engaged in the analysis of results.

2. Weaknesses = Opportunities

It is essential to address problem areas identified by the 360 degree assessment, but they do not have to be seen as failures and weaknesses. Instead, transform them into opportunities for personal and professional development.

3. Motivate & Engage

Use 360 assessment results to motivate employees and engage them in the success of the company. Emphasize the positive contributions the employee makes to the company, their value to their department, co-workers and peers.

4. Open & Free Discussion

Encourage open and free discussion without consequences. Allow employees to discuss their assessment results in a judgement-free, confidential environment, without any risk of repercussions (real or perceived).

5. Personal Development Plan

Following a discussion of results, have a list of competencies that each employee can focus on developing, and resources they can use (eg-training course, mentoring, etc.). Plan a personal development program with every employee to ensure they are engaged and willing to participate. The personal development program should focus on strengthening valuable skills, improving on weaknesses and putting any untapped skills to work.

6. Employee Follow-Up

Schedule follow-up meetings with employees to review their plan and ongoing development. These meetings are vital to keeping employees engaged and motivated to improve. With regular personal development meetings, employees can examine where they have grown and developed, get recognition for the work they have done, and identify areas they should continue to improve.

Trust the Professionals

At Grapevine Evaluations, we help companies all over the world improve the way they operate, and provide employees with important support. Request a demo to see how our 360 degree feedback tool can help you, your employees, and your supervisors succeed.

Once you have completed the assessment here are 3 Tips to Ensure Your 360 Feedback Assessment is Effective

3 Tips to Ensure Your 360 Feedback Assessment is Effective

services@greenlotus.ca (Vimal Siva) — Fri, 07 Aug 2020 19:31:55 GMT

360 Degree Employee Assessments are an invaluable tool for companies and employees. Results can foster skill development, increase productivity, and drive company growth. As a multi-rater assessment system, the information gleaned can help individual employees improve performance, and help companies identify issues before they become problems. For example, if a reoccurring theme is seen in 360 results, it might indicate an issue with company culture or business processes that can be addressed before they balloon into problems.

The only downfall in the use of 360 degree feedback assessments occurs when they are improperly planned, and results are used to punish or reward employees.

The key to a successful 360 Degree Feedback Assessment is planning!

1. Survey Questions

In the design of the 360 degree survey it is essential to determine the overall goal of the assessment and ensure that questions connect to specific business processes and goals. Identify the skills, behaviours, competencies and processes that are pertinent to the company and determine what factors to assess. Ensure all questions are specific, vague questions will lead to vague answers that don’t provide the insight needed to improve performance.

Learn more: A Guide to Generating and Structuring Questions for Employee Performance Reviews

2. Pre-360 Employee Information Session

Before launching the 360 degree feedback assessment, have an information session with employees to explain the assessment and address any concerns employees might present. It is vital to stress that 360s are not a tool for punishing or rewarding employees, it is a tool to help employees gain insight on themselves so that they may develop a personal career development plan that allows them to grow with the company. Employees should be reminded of the requirement to leave personal preferences and biases out of the assessment and provide professional, accurate responses.

Learn more: The 4 most common 360 degree feedback mistakes

3. Post-360 Training and Development Plans

The goal of 360 degree feedback is to help employees and companies grow. Every employee should have a one-on-one meeting to provide feedback, review assessment results, and identify specific areas in need of improvement. A training and development plan should be created with each employee to help them develop the skills they need to succeed. Whether it’s soft skills like effective communication and customer service, or hard skills like data entry or coding, every employee wants to learn and grow, and the onus is on the company to foster and encourage that growth.

Learn more: How to Use the STAR Model to Provide Feedback

360 Degree Feedback Tools for Healthcare

Fri, 20 Mar 2020 15:47:24 GMT

360 Degree Feedback Tools for Healthcare Professionals Improve the Quality of Patient Care

The healthcare industry has a unique set of challenges when it comes to measuring performance.

While most healthcare institutions are proficient at measuring functional skills and job-specific abilities, vital non-clinical skills like professionalism, empathy, communication, patient management, relationships with colleagues and healthcare teams receive less attention. These all play a factor in the performance of physicians, nurses, aides, administrators, and leaders. Most importantly, these factors also affect the quality of patient care.

Institutions are now addressing this gap in performance reviews, and are looking at non-clinical skills within their medical teams with the use of 360 degree performance evaluations in healthcare settings. A 360 degree review can assess both clinical and non-clinical skills from multiple perspectives and provide useful, actionable results (such as identifying strengths and areas of improvement, ensuring that healthcare professionals at all levels have the support they need, and the tools necessary to improve the effectiveness and quality of patient care).

Advantages of 360 Degree Evaluation in Healthcare:

Unique Perspectives on Physician Performance

In a medical clinic or hospital, there exists a chain of command and hierarchy that is necessary to ensure that medical teams can quickly and thoroughly examine, assess and treat patients. When it comes to the workplace evaluation of physicians, nurses or aides, they are usually based on clinical successes and failures, and neglect to assess soft, interpersonal skills such as bedside manner, empathy, interaction with healthcare teams, professionalism, and attentiveness to patients.

360 evaluation tools for healthcare address this issue by using multiple groups of assessors such as supervisors, peers, subordinates, allied health professionals and patients. Each assessor experiences and observes different aspects of the healthcare professional’s performance, and can provide valuable perspectives that are important to the quality and effectiveness of the care provided.

Improve Quality of Care

360 degree performance evaluations in healthcare , particularly when combined with follow-up training, can be a valuable training tool, improving both physician performance and patient care. Healthcare professionals can learn a great deal of information from their 360 degree assessment and take a proactive approach to reinforce strengths, and learn how to improve on weaknesses in areas such as patient communication, team leadership or professionalism.

Healthcare professionals care deeply about their work and want to do the best they can for patients. But, they might not be aware that specific behaviours or actions might be having a negative effect on patients or coworkers. 360’s empower healthcare teams to focus on self-improvement in identified problem areas, develop effective interpersonal skills, express themselves in constructive ways to coworkers and patients, and improve the quality of patient care.

Improve Patient Satisfaction

Healthcare teams have varying levels of interaction with patients. Physicians might only see a patient for a half-hour, while nurses and aides have more extensive interactions with those under their care, and experience first hand the effect that physician performance has on a patient. This is why 360 evaluation tools for healthcare are invaluable. Traditional evaluations are usually top-down with supervisors assessing the performance of physicians in their team.

With 360 performance evaluations, a more wholesome evaluation is conducted, including reviews by superiors and subordinates, and providing a more accurate assessment of performance from multiple perspectives. The result is that healthcare executives, patient care leaders, physician leaders, physicians, nurses and aides can take a proactive approach, learn their 360 degree reviews, undergo personal and professional development, and have an immediate, meaningful impact on patient satisfaction.

Automated, Easy to Administer 360 Degree Performance Evaluation

Healthcare professionals are busy and might view extensive performance evaluation surveys as a tedious task. Thankfully, with advances in technology, it is now easier to administer, collect, analyze and share 360 assessments than ever before. Automated 360 degree software for healthcare provides a streamlined, less resource-intensive approach to the evaluation process, saving healthcare professionals valuable time and effort.

Are you interested in learning more about how Grapevine Evaluations software can serve your healthcare performance reviews? Request a free live demo now.

360 Degree Feedback Tools In Education

Fri, 20 Mar 2020 13:36:52 GMT

360 Degree Feedback Tools In Education Benefit Teachers, Schools and Students

Education presents an ironic challenge when it comes to performance evaluation. Administrators occupied by the significant demands involved in developing students' knowledge and skills sometimes fail to carve out enough time to develop the knowledge and skillsets of educators themselves.

When educators don't receive the specific, constructive feedback they need to guide their behaviour and performance, problems can go unnoticed. This challenge has driven learning institutions to look for new methods of performance assessment.

What is a 360 Degree Performance Evaluation?

There are many differences between 360 Degree Feedback vs Traditional Employee Assessments .

360 degree feedback is a performance evaluation survey that collects confidential, anonymous, and candid feedback from various individuals involved in the employee's day-to-day work, including managers, coworkers, subordinates, peers, and customers.

Managers and leaders use 360 degree feedback assessment tools to get a thorough understanding of employee performance from various perspectives, identifying strengths and areas of weakness that can be improved.

What is a 360 Degree Performance Evaluation?

There are many differences between 360 Degree Feedback vs Traditional Employee Assessments . 360 degree feedback is a performance evaluation survey that collects confidential, anonymous, and candid feedback from various individuals involved in the employee's day-to-day work, including managers, coworkers, subordinates, peers, and customers.

What is a 360 Degree Performance Evaluation?

360 Performance Evaluation System For Education!

School boards, Universities and Educational institutions have implemented 360 degree assessments to varying levels of success. Some teachers and professors reject the idea based on the premise that the evaluations shift the power structure, putting their livelihood in the hands of their students. In contrast, others accept the assessment as a valuable tool for personal development and helping create educational environments that are conducive to learning.

For 360 degree feedback for education institutions to see positive results, two important requirements need to be in place:

1. 360 Degree Assessments Are Developmental Not Evaluative

The first requirement involves perception. Performance assessments can make people feel like their jobs are on the line. In an environment where grades can hold a high level of significance, the idea of grading a teacher can feel hostile.

When introducing a 360 degree feedback assessment in education, it is essential to be conscious of perceptions and reiterate that the 360 degree performance evaluation is not punitive or evaluative; it is designed to provide an opportunity for personal development, support and mutual growth.

The value in a 360 degree assessment tool for education comes from its inherent lack of bias, offering a thorough, wholesome evaluation of teacher performance from various perspectives. Assessment results provide contextual insights and can open constructive conversations about strengths and possible areas of improvement that can directly impact student learning.

2. 360 Degree Evaluation Surveys In Education Must Adjust For Fluctuations

The second requirement involves data. Raw data doesn't tell the full story in an educational setting, and it is crucial to account for naturally occurring fluctuations.

Predictable factors that are out of a teacher's control, such as time of year, class size, and average classroom achievement level, can have an impact on a teacher's assessment. These factors can be taken into account, and 360 degree assessment results can be adjusted to negate these fluctuations. Another aspect to consider when it comes to data is customization. A student in first grade will not be able to express themselves the way an eighth-grader can. Information can and should be collected from both sources, but the survey does need to be adjusted for the audience.

Benefits

Identify classroom management skills or gaps that have a direct effect on the learning environment.
Identify gaps in communication skills that can be improved to boost student engagement and learning.
Allow students to voice concerns and get the help they need in their classroom.
Develop interpersonal skills so that teacher interactions with students are positive and productive.
Education leaders can gain insight on their management skills, improve on weaknesses, and become more effective leaders for teachers, schools and students.

Schools, Colleges and Universities can implement personal development plans to help their teachers and professors work on the skills needed to engage and educate students effectively.
Teachers can use their 360 evaluation as a benchmark for progress and personal development, referencing their ratings as a point of comparison for future 360 assessments.
360 degree evaluation tools in education encourage a more open, honest and supportive environment for teachers to discuss issues with colleagues openly, and gain valuable input from coworkers.

Are you thinking of implementing a 360 degree evaluation system for education? As a leading provider of 360 degree software tools for education, Grapevine Evaluations offers a comprehensive, cost-effective, and time-saving solution. Request a free live demo now!

360 Degree Feedback vs Traditional Employee Assessments

Fri, 17 Jan 2020 19:23:02 GMT

Traditional, old-school employee assessments are fraught with flaws. The standard and most common assessments found in workplaces across industries are annual reviews by managers.

This involved a sit-down with each employee annually, and a discussion or lecture on the employee’s performance based on deliverables, goals, and expectations over the last 12 months.

Assessment Fairness

This generalized assessment of past performance is based on an individual rater and usually focuses on identifying shortfalls. Rewards such as raises are given to those who outperform others in the eyes of managers, and sanctions are placed on those who do not.

The employee has little recourse to appeal the assessment if it is unfair, inaccurate or biased. In fact, 67% of employees feel they are not heard during their reviews. Perhaps the employee fell short of deliverables because of factors outside of their control, but since the assessment was not all-encompassing, the employee has no leg to stand on. Studies show that more than half of employees feel performance assessments are inaccurate.

The unintended result of this stressful exercise is a strained relationship between employees and managers, increased competition amongst coworkers, and a decrease in performance because employees become resentful and unmotivated.

Traditional Employee Assessment

Biases are inherent to the traditional employee assessment process and have a negative effect on employee morale and performance.

Here are some biases that plague traditional employee assessments:

Single Rater Bias – with one single rater there is a lack of objectivity to any performance assessment. Managers only see one aspect of an employee’s performance, they cannot see how the employee interacts with their colleagues, subordinates or customers. They also cannot see how workflow and processes can influence an employee’s effectiveness.
Focused on Negatives – annual performance reviews mostly focus on negative factors and employee shortfalls as those are likely the most memorable to the rater. Instances where the employee exceeded expectations are usually glossed over.
Recency Effect – during an annual performance assessment managers are likely to only focus on the most recent time period, ignoring the first portion of the year. If the employee recently failed at meeting expectations (but was exceeding them during the first 6 months) this bias will negatively taint their overall assessment.
Attribution Errors – when an employee performs well, they are recognized for it, and when they do not meet expectations they are deemed to be at fault. Although this might partially be true, employees exist within a business ecosystem, and there can be several factors outside their control that led to them not meeting expectations.
Primacy Effects – some managers do not have regular interaction with some of their subordinates and form an opinion of them based on first impressions. This primacy effect clouds their perception of all future employee behaviour.
Halo and Horn Effect – first impressions can have a lasting effect and can lead to exaggerating an employee’s positive (Halo) or negative (Horn) traits based solely on superficial first impressions.
Confirmation Bias – the natural tendency to seek information that conforms to pre-existing beliefs extends to employee assessments. Raters may unconsciously overlook several performance factors because those that stand out to them are the ones they already assumed existed.

360-Degree Feedback

The goal of a 360-degree evaluation is to get an accurate and thorough assessment of an employee's performance within the company at large. The benefits of 360-degree assessments remove the biases of traditional assessment methods, and motivate employees, work groups, departments and executives to find solutions to improve performance.

360-degree feedback offers businesses and every employee an opportunity to improve, and removes the negative elements found in traditional employee assessment methods:

Breadth of Perspective - 360-degree feedback there is a breadth of perspective thanks to multiple raters including coworkers, supervisors, subordinates and clients. This in itself negates most single-rater biases and problems inherent in the traditional employee assessment method.

Negate Biases - personal biases and office politics are eliminated from the equation because questions are standardized, and reviews are gathered from a multitude of sources, ensuring results are not dominated by a single point of view or perspective.

Forward-Looking - 360-degree assessments are not meant to be used as a way of punishing or rewarding employees in terms of things like sales targets or the number of absences. The goal of a 360-degree evaluation is to help employees gain more insight on themselves so that they may develop a personal career plan enabling them to grow and contribute to the company in a more effective, meaningful way.

Identify Issues - 360-degree assessment provide an opportunity for a company to assess the functions of every aspect of their business at all levels. Results can help identify issues before they become problems, and changes can be implemented to benefit employees and the company.

Retain & Develop Talents - 360 results can identify and bridge any talent gaps by providing employees with a starting point to develop new skills and actions that they might not have realized were exceedingly beneficial to the company.

Motivate Performance - because ratings in a 360 evaluation are anonymous there is no strain on relationships with colleagues, managers and subordinates. The results do not place blame on an employee's shoulders; instead they identify areas where different approaches or solutions are needed to help the employee grow. This contributes to a positive work environment that focuses on employee growth and wellbeing.

The Bottom Line

Due to the pitfalls and negative impact caused by traditional annual employee assessments, there is an ongoing movement towards 360-degree employee assessment models that produce actionable results and help employees become better at their jobs.

Get a free demo of Grapevine’s 360-degree feedback tools, and see for yourself how performance reviews can become a tool of positive change for your business.

If you found this post interesting, why not check out our 360 Degree Feedback Tools In Education

360 Degree Performance Reviews – New Features

Tue, 19 Nov 2019 17:54:05 GMT

Employee evaluations are only as valuable as the data they produce, and at Grapevine we’ve ensured that our 360 degree performance reports are comprehensive, detailed and informative.

Customization Features

In addition to customizing the appearance and branding of the report, we have now included the ability to add custom introduction and conclusion pages with signature line, and advanced customization of static text so you can specifically tailor the messaging for your company.

Comparison Features

Our 360 degree assessment tool provides valuable information to all levels within a company. Although individual employee performance reports are extremely valuable, it is equally valuable to have insight into how departments, teams and work groups perform in comparison with each other and the company. The ability to perform these comparisons within Grapevine reports is a feature that sets us apart from the competition.

Graph Features

Not all information is digestible in written format so we have included graph options to help present results and facilitate analysis. This is extremely beneficial when looking at trends and performance of departments or teams in relation to each other, and their contribution to your overall company.

Report Distribution Features

You have full control over what pages or sections to include in reports and the order in which they are presented. This is especially useful when distributing reports to different parties who do not always need the full details, but only an executive summary of findings. Our automated distribution of reports to employees, managers and other relevant parties saves HR departments valuable time and effort in ensuring all parties receive the necessary results.

Multilingual Features

Now with translation abilities our 360 degree evaluation software and reports are especially valuable to multi-national and international companies. All employee evaluations can be centralized, and a comprehensive analysis of the entire company conducted.

Our employee assessment software is highly customizable and can be tailored to the needs of any company!

I’ve Completed a 360 Evaluation – Now What?

Fri, 05 Jul 2019 04:00:00 GMT

You’ve successfully completed a 360 degree feedback evaluation . You’ve used the system to collect survey data from a wide swath of managers, peers and direct reports. You’ve discovered some useful insights and while it feels like a great start, the question looms – what’s next?

The short answer is – do something about it . Your 360 feedback report delivers a new perspective on perceived communication, business acumen, decision making, integrity, leadership, planning and much more. Using this foundation, the actions you take can create real, lasting change in your workplace.

Here are some tips you can use to make the most out of your 360 evaluation:

Stop and Digest

Information is easier to consume in small portions. Take time to process the information in a way that feels manageable. As an example, you can identify three or four emergent themes and for each one, and assign some initial goals.

Identify Training Opportunities

Your assessment will uncover learning opportunities and blind spots (areas where the self-rated score is higher than the score of other raters). Examine the patterns that emerge across different raters and previous reviews (if available). They’ll nudge toward specific improvements that can be made. Also, consider how these areas align with your values and standards of leadership.

Uncover Hidden Strengths

Occasionally, managers and peers will score an employee higher than they score themselves. The difference may indicate a lack of awareness in terms of perception or value. It’s to your advantage to build confidence in these individuals through new tasks, guidance and encouragement. The boost can bring elevated performance and contagious positivity to your work environment.

Evaluate Processes

Are internal processes working the way they should? What steps could be taken to improve? Start with a problem to solve, aim for an ideal state, and work backwards until you’ve landed on a solution that feels achievable. Don’t shy away from disrupting the status quo. With your 360 evaluation deployed, people have a hunch that some form of change may be coming. Most will be ready to support thoughtful improvements aimed at making their workplace better.

Commit to Change

Dedicate yourself to improvement and accept the fact that it won’t happen overnight. Meaningful, lasting change requires a flexible, long-term vision that can address concerns and foster growth. Use test groups to try out new ideas. Don’t expect to please everyone – focus on improving the average, not the lowest score you find.

Your 360 degree feedback report, in combination with these tips and your own research, will set you down a path toward a thriving future. As always, Grapevine Evaluations will be here to help, every step of the way.

New to performance review software? Try our free trial of our 360 degree feedback and performance review software now and decide if it’s right for your business.

Is A 360 Degree Performance Evaluation Right For My Small Business?

Fri, 28 Jun 2019 19:18:56 GMT

While 360 degree feedback is common in large organizations, some small businesses have been slow on the uptake. Many feel the time and resources required outweigh the benefits. The truth is – if your company values effective strategy and management, it’s time to figure out how to make this performance appraisal system work for you.

A 360 degree feedback and performance review will help your small business:

Stick to Goals

Gain perspective on what goals look like at ground level. While any review will track progress toward business objectives, the 360 Degree Employee Evaluation Software approach is comprehensive, uncovering the nuts and bolts of exactly how relevant short and long-term goals are being tackled.

Identify Strengths and Improvement Areas

There’s substantial value in knowing oneself. 360 degree assessment allows you to uncover blind spots and make informed, transparent suggestions for behavioural improvement. Checking in periodically to acknowledge wins and set clear improvement goals builds better relationships and places more accountability back in your employee’s hands.

Catch Issues Before They Become Problems

Every company deals with challenges. Miscommunication, scope changes, and other common issues inevitably pop up from time to time between stakeholders, clients, managers and direct reports. 360 feedback allows you to be proactive – catching problems quicker, uncovering the right solution and moving on before small issues become large ones.

Avoid Blame and Defensiveness

Relationships make all the difference on a small team. With the option to keep reviews anonymous, you can shift the conversation from “who did what” to “how do we find a solution”. Over time, this contributes to a positive work environment and employees that are less likely to go on the defensive when issues arise.

Retain and Develop Talent

Plan for a future that accounts for talent growth. As a development tool, 360 interviews give employees a starting point for new skills and actions. Over time, this can help bridge the gap between where they are, where they want to be, and how it aligns to your business. With a plan to grow together, employees are reassured that your company has their best interest in mind.

A well-structured properly implemented 360 review program provides a competitive edge regardless of your industry. While time and resourcing can be significant restraints, we can offset these barriers with tools that can easily be integrated with your existing performance review processes.

Don’t miss an opportunity for your business to be more productive, better aligned, and better equipped to take on ambitious new tasks. Contact us, get a free trial of our 360 degree feedback and performance review software now and decide if it’s right for your small business.

Dealing With Bias During 360 Performance Reviews

Wed, 26 Sep 2018 07:19:32 GMT

Everyone has biases—it’s completely normal. However, there are times and situations that require you to be as objective and impartial as possible. As an HR professional, you should understand how to conduct a performance review fairly and impartially. Here are tips and tricks you can employ to keep your biases in check.

1. Use 360 Feedback Assessment Tools

Sometimes managers favour certain employees over others. They may share similar hobbies or just hold an overly positive view of an employee. This is a common bias and is known as the halo effect. The manager’s positive perception of an employee can cloud their judgment, and cause them to overlook how the employee can improve.

This, in turn, affects the objectivity of the employee’s performance review. This is why 360 feedback assessment tools are important in conducting fair performance reviews. These tools allow multiple sources, such as colleagues and managers, to assess an employee’s performance. Instead of relying on one person’s perspective, you’ll get a full picture of an employee’s performance from the reviews of others.

2. Schedule Performance Reviews More Frequently

Annual performance reviews are becoming a thing of the past because new methodologies are permeating company processes. According to the Society for Human Resource Management, about 95 percent of managers say they aren’t happy with their organizations’ performance management processes.

With yearly performance reviews, an employee’s most recent successes (or failures) tend to stay at the forefront of a manager’s mind. This is called recency bias. When the employee’s performance throughout the year is being evaluated, it’s easy for a manager to forget what they accomplished in the first or second quarters of the year. Therefore, they evaluate the employee based on their most recent wins or losses.

In quarterly reviews, you’re assessing the employee’s performance from the last three months. More frequent reviews result in a fairer assessment and lessen the chance of overlooking what the employee accomplished. There are 360 feedback assessment tools that help you organize more frequent and effective performance reviews.

3. Compare the Job Description to Actual Documents and Data

Rather than assuming all of the responsibilities an employee is expected to perform, refer to documents that outline their job description. Gather information that would show how the employee is meeting their outlined duties. For example, you could review sales records and call logs when evaluating employees within the sales department. This way, you rely on actual evidence to show you how well an employee is performing in their role.

4. Eliminate Gender Bias and Double Standards in Reviews

Unfortunately, gender bias is still a problem in the workplace and in turn, within performance reviews. A study by Harvard Business Review showed that women are 1.4 times more likely to receive critical subjective feedback and non-constructive feedback more often than their male colleagues.

Furthermore, the study also proved, managers tended to have double standards when evaluating men and women. In one scenario, a manager recommended that a female employee needed to work on her self-confidence when interacting with clients. Meanwhile, the male employee was suggested to develop his natural ability to work with people.

Review how you speak and deliver evaluations—would you use the same language with the opposite gender? Is your feedback constructive and clear? The takeaway from this study is that managers should try to use gender-neutral language during reviews to avoid gender bias.

It’s Important to Give Everyone a Fair Performance Review

It’s natural to have biases—we’re human after all. However, in a professional situation like a performance review, you must practice fair judgment for every employee. These tips will prompt you to avoid favouritism while carrying out performance reviews. Try out these methods next time you’re conducting employee reviews.

Looking for a 360 feedback software tool that can be tailored to your performance review process?

Check out this 360 feedback tool by Grapevine Evaluations.

Integrating your company values into 360 Assessment Questions

Wed, 26 Sep 2018 00:23:38 GMT

A way to reinforce the importance of your company’s values is by integrating them into employee assessments. This article will detail the ways you can align your assessments to reflect your company values. You’ll find out how to plan and ask the questions that go hand in hand with what matters most to your organization.

Here is a definitive guide to making your 360 employee assessments reflect the values that your company deems to be imperative.

Communicate Company Values Clearly to Employees

If you’re evaluating employees with your company values in mind, employees should first understand exactly what those values are . Company values may be communicated through employee onboarding packages, websites, newsletters or the company intranet. When it’s time to conduct performance reviews with employee assessment software, employees won’t be blindsided when you measure their performance against these values.

Another opportunity to clearly communicate company values is when an employee first joins the team. As they already have to get oriented with a new environment and role, they can also learn what the company stands for. In turn, they can start to think how they can play their part in upholding the company’s mission.

Structure Questions Related to Values-Based Work Behaviours

Employees should understand what behaviors they should be practicing to demonstrate values. For example, if creativity is part of a company core value, employees may be expected to demonstrate openness to learning and contributing new ideas at work. When creating performance review questions that are based on creativity, ask questions that flesh out the ways that employees demonstrated their commitment to being creative. Before finalizing your questions, determine the most important values-based work behaviours of creativity:

· How active was the employee in generating new ideas and approaches?

· Was the employee willing to learn new methods and concepts?

· How did the employee adapt and overcome challenging situations?

In 360 assessment reviews, you’ll see how supervisors and colleagues rate an employee based on their relations and interactions at work. As they work directly with each other, they’re able to review just how well that employee demonstrates company values through their interaction with their colleagues. Use your employee assessment software to customize questions that would give you the insight you need.

Provide Feedback and Recognition More Often

Employees appreciate feedback on their work and being recognized for their accomplishments. They feel happier and respected in the workplace—and companies that support and recognize employees benefit in increased productivity and reduced turnover.

Feedback sessions don’t have to take a lot of time. It can be a casual catch-up to learn what the employee is working on and what they expect to achieve. During these conversations, let them know what you expect from them. When you outline your expectations, use the company values as a framework when it makes sense to. For employees who have shown their commitment to these values, publicly recognize and reward them through employee recognition programs.

Ask Employees for Their Feedback

Turn a performance review into an opportunity to have a conversation that benefits both parties. Many people dread performance reviews because they feel like it’s a one-sided discussion. Use a performance review as a chance to listen to your employees and ask them how they think your company can continue to evolve. It’s a great way to see if employees believe that your company truly embodies the values that it stands by.

Ask employees how well they think the company is demonstrating its core values. Do they feel supported by the managers and leadership to achieve these values? Are there any other ways they think the company can spearhead them? You’ll gain insight that could help you improve company culture and operations. It’s up to you to either ask these questions in your employee assessment software or face-to-face.

Incorporating Your Values into the Tools You Use to Assess Employee Performance is Easier Than You Think.

This guide should give you solid ideas on how to do that. Communicate to your employees that company values are an important thing to strive toward. If you’re looking for the right 360 feedback tool that will allow you to integrate your values into the entire process, check out Grapevine Evaluations .

A Guide to Generating and Structuring Questions for Employee Performance Reviews

Tue, 18 Sep 2018 20:47:16 GMT

Contrary to what many may believe, performance reviews are more than simply a way to recognize employee contributions or addressing behavioral shortcomings. Performance reviews, if done correctly, help a manager identify those who are exceeding expectations in their current role, and who might be ready to transition into a position of greater responsibility. Better yet, they can also identify those who might be languishing behind their peers and help determine if recruitment or training initiatives (or both) need to be re-evaluated. Not unsurprisingly, the questions asked during an employee performance review are vital to the collection of this information; meaning that the questions asked during these sessions should always have a strategic purpose, and should never be random.

With so much on the line, it can be difficult to know how to craft the ideal questions to ask during an employee evaluation. For those who might be new to employee evaluations, or those looking for a quick refresher, we’ve put together the definitive guide to generating and structuring solid performance review questions.

What is the Objective of the Performance Review?

Before putting pen to paper for any employee performance review questions, you must first determine the overall objective of the performance review. Is the performance review going to be evaluative or developmental? Perhaps both? Of course, the purpose of the review will drive the type of questions that need to be answered.

-Evaluative reviews (conducted annually or semi-annually) examine an employee’s performance over a specified time, and help managers determine things like an employee’s raise potential and advancement within the company.

-Developmental reviews (conducted semi-annually or quarterly) exist to provide constructive feedback on how a particular behavior can be improved, for the benefit of the employee as well as for the company. These tend to provide the employee with an outline of what actions need to be taken to improve, and a timeline to guide them.

Regardless, a successful review is one that fosters positive, open communication between employee and management, so no matter which review is being conducted, this principle should remain at its core.

Who Should Be Involved in the Review Process?

Like the questions themselves, deciding on who should be involved in the review process should also be considered beforehand, and can be contingent on the type of review being conducted. For example, getting the employee’s feedback on their own performance by having them answer employee self-evaluation questions not only gives management some insight into how the employee views their own performance, but also how the individual might like to grow within the company. Getting feedback from peers is another great way to gain insight into someone’s performance from a point of view not often visible to upper management.

As useful as engaging the employee under review or their peers might appear to most, many companies have been slow to include additional stakeholders in the performance review process. The most valuable performance reviews (that is, those that tend to lead substantive results), will include the perspective of:

-The employee’s manager

-The employee’s peers

-The employee themselves

Asking the Tough Questions

Always start on a positive note. It’s much easier to foster a collaborative discussion when the person being reviewed is given the opportunity to discuss their accolades over the year. Begin the meeting by asking the employee to give an example of a project or task that they completed that they were particularly proud of. Doing so will make the employee feel like a valued member of the company and more likely to engage more during the review process.

Next, ask what they hope to accomplish over the next year (the timeframe may be different depending on the nature of your business). The benefits of having the employee verbally communicate their own goals are twofold. On the one hand, it provides the reviewer with a glimpse into the value the employee is looking to add to the company in the short term. It also gives the reviewer an idea of what the employee thinks they can handle and may help to initiate a training plan to get them back to a level commensurate with their peers if warranted.

Ask for feedback on how the company has helped or held back the employee over the past year. In all likelihood, the decisions management may have made that impact daily operations have both helped and hindered the employee. Getting honest feedback from employees can help managers determine what changes to policy have had an unexpected negative impact on the workforce.

Does the employee think they have all the tools they need to do their job effectively? Of course, asking this question may prompt some employees to ask for that which is cost-prohibitive to provide, but in most cases, reviewers will get honest feedback. After all, the majority of employees want nothing more than to do the best job they can, and they have a realistic idea of what it is they need to do just that.

Ultimately, coming up with and asking the right questions during should not be an arduous task, provided that you:

-Understand what it is the review is supposed to achieve

-Make use of all relevant sources of information

-Ask the kinds of questions that encourage honest, open dialog

With that said, it may be worth getting a 360 Degree Employee Evaluation Software to help tailor your performance review questions in order to get the results that you’re looking for.

360 Degree Feedback: Utilizing 9 Box Grid Systems

Tue, 01 May 2018 21:02:37 GMT

Anyone in management or leadership roles can attest to how difficult it can be to properly assess an employee’s performance. There are so many factors that come into play which need to be considered, as well as personal biases which must be dodged. It is a time-consuming and extensive process which can be overwhelming at times. Luckily for HR and management, there are some methods at their disposal, including Grapevine Evaluations’ 360 degree employee evaluation feedback program. This is a digital service which simplifies the process. When is it used with the 9-box grid system it becomes a powerful tool.

9 Box Grid System

What Is It? – The 9-box grid system is actually a succession planning system which assists in the planning of the future leadership of an organization or company. It helps to ensure that there will be strong members who can be relied on when the current management retires or moves on.

How It Works? – The important thing to remember is that this system is based on a grid with the Y-axis mapping out the potential of employees while the X-axis keeps track of the overall recent and past performance of each individual. There are then 9 boxes that they have the potential to fall in; each box represents their current state of performance and potential. The ideal box is A1 which represents a high performer and high potential while C3 represents the opposite. This is reserved for employees who are low performers and have low potential. The center of the “B” row is B2, and this is the average employee. It is for those who have moderate potential and performance.

Often a team leader uses this when rating other members of the team. It is most effectively used when there is a leadership team to complete the task. This create a more complete and accurate picture of each individual. This system also opens a dialogue amongst senior staff members about what they want the future of the company to look like. This is a conversation which is often difficult to begin, but is vital to have. Regardless of the leadership system though, each employee is placed in one of the boxes based on the criteria previously established by management.

At this point management is able to make some decisions about their employees. They decide whether the current position is a good fit for each individual or if they should be moved laterally or upward in the company. They also are then able to consider each individual’s’ growth requirements, and finally, their readiness. This refers to how long their development will take before they are ready for the next level.

When to Use It – Needless to say, this is especially effective when used for succession planning since it depicts the combination of potential and performance. Leadership skills are often implied with these elements, but more importantly, the 9 box system tracks development and the growth that employees have shown. This is often more important than the “labelling” aspect of it. This allows managers to determine future training and other assignments which they can challenge employees with,

This system is also a valuable tool because, like the 360 degree employee evaluation s oftware , it standardizes the assessment. Personal biases are removed from the conversation while also taking current roles into account. It removes situational factors and focuses specifically on the individual and how effectively they complete their work.

Variations

– Most organizations who use this system follow the standard 9 box grid, but there are others who choose to alter the system to fit the nuance of their unique objectives and brand. For instance, some choose to use only 4 boxes while others have decided on 25. In the end, each company needs to decide what works best for them and what they want to see as they grow their company.

360 Degree Employee Evaluation Software Feedback & Box Grid

Grapevine Evaluations is a digital program which helps objectively create employee assessments. A template can be used to do this, or a unique evaluation can be created to best suit the needs of the company. There are a number of options available for anyone using the program. In the end, it saves time and effort for all. Used in conjunction with the 9 Box Grid system, a complete and accurate evaluation will be created for each individual employee. It will have the details of their daily performance while also incorporating human opinion into the mix. The result is a fair and complete assessment.

Identify the Halo and Horns Effect

Mon, 30 Apr 2018 21:20:10 GMT

"To err is human” is a famous saying that many of us have come across at one point in our lives. While this is a comforting saying because it tells us that it’s okay to make mistakes once in a while, we should also constantly be trying to better ourselves and our work. This is especially true for managers and those who are responsible for others. It is in these positions that personal biases can unfairly come into play even when they shouldn’t. These can be particularly detrimental during periods of performance reviews. Luckily these biases have been studied and there are now digital solutions such as Grapevine Evaluations to create fair and accurate reports.

Horns and Halos

One of the most common, and natural, biases that managers will experience has been termed the “horns and halo effect.” Essentially referring to a tendency to exaggerate an employee or job interviewee’s good or negative traits based solely on superficial first impressions. This is of course a natural process that everyone experiences, but when it comes to the work realm, it is important to move past these biases:

Horns: If the first impression is negative, there is a tendency to overlook positive traits of the individual and only focus on the negative. The individual often has to work very hard to have their positive characteristics recognized in this situation because every following interaction is seen through the filter of the negative first impression.

Halo: This is also a common bias that most people have been on either side of; when we like someone, we are more likely to overlook their shortcomings and focus on the positive characteristics. This person is seen with the “halo” of the positive first impression. This is just as problematic as the horns though, because they will potentially get away with completing less work or lower of work. It is important to see the negative with the positive in these cases.

Standardize

The best way to get rid of this bias is to let go of first impressions and to be honest about the regularity and severity of issues which arise with different employees. For instance, an employee might be late on 3 different occasions, but this needs more consideration before “sticking the horns” on them. For instance, listen to their reasons before getting angry, they might have genuine reasons involving traffic or childcare, rather than simply poor time management. Also take note of whether they stay later to work; often managers get angry with lateness (rightfully so), but do not notice when employees make up the time at the end of the day. It also makes a huge difference if these days were all over the course of a week or if it was during 6 months of otherwise perfect punctuality. All of these factors can create a very different story, so be clear with expectations and set standards to judge performance on:

Set assessment criteria prior to reviews. These should align with the company’s objectives.
Review individuals throughout the year and not just during formal assessment periods.
Manage and discuss issues as they arise. This allows employees to improve with constructive criticism.
Never let personal relationships with employees interfere with assessments.
Never adjust assessment criteria for one employee. Judge all by the same yardsticks.

Use Reliable Software

Grapevine Evaluations is an online software which makes it easy to perform a complete, “360 degree feedback” on all employees. It holds everyone to the same standards and evaluates them accurately. First impressions will no longer run the risk of dictating an employee’s future within the company. Instead it focuses simply on productivity, punctuality, and other characteristics which are key for the workplace. It works for business on all levels and sizes. It can even be used for multi-rater feedback to assess management or anything else that is necessary. There is a template library to choose from for convenience but custom evaluations can also be created to suit any company for their unique needs.

Conclusion

Employee evaluation softwares remove the risk of human error to create objective and unbiased employee assessments. It is perhaps one of the fairest methods to perform these evaluations. The halo and horns effect is completely eliminated with Grapevine Evaluations while also reducing the time that competing this process would otherwise require.

What Feedback Do Generation Z Want

Thu, 29 Mar 2018 21:30:00 GMT

Make way Millennials, because Gen Z is taking over the workplace, and businesses need to get ready for the largest demographic cohort that is set to start entering the professional workforce in the next few years. In order for companies to prepare for this next generation, they’ll need to start thinking about how to begin adapting their corporate cultures to suit the new kids on the block. Gen Z kids are no fools. They’ve seen the housing and underemployment struggles their older Millennial friends and siblings have been going through for the better part of a decade, and have learned to prioritize stability and security. As such, they’re not afraid of working hard and jumping into solving problems if it means thriving in a company whose culture suits them best. That said, they’ve grown up in a world connected by technology 24/7, and are no strangers to disruptive innovations. Boundaries mean nothing to this generation, and they actively seek out flexible opportunities that allow them to drive their own destiny.

Clearly, Gen Z workers have high expectations, and they will not be held down by tradition. They are quick to adapt, and will have no problem pushing for change if they feel that their expectations are not being met as expected or promised. Companies looking to attract – and retain – this new generation of workers will have to learn how to communicate on their level. This means learning to listen, and learning to respond, as this is a generation that reportedly values happiness and relationship quality higher than careers. Failure to keep pace with their need for feedback and change could mean alienating a significant pool of valuable employees.

Businesses can start warming up their relationships with Gen Z early on by participating in things like career fairs or inviting students to “open houses”. Like their predecessors, Gen Z loves network-building opportunities, and such events can be a great way to help companies get their name out and start learning about the kinds of young workers they’re looking to hire the most. Amazing company culture is particularly attractive to this generation as well, especially since technology makes it easy to see and hear about what advantages competing businesses offer their workers.

Making use of 360 feedback software is one of the most effective ways for companies to get data on their employees’ strengths, needs and wants so that they can enact changes based on the results, allowing them to adapt company culture and other aspects of working life in a timely manner. Allowing Gen Z workers to get feedback from their colleagues, supervisors and subordinates on a regular basis gives them food for thought and shows them that their employer is invested in their personal growth and development. Statistics are secondary to these young workers, who would much rather learn about how to improve their interpersonal and team building skills, rather than having a box ticked off for having met last month’s sales quota.

This is also a generation that seriously knows its technology. Bombarding them with bubble sheets and pen-and-paper reviews is a quick way to get on their blacklist if there’s a better, faster technical alternative. If 360 feedback tools have been rising in popularity, the rise of the Internet and recent technological improvements are definitely big factors, as large amounts of data can now be collected quickly and efficiently at the stroke of a few keys and the click of a button. Give Gen Z the most in-depth feedback you can, making use of the best tools possible, because if somebody else is doing better, they will know – and they will eventually ask for it.

On that note, young workers today want to see that their employers take review results seriously. This is a generation that favours face-to-face interactions when it comes to getting feedback or giving feedback, as they want to be treated with respect and be shown that they can be the voice of change when it comes to taking on company matters that affect their day-to-day life. They value managers who show a willingness to help them to improve their skills and behaviours, and will quickly turn away from platitudes. For instance, employers who leverage review results to help their young employees come up with personal development plans will be viewed with much more respect than companies that attempt to bribe employee loyalty with gimmicky toys whilst ignoring deeper needs and wants.

While all this might seem like a bit much, technology has made it very easy for today’s young workers to be very vocal about their desires – and to see just how green the grass is on the other side. 360 degree feedback will help employers understand what they can do to attract and retain Gen Z employees, allowing them to stay current and to keep their businesses thriving with the best talent they can find.

Now we know what generation Z wants, check out The most common 360 degree feedback mistakes

360 Degree Feedback: Things to Consider Before Implementing

Thu, 29 Mar 2018 16:14:37 GMT

360-degree employee evaluation software has been all the rage these past few years, especially thanks to recent technological innovations which make it easier to collect, analyze and share large amounts of data than ever before. It’s certainly a great way to improve the way 360 degree employee evaluations s oftware are undertaken and can help businesses create a great corporate culture. However, besides simply considering the benefits, there are a few things that businesses should consider before implementing 360 feedback:

What are your goals?

360-degree feedback isn’t right for every business. While it is certainly used across a different range of industries, and in businesses both large and small, 360 reviews must be undertaken with specific goals in mind for them to be remotely effective. For instance, businesses must establish what skills, behaviours and competencies they deem to be important within their organization. It’s also important to consider what factors are going to be measured, how they will be measured, and how they will be used.

Don’t forget to consider that 360 reviews are meant to be forward-looking, and are not actually meant to be used as a way of punishing or rewarding employees in terms of things like sales targets or the number of absences. It should rather be implemented with the intention of helping employees to gain more insight on themselves, so that they may develop a personal career plan enabling them to grow and contribute to the company in a more effective, meaningful way.

How will you communicate with your employees?

Evaluations are always nerve-wracking, and nothing is more important than clarity when it comes to dealing with touchy subjects like implementing new review processes. It’s extremely important to consider how you’re going to train employees to participate in and make use of 360 reviews. Part of this includes justifying why you even want to implement a new review system in the first place, which goes back to the first point we mentioned earlier – having clear goals. Employees need to be reassured as to why new reviews are implemented, and how they will be personally impacted by the results. By failing to adequately train employees in the review process, you may end up doing the company a bigger disservice than anticipated. Be clear and upfront about how data will be used and by whom, so that employees are not anxious, suspicious or confused. You might consider providing a platform for employees to express their thoughts and concerns so that you can take any prevalent concerns into account when implementing a 360 review system in your organization.

What do you expect from your employees?

When communicating with employees about how 360 reviews work, you should also explain to them what exactly you expect from whom. Many people will be unfamiliar with the 360-degree employee evaluation softwares process and might be quite surprised to be asked to review a supervisor or a close friend. On the other hand, others might be very intimate with the 360 processes and have some pretty vocal feelings about it – positive or negative. When training your employees on the 360 review system, you’ll want to give everybody a clear understanding of what is expected of them when giving out reviews, walking through their own results, or helping a subordinate to understand and make use of their review.

Make sure that employees are hyper-aware of what the goals of the review are – what is being measured and how they are being used. Employees should also have a clear understanding of what a review should look like in terms of quality and quantity. This will ensure that reviews are of an appropriate nature and that everybody gets a fair, useful assessment. Don’t forget to let employees know when they should be providing reviews, and when they should expect reviews and results in turn. Managing employee expectations is just as important as articulating your own in order to ensure that everybody is satisfied with how the process is operated.

What is your current corporate culture?

While corporate culture may not seem like an important factor to consider when implementing a 360 review process, it can actually play a significant role in determining how employees participate in the system and make use of their review results. For instance, in some companies, employees may not actually be used to getting reviews at all and may regard a 360 system with suspicion, or consider it particularly intrusive. Other companies may have a culture that is strongly tied with productivity and the optimal use of time, where employees may feel that participating in 360 reviews will take away from their “actual” work. They may even feel resentful if it is implied that participating in reviews means having to take on more work into their already packed schedules. As such, you should be honest about addressing your company’s values when considering how to best implement a 360-degree review process in a way that is useful without being disruptive.

Conclusion

Ultimately, as with many things in business, the biggest problems that a company may face when implementing a new 360 employee evaluation software may be adequately addressed through clear, upfront communication. Keep an open channel of communication with your employees so that you can be sure there is a strong baseline of understanding as to how a 360 review can be beneficial, and so that you may address any major concerns prior to actually implementing the new system. By communicating your expectations clearly and by showing an understanding of employee expectations, implementing and managing a new 360degree feedback system should go quite smoothly.

Should You Use A Bell Curve in Performance Management?

Fri, 30 Jun 2017 04:00:00 GMT

A significant challenge most companies face is how to accurately assess performance and implement an effective system for employee performance appraisals.

Bell curves initially rose in popularity in the 1980s. They were traditionally applied in performance appraisals as a method of segregating elite performers from average performers, and further distinguishing below par employees from the overall average.

A bell curve places employees’ workforce performance on a normal distribution scale, with values based solely on individual performance ratings within a team.

Since the corporate world is constantly evolving, many companies are evaluating whether bell curves are a current and operative method of performance management.

While there are pros and cons to the normalized ranking system, the bell curve reveals serious flaws in accurately analyzing employees individually, which may consequently affect business operations over time. The following three reasons describe why bell curves may no longer be relevant for rating employee performance.

1. Forced Rankings Do Not Work with Collaborative Teams

Regular workdays no longer consist of the 9-to-5 office regime. Business practices are constantly advancing, and with that performance management methods must keep up to be effective.

Emerging trends of collaborative employee approaches negates the efficiency of the bell curve performance ranking system. For example, an employee might score higher on the curve than a co-worker who is on their collaborative team, placing an unfair superiority on the higher-ranked individual. If one co-worker simply scores higher than another, employees will begin to fall under average company rating standards.

Performance appraisals should therefore be conducted on an individual’s expectations inclusively, not on the group distribution scale that bell curves require.

2. Bell Curves Produce Inaccurate and Unfair Assessments

When teams exceed performance goals, performance cannot be accurately measured on the bell curve. The bell curve forces individuals to rank low on the scale, even though they have surpassed expectations.

Employee performance appraisals can subsequently lead to higher probationary periods or increased turnover rates. More money might inadvertently be spent on recruiting and training new employees rather than refining individual performance within the team. In this case the use of a bell curve in performance management can be vastly imprecise.

Companies that have adopted the bell curve method in the past have looked at the bottom 5-10% of ranked employees as disposable, instead of focusing on improvement within teams.

The unfortunate result of utilizing a bell curve ranking system is expensive employee replacement and excessive training.

3. Bell Curves Depreciate Employee Morale

Forced company ratings for employees weaken your top performer’s value while inflating the value of middle performers. The bell curve rating system damages employee morale by force grouping top and low performers regardless of their actual performance. Employees who fall in the middle of the curve make up 80% of the team population, forcing your budget management to focus on mid-value employees.

Salaries have been commonly incremented based on the bell curve’s ranking system, which does not accurately reflect employee’s qualifications and overall performance. Salary scaling also has negative consequences for employee morale and can misallocate budgets.

Replace a defective employee performance system with a 360 feedback appraisal system that effectively ranks an employee’s performance based on individual work, not against the work of their peers.

Bell Curves and Performance Management

The bell curve provides a forced ranking of employees that distinguishes stellar performance from average or below par performance. Many companies have used the bell curve in recent decades; however, it is no longer effective in ranking individual employee performance in modern group environments.

The global workforce has recognized the need for change; even corporate heavyweights like Microsoft and Google have realized the redundancy of organizing performance standards with a bell curve. Bell curves discourage collaboration and decrease productivity. Forced rating of employee performance causes more problems than provides beneficial resolutions.

The bell cureve system is inefficient upon workplace dynamics in the current corporate economy. With the rapid development of modern technology and the rise in millennials in the workforce, company protocols must evolve. Performance appraisal systems must adapt advance with corporate teams and allow companies flourish in the competitive business world.

Is your company ready to evolve your performance appraisal system? Schedule a live web demo , take a product tour or contact us toll-free at 1-866-386-2163.

The most common 360 degree feedback mistakes

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Wed, 28 Jun 2017 04:00:00 GMT

Everyone gets nervous when they open their 360 degree feedback report — even those with thick skin. This is because your peers, managers and even those who you manage have rated your experience, behaviour and skill set. There’s no way of know what will be on the other side of that envelope.

Talk about feedback overload!

We all know feedback can be useful. At its simplest, you take the feedback from people and do more of what they like and less of what they don’t like.

360 degree feedback reports give you a detailed numerical analysis about your strengths and development opportunities. But the analysis is only as good as the information that’s submitted in the first place.

Here is a list of the most common 360 degree feedback mistakes that people make when providing feedback:

1. Behaviour

Being nice

If you don’t want to offend someone, then don’t give him or her bad ratings. This will only result in you continuing to get reports late, being missed off distribution lists or being talked over in meetings. Honest feedback is the best gift you can give someone.

If you were in his or her shoes, wouldn’t you want to know where you can improve?

Assessing behaviour instead of performance

Most evaluations are, unfortunately, subjective, with a large part of the evaluation focusing on “the person” including an assessment of his/her personal traits such as commitment and behaviors. These factors may (or may not) contribute to performance, but they are not quantitative measurements of output. Performance is about numbers, quality, volume, and dollar value.

Shining halo

It’s natural for coworkers to become friends simply because they spend so much time together during the day. But, this can put a rosy glow over their feedback. It’s important to focus on each question individually and think about specific work-related examples to justify the ratings you are handing out.

Out for blood

When you feel the need to draw blood with spiky harsh feedback, think again. Surveys are not always completely anonymous – so it could come back to haunt you. Try to limit yourself to harsh feedback on the one or two behaviours that need to change. It’s even better to address this problem behaviour when it happens rather than waiting until feedback is required.

So the next time your feedback is required, make sure it’s honest and your ratings can be justified with work-related examples.

2. Feedback Questions

Bland central

You may be asked to give feedback on someone you don’t know well or deal with infrequently. Avoid giving bland, middle-of-the-road ratings and consider skipping the questions you can’t answer or comment on. This type of feedback isn’t useful for anyone.

Asking too many questions

When you start to ask too many questions, the answers start to become less meaningful as your employees plod through the questionnaire in an effort to just get it over with. The only way to avoid this is by keeping your 360 feedback questionnaires concise. In most cases, you shouldn’t ask more than 10 questions.

Asking vague questions

As business expert Eric Jackson said in a recent article for Forbes, you must “Make sure that the tool you select is going to give back actionable information.”

If your questions become too vague, your entire feedback system will not be able to help you achieve your goals. In order to avoid this, you must make sure to ask specific questions that target the behaviours you want to discuss.

For example, instead of asking them to “rate how you think Jimmy’s performance has affected the team,” ask them to “rate Jimmy’s ability to develop strategic goals and objectives.”

3. Gathering Feedback

Infrequent feedback

Executing evaluations once a year is inconsistent and downright silly. A business operates throughout the year, and so should its quality control program. At the very minimum, formal feedback to employees should be granted at least quarterly or sooner.

Using traditional self-assessments

Traditional self-assessments simply do not work. For example, if an ambitious employee wanted to perform a self-assessment midstream (in order to improve), then the processes at best would most likely not allow that employee access to that assessment. Having a real-time, virtual assessment scoreboard would be an ideal solution to traditional self-assessments.

Gathering feedback from only one person

360-degree feedback earns its name by being comprehensive; a part of what this means is getting a complete picture of how someone’s performance is affecting the team by asking the team.

Instead of only asking a single supervisor, 360-degree feedback gains insight from everyone who works with them. To not do this would counter the effects of its design.

Not reinforce confidentiality

The anonymity of 360-degree feedback exists so that all responses will be 100 percent honest. This is because many people do not feel comfortable giving honest, complete feedback when they know that the person being reviewed will know what they said.

Although your 360-degree feedback system will be anonymous, some people have grown accustomed to feedback that is not, so to achieve the desired results, make sure that you reinforce the fact that their responses will be anonymous.

To learn how our 360 degree employee evaluation software tool can help you improve employee performance, simply contact us to schedule a free one-on-one demo .

How to Use the STAR Model to Provide Feedback

Mon, 26 Jun 2017 04:00:00 GMT

Giving feedback to employees is a delicate matter – especially if you need to deal with problems. It is important to give criticism in a constructive way to ensure that employees aren`t demotivated, but are still made aware of issues or mistakes that have been made.

The way that feedback is being given is changing. Businesses are seeing more value in working and discussing issues together in a more relaxed atmosphere, rather than the more formal performance review scenarios.

STAR Feedback

The STAR feedback model is a great way to give valuable feedback, and it allows managers to give examples of specific situations where an employee has performed in a particular way. STAR stands for:

Situation
Task
Action
Result

When an employer is giving feedback of a situation or number of situations, the STAR model for feedback involves breaking it down into these four categories.

Situation or Task

Start off by describing the particular situation or task that was appointed to the employee. Try to be as specific as possible, for example, instead of writing “Did an excellent job…”, write something like “We had a customer complaining about bad service”, or “We were down on our monthly sales figures”.

Action

The STAR feedback method then involves writing down the action that the employee took – either positive or negative. Once again, try to be as specific as possible – avoid phrases like “sorted it out” or “messed up” and go with details such as “calmed the customer down by listening and offering a discount” or “didn`t manage to make the extra sales”. The highlighting of these actions makes it clear what was done and can help employees to correct mistakes or understand how they did the right thing.

Result

The final stage of the STAR feedback model is the result – where you can specify the direct result of the action. Try to avoid phrases like “resolved the problem” and be more specific like “Having calmed the customer down, he still made the sale”.

With and Without the STAR System

Using the STAR system changes a phrase from:

“Jessica dealt well with a customer complaint – well done Jessica!”

“We had a customer complaining about bad service, but Jessica calmed him down by listening and offering a discount, and still made the sale – well done Jessica!”

“Sandra upset the customer.”

“When a new customer came into the shop, Sandra ignored them on a number of occasions so the customer walked out.”

STAR Feedback and 360 Degree Feedback

STAR feedback works well with 360 degree feedback because it is received (usually anonymously and confidentially) from the people around an employee – usually managers and peers.

The main advantages of a 360 degree appraisal are that businesses can get an honest idea of the strengths and weaknesses of an employee – both helping the employee to improve and helping managers in their employee reviews. Other advantages of the 360 degree appraisal are that it is cost effective compared to other methods and is an excellent way to help employees to develop their career in the direction that is best for them.

360 degree feedback is democratic in that it allows everyone who is working with a particular employee to give their opinion about situations that matter to them, diminishes the effects of personal grudges or favouritism and gives a good analysis of the needs of employees. Managers can`t always see everything that happens in the workplace and 360 feedback allows other employees to be their eyes and ears.

By incorporating the STAR feedback model into 360 degree feedback, companies can ensure that the information that they are receiving is useful and constructive – regardless of whether it is positive or negative.

There are many advantages to using the 360 degree appraisal with STAR feedback model for businesses, and we can make it easier and more cost effective.

For more information on our 360 degree feedback, get in touch or take a product tour .

5 Tips for Writing an Impressive Self-Assessment

Fri, 23 Jun 2017 04:00:00 GMT

Employers are increasingly using self-assessments to find out how well their employees are settling into their roles. Self-assessment appraisals play an important part in annual assessments, giving your whole team a part in the management process. Through performance appraisal self-assessment methods, employers not only consult managers and supervisors, but also individual employees who can share valuable information about the daily operations of the business.

If you’re preparing for an upcoming self-evaluation, it’s important to prepare. These self-assessment tips help you understand the purpose of the evaluation, and how you can help your employer understand your concerns, see your potential and acknowledge your hard work.

1. Start with Your Successes

While it’s important to help your managers and employers see where they can improve their business operations, you should also think about your successes, and showing your managers why you are valuable. Consider the projects you have successfully completed, any initiatives you may have launched and any other positive work you have done for the business.

Take note of these successes and comment honestly on how you believe you performed. Explaining where you think you could improve will also show managers that you are self-aware and understand the importance of building on your abilities.

2. Explain Any Challenges You Have Faced

Managers don’t expect employees to have an easy time throughout the year. If you have faced challenges during your time in your position, be honest about them. When writing self-reviews, it’s important for you to outline what you struggled with and how you overcame those problems.

Outlining these challenges once again shows you are self-aware, and it also shows that you are willing to work hard to succeed. Challenges that were caused by managerial issues will also be acknowledged by your superiors, making this an important part of a self-assessment performance appraisal process.

3. Be Completely Honest

It’s easy to embellish the work you do when you’re trying to impress managers. It’s important, however, that you are perfectly truthful about all your work. Don’t be afraid to talk about your successes and challenges, but don’t stray into the realm of telling exaggerated truths. Your managers know what is and is not true, and being honest will win you more favour.

4. Welcome Discussion and Advice

A good employee is always willing to learn, and so in your self-assessment you should consider welcoming further discussion about your performance. Acknowledge that you have learned a lot over the period of time you have been in your position and explain how you are keen to engage in discussion about how you can further improve your performance. This shows that you are willing to continue improving your work, and that you’re always open to new ideas. A receptive employee is a genuine asset for companies in all industries.

5. Give Yourself Time

You must be willing to spend ample time on your self-assessment. Work performance is not just judged on the observations of your superiors, but on the quality, reliability, and insightfulness of your self-assessment. By giving yourself time, you’ll be paying your managers and supervisors the respect they deserve.

Consider writing your self-assessment over a number of days. By giving yourself breaks in between the writing of your evaluation, you’ll have time to reflect on how best to express yourself.

Consider Time, Honesty and Performance

By giving yourself enough time to write an accurate self-assessment, being honest with your supervisors, and accurately outlining your performance, you can best express your value to your employer. Good work self-assessment examples reflect the ideals outlined above, and if you stick to these five simple tips, you’ll be on your way to a successful workplace review.

Are you looking for a 360 degree feedback solution ? Get pricing for our 360 degree feedback tool or contact Grapevine Evaluations to learn more.

Questions to Ask for Feedback on Performance During Employee Reviews

Wed, 21 Jun 2017 04:00:00 GMT

Regardless of whether you are an employee or a manager, performance reviews can be both daunting and stressful. They can be made even more difficult if there are problems that need to be discussed. However, they don`t need to be. By having the right attitude, asking the right questions and looking at the review as a chance to communicate and improve the company`s performance, performance reviews can be an extremely positive experience.

Questions to Ask for Feedback on Performance

Employee reviews are an opportunity for both employees and employers to ask questions and get feedback on performance. This is why it is important that you understand what performance review questions to ask during a 360 degree feedback review. Performance appraisal questions for managers to ask their employees can help them to not only improve the way that they are managing, but also help the individual employees improve. Likewise, the employees should also be given the chance to ask questions to their managers to ensure that they get value out of their performance review.

Performance Reviews for Employees

Employees often feel that performance reviews are the opportunity for managers to criticize them. This shouldn’t be the case. It is important that managers go into the review with the intent of communicating to resolve any issues whilst helping the employee to further their career.

An employee should go into their review with some questions to ask for feedback on his or her performance. Get valuable information from your review by asking the following employee review questions:

What’s one thing that I’m doing well with and should carry on doing? – This starts the review with a positive discussion. This will give your manager the opportunity to recognize your success since the last performance review.
What’s one thing that I could do to be more effectively? – This shows that you wish and are eager to improve. No matter how many years you’ve worked at a company, there will always be areas to improve.
What can I do to help take the company forward? – This shows that you care about the company and its future. It will let your manager know that you have long-term intentions with the company.
How can I make your job easier? – This shows that you are aware that they have a difficult job, and lets them know that you are there to support their efforts.
When will my next performance review be? – This shows that you are motivated and keen to improve. Managers like to see employees who have this demeanour.

Performance Appraisal Questions to Ask Employees

Choosing the right employee review questions can make the difference between a constructive and non-constructive review. By asking the wrong questions in the wrong way, you can find that your employees become demotivated. According to a survey about performance management by Mercer, only 6% managers have good skills at executing honest performance reviews.

Before you start, it is essential that you are prepared and go in with the facts to back up your points. Want your performance to have a positive outcome for both the employee and manager? Here are the performance review questions to ask:

How can I make your job easier? This shows empathy – which is great for building bonds – as well as giving you the chance to improve the company`s performance. Ask if there are extra tools or training that can help to deliver a better performance.
What are your greatest achievements this year? – This will start the review on a positive note, helping to create a good bond and allowing managers to understand another side to the employee.
Where do you think you need improvement? – This helps the employee to self-criticise and perhaps make it easier to discuss some issues.
What are your goals in the short term? – This will help you to see who wants to get ahead and what motivates them.
Where do you want your next position in the company to be? – This gives them a chance to expand on where they want to go as well as giving the company the chance to show that they care about the employee`s future.

By asking the right questions in an employee review, this potentially destructive meeting can turn into an incredibly positive one. By knowing the right performance review questions to ask, the manager can put across important information that will improve performance, and the employee will feel cared for and that they have a future in the company.

Grapevine Evaluations can help you get these conversations started with its 360 degree feedback tool. Request a demo to see how it can help your business.

Understanding How Multi-Rater Feedback Will Transform Your Business

Mon, 19 Jun 2017 04:00:00 GMT

As a manager, giving your employees and colleagues feedback is an important part of your remit. By providing honest feedback to those you work with, it’s possible to foster an efficient and friendly working environment As well as annual performance reviews, managers can adopt a multi-rater feedback system that ensures a working environment remains professional and efficient.

Through Grapevine Evaluations, it’s easier to measure performance and feed this back to colleagues and employees. Below you’ll find information about 360 feedback best practices, and how you can utilize multi-rate feedback to benefit your company.

What is the Purpose of a 360-Degree Feedback System?

Multi-rater feedback is also known as a 360-degree feedback system . This is an operation that allows managers to properly rate the performance of workers in a professional environment. This process is used by organizations in a way that analyzes the performance of employees at different levels in their work environment.

This system will ask an employee to evaluate their own work, considering all their roles in their department, and how well they think they perform those roles on a day-to-day basis. The system will also ask other employees how they rate the performance of an individual, as well as supervisors who oversee their work daily.

The purpose of a 360-degree feedback system is to help an individual develop their skills and become the best that they can be. While the system provides a more in-depth analysis of employees, it also serves as a way of finding flaws in an employee’s performance and highlighting ways in which they can improve their work. This is achieved through feedback obtained at every level of the business—looking at timeliness, efficiency, professionalism, enthusiasm and helpfulness. By looking at performance through different points of view – including lateral, subordinate and supervisory – a multi-rated feedback system implemented with Grapevine Evaluations helps businesses foster a supportive environment, which results in best business practices and professionalism all-year round.

Making 360-Degree Feedback Work for You

In order to make this system work for your business, it’s important to consider 360 feedback best practices. One of the primary things to remember is that this feedback must serve to improve your business and to help an individual succeed. This form of feedback can be achieved through assessment and development meetings, where assessment of individuals can be properly discussed.

If employees have specific questions, there should be a place for them to privately discuss their concerns with their employers or managers. Supervisors must also have time and resources set aside to answer any questions. This can be in the form of counselling, coaching and/or career development meetings. The objective should be to increase self-awareness in all employees, so these counselling sessions can be extremely useful in the long term. The purpose of a 360-degree feedback system is about helping an individual move forward and improve his or her skills. By honouring this, your business will benefit too.

Remember that the outcomes of individual assessments can deliver strong messages to your company as a whole. When reoccurring themes appear in the assessment of employees, it could signal a problem with company culture and, at this point, it is necessary to consult with other managers and supervisors. Only then will a multi-rater feedback system really work for you. Considering these 360 feedback best practices can fundamentally transform the way you do business.

Trust the Professionals

The 8 Performance Appraisal Questions to Ask Employees

Thu, 15 Jun 2017 04:00:00 GMT

For a manager, one of the most difficult tasks that come with the position is staff evaluation. It is essential for managers to be thoroughly ready for leading the review process in a confident and effective manner. Reviews are capable of being a great tool for enhancing performance, improving productivity levels and increasing employee morale, if handled correctly.

Importance of Staff Evaluation

For all organizations, regular evaluation of the staff, especially sales and marketing experts, is a must. Evaluation allows each employee to be recognized and valued. It’s not just about making decisions about promotions or pay increases; it’s also about fostering an atmosphere of open communication.

Evaluation creates an opportunity to recognize achievements and reward employees who provide value to the organization. The performance, behaviour and contribution of employees can be reviewed to discover any issues that need to be addressed. It allows for the creation of development and training programs for specific employees. Finally, evaluations help in the creation of goals and targets for motivating the staff to start performing better.

Performance Appraisal Questions To Ask Employees

There are several kinds of staff evaluation questions that can be asked during the review. Here are some that you should consider adding

to y our list.

1. What Has Been Your Biggest Achievement in the Given Period of Time?

As far as staff assessment que stions go, this is the most com mon. It is useful and it helps the management understand how far the employee has progressed. More importantly, the employee will also c ome to realize what his or her own contributions have been.

2. How Can Your Job Be Done Differently?

This question asks employees to bring forward their own ideas on how their work can be done. Quite a few viable ideas might be given that the management may consider implementing to simplify the work and make their staff more effective.

3. What Has Been the Most Challenging Facet of Your Work?

Among employee review questions, this one is quite an important one. The answer helps the management identify the areas and aspects where employees are facing problems. The insight gained can lead to corrective measures being implemented. It can also help in identifying areas where the individual needs to improve on.

4. Which Aspect of Your Work Do You Like The Most?

It is important to find out the aspects of work that your employees enjoy. The management can then take the necessary steps to improve the individual’s flair for that aspect, turning him or her into a more valuable member of the team. This emphasizes a positive relationship between the employees and the management as the employees gain scope for development.

5. What Are Your Strengths?

This is one of the most common performance review questions but an important one nonetheless. Identification of the employee’s strengths is essential. It helps the management to know how to make the best use of the skills and capabilities of each employee. Additionally, it helps in finding out the improvements made by the individual since the last performance review.

6. How Can Management Help You with the Job?

All employees tend to have certain expectations from the management, making this one of the important performance appraisal questions for managers. Managers need to know what their employees expect so that the necessary steps can be taken. It gives a voice to the employees who feel appreciated and valued since their ideas and feelings are being considered, therefore fostering a more positive atmosphere within the organization.

7. What Are Your Future Plans in This Job?

All employees have some idea of where they want to be in a few years. Their targets and objectives must be known by the management. Understand the aims and objectives of the employee as well as the way he or she hopes to achieve them. The management and the employee can work together to explore the options available to make those future plans a reality.

8. How Is the Environment of the Organization?

The workplace environment has a major effect on the performance and productivity of an employee. Some individuals tend to thrive under certain conditions. Employee feedback questions can help in understanding what an employee needs to be comfortable so that he or she can deliver the best results.

There are still several employee evaluation questions that you can add to your list of questions. The aim of the questions should always be to encourage the individual to share his or her viewpoints. The conversation should never be one-sided.

Looking to simplify your performance review process? Contact Grapevine Evaluations to learn more about our 360-degree feedback tool or request a demo!

Why Use Grapevine for 360 Degree Feedback Employee Evaluations Software?

Tue, 13 Jun 2017 04:00:00 GMT

There is a middle ground to employee evaluation feedback, where the need to objectively evaluate employees and they need to develop and encourage them are balanced.

This is a difficult task since the traditional performance appraisal process wasn’t created with this balance in mind.

That’s where Grapevine Evaluations comes in.

We offer a one-stop solution for all your employee evaluation needs. Using our survey and HR-specific expertise, we have taken the entire 360-degree employee evaluation software and bundled it into simple and effective online solutions.

Grapevine offers the best balance between cost, functionality and usability in the online survey market.

Grapevine Evaluation can:

Create your employee evaluations from scratch or choose from our extensive template library, compiled from researched and HR-specific know-how . You ca n also work with one of our HR professionals to custom design an evaluation that meets your specific needs.
Collect employee feedback easily. All survey participants are easily uploaded and sent a customizable, notification email with a link to the evaluation. This entire performance appraisal process is fully automated by Grapevine’s system.
Analyze and view your results electronically and in real-time, through powerful graphical reports that allow the administrator to select who can see the reports.
Provide employees and management with individual, multi-level, in-depth reports that are totally customizable to your needs. This will help to encourage and develop their skills within their current position.

Want to learn more about Grapevine Evaluations? Schedule a live web demo , take a product tour or contact us toll-free at 1-866-386-2163.

How to Write a Self-Appraisal for Your Work Performance

Thu, 08 Jun 2017 04:00:00 GMT

In any organization, it is essential to evaluate the progress and contribution being made by individuals working for it. Evaluations allow the individuals, supervisors, management and other stakeholders to determine the areas that need improvement and how to stay on the right track. There are several methods of evaluation one of which is self-appraisal.

What is a Self-Evaluation Appraisal?

Self-evaluations, as the name suggests, is an evaluation of an individual by the same individual. This kind of evaluation allows the individual to express, in their own terms, what they feel about their own behaviour, contributions to the organization, issues and strengths among other things. The individual can talk about the projects they worked on that they feel are important as well as the responsibilities that they like to handle or would like to handle. Self-evaluations give them the chance to talk openly about their goals, their development and their opportunities.

The fact is that these aspects can be subjective. For example, what an individual feels about his or her contribution can differ from what the management or employer feels. As a result, self-assessments can bring together performance and expectations.

The Importance of a Self-Assessment Appraisal

It is easy to believe that self-appraisals do not serve any real purpose. However, this is far from the truth. While the management should keep an eye on the accomplishments, failures, strengths and weaknesses of each individual, it is also the individual’s responsibility to do the same.

The simple fact is that the management is incapable of remembering all the details associated with all the members working under them. As a result, they can miss out on essential details. Moreover, the management and the individual may have differing views on a particular event or aspect. What an individual feels was an astounding success might be viewed more moderately by the management.

As such, self-appraisals will remind the management of the development of the individual. The management also gets the opportunity to view the individual’s performance and accomplishments from his or her perspective. Discrepancies between the two viewpoints can be identified, providing a common ground for mutually beneficial discussions.

How to Write a Self-Appraisal

Writing your own appraisal can be quite difficult. You certainly know yourself better than anyone else at the company. You will also have a better idea of your work ethic than others will. Yet, it can be challenging to present your views and facts in an objective manner. It is easy to become conceited with the self-appraisal. Here are a few tips which can help you out write self-appraisals effectively.

Talk about Successes: You will certainly need to talk about your successes in the appraisal. Consider the projects that you delivered successfully and the feedback that you worked upon if any. If you have launched any initiatives or worked on something that goes beyond your regular work, they can also be mentioned in your appraisal.

Mention Your Developments: Consider all that you have learned and the skills you have developed since the last appraisal. Determine the ways you have worked on and improved your skills. Mention the new skills and the knowledge that you have gained. You should also talk about how you have managed to implement your newly found skills and knowledge to your work, and how they support the overall goals of your organization and team.

Refer to Challenges: You must be candid when it comes to your challenges. Do not boast. Be humble. Mention the challenges you faced and the way you overcame them in an objective manner.

Honesty is Essential: During a performance appraisal self-evaluation, it is vital that you are completely honest. Never exaggerate or embellish your appraisal. Remember that you will be asked to support your viewpoints and provide examples. Be honest not only about your accomplishments but also your failures.

Ask About Opportunities: Self-evaluation work performance is not just about what you have done but also what you want to do. Use the appraisal as an opportunity to talk about opportunities to develop further. This is not a point that the management is likely to bring forward. You must show interest in your own development, giving the management a reason to provide you with opportunities or assignments.

Take Your Time: When working on your self-appraisal, take as much time as you need. Cover all the points and use the available space to give a complete picture. You can even complete it over a number of sittings. Consider all points, give suitable examples and check everything twice for factual errors or grammatical mistakes.

Knowing what to write on self-evaluation is just one part of the task. You must also consider how the management will be viewing the appraisal. When they are writing appraisals for employees, they will certainly take the self-assessments into consideration.

Get pricing for our 360-degree feedback tool or contact Grapevine Evaluations to learn more.

10 Benefits of 360 Degree Feedback

Tue, 06 Jun 2017 04:00:00 GMT

In recent years, there has been a surge in the popularity of 360 degree employee evaluation software . As per some estimates, a significant percentage of Fortune 500 organizations tend to use this type of feedback. Nonetheless, there are still many who ask, “What is 360 degree feedback? ” For businesses to grow, two essential components are necessary: feedback and evaluation. All individuals in an organization require evaluation to understand their performance levels, their strengths and weaknesses. Feedback gives them the opportunity to know what improvements are required.

As such, 360 degree feedback does have several benefits to offer. Before you learn about the actual benefits, you must first understand what 360 degree feedback is.

What is 360 Degree Feedback?

360 degree feedback is the process by which feedback is generated by the people working with and around an individual. The feedback is typically confidential and always anonymous. This feedback involves all the people that the individual interacts with regularly. This includes his or her managers, supervisors, peers, and the people who report to the individual as well as the people to whom the individual reports to.

A mixture of people drawn from the above categories will be asked to fill out an anonymous feedback form. The form will consist of several questions related to various aspects of work and other workplace competencies. There can also be rating questions and questions that demand a descriptive answer. The individual who will receive the feedback will also be asked to self-assess and fill up a similar feedback form.

360 degree appraisal is meant not only for the employees of the organization but also the management and the leaders. These days, it is generally performed online due to the simplicity and convenience offered by 360 appraisal software.

Importance of 360 Degree Feedback System

360 appraisals can be incredibly effective in generating usable feedback apart from aiding the development of the individual in question. There are many scenarios in which honest feedback cannot be given face to face. For example, many employees may find it uncomfortable to evaluate and provide feedback about their managers directly.

Compared to traditional evaluation methods, 360 degree feedback can prove to be rather effective. Unlike traditional evaluation methods, 360 degree employee evaluation software involves a greater range of raters, resulting in a more comprehensive assessment.

The Benefits of 360 Degree Employee Evaluation Software

360 degree assessments can have a wide range of benefits, as discussed below, divided into appropriate categories.

For Teams

1. Improvement in Communication: For teams, communication is vital and 360 degree assessments enhance it considerably by giving each member the opportunity to voice his or her feedback.

2. Enhancing Synergy: By providing feedback, members begin to understand each other better leading to improved collaboration. They start functioning more cohesively. Team synergy is improved as their goals and processes are aligned.

3. Improved Effectiveness:

360 evaluations allow each member of the team to understand the level and quality of contribution he or she is making to the team. They can work on any problems being suggested by the review to become more effective members of the team.

For Individuals

1. Boost in Self-Awareness: This is one of the most vital benefits that 360 degree evaluations provide to individuals. The reports and reviews provided by the evaluation highlight the areas in which they can improve in as well as their existing strengths. Individuals become more aware of themselves and their role in the organization.

2. Discovering Strengths: It is essential for the individual’s strengths to be recognized and acknowledged allowing him or her the scope for personal improvement. Recognition of strengths allows a development plan to be tailored for each individual.

3. Accurate Overview: Since the feedback is gathered from multiple sources at different levels, it provides a more accurate idea about the behavior, performance and capabilities of the individual.

4. Discovering Blindspots: Individuals can discover and understand the behaviors that they exhibit without them noticing. Proper steps can then be taken to overcome these blindspots.

5. Skill Development: 360 degree evaluations give each individual an idea of the skills that they need to work on or lack. A development plan can be tailored for each individual’s improvement.

For Leaders

1. Multiple Perspectives: Leaders are the most prone to getting less than honest or zero feedback from their juniors. However, the anonymity of 360 evaluations allows the feedback to be honest. Additionally, a more comprehensive report is generated since raters from different levels will be providing the feedback.

2. Encourages Evaluations: The most important benefit of 360 degree evaluations is that an atmosphere of learning and improvement can be created. Employees will be inspired when they see leaders actively participating in the feedback and implementing the necessary changes.

You should now have a better understanding of what a 360 performance review is’ as well as the benefits. Knowing the benefits, you should seriously consider implementing this feedback mechanism in your own organization.

Try out our instant pricing calculator or get in touch with Grapevine Evaluations to learn more!

Proper Etiquette of Giving Feedback to an Underperforming Employee

Thu, 01 Jun 2017 04:00:00 GMT

Dealing with underperforming employees can be complicated, especially for small businesses or people who are not accustomed to delicate situations. However, it is vital that employee issues are dealt with quickly and efficiently to avoid any problems in the future. By giving quality feedback for both employees who are performing well and those who are underperforming, employers can help with both motivation and to resolve issues before they get too big.

Giving negative feedback to an employee can be difficult for a lot of managers or employers, but it will usually have a positive effect, if it is done in the right way.

Underperforming Employee Performance Improvement Process

It is important that businesses have a performance improvement process for underperforming employees set in place, to ensure that they are effective in giving negative feedback. We are beginning to see a shift towards a `real-time’ feedback approach, meaning that managers and employees are calling underperforming employees to task at the time, and not waiting for more official negative performance appraisal meetings.

This means that processes of dealing with underperforming employees are changing to be more spur of the moment, so it is essential that managers and employers are knowledgeable about how to give negative feedback constructively.

How to Give Constructive Negative Feedback

There are a few factors that are important when giving a negative performance appraisal.

Be Honest – It is essential that managers or employers are honest with their employees. In the long run, this will help to gain respect and, although it might be awkward at first, help the issue to be resolved straight away.
Choose the Right Time – In the majority of cases, the best time to give negative feedback is as quickly after the incident as possible, or if it is about a continual issue, as soon as you realise that it is happening. It is important to try to be constructive, meaningful and relevant with the criticism.
Emotion – Dealing with an underperforming employee can be very frustrating, but it is important that employees keep their emotions under control when they are giving a negative performance appraisal. By getting emotional, the employee might feel like they are being attacked, which will often put them on the offensive and cause resentment and ineffectiveness. Focusing on the facts and going in with a cool head are the keys to this.
Choose the Right Words – One of the most crucial factors in making criticisms constructive is in the choice of words. For example, don`t use, absolutes such as never or always. This gives them room for argument and ultimately, they can ignore the feedback that is being given. It is much better to use words such as usually or often.
Be Specific and Relevant – When a negative performance appraisal is being carried out it is important to be specific in criticisms as well as to keep them relevant. This means only criticizing things that the employee can do something about, and having facts on hand to back up the argument. It is also a good idea to have solutions on hand – such as extra training – for the best outcome for both the employer and employee.
Look at Patterns – When considering how to give feedback constructively, it helps to look at patterns. This gives the manager the chance to address small details, hopefully changing the pattern of behaviour.
Be Nice – It is important to remember that although the employee might be underperforming, they are a person with feelings. Make sure that they have a reason to change – remember that people don`t change for your reasons, they change for their

It is important to remember that it is the issue that is to be criticized, not the person. A little praise can also go a long way in helping the employee to accept a criticism, so sometimes it can help to talk first about something that they are doing well.

Giving constructive negative feedback involves having the hard facts and communicating them in the right way, and by balancing the two, managers have the best chance of a positive outcome.

Do you want to change the way you accomplish your performance appraisals? Contact us to request a demo for our 360 degree feedback tool.

7 Questions to Ask Your Manager during Your Performance Review

Tue, 30 May 2017 04:00:00 GMT

Performance reviews are easily one of the most difficult periods of the year, not only for the employees but also the manager. In most situations, the manager is interested in completing the reviews as quickly as possible just like some employees. The problem with performance evaluations is many think that they aren’t important.

Why Do Employees Believe Performance Evaluations Aren’t Important?

The fact is that the overwhelming majority of employees actually want their performance to be reviewed. Most of them consider these evaluations to be essential in their overall growth and career. They believe that these reviews can help in discovering problematic areas and getting ideas for improvement.

Unfortunately, the ways these evaluations and reviews are conducted are a problem for employees. In the majority of situations, the organizations and the management fail to utilize the reviews properly. It is even possible that the performance evaluation questions for managers are ignored outright. This leads to discontent among the employees who begin to believe that the evaluations are not important at all.

Importance of Being Prepared For Performance Evaluations

For most employees, performance evaluations are more or less a one-sided affair where they listen to the management. However, these are opportunities for self-growth and development. As such, employees need to be prepared to have a detailed discussion on their work, performance and career. They must be ready to utilize this opportunity. Knowing the questions to ask for feedback on performance is a good way to start.

Questions To Ask Your Manager During A Performance Review

There are several performance appraisal questions for managers which can be asked. Here are some of the most frequently-used and essential questions.

1. What Do You Think Was the Best about the Last Period?

This is easily the first question to ask in a performance discussion with manager especially if he or she does not offer any constructive feedback. Take the initiative and ask this. You must understand what the management feels about your performance and contribution since the last evaluation. Support this question by asking what could have been done better. You may be criticized but you might get a compliment as well.

2. What Can I Do Better In the Next Period?

This is essentially the polite way of asking about your mistakes and shortcomings in the last period. The feedback provided by the management can be invaluable to your development.

3. How Can I Improve My Performance for the Next Evaluation?

This is the question to ask if you have received poor ratings in a specific area. Find out what changes are necessary so you can improve those ratings. There may be things that you can do better or in a different way, but an argument about the low ratings will not change them.

4. How Can I Be Better At My Job?

Even if you are good at your job, there can be aspects where you can improve. You will certainly have some aims with respect to your career as well. This is one of the questions to ask in a performance review to steer the conversation towards your professional development. The management may have ideas on what skills can make you are more effective member of the organization. Present your own ideas and interests as well. This question is not only vital for your future at the organization but for your career as a whole, making it an essential question for all performance evaluations .

5. How Can I Become a Better Team Member?

It is easy to overlook the team during a performance evaluation. However, the team will always be at the back of the manager’s mind. Your contributions and effectiveness to the overall team will be a factor when the management evaluates your performance. Having a good rapport with other team members is not enough. Discover ways to become a better and more crucial part of your team with this question.

6. What Are My Goals Going Forward?

Knowing about your expected short-term goals is a good way to keep yourself motivated and so you can prepare accordingly to accomplish those goals in a successful manner. Unless you know what those goals are, they will never be achieved.

7. Can I Have a Follow-Up Session?

Of all the questions to ask in performance review, this can be a pretty important one. Typically, performance evaluations tend to be fast-paced as the management tries to accommodate all employees. If you have additional things you would like to discuss with the management, ask this question.

Always prepare your performance review questions to ask beforehand. Organize them in terms of importance so that the session is not a waste of anybody’s time. Understand that the management tends to be under as much pressure during the reviews as you are.

Looking for a 360 degree feedback tool to help with performance evaluations ? Get in touch with Grapevine Evaluations today to request a demo!

How Does 360 Degree Feedback Help Organizations?

Mon, 27 Mar 2017 04:00:00 GMT

What if there was a way to perform an accurate assessment of employee performance on (at least) an annual basis which included the perspective of the worker’s peers on the ground, his or her manager as well as clients or other external stakeholders? There is – it’s called 360-degree employee evaluation software . This type of review differs from traditional employee assessments because it incorporates the feedback of an employee’s coworkers as well as his or her managers. Read on to learn the benefits of 360-degree feedback.

360-degree feedback benefits organizations because of 3 factors which are giving a new perspective, reducing the effects of biases and reinforcing organizational values/vision. We will go into detail how 360-degree feedback achieves each of these points for your organizations below.

1. A New Perspective

During a traditional employee evaluation, a manager assesses the employee’s performance over the course of the last year. However, during a 360 Degree Employee Evaluation Software , the worker’s peers are asked about how he or she executed his or her duties. How exactly does this benefit the employee and how does this benefit the organization? By hearing the perspective of that person’s co-workers, the manager gains a new understanding of how he or she functions on a day-to-day basis because coworkers have a more hands-on and closer understanding of the employees daily tasks. By having multiple opinions from multiple people of varying opinions, 360-degree feedback is able to give a unique perspective in employee evaluations that traditional evaluations are able to provide. Understanding and proper implementation of these perspectives by an organization provide it with a unique position to truly cater to each employee’s individual and vastly different needs in order to improve their happiness and ultimately efficiency at work.

2. Reducing the Effects of Biases

Human beings are constantly affected by biases and perceiving bias on others. So, how do we reduce the effects of bias on our everyday lives if it’s something so innate in our nature? It’s hard for us to avoid them – they influence many of the decisions we make on a daily basis. However, we can reduce the effects of bias in employee evaluations with 360-degree feedback by having a number of people reviewing one person. This will reduce the effect of personal biases on others. How this reduce the effects biases exactly is because one person’s prejudices or opinions (no matter how based in fact they might be) will no longer be the sole source of feedback. When you have multiple sources of input it reduces the overall effect of an individual’s biases on the end result of the feedback. Therefore, this allows 360-degree feedback to present a broader view of the employee’s performance.

3. Reinforcing Organizational Values and Vision

360-degree feedback employee evaluations are eminently customizable. They are ultimately about understanding how employees fit with the organization’s values and overall vision, and how to correct the organization or individual to merge the 2 together onto the same path. The organization can reinforce its values by tailoring their assessment and questionnaires to include questions about their values and vision. They can ask whether employees are putting those values into action and have internalized their vision, and the answers to those questions will either confirm or disprove their assumptions. Whatever the results are, they should spur a conversation about the best way to reinforce values and vision.

Grapevine Evaluations: Your Trusted Source for 360 Degree Feedback Employee Evaluation Software

Is your organization considering implementing 360-degree feedback? Or, have decision makers realized that the current employee review system simply isn’t working? Contact Grapevine Evaluations today at 1-866-668-6162 . Our customizable web-based software solution enables organizations to perform accurate employee reviews quickly. Managers can receive results in real time. Learn more about how your organization can benefit from Grapevine Evaluation’s 360 Degree Feedback software by calling us now.

The Advantages and Disadvantages of 360 Degree Feedback

Thu, 05 May 2016 04:00:00 GMT

If your company is considering overhauling its employee assessment program, you might be thinking about implementing 360 degree feedback. There is a great deal of information out there about 360 Degree Employee Evaluation Software – how can you tell what’s reliable and what isn’t? Read on to learn about the advantages and disadvantages of 360 degree employee evaluation software .

What Is 360 Degree Feedback?

Before we explain the pros and cons of this evaluation method, it’s helpful to understand exactly what 360 degree feedback is.

In a traditional performance review, the boss meets with employees individually once a year. He or she assesses how well or poorly the employee did his or her job over the past year. The employee doesn’t have a chance to appeal the rating, which is based on one person’s opinion.

During a 360 Degree Employee Evaluation Software , an employee receives feedback on his or her performance from a variety of sources, including his or her peers, supervisors, subordinates and clients.

The Advantages of 360 Degree Reviews

There is one significant advantage to a 360 degree assessment: it provides a breadth of perspective that traditional performance reviews lack.

A supervisor only sees a certain aspect of an employee’s performance. He or she can’t see how an employee interacts with his or her peers, subordinates or customers. Maybe the employee slacks off, leaving his or her colleagues to carry the burden. Perhaps he or she has developed a strong relationship with a customer. A 360 Degree Employee Evaluation Softwarebrings those issues to light.

The Disadvantages of 360 Degree Assessments

Every evaluation tool has its pros and cons. When it comes to 360 degree reviews , the disadvantages have more to do with how this model of feedback is implemented.

A 360 degree assessment won’t accomplish its goals if the team responsible for designing it doesn’t ask the right questions. What are the wrong questions? Eric Jackson , contributor to Forbes, points out that many companies ask vague questions that don’t have anything to do with the employees’ performance (“Are you red or blue?” “What’s your personality type?”). What you need to ask are questions such as “What are this person’s duties?” “What has this employee accomplished this year?” “How is this employee furthering organizational goals?”

This can be avoided with a bit of guidance and research.

Find a 360 Degree Review Program that Fits Your Needs

What if there was a way to ask the right questions during a 360 degree review and not spend too much time or money doing it? Grapevine Evaluation’s software gives HR professionals the option to create, distribute, analyze and manage the entire 360 degree employee evaluation software process so that it’s efficient and cost-effective.

Grapevine Evaluations are trusted by such companies as Pandora, Macy’s, and Thomson Reuters.

Call us at the phone number listed at the top of the page for a one on one demo.

Bouncing Back From Bad 360 Survey Results

Thu, 28 Apr 2016 04:00:00 GMT

Traditional employee performance reviews, during which a supervisor tells an employee once a year how he or she isn’t living up to his or her potential, are becoming increasingly unpopular.

The 360 degree survey of employee performance has gained a great deal of traction over the past several years. However, sometimes companies receive bad 360 degree survey results – the feedback isn’t helpful or useful.

Read on to learn how to make 360 degree employee reviews effective and beneficial for your organization.

Defining Bad 360 Degree Survey Results

Before we discuss how to improve 360 Degree Employee Evaluation Software, it’s important to understand what bad survey results from these assessments look like.

Let’s say that Acme Widgets has just implemented a 360 Degree Employee Evaluation Software performance review system. When the results come in, the human resources managers puzzle over responses as, “John isn’t a good leader,” or “Michelle does a great job.” Those responses don’t tell managers very much about why John isn’t a good leader or what exactly Michelle is doing right.

Here’s another example: Smith Ball Bearings Inc. carries out a 360 Degree Employee Evaluation Software for the first time. Employees take the opportunity to criticize their coworkers. While some of these criticisms are legitimate and affect the organizational culture as well as the company’s ability to fulfill its mission, the head of the human resource department tells the team responsible for analyzing the results that they have to cut out all of the negative feedback before submitting the final report to the firm’s leadership. As a result, many of the employees’ issues remain unresolved, and workers are unhappy and disengaged.

Why Did You Get Bad Results?

If you don’t receive results that are actionable, there’s a good chance the problem isn’t with the concept of 360 degree employee assessments. Rather, it has more to do with how your organization designed and implemented the survey.

Eric Jackson, a contributor to Forbes, notes that vague questions produce vague answers. And vague answers don’t help employees improve their performance. Jackson adds that sometimes, employees treat 360-degree assessments as an opportunity to lob personal criticisms at their coworkers. This behaviour also isn’t productive, because it doesn’t aid in professional development.

Joe Folkman and Jack Zenger, founders of the leadership development training firm Zenger Folkman, point out that poorly designed 360-degree feedback surveys will also produce less-than-useful results. They advise organizations to identify the right metrics, emphasize building strengths rather than highlighting weaknesses, maintain confidentiality and make the process simple, intuitive and efficient.

Receive Actionable, Useful 360 Degree Survey Results

A 360-degree employee performance review can be very helpful when it’s done properly. Grapevine Evaluation’s 360-degree assessment software is easy to implement, and it provides actionable feedback with intuitively designed reports.

Grapevine Evaluations are trusted by such companies as Pandora, Macy’s, and Thomson Reuters.

How Forced Grading Curves Ruin Employee Reviews

Sun, 24 Apr 2016 04:00:00 GMT

When you were in school, there was at least one time when a teacher graded on a curve. Everyone was excited, because it meant they received a higher mark on the assignment. But in the workplace, grading on a curve isn’t such a good thing. In fact, it can have a very harmful effect on employee 360 reviews . Read on to learn why forced grading curves lead to bad employee reviews.

Read on to learn why forced grading curves lead to bad employee reviews.

What Is a Forced Grading Curve?

A forced grading curve is based on a statistical concept called a “normal distribution.” A normal distribution assumes that you have an equivalent number of people above and below average. There will also be a very small number of people highly above average and deeply below average.

Rating employees on a Bell Curve forces managers to make a list that divides employees into percentages: a certain percentage will be at the top, a certain percentage will be in the middle and a certain percentage will be at the bottom.

The Effect of Forced Grading Curves on Employee Reviews

As Forbes contributor Josh Bersin points out, forced grading curves aren’t a realistic model for evaluating employee performance.

Even if you have a whole team of high performers , a certain percentage of them will automatically be considered poor performers, because that’s the way the Bell Curve works. As a result, they will be fired or warned that their jobs are in jeopardy.

Examples of Forced Grading Curves in Real Companies

For years, Microsoft rated its employees on a forced grading curve. The results were disastrous.

Every unit had to rank its employees according to a percentage of how many were top, above average, average and poor performers. Employees became so focused on competing with each other that they weren’t developing innovative solutions to drive Microsoft forward. For a very long time, Microsoft was seen as a laggard when it came to innovation.

Software and services provider Infosys abandoned its forced grading curve evaluation system in September 2015. Company leaders realized that instead of retaining their best talent, they were simply getting rid of more and more employees. The forced grading curve system wasn’t making the company a more innovative or competitive organization.

Find a Better Employee Evaluation System

Keep your best employees and encourage average performers to do better when you choose the right employee assessment method. Grapevine Evaluations’ 360 degree feedback software enables HR professionals to customize surveys to meet their organization’s needs.

Grapevine Evaluations are trusted by such companies as Pandora, Macy’s, and Thomson Reuters.

How Bad Employee Evaluations Hurt Innovation

Wed, 20 Apr 2016 04:00:00 GMT

Would you consider your firm innovative and at the cutting edge of its industry? If the answer to that question is “no,” ask yourself why. It might have something to do with a business process you wouldn’t expect: employee reviews. Bad employee reviews can actually make a company less innovative. Read on to learn about the relationship between innovation and 360 employee reviews.

What Leads to Innovation?

An innovation refers to a Latin term for something new and different. In business, everyone wants to innovate because it makes them more efficient and profitable.

In digital marketing agencies , employees play a significant role in making the agency more innovative. Their ideas, comments and feedback can lead to a new idea for a service or product that could make their firm a market leader.

Businesses can encourage employee innovation by creating environment in which employees feel free to come up with new ideas, without being afraid that they’ll be criticized or intimidated.

What Happens When Employees Receive a Bad Review

Sometimes, employers actively discourage innovation through certain business practices. One of these practices is the employee review. To avoid such take a read on Proper Etiquette of Giving Feedback to an Underperforming Employee.

Psychological research shows that when employees receive negative feedback, they do not perform better. In fact, they are actually discouraged by it.

Receiving a less-than-glowing review makes you focus on the criticism your boss delivered. All you can think about is why you received this feedback, rather than what you’ve done right and how you can do better. And you definitely won’t be concentrating on new ideas that will improve your firm.

Bad Employee Reviews Kill Innovation

Microsoft is an excellent example of how negative employee reviews killed innovation. The corporation utilized a system called “stack-ranking” to rate employees. Every unit had to declare a certain percentage of employees as top, good, average and poor performers.

Former employees of the company claim that they spent more time focused on competing with each other than generating new ideas that would attract more customers. As a result, Microsoft lagged behind other firms when it came to cutting-edge innovation. Moreover, many of its employees left because they hated being in such a restrictive environment.

Encourage Innovation through 360 Degree Feedback

If you want your company to inspire its employees to innovate, choose an evaluation system that gives them constructive feedback. Grapevine Evaluations 360 degree employee review software allows HR professionals to customize questions so their organizations get the data they need to succeed.

Grapevine Evaluations are trusted by such companies as Pandora, Macy’s, and Thomson Reuters.

3 Useless Questions for Employee Evaluations

Fri, 15 Apr 2016 04:00:00 GMT

You’ve probably heard the phrase, “There are no stupid questions, only stupid answers.” When it comes to assessing employee performance, that’s not the case. There are a number of employee evaluation questions ( 360 degree feedback ) that might seem like a good idea when you’re formulating the questionnaire, but they don’t give you the answers you need to improve performance and accomplish organizational goals.

Read on to learn some of the most useless questions on employee assessment surveys, and what you should ask instead.

“What Have You Done This Year?”

On the face of it, this employee evaluation question doesn’t seem so stupid. You’re asking the employee to talk about his or her achievements.

However, this is really just a chance for the employee to discuss how great he or she is. It doesn’t give you a full picture of that person’s performance over the course of the year. If you absolutely must ask this question, be sure to follow up with a question about where that person could improve further.

“What’s Your Personality Type?”

Some personalities are better suited for particular positions. Outgoing people make great customer service representatives, for example.

But asking this question during an evaluation doesn’t really give the employer any insight into an employee’s performance. Skip vague questions such as “What’s your personality type?” Instead, ask whether the person is fulfilling his or her duties on time.

“Do You Trust Your Boss or Coworkers?”

This question isn’t the right way to find out that information.

Mark Murphy , a contributor to Forbes, points out that this question is far too vague. What if the respondent says that he or she doesn’t trust his or her boss or coworkers? How do you remedy that problem? Murphy suggests asking more direct questions, such as “Does my boss respond constructively when I share a work problem?” If the employee answers, “no,” you know what the issue is, and you can start fixing it.

Ask the Right Questions with 360 Degree Evaluation Software

You don’t need to struggle to find the right questions for your employee performance reviews. Grapevine Evaluations 360 degree feedback software enables human resource professionals to choose from a variety of customizable questions, so they receive the information their company needs to succeed and grow.

Grapevine Evaluations are trusted by such companies as Pandora, Macy’s, and Thomson Reuters.

3 Phrases to Avoid During Employee Performance Reviews

Thu, 07 Apr 2016 04:00:00 GMT

As a manager, you have a challenging job – you have to motivate and inspire your employees to do their very best work while ensuring that lower performing workers understand what they need to do to improve. What should you do or say to help your subordinates? We’ve compiled a list of phrases not to say during an employee review to guide you in managing your employees.

“If You Don’t Do X, You’ll Be Fired!”

Let’s say your subordinate Jim seems to have problems turning in his reports in a timely fashion. If you tell him he’ll be let go from the company if he doesn’t shape up, the news will leave him panicky. He might start turning in his reports on time, but maybe they’ll be sloppy and full of errors.

The better way to handle this situation is to say, “Jim, I’ve noticed you haven’t been turning your reports in when they’re due. What can we do to change that?” Work on a sensible, realistic plan with Jim to ensure he turns in his work on time, so he feels as though you’re trying to help him do a better job rather than terrify him.

“Why Can’t You Be More Like Y?”

We’ll go back to the example of Jim for a moment. Jim works with Sam, who’s a model employee. It’s tempting to compare Jim to Sam, and it’s even more tempting to share this comparison with Jim in hopes that he’ll be more like Sam.

However, all that comparison does is make Jim jealous of Sam. He’ll start to see Sam as a competitor, rather than a teammate. Instead of comparing Jim to other employees, judge his performance on how well it measures up to the company’s goals and mission.

“I Don’t Like Your Personality”

As a manager, your job isn’t to evaluate your employees’ personalities . Maybe Jim isn’t the most sociable of all of your employees. Your job isn’t to make him into the life of the party; rather, you must ensure that he is fulfilling his role properly.

The only time personality or character traits should become an issue in an evaluation is when they negatively affect an employee’s performance. If Jim’s anti-social tendencies prevent him from effectively communicating with his coworkers and projects suffer as a result, that’s a problem you need to address.

Ask the Right Questions with 360 Review

If you want to ask the right questions and provide the best feedback, 360 degree evaluation tools are the best solution. Grapevine Evaluations offers customizable surveys that are easy to implement, so you can give your employees the most meaningful and actionable assessment possible.

Grapevine Evaluations are trusted by such companies as Pandora, Macy’s, and Thomson Reuters.

Stop Fixating On Flaws During Employee Reviews

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Wed, 06 Apr 2016 04:00:00 GMT

When you review your employees’ performance, what do you highlight? Many managers choose to only to focus on the negative, leading to bad employee reviews. As it turns out, this practice isn’t a good idea.

Read on to learn why fixating on employee flaws during assessments doesn’t work, and what you should do instead.

Accentuate the Positive, Eliminate the Negative

In the 1940s, Bing Crosby sang about accentuating the positive and eliminating the negative. He was on to something, although it took researchers a few decades to figure it out.

A study published in 1996 showed that job appraisals generally improved performance, unless they focused on the individual carrying out the job, rather than the person’s performance of his or her role.

Over a decade later, researchers at Kansas State University discovered that employees don’t respond well to negative feedback. In fact, receiving a bad employee review can affect that person’s commitment, motivation and job performance.

What Kind of Feedback Should Managers Give?

Marcus Buckingham, performance management expert and author, believes that the problem with providing negative feedback at employee performance reviews is that this type of criticism is completely ineffective. He points out that neuroscience shows humans grow new synapses in the areas of our brain where we have the most pre-existing synapses. Those areas represent our strengths. Conversely, the areas with the fewest synapses are our weaknesses, and it is significantly more difficult to grow new synapses in those spots.

By focusing on an employee’s weaknesses, managers aren’t helping that person improve or grow at all. And continuing to provide negative feedback in the hope that employees will take it to heart and perform better is counterproductive.

Furthermore, a bad employee review that focuses solely on a person’s faults doesn’t provide insight into how they can develop. Professor Satoris Culbertson, who led the aforementioned Kansas State University study, argues that constructive feedback – criticism that advises the person on how he or she can change for the better – is more effective than negative criticism. She adds that it helps when the comments show that the supervisor has the employee’s best interests at heart, they’re better received.

Give the Right Feedback on Employee Performance Reviews

Make sure that your employee assessments provide workers with the feedback that will help them succeed. Grapevine Evaluations’ 360 degree performance reviews enable employees to receive evaluations from their peers, supervisors, subordinates and customers.

Grapevine Evaluations 360 degree evaluation software tools are trusted by such companies as Pandora, Macy’s, and Thomson Reuters.

Do Your Employee Reviews Create Competition Instead Of Collaboration?

Mon, 28 Mar 2016 04:00:00 GMT

How do HR professionals really feel about employee evaluation ? The answer will surprise you.

There are many HR professionals who believe that assessments don’t do employees (or corporate cultures) any good. Instead, they lead to negative, even toxic work environments. Read on to learn why evaluations can do more harm than good, and what you can do to change that situation.

The Truth about HR Professionals and Employee Reviews

You would think that people in the human resources department would be the most enthusiastic advocates for performance assessments. Think again.

The automated HR services provider BambooHR carried out a survey of HR professionals regarding their attitudes towards evaluations. Researchers were surprised by the results. Three out of four HR professionals surveyed are highly critical of employee reviews.

BambooHR identified five of the HR professionals’ top complaints about evaluations:

they foster competition, not collaboration;
they create unnecessary and unhelpful office politics;
they don’t accurately reflect performance;
they hinder innovation and diminish engagement;
they don’t have constructive outcomes.

Criticisms that Hit Close to Home

Are HR professionals correct? Can performance assessments really be as awful as they say they are?

Academic research justifies these claims. Kevin Murphy, a scientist at Colorado State University and an expert on employee reviews, says that his research shows that managers’ feedback tends to discourage employees rather than motivate them.

Furthermore, when people do perform well, their companies often don’t reward them for it. To add insult to injury, these same firms don’t discipline low performing employees.

You don’t have to turn to academic research to see that the traditional evaluation no longer meets the needs of today’s businesses. Over the past five years, a number of major corporations including Accenture, Deloitte and GE, have overhauled the way they assess their employees’ performance.

Managers talk to more people about how the employee is doing to give them a broader picture of that person’s achievements.

Changing the Situation for the Better

What are some of the ways you can improve your review process? BambooHR’s survey of employees offers some suggestions.

Employees want frequent, informal and open conversations about how they’re doing. They crave career guidance. And when they do something right, they believe they should receive recognition (as well as a reward) for it.

Grapevine Evaluations: Improving Employee Reviews

Do you want to build a culture of collaboration by improving your review process?

Contact Grapevine Evaluations today. Grapevine Evaluations provides 360 feedback tools to companies such as Pandora, Macy’s, and Thomson Reuters.

See our Overview of our 360 Degree Evaluation Software tool.

67% Of Employees Feel They’re Not Heard During Their Reviews

Sun, 20 Mar 2016 04:00:00 GMT

Are your employees satisfied with the way the review process works at your company?

Chances are that they’re not. And that’s not a good thing. When your employees aren’t happy, it can have some serious consequences for your firm. Read on to learn why workers don’t like reviews, and how you can change that situation.

What Employees Don’t Like about Evaluations

The automated HR services provider BambooHR carried out a survey in May 2015 to learn more about how employees feel about evaluations. The results might have surprised the HR department and managers, although they should come as no shock to anyone who’s ever had their performance assessed.

Sixty-seven percent of survey respondents felt as though their managers didn’t hear what they had to say during the review. The sense of being ignored was a common theme among survey participants: 55% said their employers never address the concerns they raise during the evaluation, and another 62% stated they never see changes take place as a result of their feedback during assessments.

The Consequences of Employee Dissatisfaction

You might say, “Well, employees are free to express their opinions about the review process.” However, you shouldn’t neglect this significant source of employee dissatisfaction.

When employees feel as though no one listens to them and their opinions and ideas don’t matter, they become frustrated. Frustration can lead to two outcomes: lowered productivity or the decision to leave the company. Neither of those results is desirable.

Low productivity has a negative effect on your firm’s bottom line. Employee turnover bears hidden costs. You’ll spend valuable time as well as money searching for someone to replace the employee and then train and supervise the new hire.

Improving the Assessment Process to Boost Employee Satisfaction

Fretting about employee dissatisfaction doesn’t get you anywhere. Instead, there are steps you can take to make your workers happier.

The employees who participated in BambooHR’s survey gave clear and specific ways in which their companies can make reviews better. They want open, informal conversations about their performance.

In addition, respondents suggested managers listen to employee ideas and implement them. Furthermore, supervisors should recognize and reward employee achievement (giving raises is a great way to do that). Survey respondents believe their recommendations will motivate and inspire employees to do better work.

Grapevine Evaluations: A Friendlier Assessment Process

Do you want to make your reviews a source of satisfaction?

Contact Grapevine Evaluations today for a free demo. Grapevine Evaluations are trusted by such companies as Pandora, Macy’s, and Thomson Reuters.

See our Overview of our 360 Performance Review Software.

More Than Half Of All Employees See Their Review As Inaccurate

Wed, 02 Mar 2016 05:00:00 GMT

How many of your workers believe that their annual employee evaluations and reviews aren’t accurate? The number is probably much higher than you think.

You might say, “Well, they’re entitled to their opinion.” You shouldn’t brush off this statistic, though – it represents a large number of workers who are unhappy with the current assessment process. Read on to learn why this is a serious problem, and what you can do about it.

The Silent Epidemic of Inaccurate Employee Reviews

In the summer of 2013, the workforce recognition solution provider Globoforce released its semi-annual survey about how employees feel about various workplace-related issues. This study focused on employee perceptions of the assessment process.

A little more than half of the employees surveyed saw their reviews as inaccurate. Another 63% felt as though these evaluations weren’t a true indicator of their performance. Their views have a great deal to do with who delivers the assessment. Forty percent of those surveyed said that evaluations represented one opinion – that of their boss.

Even if you don’t see the high number of employees who find their reviews to be inaccurate as problematic, you should be sobered by their response to an erroneous assessment. Workers who didn’t believe their evaluations reflected the reality of their performance were twice as likely to look for a new job.

Employee Turnover: The Hidden Costs

Managers can’t afford to be laissez-faire about employee turnover. Whenever someone leaves a company, it costs the business money and valuable time.

Replacing an employee means that you have to advertise for the vacant position. Someone has to read through the resumes and interview candidates, which takes that person away from his or her other tasks. Training and supervising a new hire also means that whoever takes responsibility for the new hire can’t get his or her work done.

A Cheaper Alternative: Fix a Broken Review System

Don’t let good employees walk out the door. Instead, work on improving the assessment process so that it’s accurate.

What can you do to make evaluations reflect reality? Globoforce’s survey respondents have the answer. Eighty percent of those surveyed believe crowdsourced feedback is more accurate than reviews from their boss. Many companies have already implemented peer assessments, and the results are clear.

Eighty-eight percent of employees who receive reviews from their coworkers have high levels of job satisfaction, compared to 67% of employees who only receive feedback from their boss.

Grapevine Evaluations: Improving the Employee Assessment Process

Do you want to make your performance review process better in order to reduce costly turnover? Contact Grapevine Evaluations today. Grapevine Evaluations are trusted by such companies as Pandora, Macy’s, and Thomson Reuters.

Click here to request a free demo .

See our Overview of our 360 Performance Review Templates from our Software.

How Does the 360 Degree Feedback Process Work?

Wed, 24 Feb 2016 05:00:00 GMT

Are you curious about how the 360 degree review process works, but are concerned that it will be time consuming and costly? It doesn’t have to be either of those things. A 360 evaluation system provides more accurate insight into your employees’ performance, and it can be cost-effective, too – read on to learn more.

360 Evaluations: A Definition

To better understand what a 360 evaluation is, you must first be familiar with the traditional method of assessing employee performance .

The traditional method of reviewing an employee is the manager sitting down with the employee once a year. The manager discusses how well the employee fulfilled his or her duties. Many employees complain that their managers are biased against them and only focus on the negative things that happened over the course of a year.

During a 360 review, a number of people assess how well an employee does his or her job. These people interact with the employee on a regular basis; they are his or her colleagues and sometimes even subordinates. The reviewers have much deeper insight into whether the employee’s skills are driving the firm forward or holding it back. The goal of this type of review is to provide the employee with unbiased feedback on his or her performance. In addition, the 360 degree feedback assessments aims to identify professional development goals.

Innovating the 360 Review Process

Managers believe 360 reviews are costly because they take a larger number of people away from their jobs in order to carry out a task that only one person (the manager) used to do during a traditional performance assessment. However, technology has made the 360 Degree Employee Evaluation Software much more cost-effective.

Today, there are a wide number of 360 assessment software solutions on the market. When managers hear the word “software,” many of them immediately think “expensive.” That doesn’t have to be the case, though.

Most 360 review software solutions are run in the cloud, which means companies don’t have to pay pricey licensing fees. There are a number of pricing models that exist – it’s just a matter of finding the right one for your firm. Furthermore, you don’t need to invest in a customized 360 evaluation software. There are so many products that meet your needs right off the shelf.

And if your concern is not wasting valuable time analyzing reviewer feedback, stop fretting. The software presents that data in an easy to read graphical format.

Grapevine Evaluations: Improving 360 Reviews through Technology

Are you interested in cost-effective, reliable 360 assessment software?

Contact Grapevine Evaluations today. Grapevine Evaluations are trusted by such companies as Pandora, Macy’s, and Thomson Reuters.

Click here to request a demo .

See our Overview of our 360 Performance Review Templates from our Software.

How Much Does Switching to a 360 Review System Cost

Fri, 19 Feb 2016 05:00:00 GMT

You might have heard that 360 degree employee review and evaluation systems are a more accurate form of assessing workplace performance. It’s possible you’ve also heard that they’re a more costly way to evaluating employees. Determining costs isn’t always a black and white process, and there are also ways you can make a 360 review more affordable for your company – read on to learn more.

The Costs of Not Using a 360 Review

To understand the costs of a 360 evaluation, you have to consider how much a traditional performance assessment affects your company. That effect can be both financial and related to employee morale.

During a traditional review, a manager sits down with an employee and discusses the employee’s performance over the past year. Many employees feel as though the traditional performance assessment isn’t an accurate representation of what they’ve done since their last evaluation.

As a manager, you might not care whether your subordinates agree that your views on their performance are accurate or not. But, your employees do. In fact, they care so much that they can become preoccupied with your negative feedback that their productivity levels decrease. And that’s bad for the bottom line.

360 Reviews: More Expensive?

A traditional employee evaluation is considered cheaper than a 360 review because it only requires the time of two people: the manager and the subordinate.

A 360 assessment involves multiple employees providing feedback about one person. This form of evaluating performance takes a larger number of people away from their work, and it means that the manager and/or the human resources department has more feedback to analyze, which also takes time away from their primary duties.

Software and the Employee Evaluation Process

The 360 review process doesn’t have to be so costly, though. Technology can make assessing employees’ performance an affordable task.

When managers hear the words “software,” the next word that comes to mind is “expensive.” They believe that investing in 360 review software will cost the business a great deal of money.

That’s a mistaken assumption. Many 360 evaluation software programs are run in the cloud, which means that firms no longer have to pay exorbitant licensing fees. Instead, there are a number of economical pricing models available to fit your company’s needs.

The software can also automatically tabulate the results of 360-degree surveys , saving the valuable time of managers and staff in the HR department.

Grapevine Evaluations: Making the 360 Review Process Cost-Effective

Are you looking for an affordable and effective way to assess employee performance?

Contact Grapevine Evaluations today. Grapevine Evaluations are trusted by such companies as Pandora, Macy’s, and Thomson Reuters.

Click here to request a demo .

See our Overview of our 360 Performance Review Software.

How Much Does 360 Software Cost?

Wed, 17 Feb 2016 05:00:00 GMT

Are you interested in implementing 360 degree employee review software, but are worried that it will be too expensive for your company? That doesn’t have to be the case. You can find cost-effective 360 review software that meets the needs of your company – read on to learn more about how pricing for this software works.

Determining Costs

In order to understand how much 360 assessment software costs , it’s important to keep a few things in mind. Knowing the following information will make the process of determining costs simpler.

Firstly, the vast majority of 360 evaluation software has moved into the cloud. That means that the program is no longer stored on one person’s computer. Instead, it “lives” on a computer in a data center, which could be located in another country. You access the software by going onto a secure website.

Secondly, some industries have specialized software for the 360 performance review process . These programs will be more expensive because they’re made for a small audience.

A third point to consider is whether you’re going to purchase an off-the-shelf solution or a customized product designed just for you. The term “off-the-shelf” refers to buying software that hasn’t been modified for your specific needs. Off-the-shelf software is less expensive, and you might find that you don’t need a customized solution.

Pricing Models

There are three very common pricing models for 360 evaluation software. There are a few software companies that price their products differently, but they’re the exception rather than the rule.

The pay-per-user model is just what it sounds like: your business pays the software firm a monthly fee for each user registered on the system. This model frequently includes a setup fee. Be aware that training or customer support might not be included in the price. You can expect to pay $3 to $10 per user, and setup fees range from $800 to $1500.

Another model is known as pay-per-employee . The difference between pay-per-user and pay-per-employee is that you pay for all of the employees at your business, regardless of whether they use the software. The cost per employee can range from $1.50 to $5. There’s a possibility you might pay for setup fees, support or training.

The third model is pay-per-appraisal . Usually, you’ll pay once for an individual employee or you’ll purchase a set of employee evaluations. Software providers who use this model, generally, don’t charge setup fees, and the price per evaluation is cheaper when you have a large number of employees.

Grapevine Evaluations: A Cost-Effective 360 Review Solution

Are you looking for an affordable and reliable 360 assessment software solution?

Contact Grapevine Evaluations today. Grapevine Evaluations are trusted by such companies as Pandora, Macy’s, and Thomson Reuters.

Click here to request a demo .

See our Overview of our 360 Degree Employee Evaluation Software.

How Long Do 360 Reviews Take

Mon, 15 Feb 2016 05:00:00 GMT

Are you considering implementing a 360 degree employee evaluation at your company , but you’re concerned that the process will take too long? You’re probably worried that the paperwork and the interviews will eat up valuable time that could be used to fulfill the company’s goals. However, 360 reviews can be very quick – read on to learn more.

Brief Surveys or Interviews

Jack Zenger and Joseph Folkman, co-founders of the leadership development training firm Zenger Folkman believe that the 360 degree assessment should be no longer than 15 to 20 minutes. Why do they think it should be so short?

Zenger and Folkman opine that anything longer than that length of time leads to “survey fatigue.” Who wants to fill out a questionnaire that takes longer than 30 minutes? You would get tired of the exercise, and what would you really learn from it? Just because a survey is brief doesn’t mean that it won’t give you the insight you need into an employee’s performance.

Preparing for the 360 Review

Although the 360 evaluation survey should be kept short, Zenger and Folkman argue that firms have to do some groundwork before the performance assessment even takes place.

Zenger and Folkman maintain that the starting point for the 360 review should be measuring the correct skills. In their opinion, too many businesses rely on senior executives’ beliefs about what makes a good manager. Instead, leaders should turn to empirical research to determine which skills enhance corporate performance.

The second step in the preparation process is educating everyone participating in the 360 evaluation (including the people giving feedback and the people being assessed) about why they’re doing this and how the data will be used.

After the Review Takes Place

The 360 review process doesn’t end after everyone submits their surveys. Managers and the HR department must analyze the data they’ve gathered through the questionnaires.

Zenger and Folkman advise the people responsible for interpreting the information to focus on discovering strengths rather than revealing weaknesses. Too many employee assessments fixate on what’s wrong with a person rather than what the individual is doing correctly. The emphasis on the negative is demoralizing.

The end of the 360 assessment process is presenting employees with their results. Zenger and Folkman recommend making the feedback report easy to understand, with data presented graphically. Managers should use the results to create a personal plan for professional development with the employee.

Grapevine Evaluations: Improving the 360 Review Process

Are you interested in implementing 360 degree employee evaluations at your firm? Contact Grapevine Evaluations today. Grapevine Evaluations are trusted by such companies as Pandora, Macy’s, and Thomson Reuters.

Click here to request a demo.

See our Overview of our 360 Review Software tool.

3 Ways To Taint 360 Survey Results

Thu, 11 Feb 2016 05:00:00 GMT

Are the results of your 360 degree evaluations as accurate as they could be? In spite of managers’ and HR professionals’ best efforts, the outcomes of these surveys can sometimes be unreliable.

Read on to learn how practices at some companies can lead to a mistaken perspective on employees’ performance, and what you can do to avoid those pitfalls.

The Reviewer Knows the Subject Too Well, Or Not Well Enough

Joe and Jack are friends. They’ve been working together for ages. The two men even see each other outside of the office. Joe would never say a harsh word about Jack, and vice versa. That’s why you don’t want Joe and Jack to review each other’s workplace performance – their assessments will be biased by their friendship.

Then there’s Jennifer and Jackie. Jennifer started at the firm two months ago. Jackie thinks Jennifer is doing okay, but they’re still working on a project, and it won’t be completed for another month. You also don’t want Jackie reviewing Jennifer (or vice versa), because she hasn’t worked with her long enough to accurately appraise her skills.

How long should reviewers know their subjects? A good length of time is between one to three years – they’ve worked with the person long enough to understand their abilities and behaviors.

Too Many or Too Few Reviewers

Have you ever heard the saying, “Too many cooks spoil the broth”? This aphorism applies to 360 evaluations.

If there are too many people reviewing one employee, the feedback will be diluted. You won’t have a really clear idea how the employee performed.

On the other hand, there is such a thing as too few reviewers. Five to seven people providing feedback gives you a wider scope, but not too wide.

Vague Questions

Forbes columnist Eric Jackson points out that 360 assessments don’t yield the right results because the questions aren’t specific enough. He notes that many questionnaires are personality profiles in disguise.

Knowing whether someone is an ESTJ or an INFP isn’t useful if you want to give them actionable feedback. Rather, ask questions about the employee’s performance and where the reviewer sees them in the future.

Grapevine Evaluations: Accurate Employee Assessments

Do you want to implement a 360 review program that’s free of bias or inaccuracies?

Contact Grapevine Evaluations today. Grapevine Evaluations are trusted by such companies as Pandora, Macy’s, and Thomson Reuters.

Click here to request a demo.

See our Overview of our 360 Review Software tool.

Taking Hypocrisy Out Of Employee Reviews

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Sun, 07 Feb 2016 05:00:00 GMT

The Greeks had a word for when someone was playing a part or pretending to be something other than what that person really was – hypokrisis.

The term has survived in modern English. We know it as hypocrisy. And it can have a negative impact on your employee review process. Read on to learn how to remove hypocrisy from your performance evaluations , so that assessments are more accurate and honest.

Hypocrisy at Work

The goal of assessing an employee’s performance is to provide impartial, unbiased feedback. We all know that doesn’t always happen, though.

Managers are human beings. And human beings tend to play favorites. During evaluation time, some managers will give their favorite employees good reviews, and everyone else will receive negative feedback. The manager will pretend to be fair and objective, although the employees who aren’t “teacher’s pets” know otherwise.

Removing Hypocrisy from the Equation

You can’t expect managers to immediately abandon their biases against or in favor of certain employees just because it’s time to assess their performance. However, there is a way to reduce the impact of favoritism on the review process.

During a traditional employee evaluation, the manager bears sole responsibility for analyzing an employee’s performance during the last year. That means that there’s only one point of view being represented, and it’s possible that point of view isn’t impartial.

There’s another way to review employees. It’s called a 360-degree employee evaluation software. During this type of assessment, several people appraise an employee’s performance. One of these people is the manager. The other people could be co-workers, subordinates or even customers. If they interact with this employee on a daily basis and are in a position to provide feedback about how well he or she fulfills the duties of the job, then they are qualified to be a reviewer.

Why 360 Degree Reviews Are Better

How is a 360 degree review an improvement on the traditional method of evaluating employee performance? They offer a broader perspective on how well the employee is doing his or her job.

When you ask one person about a subject, you’re only receiving that person’s opinion. And that person might not be particularly well educated about the matter.

However, when you talk to more than one person about an issue, you hear a wide range of views. And those people might be better informed than the first person you spoke with. The same is true of employee evaluations. The more people that weigh in on an employee’s performance, the more accurate the assessment will be.

Grapevine Evaluations: Making 360 Reviews Quick and Easy

Do you want your performance assessments to be fair and objective?

Contact Grapevine Evaluations today. Grapevine Evaluations are trusted by such companies as Pandora, Macy’s, and Thomson Reuters.

Click here to request a demo.

See our Overview of our 360-degree employee evaluation software .

How Much Does 360 Review Software Cost

Sun, 07 Feb 2016 05:00:00 GMT

Are you interested in implementing 360 degree employee review software , but are worried that it will be too expensive for your company? That doesn’t have to be the case. You can find cost-effective 360 review software that meets the needs of your company – read on to learn more about how pricing for this software works.

Determining Costs

In order to understand how much 360 assessment software costs, it’s important to keep a few things in mind. Knowing the following information will make the process of determining costs simpler.

Secondly, some industries have specialized software for the 360 performance review process. These programs will be more expensive because they’re made for a small audience.

Pricing Models

There are three very common pricing models for 360 evaluation software. There are a few software companies that price their products differently, but they’re the exception rather than the rule.

Another model is known as pay-per-employee. The difference between pay-per-user and pay-per-employee is that you pay for all of the employees at your business, regardless of whether they use the software. The cost per employee can range from $1.50 to $5. There’s a possibility you might pay for setup fees, support or training.

The third model is pay-per-appraisal. Usually, you’ll pay once for an individual employee or you’ll purchase a set of employee evaluations. Software providers who use this model generally don’t charge setup fees, and the price per evaluation is cheaper when you have a large number of employees.

Grapevine Evaluations: A Cost-Effective 360 Review Solution

Are you looking for an affordable and reliable 360 assessment software solution? Contact Grapevine Evaluations today. Grapevine Evaluations are trusted by such companies as Pandora, Macy’s, and Thomson Reuters.

Click here to request a demo.

See our Overview of our 360 Performance Review Templates from our Software tool.

56% Of Employees Say They Don’t Receive Raises Or Bonuses When They Perform Well

Mon, 01 Feb 2016 05:00:00 GMT

Are your employees being rewarded for their good performance? Most likely, they’re not. And it’s equally likely that they’re not happy about that. So, why should you care? Unhappy employees can have a negative impact on the company’s productivity and its bottom line. Read on to learn about how employees really feel about the results of performance feedback from reviews, and what you can do to improve the situation.

Employee’s Feelings about Reviews

In May 2015, the HR services software provider BambooHR surveyed over 1,900 employees. Researchers asked the respondents about their attitudes towards the employee review process. The results of the survey surprised them.

Only 16% of employees surveyed actually wanted to receive feedback during their assessments. And less than 5% of respondents believe evaluations motivate and engage employees.

A large chunk of employees surveyed has very unfavorable opinions of the review process. Over two-thirds of respondents said their managers don’t listen to them during assessments. Sixty-two percent of employees surveyed never see changes implemented as a result of the feedback they provide during evaluations. And 56% don’t receive raises or bonuses when they perform well.

Why Employee Unhappiness Matters

You might think, “Well, this survey only represents a small segment of the workforce. And besides, employees aren’t paid to give their opinions.” That attitude could hurt your business in the long run.

When employees aren’t happy with their jobs, one of two things happens: either they become less productive and a demoralizing force at the office or they decide to look for another job. Managers can’t afford either of those scenarios. Low productivity and morale hurt company revenue, and it’s expensive and time-consuming to find new employees.

How to Improve Employee Morale

The researchers at BambooHR discovered what would make employees happier about the review process. They want to be motivated and inspired.

What would motivate and inspire them? Employees want to feel that their managers are listening to their suggestions and implementing them. Moreover, they would like rewards for good performance (such as raises and promotions). And they’d like to be recognized when they do something right. By putting these suggestions into action, you’ll discover you have happier employees who are willing to work harder.

Grapevine Evaluations: Improving the Assessment Process

Do you want to implement a review process that motivates and engages employees?

Contact Grapevine Evaluations today. Grapevine Evaluations are trusted by such companies as Pandora, Macy’s, and Thomson Reuters.

Click here to request a demo.

See our Overview of our 360 Performance Review Software tool.

Employees Who See Their Review As Inaccurate Are Twice As Likely To Quit

Thu, 28 Jan 2016 05:00:00 GMT

How accurate would you say your employee reviews are?

It might not surprise you that your employees don’t always agree with your assessment. Here’s what will catch you off guard, though: if workers believe their evaluations aren’t correct, they’re not going to stay at the company. Read on to learn more about how employees feel about the performance review process , and what you can do to change their minds.

How Employees Really Feel about Reviews

The workforce recognition solution provider Globoforce performs a semi-annual survey of employees. This study gives insight into how workers feel about various issues.

In the summer of 2013, Globoforce’s survey focused on employee reviews. Respondents were quite negative about the process. Just over half of them see their evaluations as inaccurate. Moreover, 63% believe that assessments aren’t a true indicator of performance. And 40% say that reviews only represent one opinion – that of their boss.

Employees dissatisfied with the evaluation process aren’t content to sit around and complain about it. Workers who saw their assessments as inaccurate were twice as likely to look for new jobs.

The Hidden Costs of Turnover

You might say, “Okay, if an employee is so unhappy with his or her review, let that person quit. We’ll see how he or she fares elsewhere.”

Employee turnover is expensive, and managers should avoid it unless it’s absolutely necessary. When someone quits, he or she takes a store of knowledge away from the company. That knowledge might take weeks or months to replace, if ever. You also have to pay someone to train and supervise a new hire, which cuts down on the trainer’s productivity. And don’t forget that the recruiting process costs money and time, too.

Preventing Turnover by Revamping the Review System

Your business doesn’t have to suffer from high rates of employee turnover. You can retain workers by fixing the review process.

If employees feel that the current system leads to inaccurate assessments, ask them what you can do so that reviews reflect reality. There’s a good chance they’ll tell you they want feedback from their peers. Eighty percent of respondents in Globoforce’s survey saw crowdsourced reviews as more accurate. Asking coworkers to assess their colleagues’ performance leads to higher rates of employee satisfaction: 88% of peer-reviewed employees reported being happy at their jobs, as opposed to 67% of those who didn’t receive feedback from their colleagues.

Grapevine Evaluations: Improving the Assessment Process

Do you want to improve your employee review system to retain workers and increase their job satisfaction?

Contact Grapevine Evaluations today. Grapevine Evaluations are trusted by such companies as Pandora, Macy’s, and Thomson Reuters.

Click here to request a free demo.

See our Overview of our 360 Degree Employee Evaluation Software tool

The Real Reasons Employees Hate Employee Evaluations

Wed, 20 Jan 2016 05:00:00 GMT

Do you know how your employees really feel about the employee review process? Chances are, you probably don’t. You’re most likely blissfully unaware of what your workforce is saying about employee evaluations behind your back. Read on to learn why employees hate reviews, and how you can change their opinion .

Employee Thoughts on the Review Process: “Pointless, Meaningless, Irrelevant”

Since 2011, workplace recognition solution provider Globoforce has been carrying out a semi-annual survey of workers to gauge how they feel about their jobs. The results of the Summer 2013 study were notable because they highlighted a growing discontent with the employee review process.

Some survey respondents said about the evaluation system was that it was “pointless,” “meaningless,” and that the outcomes were “irrelevant.”

Why Do Employees Hate Getting Reviews?

You’re most likely wondering, “Why would employees hate the evaluation process so much? It’s a great way for them to get feedback on their performance.”

The problem is that employees don’t see the review system in that light at all. According to the Globoforce survey, over half of all employees don’t believe their assessments are accurate. Another 63% said that evaluations aren’t a true indicator of performance. Forty percent feel as though the reviews only represent one person’s opinion – that of the boss. And 22% said that evaluations don’t take past work into account.

If the survey results above don’t make managers take notice, this statistic should: employees who see assessment results as inaccurate are twice as likely to leave the company.

How Can Managers Change the Process?

It’s tempting to wring your hands and say, “I don’t know what to do to make employees find the review process enjoyable.” Instead of fretting, take action.

The Globoforce survey provides a blueprint for how to improve employee evaluations. Respondents were clear about what they want out of an assessment: 70% want help to grow and develop professionally, 22% want to comply with regulations and 8% need assistance to correct their problems.

Employees also want feedback more frequently. Nearly three-quarters of respondents would like an evaluation ASAP, while 23% want assessments on a weekly basis.

And workers know what will motivate them. Ninety percent of those surveyed said positive feedback would inspire them to do a better job.

Grapevine Evaluations: Improving the Evaluation Process

Do you want to make your employee assessment process better? Contact Grapevine Evaluations today. Grapevine Evaluations are trusted by such companies as Pandora, Macy’s, and Thomson Reuters.

Click here to request a free demo.

See our Overview of our 360 Degree Employee Evaluation Software.

The Link Between Employee Reviews And Customer Service

Tue, 12 Jan 2016 05:00:00 GMT

Did you know that there’s a connection between your employees’ evaluation and the customer service they provide? These two things might seem entirely unrelated. However, you need to be aware of this link, and how it can affect your firm.

How Employees Want You to Treat Them

In the age of social media, the customer has become close to being all-powerful. And companies are willing to do almost anything to maintain that relationship. Businesses have invested a great deal of time, effort and money into getting to know their customers as well as possible so they can best serve their needs.

However, their investments have come at the expense of their employees. Employees feel as though they aren’t valued. I n a survey carried out by the global consulting firm Towers Watson , 70% of respondents said that their organizations should try to gain as much insight into their employees as they do into their customers.

Why Your Relationship with Your Employees Matters

You might believe that your connection to your customers comes before anything else. While your relationship with your client base is certainly incredibly important, don’t neglect the bond between you and your employees.

Why does it matter? They are the face of your company. And if they don’t represent you properly, they can alienate the customers you’ve worked so hard to win.

Joe Folkman, president of the leadership development consulting firm Zenger Folkman, writes that disgruntled employees can wreak havoc. They can make the experience so awful for your customers, they don’t come back. In addition, these employees can badmouth your firm on the Internet. And if they’re really unhappy, they can steal and leak proprietary information.

Solving the Problem of Disgruntled Employees

There are a few ways in which you can solve the problem of unhappy workers. The fastest solution is to fire those people. It might not be the best answer, though.

Getting rid of employees costs firms. The cost isn’t just financial – You spend time and effort in hiring replacements and training them. Also, the person or people who left had knowledge that the new hires might take months to gain (if they ever do).

Instead of firing your employees, take the time to find out why they’re unhappy and what you can do to change the situation. Employee evaluations are actually a great time to do this. Identifying and engaging disgruntled employees now can make a positive difference for your business in the future.

Grapevine Evaluations: Helping You Gain Insight into Employees

Do you want to know how your employees really feel? Contact Grapevine Evaluations today. Grapevine Evaluations are trusted by such companies as Pandora, Macy’s, and Thomson Reuters.

Click here to request a free demo.

Find out more about the 360 degree feedback options that Grapevine Evaluations has to offer.

Why Review-Related Duties Are Consuming 2 Million Hours Per Year

Mon, 28 Dec 2015 05:00:00 GMT

Have you ever sat down and calculated exactly how many hours the employee review process costs your company?

You may already believe that assessing employee performance takes too much time already. However, you’d be surprised at what one major company discovered when it examined its employee evaluation techniques. Read on to learn more.

Reviewing the Review Process: What Deloitte Discovered

Deloitte is a consulting firm with over 150 years of experience in the field of accounting. Since its humble beginnings in Britain, the company has grown to over 65,000 employees.

Until recently, Deloitte did things much the way other companies did: it set objectives for its employees at the beginning of the year, and after the completion of a project, each person’s manager rates the employee’s performance. They factor those ratings into a single figure at the end of the year. Managers arrive at these ratings during lengthy meetings. Counselors represent employees at these meetings.

Deloitte’s leadership decided to examine the process in closer detail. What they discovered was that completing the forms, holding the meetings and creating the ratings took up nearly two million hours per year. Where was most of the time being spent? The majority of the time, business leaders discussed ratings.

Deloitte’s Big Change

The executives at Deloitte asked themselves, “Wouldn’t those two million hours be better spent talking to our employees about their performance and career paths?”

They decided to redesign the way they evaluate employee performance. As they researched how to improve the process, decision makers discovered research that shows ratings can be biased. So, the team in charge of redesigning the assessment process decided to change the questions. Instead of asking managers what they think of an employee, reviewers have the choice of what they would do with the employee. Would they give the employee a raise? Would they keep that person in their department?

Managers must ask themselves these questions at the end of every project, or at least once a quarter for longer projects. Over the course of the year, Deloitte aggregates this data. Once a quarter, the organization’s leadership can decide what to do with employees who should be promoted. Now, Deloitte doesn’t just have a set of facts about employee performance – it can take action based on data.

Grapevine Evaluations: Improving The Performance Review Process

Always make sure that your employee performance assessments are holistic, clear, and take into consideration the fact that your employees are human. If you find that your current evaluation tools don’t allow you to ask the right questions, then maybe it’s time to consider 360 degree feedback.

See our Overview of our 360 Assessment Software tool.

What Type Of Feedback Do Millennials Want?

Mon, 21 Dec 2015 05:00:00 GMT

There’s a large group of very powerful people in the workforce today – do you know who they are?

They’re millennials, people who were born after 1980 and were the first to come of age in the second millennia. Why do they exert so much power in the workforce? It’s simple – there are a lot of them. And they’re changing the way employee performance reviews are carried out.

Read on to learn more.

Is This the End of the Performance Review?

At the end of October 2015, the HR software solutions provider TriNet and Wakefield Research released a report on how employee performance reviews are impacting millennials. As it turns out, the effect is highly negative.

Why don’t millennials like evaluations? They feel as though they don’t receive adequate notice that an assessment will be taking place – 62% of respondents said they felt “blindsided” by a performance review. Furthermore, millennials think the process is flawed. Fifty nine percent of respondents commented they didn’t believe their managers were prepared to give feedback.

With results like these, it’s no surprise that Gap, Adobe and Accenture have decided to eliminate the traditional performance review.

The Performance Review Millennials Really Want

If you’re a fan of the employee evaluation process and fear its demise due to the influx of millennials in the workplace, stop fretting. Although millennials think the way their employers currently review their performance is deficient, they don’t want to scrap the process altogether.

Eighty five percent of those surveyed by TriNet and Wakefield r esearch believe the way managers assess employees needs to be overhauled. And they’ve got very specific suggestions on how to do so. Millennials want feedback frequently, and they want to be able to share their thoughts about how they’re performing on the job. They also want to see more specific critiques, and they wish the comments were fair and unbiased.

Ignore Millennials at Your Peril

You might be thinking, “What a bunch of whiners. In my day, we had a yearly performance review. You just had to wait your turn for feedback, and if you didn’t like what the manager had to say, you just had to deal with it.”

That’s one perspective you can take when dealing with millennials. However, as of 2015, they’re be the largest generation in the American workforce. Alienating them could cost you employees – can you afford that?

Grapevine Evaluations: Meeting Your Workforce’s Evaluation Needs

Are you looking for a method to conduct employee performance appraisals fairly? Call Grapevine Evaluations today at the top of this page to learn about 360 Degree Feedback. 360 Degree Feedback is a web-based tool which allows HR users to quickly and easily create, manage, administer and track participation in the performance review process.

Overview of our 360 Performance Feedback Review Templates from our Software tool.

Can 360 Evaluations Expose Who Lied On Their Resume?

Thu, 17 Dec 2015 05:00:00 GMT

Honesty is a virtue… that many people don’t practice when it comes to their resumes.

They fudge the truth, and sometimes outright lie, in the hopes of landing a job. Many times, their deviousness pays off, and they get the position. However, you can only lie but for so long. A 360 degree evaluation could be the best tool for catching fibbers at the office.

What Is a 360 Degree Evaluation?

A 360 degree evaluation is a form of employee review which relies on feedback from the person’s boss, coworkers, subordinates and even customers and supply chain partners.

The goal of a 360 degree evaluation is to show managers how well employees are performing and whether they need to change their behavior to be more productive and contribute to a healthy work environment.

Using a 360 Degree Evaluation on the Job

The best way to check whether someone’s skills match what’s on his or her resume is to check the person’s references. However, not everyone does that. They hire the candidate on good faith and trust that he or she didn’t lie on his or her resume.

What if your new hire played fast and loose with the truth? How will you find out? Performing a 360 degree evaluation after the probationary period has passed will help.

Who should you speak to during the 360 degree evaluation? You want to talk to the new hire’s subordinates (if there are any), his or her peers and his or her direct manager. This is your opportunity to determine whether the person actually has the skills listed on his or her resume.

What Kinds of Questions to Ask

A 360 degree evaluation is a great way to discover if a new hire has been truthful on a resume or not. You have to ask the right questions, though.

What kinds of things should you be asking? Determine what the most important parts of the new hire’s job are. During the 360 degree evaluation, inquire as to whether the subject indeed possesses the necessary skills to complete his or her job, or if there are significant gaps between paper and reality. Someone who claimed to be a “people person” might be anything but. The guy who said he gets every projec t in on time can’t even show up for the 10 AM meeting.

Grapevine Evaluations: Your Experts in 360 Degree Evaluations

Are you interested in learning whether your employees live up to their resumes through 360 degree evaluations? Contact Grapevine Evaluations today. Grapevine Evaluations are trusted by such companies as Pandora, Macy’s, and Thomson Reuters.

See our Overview of our 360 Performance Feedback Review Templates from our Software.

Do Coworkers Drive More Employee Engagement Than Bosses?

Mon, 14 Dec 2015 05:00:00 GMT

Who has the biggest impact on employee engagement in your office? Is it the managers, or the employees? The answer might surprise you.

Read on to learn who really drives employee engagement, and what you can do to keep employees motivated.

Oracle’s Surprising Survey Results

Most people think of Oracle as just a software firm. It does much more than that, though. The company offers consulting services, including in the field of human capital management.

In September 2015, Oracle released the results of a study it conducted in Western Europe about employee engagement. Researchers surveyed 1,511 employees at large European businesses. They asked respondents about who has the biggest impact on employee engagement in the workplace.

The results came as a surprise. Forty-two percent of employees surveyed said that their coworkers played the largest role in how engaged they felt at the office. How did line managers and business unit managers rank? They came in at 21% and 7%, respectively.

“Wait,” you ask. “What about HR? Surely, the human resources department has some role to play in employee engagement.” Not according to the employees surveyed by Oracle – only 3% believed HR had the biggest positive impact on employee engagement.

How Managers and HR Can Own Employee Engagement

While it’s great to work with other people who make you want to come into the office, it’s the job of managers and the human resources department to keep workers engaged.

So, how can HR and managers change this situation? Oracle’s researchers have some answers. Fifty-three percent of respondents say there’s a simple fix: recognize when employees do their job right (or even amazingly). Thirty-five percent of employees surveyed feel that managers and HR must help workers understand their contribution to the company so they feel valued. Another 34% of respondents say that having the opportunity to work on exciting projects would increase employee engagement.

Oracle’s president for EMEA and Asia Pacific, Loic Le Guisquet, believes that managers and HR staffers can make this change. In a press release about the survey, he remarked, “HR can deliver this through technologies that provide managers with a more up-to-the-minute view of their employees, which in turn encourages a more personalized, rewarding dynamic between them.”

Grapevine Evaluations: Giving Managers and HR Tools to Engage Employees

Does your current performance management process make employee engagement a priority? If not, you should consider the 360-degree feedback tool offered by Grapevine Evaluations. Our 360-degree employee engagement tools are trusted by companies such as Pandora Radio, Thompson Reuters, and Macy’s. Contact us to request a demo today to learn more!

See our Overview of our 360 Assessment Software.

Is Low Employee Engagement HR’s Fault?

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Thu, 10 Dec 2015 05:00:00 GMT

Whose responsibility is employee engagement? Should it be that of the employees?

Or should managers and human resources staffers take charge of this task? While it’s great when employees motivate their colleagues, engagement isn’t their job. It should be part of the human resource department’s duties. Read on to learn what the situation is really like, and what can be done to change it.

Oracle Uncovers Engagement Ownership Trends in the Workplace

Oracle is best known for being a software company. That’s not all it does, though. It also runs a human capital management consulting division. As such, business leaders have an interest in being thought leaders in this field.

In September 2015, Oracle performed a survey of 1,500 employees working at large companies in Western Europe. Researchers asked respondents about who was responsible for employee engagement at their workplace. The results were quite surprising.

Only 3% of respondents said HR has the most positive impact on employee engagement. So, who do employees believe really help engage them? Forty two percent responded that honor goes to their coworkers.

How to Change This Situation

There are steps HR departments can take to assume ownership of employee engagement efforts. Oracle’s report suggests that HR professionals must develop a culture that promotes collaboration and learning with technological tools.

The report’s authors point out that employees are already using technology to crowdsource advice and find information. Why can’t HR share resources electronically that help workers stay motivated at their jobs?

Oracle emphasizes the importance of utilizing analytics to determine the impact of new management styles and collaboration tools. The term “analytics” refers to the study of data to, among other things, assess the effect of an event or action. For many years, analytics software was confined to the finance department or to teams who directly served customers. That’s no longer the case – there are analytics programs for nearly every division in a business, including HR.

Grapevine Evaluations: Making Performance Reviews Better through Technology

Are you interested in learning how technology can improve your organization’s level of employee engagement? If yes, we at Grapevine Evaluations can help. We provide provide easily customizable online 360 degree software that can provide crucial feedback about employees from everyone they work with, including themselves. To learn more about how our 360 degree feedback can help your company, or to set up a one-on-one demo, contact Grapevine Evaluations today.

See our Overview of our 360 Performance Review Templates from our Software.

How To Remove “Snitching” From Employee Reviews

Mon, 07 Dec 2015 05:00:00 GMT

Is there one (or more than one) employee who uses employee reviews as a chance to snitch on colleagues’ bad behavior?

The answer is almost always, and unsurprisingly, yes. Gossiping is part of human nature. However, it can also lead to a toxic office environment. Read on to learn more about how to eliminate the impact of this harmful conduct on employee reviews.

Define the Line Between Snitching and Whistle-blowing

There’s a difference between the employee who points out an ethical violation (such as lying to customers or regulators) and the person who tattles on a coworker because he or she is a few minutes late.

As the manager or HR professional, ask yourself if the news you’re receiving from this employee has an impact on the company. If the employee being tattled upon is breaking the law, you want to know about it. Has Jack left his lunch in the fridge over the weekend? That’s not news.

Changing Toxic Behavior through Corporate Policy

Linda Willey, an HR professional who serves on the Society of Human Resource Management’s discipline panel, believes there are steps companies can take to reduce the toxic version of snitching.

Willey suggests that crafting policies regarding office tale-telling is a company’s best protection against this behavior. Make it clear that snitching for snitching’s sake doesn’t fall within the definition of professional conduct, and it won’t be tolerated.

Educating Employees

Managers and human resources professionals need to communicate to employees about the effect of gossip in the workplace. Simply creating policy isn’t enough – the workforce must understand why it’s been implemented.

Willey points out that managers and HR staff have a right to root out tattling. “It can impact morale and productivity, and teamwork goes down obviously because people start to not trust each other and they start cocooning,” she said in an interview with the Wharton School of Business.

Enforce the Policy Consistently

In order to remove this toxic behavior from your office once and for all, you have to enforce the policy you’ve set in place. And you have to do so consistently.

When you notice that the kind of negative, unproductive snitching is taking place, tell the employee to stop. Explain why it’s not acceptable. Give the employee a chance to change his or her ways. If he or she continues, take action.

Why 360 Degree Feedback is the Ultimate Solution

See our Overview of our 360 Degree Performance Appraisal format of our Software tool.

How Cliques Kill Employee Engagement

Thu, 03 Dec 2015 05:00:00 GMT

Do you remember cliques from elementary school and high school? You’d probably prefer to forget them.

Sadly, these small, tight-knit social groups didn’t fade away just because you’re an adult. You can find cliques within the workplace. And just like in elementary school and high school, they can have a negative effect. Cliques seriously harm employee engagement. Read on to learn how to identify cliques and eliminate their destructive impact.

Why We Form Cliques

The reason humans never grow out of cliques is rooted in our nature. We’re genetically predisposed to form small groups, even if the basis for forming such bonds is as trivial as wearing the same color shirt.

Cliques give us a feeling of security and identity. When we’re part of a clique, we belong to something bigger than ourselves.

The Negative Impact of Cliques in the Workplace

Although cliques might make us feel better about ourselves, they’re not a social phenomenon to be exalted. In fact, the presence of cliques can say some rather unfavorable things about the company and about their members.

Katherine Crowley has co-authored two books on social dynamics at the workplace. In an interview with Forbes, she said that cliques tend to form at companies where there is weak management. “They are like office gangs that emerge to fill in the void of leadership,” Crowley commented.

While clique members may wield power in the workplace, Crowley and her co-author Kathi Elster noted that they aren’t respected professionally. It’s rare to see a clique made up of the firm’s highest performers.

Breaking up Cliques at Work

Cliques can intimidate other employees. Their impact can be so damaging that coworkers will leave the company rather than put up with these social groups.

How can you prevent your employees from suffering the effects of cliques? Implement a method to eliminate them at the workplace. It’s not as difficult or scary as it sounds.

The employee reward and recognition management solution provider Achievers hit upon a unique way to help new employees successfully integrate into the company’s culture. Whenever the company hires someone, managers pair the new employee with someone who’s been at the firm for a while.

Managers at Achievers seek to pair up people from similar backgrounds – if the new guy has young children, they’ll set him up with someone else with small kids. The veteran takes the time to get to know the employee, so the new person feels as though he or she has someone to turn to at Achievers.

Grapevine Evaluations: Employee Performance Reviews that Boost Engagement

Don’t want to wait until next year to find out whether your employees are engaged or not? Contact Grapevine Evaluations today.

Grapevine Evaluations is the go-to choice for companies such as Pandora Radio, Thompson Reuters, and Macy’s. Isn’t it time that you found out how 360 degree feedback can help your company? Contact us today to schedule a one-on-one demo!

See our Overview of our 360 Degree Employee Evaluation Software tool.

Employee Concerns Are Not Addressed After 360 Feedback

Tue, 01 Dec 2015 05:00:00 GMT

Are your staffers happy with your company’s employee evaluation process? There’s an excellent chance that they’re not. And that they’re feeling disenchanted with the way you measure their performance.

Read on to learn why this is a problem, and how to fix it.

Employee Reviews: Who Really Gains?

In May 2015, online HR software provider BambooHR performed a survey of 1,933 people over the age of 21 who are currently employed at firms with a headcount of over 50 employees. The results of this survey deeply surprised researchers.

Of the 1,933 people surveyed, 42% are at companies which aren’t performing employee reviews at all. That leaves 58% of respondents employed by businesses which do carry out performance reviews. A whopping 89% of that group believe that employee evaluations benefit the companies, not the workforce.

How Employees Really Feel about the Employee Review Process

BambooHR’s researchers discovered that only 16% of employees surveyed want to receive feedback during their performance reviews. Why is that number so low?

The other results of the survey help explain why so many employees find performance evaluations ineffective and unrewarding. Sixty seven percent of employees stated they felt as though their managers weren’t listening to them during the review. So, it shouldn’t come as any surprise that 55% of employees surveyed said their companies don’t address concerns brought up during the evaluation. With that statistic in mind, it should be almost expected that 62% of respondents never see changes occur as a result of feedback. Why would they, if no one is listening in the first place?

What Employees Actually Want

After reading the preceding paragraph, it’s fairly clear what makes employees unhappy or dissatisfied with the way their companies are carrying out the employee review process. So, what do they want instead?

Researchers at BambooHR didn’t ignore this question. They discovered five things that employees want out of an evaluation. Your workers find an informal, open conversation to be motivating. When managers listen and implement their subordinates’ ideas, that sparks their desire to stay at the company and succeed.

Another item on employees’ wishlists is being recognized by their managers for a job well done. They’d also love to be rewarded with a raise, which shouldn’t shock anyone. However, it’s not all about the money. Employees also want to hold one-on-one conversations with their managers about their career paths.

Grapevine Evaluations: The Employee Review Experts

Are your employees complaining about your current performance review process? Grapevine Evaluations has the solution: a web-based 360 degree feedback tool that includes comprehensive reporting, so you and your employees can get an accurate understanding of what matters: how they are perceived from management and co-workers, and where they can improve. Contact us today to learn more about our employee review tool.

See our Overview of our 360 Performance Review Templates from our Software tool.

Why The Gap, Adobe, and Microsoft Scrapped Yearly Reviews

Fri, 27 Nov 2015 05:00:00 GMT

The management research firm CEB performed a survey among major companies, finding that 95% of managers of were dissatisfied with their employee performance review process. Almost nine out of ten HR heads don’t believe that the information derived from feedback processes yield accurate results.

Major corporations are beginning to respond to the dissatisfaction of their managers and HR specialists, including Microsoft, Adobe and the Gap, all of which have dropped their tradition of yearly employee reviews.

Feedback Fuels Improvement

Performing employee feedback once every year only serves to make employees nervous about whether or not their accomplishments have been noted. Instead of thinking about improving their performance, they’re understandably more worried about how the review will affect their income or job status.

Assuming your company performs feedback reviews to derive the best possible performance from your staff, you’ll want to consider moving to an evaluation system that provides constructive feedback to employees on a more frequent basis.

Bruce Tulgan, author of It’s Okay to Be the Boss: The Step-by-Step Guide to Becoming the Manager Your Employees Need , states that “feedback is much too often given when things are going wrong. I call that ‘bad-news management’ because every time they hear from you, it means something’s gone wrong.”

He believes that feedback should be given under all circumstances, including when things are going well or even just average. This creates a much better relationship between employees and managers. Instead of dreading communication because it means that something’s gone wrong, both sides look forward to the exchange of ideas.

New Tools Make Constant Feedback Possible

The idea of conducting more than one or two employee reviews per year was seen as a drain on resources. This assessment was correct, considering the amount of time and effort it used to take to perform feedback reviews using old processes.

Cloud computing services have made it easy to outsource this type of process, allowing companies to focus on constant improvement of the performance of their employees instead of dealing with complex computer programs.

Rather than give feedback for an entire year’s worth of work, which is impossible, managers, supervisors and employees can benefit from quick performance adjustments on a regular basis to maximize the value of the entire endeavor.

Looking for Employee Review Tool That Really Make a Difference?

360 Degree Feedback is a web-based tool which enables HR users to easily and quickly create, distribute, manage and track employee participation in the review process. Users can see results in real time. HR departments can customize the questions so the survey meets the company’s unique needs.

Take bias out of your employee reviews with 360 Degree Feedback for evaluations that are fair and impartial.

See our Overview of our 360 Performance Review Templates from our Software tool.

How Companies Make Employee Reviews a Meaningless Waste

Tue, 24 Nov 2015 05:00:00 GMT

According to a 2014 survey conducted by Deloitte University Press , 58% of respondents stated that their performance management process isn’t time-effective.

Incredibly, only 8 percent of these companies report that their performance management creates significant value. The majority of these companies make one of many mistakes that cause employee reviews to be a meaningless waste of time.

Inefficient Employee Ratings Process

The process of providing feedback for evaluations represents one of the biggest wastes of time in the creation of employee reviews. Deloitte’s survey revealed that about two million hours were spent per year in the creation of feedback ratings – not including data processing, analysis and employee-manager meetings.

Instead of spending time dealing with software systems, companies have the choice of outsourcing the collection and processing of employee ratings. This allows HR managers and business owners to spend more time working with employees to improve performance.

Biased Ratings Skew Results

In the case where evaluations duties are performed only by managers or supervisors, bias tends to creep into evaluations because of their unique point of view. When collecting ratings from everybody involved in the business, including peers, managers and customers, the feedback that you receive includes a wider point of view, eliminating much of the bias that skews results.

A study published in the Journal of Applied Psychology calculates that 62% of variance in employee ratings is caused by individual differences in perception, while the performance of the employee accounted for 21% of the variance. As a result, the authors of the study – Steven Scullen, Michael Mount and Maynard Goff – show that “most of what is being measured by the ratings is the unique rating tendencies of the rater. Thus ratings reveal more about the rater than they do about the ratee.”

While it’s impossible to completely eliminate human bias from any subjective rating process, obtaining opinions and feedback from as many people as possible helps balance the results and fill in managerial gaps of perception.

Reducing the time that it takes to collect feedback and increasing the value of the information derived from the feedback process helps to make the most of employee reviews.

Want to Make Employee Reviews More Meaningful?

If you want to make your employee reviews more meaningful, you should consider implementing 360 degree appraisals . At Grapevine Evaluations, our survey tool assists you in creating, distributing, managing, and evaluating all stages of the review process, easily and efficiently.

Let us walk you through our simple, customizable product, or take a tour on your own , and learn about updating your employee review process so that you can keep your best employees, and provide incentive to the whole team to excel.

See our Overview of our 360 Degree Performance Appraisal format of our Software.

Why Yearly Reviews Need to Review the WHOLE Year

Fri, 20 Nov 2015 05:00:00 GMT

Improve Performance All Year Round

Year end employee reviews are notorious for not being able to provide a clear view of an employee’s performance throughout the entire year.

Often, instead of helping to improve the capabilities of your staff, year end reviews result in anxiety for employees and frustration for management who consider the process as a huge waste of time. When you obtain an accurate view of staff performance throughout the year, you’re able to address performance issues on a more frequent basis while eliminating misunderstandings between managers and their subordinates.

Acquire Constant Feedback to Boost Data Accuracy

Implementing a system that tracks the performance of employees throughout the year allows employees to better understand the impact of the quality of their work while giving managers and supervisors a chance to positively influence the development of subordinates on a more frequent basis. Performance issues that are recorded and addressed immediately increase the effectiveness of the feedback that employees receive, while enriching the information base that comprises your year end review.

Implementing a 360 degree review system increases the depth of knowledge that you accumulate about your staff. This type of evaluation tool records feedback from peers, managers and customers to develop a better view of how employees impact the success of your organization. Obtaining opinions about employees from multiple points of view helps to eliminate bias that can result from getting an opinion from a single source.

Give Constant Feedback To Boost Performance

Instead of holding back suggestions for months and springing them on employees during an annual evaluation, deal with issues immediately and record them in the database. This way, staff will understand the reasons behind the conclusions you reach and your evaluation won’t be missing key pieces of data that produce an accurate portrayal of your employee’s performance throughout the year.

Giving frequent feedback helps employees improve their performance on a regular basis, giving them a chance to reach a mutual set of goals that benefits both the individual and the entire team.

Companies such as Accenture, Microsoft and The Gap, among others, have implemented continual feedback in response to assertions made by Kevin Murphy, a Colorado State University Scientist. He states that, because of inaccurate data and biases, “annual appraisals end up as a source of anxiety and annoyance rather than a source of useful information.”

Want to Carry out Yearly Employee Reviews?

If you want to carry out yearly employee reviews that show ones performance throughout the year, then you should invest in 360 degree employee review tool. At Grapevine Evaluations, our web-based 360 degree feedback survey tool includes comprehensive reporting, so you and your employees can get an accurate understanding of what matters: how they are perceived from management and co-workers, and where they can improve. Contact us today to learn more about our product.

See our Overview of our 360 Review Software tool.

How to Review Both Hard and Soft Skills

Tue, 17 Nov 2015 05:00:00 GMT

Depending on the type of system that you use for your employee assessments , you may be getting one-sided information that focuses only on one aspect of your staff’s performance.

Hard numbers provide concrete evidence of the accomplishments of your employees, but they don’t do a great of measuring soft skills that lead to further success. Likewise, employee feedback that focuses only on soft skills, like how well an employee communicates, doesn’t provide management with an outcome in terms of raw capability or productive output.

Measuring both at the same time is the key to better understanding how to monitor the performance of your employees, particularly for jobs that require both.

Measuring Hard Skills

Hard skills are typically defined as abilities and aptitudes in topic where the rules don’t change. STEM occupations are typical examples of professions that require a great deal of hard skills, like mathematics, science, programming, engineering and other related subjects.

Testing and measuring hard skills revolves around verifying the candidates ability to generate the correct result according to the variables provided and the desired outcome. One example would be measuring the ability of a computer programmer to successfully solve issues with code. By determining how long an employee takes to create solutions and the volume of work required to achieve programming goals, a company can figure out the staff member’s coding ability compared to other members of the team.

Determining Soft Skills

Soft skills tend to revolve around communication, language, persuasion and other fields that don’t directly require precise mathematics, science or programming. Instead, soft skills rely on emotional intelligence and the ability to empathize with others Measuring an employee’s ability to use their soft skills while on the job is difficult because of the subjectivity involved in interpreting language and other imprecise information.

In these cases, it’s useful to gather as much information as possible about how a staff member gets along with everybody involved with your company. Employee evaluation processes such as 360 degree feedback tools allow peers, customers and management to give their opinion on how your staff member conducts their business at work.

Obtaining opinions from as many sources as possible helps to eliminate the bias that can take place when relying on a single point of view when trying to determine how well an employee gets along with customers and team members.

Want to Review Both Hard and Soft Skills?

Try 360 Review Tool

If your employee evaluations aren’t showing you any return on investment or employee improvements, it’s time to change that.

Grapevine Evaluations is the go-to choice for companies such as Pandora Radio, Thompson Reuters, and Macy’s. Isn’t it time that you found out how 360 degree employee performance reviews can help your company? Contact us today to schedule a one-on-one demo!

See our Overview of our 360 Performance Review Software.

How Big Data Can Help Performance Reviews

Fri, 13 Nov 2015 05:00:00 GMT

Big Data Improves Performance Reviews

The explosion of cloud computing services allows companies to implement big data for staff assessment processes without having to invest a significant amount of resources in IT hardware and expertise.

This levels the playing field for smaller organizations, giving them access to the same information capabilities that large companies used to enjoy on an exclusive basis. Now, all business owners can benefit from employee reviews that use big data analytics that reveal more accurate and in-depth information about staff performance.

Create Greater Insight Using Big Data

Everybody involved in the process of performance reviews wants to have the most accurate information possible about the results of their day-to-day work. Big data is all about using large samples of information gathered from multiple sources in order to reveal in-depth conclusions.

These large samples are quickly analyzed and processed. These unbiased results allow managers and supervisors to better understand the strengths and weaknesses of their staff, sometimes discovering details that would otherwise remain hidden.

Accurate information about employees provides the opportunity to develop the aptitude of internal talent while improving potential weak spots in performance. Through frequent monitoring, you also have the ability to follow the success of training and feedback programs, which you can adjust according to the results of performance evaluation data from 360 degree feedback tools.

Spend More Time Improving Performance

When big data processes are applied to performance reviews, the amount of time your company spends gathering and analysing information decreases significantly. In fact, big data performance review software run off of cloud computing servers can provide constant feedback. This lets supervisors and managers reward employees for a job well done on a more consistent basis, as well as adjust their behavior if they happen to make a mistake.

Instead of the giant year-end review that many large companies go through to evaluate their employees, an increasing number organizations, such as Microsoft, Accenture and The Gap, are choosing to provide feedback for their employees on a more consistent basis. Instead of applying competitive rankings once or twice a year in a process that terrifies most staff members, employees receive constant support from their superiors in an effort to improve the performance of the entire team.

Are You Interested in a Performance Review Tool

Grapevine Evaluations has helped countless HR departments and companies to learn about their employees in an effective manner. Our 360 feedback survey software is web-based, fully customizable and includes comprehensive reporting, making it an indispensable tool. Contact us today, or request a one-on-one demo, and help your company get stronger.

See our Overview of our 360 Performance Review Templates from our Software.

How to Get the Most of Performance Reviews

Tue, 10 Nov 2015 05:00:00 GMT

One of the most important parts of running a business involves monitoring the performance of your employees . The quality of work that they perform directly impacts the profitability of your organization.

Gathering high-quality feedback and creating goals that benefit both your company and your employees help derive the most value from your performance review processes.

Gather the Best Information

The quality of the performance review that you perform depends directly on the quality of the information that you gather about your staff’s performance. If you only source of information is from a single manager or supervisor who relies on their own opinion, it’s extremely unlikely that the feedback will be accurate or provide any sort of insight for the employee.

Some companies use number rankings and ratings that pit one employee against each other. While these systems appear to be more objective and transparent, the fact that ratings are provided from the top down limits the information that a company gathers about employees.

A method of rating that more companies continue to adopt is the multi-rater system, which creates in-depth information from the perspective of everybody involved in the business, including bosses, peers, customers and clients. Through feedback gathered from all angles, data is created about the impacts that an employee’s work has on the person rating them.

Ratings and opinions from multiple sources helps to eliminate the bias that occurs when a single person provides data for rankings. This gives HR professionals and business owners the opportunity to improve the performance of staff by possessing accurate and actionable information.

Create Mutual Goals

The reason that you’re collecting performance feedback about your employees revolves around attempting to improve the day-to-day functioning of your staff. One of the best ways to make use of the information gathered is to focus on creating goals that align the company’s mission with the employee’s performance.

Instead of giving simple feedback once a year, performance improvement should be a constant process that involves year-round coaching and feedback. This ensures that all members of the team stay focused on how their work affects the bottom line of the company. Rather than working to earn good ratings in an effort to keep their job, employees work to achieve goals that provide mutual benefit.

Want to Get the Most of Performance Reviews

Investing in 360 review software will help you get the most of performance reviews in ways that you never thought possible. Knowing this, however, is just the first step; finding the right tool to use can be daunting.

Grapevine Evaluations has the solution you need: web-based, customizable templates that provide comprehensive reporting. Take a tour of our product, or learn more from us on a one-on-one demo, and find out why we’ve helped countless large and small companies gain a solid understanding of the value of their employees.

See our Overview of our 360 Performance Review Templates from our Software.

Why Employees Hate Performance Reviews

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Fri, 06 Nov 2015 05:00:00 GMT

Performance appraisals and reviews for employees tend to be a part of the job that staff reliably hates the most.

Colorado State University scientist Kevin Murphy believes that traditional feedback becomes biased by those who provide evaluation, leading to damaged relationships even when the review appears to be accurate. “As a result,” Kevin Murphy concluded, “Annual appraisals end up as a source of anxiety and annoyance rather than a source of useful information.”

Some of the most influential businesses in the world are following suit, switching to performance improvement that helps staff better understand and improve their performance.

Inaccurate Portraits of Performance

Many employees hate performance reviews because they feel that the feedback doesn’t accurately represent the work that they perform. Often, reviews consist of arbitrary number rankings that aren’t capable of reflecting the nuances of day-to-day performance, especially when the process consists of a 15-minute review that assesses an employee’s year. According to Forbes, HR professionals agree , with 45% stating that they don’t believe performance reviews present an accurate depiction of workers.

More and more Fortune 500 companies are moving away from annual reviews that assign number rankings. Instead, they’re implementing a system where managers and supervisors provide feedback on specific issues on a more consistent basis, leading to greater performance and employee growth.

One of the biggest names in business that’s switched to this new philosophy is Accenture, which is a firm that specializes in consulting and strategy. In an interview with The Washington Post , their CEO, Pierre Nanterme, said that what people want to know “on an ongoing basis: Am I doing right? Am I moving in the right direction? Do you think I’m progressing?”

As companies continue to move away from traditional reviews, more employees will benefit from receiving timely feedback that provides an accurate assessment or their performance. Those who perform well receive rewards, increasing retention rates of desired talent, while staff who need to progress get an opportunity to improve their performance.

Collaboration Works Better Than Competition

There’s no doubt that certain situations call for creating healthy competition among employees to boost the results of the entire team. However, when it comes to feedback that’s supposed to help an individual better understand their performance – under the guise of improvement – competition gets in the way of providing a clear view.

Even Microsoft, which formerly touted its philosophy of competitive rankings as part of feedback, have changed their ways, with companies such as the Gap and Adobe following suit.

Why 360 Degree Feedback is the Ultimate Solution

Take the hassle and inefficiency of traditional employee performance reviews out of the equation, and introduce 360 degree feedback software into the process. Our survey tool assists you in creating, distributing, managing, and evaluating all stages of the review process, easily and efficiently. And, you can track survey participation and follow up as needed. For more information, please contact us today, or take a tour of our product.

See our Overview of our 360 Degree Performance Appraisal format of our Software.

Why You Should Embrace Your Employees’ Mistakes

Wed, 28 Oct 2015 04:00:00 GMT

Personal coach John C. Maxwell once said, “A man must be big enough to admit his mistakes, smart enough to profit from them, and strong enough to correct them.” His approach to making mistakes is very different than many managers’. Most supervisors don’t encourage their employees to make mistakes, because they see errors as something to be avoided at all costs.

However, Maxwell is right. Read on to learn why embracing your employees’ mistakes is one of the best things you can do as a manger.

Getting Outside the Comfort Zone

Angel investor Amy Rees Anderson points out that employees frequently make mistakes when they’re trying something new. And they’re ready to try something new when they’re outside of their comfort zone.

Being outside of your comfort zone is a good thing. It means you want to try something new and different. You’re ready to innovate. No one ever made progress by standing still. So, yes, your employees might make mistakes instead of innovating. But, at least they’ve got the courage to try something that’s never been done before.

Mistakes Can Lead to Success

Did you know that it took Albert Einstein 30 years to arrive at the theory of relativity? There were three decades of mistakes and blunders before he declared that E=mc².

Your employees don’t have to be Einstein. The point is that an error can lead to a greater discovery – one which could be profitable for the company. Your workers will never make an error if they’re afraid to, so encourage them to fail on occasion.

Mistakes Mean You’re Going Fast

Dan Levin, CEO of the file sharing software company Box, believes failure is important because it’s a sign of the business’ momentum.

“As leaders, maximum throughput, not perfection, is what we should be solving for,” Levin wrote in a post for Entrepreneur in September 2013. Today’s landscape is too competitive to slow down and worry about making mistakes. Levin would rather have his employees stumble from time to time on the road to Box’s success than have them be obsessed with perfection.

Want to Avoid Employee Mistakes?

Implement 360 Degree Employee Reviews

Implementing 360 degree reviews in your business can lead to increased morale, better performance and less employee mistakes. Grapevine Evaluations solves this issue with our multi-rater feedback tool, where everyone who works with an employee will be able to provide honest feedback for him, which can reduce employee mistakes.

Let us walk you through our simple, customizable product, or take a tour on your own, and learn about updating your employee review process so that you can keep your best employees, and provide incentive to the whole team to excel.

See our Overview of our 360 Review Software tool.

Never Blindside Your Employee with Feedback

Wed, 21 Oct 2015 04:00:00 GMT

There are some surprises that are good, like surprise parties. And then there are some unpleasant surprises. Finding out that you received a traffic ticket is one of those situations. Something else that can be unexpected and unenjoyable is when bosses spring performance assessments on their employees. Not only do employees not like it, it’s not even a good idea.

Read on to learn why preparing your workers for feedback is a better approach.

Being at Your Best

Some people are really good at answering questions on the spot and speaking off the cuff. It’s a skill that not everyone has.

Your employees might not be one of those lucky people who exhibit grace under pressure. When you surprise them with an evaluation, they might be so flustered that they can’t think about their accomplishments and triumphs over the course of the last year.

Playing Defense

If someone put you on the spot and questioned your professional record, how would you respond? Most likely, you’d be defensive.

That’s how your employees feel when you don’t give them notice that you’re evaluating their performance. They sense that they have to stand up for themselves against your negative comments. If you give them time to prepare, they’ll be more confident and have the chance to develop their answers.

The Message Gets Drowned Out

Your intention might not have been to put your employee on the defensive. However, that was the outcome. And the employee was so focused on defending him or herself from the perceived attack that he or she might have missed out on feedback.

When people feel as though they are under attack (even if the attack is verbal and not physical), they go into fight mode. That means that their bodies tense and their nervous system actually overheats. Your employee is physically and mentally unable to take in any new information because he or she is so busy defending his or herself.

Conversely, when a person is calm and relaxed, he or she is receptive to listening. People will be calm and relaxed when they have advanced notice that a performance review is going to take place.

Why 360 Degree Feedback is the Ultimate Solution

Take the hassle and inefficiency of traditional employee reviews out of the equation, and introduce 360 degree feedback software into the process. Our survey tool assists you in creating, distributing, managing, and evaluating all stages of the review process, easily and efficiently. And, you can track survey participation and follow up as needed. For more information, please contact us today, or take a tour of our product.

See our Overview of our 360 Performance Feedback Review Templates from our Software.

Why You Should Never Tell Your Employees “I’ve Been Meaning to Tell You”

Wed, 14 Oct 2015 04:00:00 GMT

Do you wait until the annual employee assessment period to give your employees feedback? It’s easy to do – it’s the one time of the year when you’re supposed to assess your employees’ performance. Holding back until that point isn’t a good idea, though.

Read on to learn why frequent evaluations are more effective.

People Aren’t Mind Readers

Unless you have a psychic working for you, your employees don’t know what you’re thinking. If you want them to change their behavior, don’t wait until the yearly performance review to do so.

Your employees want to succeed. They won’t if you don’t give them the critique they need to improve. No one wants to hear that they’ve been fired for something that was correctable, if only the boss had made mention of it.

Improving Accountability

When you wait until the employee review period to assess performance, you’re taking away an employee’s accountability. He or she can claim ignorance of mistakes because the manager didn’t inform the worker that he or she was doing something wrong.

Everyone should be held accountable at a company. And an employee can’t claim responsibility for his or her behavior if that individual was operating under the impression that it was acceptable. The sooner the employee knows that there’s a problem to be fixed, the sooner he or she can own it and take care of it.

Your Memory Isn’t Always Accurate

Psychologists have come up with a term they’ve dubbed “the recency effect.” It refers to humans’ tendency to base their analysis of a long time period on the most recent event they’ve experienced. For example, a boss might only look at an employee’s mistake on a report last month during a performance review instead of considering the two amazing projects he completed ten months ago.

You might not remember to tell your employees that they did a great job back in February if it’s now August. Instead of waiting, give them the feedback (be it positive or negative) now, when it’s fresh in your mind.

Employee Feedback Tool Can Help

Investing in 360 review software will help you develop your employees in ways that you never thought possible. Knowing this, however, is just the first step; finding the right tool to use can be daunting.

Grapevine Evaluations has the solution you need: web-based, customizable templates that provide comprehensive reporting. Take a tour of our product, or learn more from us one-on-one, and find out why we’ve helped countless large and small companies gain a solid understanding of the value of their employees.

See our Overview of our 360 Performance Review Templates from our Software tool.

If Your Employees Can’t Take Feedback, It May Be Your Fault

Wed, 07 Oct 2015 04:00:00 GMT

Do you feel as though when you give your employees feedback, they don’t handle it well? Maybe they act defensive. Perhaps they simply ignore you. Their responses are frustrating, because you expected them to internalize the comments and change their behavior. However, the case may be that you aren’t evaluating them in a way that encourages them to listen clearly.

Read on to learn about how you can give effective employee feedback.

The Frequency

Ask yourself how often you assess employee performance. Is it once a year, at employee evaluation time? If the answer to that question is “yes,” that’s a problem. When you wait for a whole year to evaluate an employee, he or she wonder why you couldn’t have said this earlier. It also means that you are probably focusing on one or two events throughout the year and ignoring many of the other things that went right (or wrong).

The Method

Another question to ask yourself is, “How do I give feedback?” Do you provide constructive criticism, focusing on the good that the employee has done? Or, do you choose to raise your voice, humiliate your subordinates, and make them remember not to do that again? Yelling at employees won’t motivate them to do better. Maybe the reason that employees can’t take your critiques is because of your delivery of them.

The Clarity

How clear is your feedback to your employees? Do they understand what you’re telling them and why? If your employees can’t follow what you’re trying to convey, they won’t be able to correct their behavior. Keep your evaluations clear and easy to understand, and you’ll see a positive change.

You Don’t Follow Up

How often do you tell your employees that their behavior needs to change, tell them there will be consequences, and then don’t do anything when there are no changes? When you don’t back up what you’re going to say with actions, your employees stop believing that you have any power over them. They won’t think that you can actually do anything to them, so they don’t see any reason to modify their behavior.

Grapevine Evaluations: Improving the Employee Evaluation Process

Do your employees wish you’d change the way you give feedback? Contact Grapevine Evaluations today. We offer cloud-based 360 degree employee evaluation software that companies can customize according to their unique needs. HR professionals can also receive the results of the evaluation in real time.

See our Overview of our 360 Assessment Software tool.

Why Almost 50% of Employees Think Reviews Are a Waste

Mon, 28 Sep 2015 04:00:00 GMT

Have you ever asked your employees what they think of your organization’s employee assessment process? Chances are you wouldn’t like the answer. You would most likely discover that your workers don’t think reviews are particularly effective.

Read on to learn why so many employees think that reviews are completely useless and not worth the time or effort.

The Stats

In October 2014, GuideSpark published a survey about employees’ views on evaluations. The results most likely surprised their supervisors: 45% of employees surveyed stated that reviews are “a total waste of time.”

Then again, employees might be amazed to discover that their supervisors feel similarly. Fifty seven percent of managers surveyed by GuideSpark called the evaluation process “a time sink.”

Why Do Managers and Employees Feel This Way?

For years, managers and employees have heard about the importance of the review process. Yet, according to GuideSpark’s survey, many of them feel that it wastes time. Why is that?

GuideSpark’s researchers believe that there’s a lack of communication about the purpose of performance reviews. In addition, managers don’t know how to evaluate employees.

So, when you combine these two factors, it leads to a dislike of the evaluation system. Moreover, it diminishes the effectiveness of employee reviews.

How to Change These Statistics

While these numbers are upsetting, they’re not written in stone. Organizations can change the way employees and managers feel about the evaluation process.

What can business leaders do to improve the image of the review? For a start, they can clearly communicate the evaluation process’ purpose. Companies carry out evaluations to determine how well employees are doing their job. To make that determination, every position must have an easy-to-understand description with which the manager is deeply familiar.

Secondly, managers need to explain to their employees why they’re evaluating them. People like knowing what’s going on. When they feel as though they understand a situation, they won’t view evaluations as a waste of time.

Thirdly, managers must learn how to review employees’ performance. The secret to an effective evaluation is, as mentioned above, an understanding of the employee’s position. A manager also has to know what the employee is supposed to be doing, and whether he or she is actually doing it. If the manager is too hands-off, he or she won’t have the knowledge necessary to accurately review the subordinate.

What impact are your employee reviews having?

Always make sure that your employee reviews are holistic, clear, and take into consideration the fact that your employees are human. If you find that your current evaluation tools don’t allow you to ask the right questions, then maybe it’s time to consider 360 degree performance feedback . Contact us today for a live demo to learn more!

See our Overview of our 360 Performance Review Templates from our Software.

Why Employees Say These Companies are Terrible to Work For

Mon, 21 Sep 2015 04:00:00 GMT

If you keep up to date with business news, you’ve probably read your fair share of articles with headlines such as, “The Ten Best Companies in the Country,” or “The Ten Worst Companies to Work for.” Unless you’re working for an organization in the second category, you breathe a sigh of relief that your firm isn’t on the list. However, that doesn’t mean your business shouldn’t be asking for employee performance feedback.

Read on to learn what the worst companies have in common, and whether you’re at one of them.

Trying to Catch Flies with Vinegar

You can’t boost an employee’s performance with negative criticism, or worse, humiliation. Yet, it’s amazing how many managers seem to think you can do just that. What’s worse is that it’s built into some corporate cultures.

While an inability to praise staffers for a job well done isn’t a hallmark of all terrible companies, many of current and former employees complain that’s an issue.

The Lying Game

Another sign that you’re working for a terrible company is that managers and employees alike frequently practice deception. It could be as simple as not giving customers your real name, and it could be as illegal as providing false information to the government. Again, not all terrible companies make lying part of the job description. However, a number of horrible places to work have that in common.

No Work-Life Balance

Does your boss expect you to work ’round the clock without receiving any extra bonuses or rewards? Is it an unwritten company policy that your boss looks at you funny if you ask for vacation time?

Business leaders at terrible companies don’t understand that their employees need to maintain a balance between their work and their personal lives. Many former and current employees at places like these will point out this flaw.

Efficiency Is a Dirty Word

Take a second and think about how long it takes to get things done at your office. Compare that length of time to other places you’ve worked. If it’s significantly longer, you’re in a very inefficient office.

Another sign is that the processes in your office have so many steps in them that it’s only natural to expect they’ll take a long time to complete. Inefficient, terrible companies are also unsuccessful companies, so it doesn’t surprise anyone when they fail.

Want to know what your employees think about your company?

What do your employees think about working at your company? The best way to find out is to carry out an employee feedback exercise. Grapevine Evaluations solves this issue with our multi-rater feedback tool, where everyone who works with an employee will be able to provide honest feedback for him, which can identify how the employee can improve.

Let us walk you through our simple, customizable product, or take a tour on your own, and learn about updating your employee evaluation process so that you can keep your best employees, and provide incentive to the whole team to excel.

See our Overview of our 360 Degree Performance Appraisal format of our Software.

Do Your Employees Want More Time off or More Money?

Mon, 14 Sep 2015 04:00:00 GMT

If your employees were offered more vacation time or a raise, which do you think they would take? The answer might surprise you. While many people would take the extra money, there are some people who would rather just have an extra week away. Read on to learn why that’s the case, and how to figure out what your employees really want.

The Background

In November 2012, the consulting firm Mercer carried out a global survey of over 10,000 workers in ten countries. Many of the Canadian employees surveyed said they wanted more time off. That wasn’t the top choice of workers in other countries (such as the US, Brazil, China, France, and Britain) – they said they’d rather take a raise. The Canadian workers who said they wanted more vacation time tended to be between the ages of 25 and 44. Employees earning under $20,000 per year and respondents over the age of 45 were more likely to select the option of receiving a raise.

Not Taking the Money and Running

Why wouldn’t an employee want more money if his or her boss offered that choice? Mercer’s senior partner, Brian Lindenberg, shared his thoughts on that question in an article in the Globe and Mail . He remarked that employees want more vacation time because they are stressed out. Even though a raise might help them in the long run, they’re focusing on the short term.

The Advantages of Giving Your Employees What They Wish

You might think it doesn’t make sense to give employees more time off. “That means they have less time to do work,” you may say.

The cost of not giving your employees more vacation time (or more money) might be higher than you realize. Your workers could be burnt out from working too hard. They need a break. When they come back, they’ll be refreshed and ready to tackle their assignments again.

On the other hand, if you turn them down, they might decide that they would rather work for a company that respects their work-life balance. And then, you lose an experienced and trained staffer, which is costly to replace.

Learn to Listen to Your Employees

Do employees and managers at your company hate evaluations? Grapevine Evaluations can give you the tools to assess what is happening in your company so you can manage your workforce.

At Grapevine Evaluations, our 360 degree employee evaluation software is trusted by companies such as Pandora Radio, Thompson Reuters, and Macy’s.

Request a demo today to learn more!

See our Overview of our 360 Performance Review Templates from our Software tool.

How a Bad Employee Could Be Your Fault

Mon, 07 Sep 2015 04:00:00 GMT

You know the hallmarks of a bad employee: he or she doesn’t show up on time, the individual doesn’t complete assignments by their deadline or at all, the employee has a bad attitude… the list goes on. What you might not realize is that you could be partially to blame for that person’s behavior or actions. “Why is it my responsibility?” you ask. How can I assess an employee’s real value?

Read on to learn why a staffer’s poor performance could be your fault.

Your Management Style

The way you manage your employees has a significant impact on their performance. To a large extent, you bear responsibility for how much or how little employees accomplish.

Do you provide constructive criticism when employees do something wrong or fall short of expectations? Or, do you ignore it because it’s easier not to do anything about it, and it’s not that big a deal anyway?

When an employee does something noteworthy, do you praise him or her? Or, do you take credit for it yourself? After all, your employees are an extension of yourself, right?

Have you explained to your employees what their role is in the firm in a way that they understand and have internalized? Or, do you believe that they can figure things out for themselves and they don’t need you?

Bad Managers Make Bad Employees

Being a manager isn’t an easy job. You have to motivate employees to achieve corporate goals while staying on budget. Many people don’t have the necessary skills to lead others.

Unfortunately, a manager’s lack of leadership skills means that employees suffer. They don’t have someone to guide them towards success, coach them when they’re not meeting expectations, and reward them when they do something right.

As a result, they don’t perform effectively or efficiently. And they continue to do so, because their manager isn’t aware it’s an issue or he or she simply doesn’t want to deal with it.

How Can You Fix It?

Becoming a better manager isn’t going to happen overnight. It’s something you’ll need to work very hard on. That doesn’t mean it’s impossible, though.

The first step is listening to your employees. What do they need from you as a manager? How can you guide them to success?

Secondly, put their feedback into action. Do your employees think that you need to be more hands-on? Have they expressed a desire for positive feedback when they exceed expectations? Start doing those things.

An Employee Evaluation Tool Can Help You Identify Bad Employees

Bad employees can not only hurt your bottom line but also negatively influence other employees. As such, it’s extremely to unearth a bad employee early on.

At Grapevine Evaluations, our 360 degree employee evaluations can help you separate the bad employees from the good ones. Let us walk you through our simple, customizable product, or take a tour on your own, and learn about updating your employee evaluation process so that you can keep your best employees, and provide incentive to the whole team to excel.

See our Overview of our 360 Degree Employee Evaluation Software.

Five Free Ways to Improve Employee Morale

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Fri, 28 Aug 2015 04:00:00 GMT

Is it possible to raise employee morale without spending a dime? The definitive answer is yes, and it’s easier than you might think. Not to mention, it hurts your bottom line when workers aren’t feeling like they are part of the team. Turnover costs can drive your labour expenses through the roof, while people who like where they work help bring profitability.

A study by Warwick University’s Economics Department shows an increase in productivity of 12 percent when workers are happy. While many factors contribute to the level of happiness a person experiences, there are concrete steps you can take to bring it into your workplace.

Share Results

It’s important to make your employees feel they are contributing to positive outcomes. Perhaps they don’t see how the products or services your company provides help others. Let everyone know how things are going, and make sure to share when customers recognize the work of an individual.

Additionally, don’t be afraid to tell everyone how the company is doing. People are more invested in what’s going on if they feel like they are kept in the loop.

Seek Morale-Boosting Ideas

Tell your employees that you want to make your organization a fun place to work, and let them suggest ways to do it. Look for areas outside of more pay and bonuses that can contribute to a better working environment. One quick upside is that your people feel more motivated and involved just by being asked to be part of things.

Take on Special Projects Outside the Workplace

You’d be surprised how much people gain from helping each other do some good in the world. There’s no shortage of charities looking for volunteers. The website Charity Navigator can assist when it’s time to select something everyone can get behind.

Track Performance

You want to know how things are going and how each employee is contributing to your company’s plan. Completing employee reviews helps to establish a strong basis for applying initiatives to outstanding performance.

It’s important to remember the evaluations aren’t just meant to identify where shortfalls are occurring. They can be even more important when it comes to recognizing what is really working well.

Treat Employees Like People

While on the surface, that might seem obvious, make sure to go beyond just complying with appropriate regulations. Morale increases when employees feel like they are part of a team, and that they have individual contributions to add.

Make an effort to identify the traits each person brings to the team that can serve to make everyone better. When everyone feels encouraged to be the best person they can be, that is reflected in a happier workplace with increased productivity.

Need Help Tracking and Evaluating Your Crew?

Here at Grapevine Evaluations, we offer customizable web-based tools that provide you with the opportunity to assess your people with full 360 reviews. Contact us for more information on how we can help you increase morale and enhance your bottom line.

How to Waste Less Time on Employee Reviews

Tue, 25 Aug 2015 04:00:00 GMT

This is probably a familiar scenario: employee review time is coming up, and you can’t help but think, “Ugh, what an enormous waste of time.” Many managers and employees believe employee reviews are a misuse of valuable time and resources. However, they don’t have to be. Read on to learn how your company can waste less time on employee reviews.

Infrequent Feedback Isn’t Helpful

During a year-end review , a manager is expected to examine an employee’s performance over the past 365 days. That’s quite a long time. How can a manager remember every little thing that happened?

The manager might recall one or two of the employee’s accomplishments, if the employee is lucky. Or, the supervisor could only focus on what the employee did wrong (which could have been a single event). In that case, anything positive the employee did would be overshadowed by his or her mistakes.

Review Your Employees More Often

Part of the reason so many people think annual employee reviews take up more time than necessary is because it seems impossible to examine an employee’s performance over the course of an entire year, in the allotted time span of 20 or 30 minutes.

If you hold frequent performance reviews , you won’t have that problem. They could take place on a monthly basis, or even every two weeks. Aside from saving time, frequent performance reviews means that the manager is up to date with what’s going on.

Make the Review Matter

Another reason employees and managers find performance reviews to be a waste of time is because they lack meaning. No one seems to understand their purpose, and there’s no concrete evidence that they improve employee performance.

How can managers make employee reviews matter? They should explain why the employee is being evaluated and what the criteria are that the manager uses. Moreover, managers should emphasize that if the employee doesn’t take the feedback to heart, there will be consequences.

Make the Review Part of the Job

Yet another reason many people consider employee reviews a “time sink” is because they believe they’re a distraction from getting work done. However, they don’t realize that the review process is part of their jobs.

It’s the manager’s job to evaluate employees and provide them with feedback. If necessary, the supervisor should provide coaching and mentoring skills. When everyone understands that employee evaluations are a manager’s duty, they’ll stop regarding them as a waste of time.

Re-Think Employee Reviews

Always make sure that your employee reviews are holistic, clear, and take into consideration the fact that your employees are human. If you find that your current review tools don’t allow you to ask the right questions, then maybe it’s time to consider 360 degree feedback. Contact us today for a live demo to learn more!

How to Reach a Detached Employee

Thu, 20 Aug 2015 04:00:00 GMT

It doesn’t matter whether an employee is sitting three desks down from you or she’s working halfway across the globe. An employee can be engaged, motivated and productive no matter where he or she is located.

By the same token, an employee can be detached and disengaged regardless of where his office is. It’s possible to reach out to a detached employee, though. With some effort, managers can engage the disengaged worker.

Communication Matters

Employees become detached and disengaged when their employers don’t communicate with them. They feel as though they don’t matter enough to merit knowing what’s going on.

Managers can remedy this situation easily. If the employee is in the office, the supervisor should make time to talk to him or her. The communication doesn’t have to be formal – it can start off with, “Hey, how’s it going?” Even a casual question gives the employee the chance to open up and share information. Remote employees can benefit from a variety of instant messaging and video chat programs to make them feel connected with their co-workers.

Acknowledge Contributions

Everyone likes to be recognized for their hard work. Employees become disengaged when no one tells them they’ve done a good job, or someone else takes credit for their success.

When an employee does something praiseworthy, let him or her know. And share that with his or her co-workers. This action makes the employee feel as though he or she is a valued member of the team and will spur him or her to keep up the good work.

Inspire Engagement

It’s important to remember that you can’t force an employee to become engaged. However, you can most certainly inspire that person.

Inspiring someone to become engaged involves discovering what matters to employees. Facilitate employee communication – establish forums in which they can talk to one another and share knowledge and tips. If employees feel as though their voice matters, they’ll be more willing to disseminate their wisdom.

Don’t Give Up

Employee engagement isn’t something that happens instantly. And it’s also not permanent. It can fluctuate according to circumstances.

What does that mean for managers? They can’t just try once to engage employees. It has to be an ongoing effort. Managers can’t be satisfied if an employee shows signs of becoming more engaged. They have to constantly reach out to that person to make sure he or she is still engaged.

Fix Employee Engagement with 360 Degree Feedback

If your employee evaluations aren’t engaged or attached to the work you do, then it’s time to think about something new. We help you find these employees and help them before you lose them.

At Grapevine Evaluations, our 360 degree employee engagement are trusted by companies such as Pandora Radio, Thompson Reuters, and Macy’s. Request a demo today to learn more!

Can You Rebuild Employee Engagement?

Tue, 18 Aug 2015 04:00:00 GMT

Employee engagement is difficult to create, but you’d be surprised at how easy it is to destroy.

Employee engagement can erode over time as well when companies neglect to build a healthy corporate culture. The good news is that employee engagement can be rebuilt from the ground up if a company is willing to invest in it and make it a priority.

Create an Environment of Trust

Trust is a crucial component of employee engagement. Employees feel as though they want to contribute to an organization when they can trust their co-workers and their bosses.

Building trust is difficult, and it takes time. Managers need to show employees that they can trust them by acknowledging their contributions, communicating clearly and listening carefully to what staffers have to say. When managers model those behaviours, employees will emulate the example.

Be Transparent

If the rumour mill is constantly grinding away at your organization, that’s a problem. It’s a sign of an unhealthy corporate culture, and opacity is interconnected with distrust.

No one likes being kept in the dark about what’s going on at a company. Managers should be transparent and share information with staffers. When employees don’t know what’s going on, they come up with their own ideas, some of which might be wildly inaccurate. Rumours breed fear and resentment, and they wipe out even the lowest levels of employee engagement. By being transparent, managers quash the rumour mill once and for all.

Make Employees Feel Valued

What’s your company’s most important asset? While you might think it’s the firm’s property or expensive software system, the correct answer is your employees.

When employees feel as though their contributions matter to the success of the firm, they’re more likely to stay. Showing employees that they’re valued means compensating them fairly, providing constructive criticism and acknowledging them when they do something right.

Empower Your Employees

Your employees are capable adults. You need to treat them that way so they stay engaged and productive.

How can companies empower their employees? Managers should give them the freedom to make appropriate decisions and encourage them to achieve goals. In addition, the business must make sure that the employees have the tools they need to complete their assignments. These tools can range from the right office supplies to software programs.

Fix Employee Engagement with 360 Degree Feedback

If your employee evaluations aren’t engaged or attached to the work you do, then it’s time to think about something new. We help you find these employees and help them before you lose them.

At Grapevine Evaluations, our 360-degree employee engagement are trusted by companies such as Pandora Radio, Thompson Reuters, and Macy’s.

Request a demo today to learn more!

Four Things Your Leaders Need to Start Doing

Thu, 13 Aug 2015 04:00:00 GMT

When you’re a business leader, it seems like there’s no end to the list of your responsibilities. You have an organization to run, and if you’re in the private sector, you need to make sure it’s profitable.

However, the list doesn’t end there. We’ve rounded up some more things that business leaders need to start doing, if they’re not doing already.

Model the Values You Want to See

Your employees look up to you. They’re inspired by your success. In some cases, they want to be just like you.

That’s why it’s important for you to model the values you want your employees to have. Do you appreciate honesty and open communication? Don’t just tell your employees that – show them by being honest and communicate clearly. Is a positive attitude crucial to you? Show your staff that by adopting a positive attitude.

Remember Success Is a Team Effort

You might have pulled yourself up by your bootstraps. However, there were people who helped you along the way. And they appreciate when you thank them.

When your company experiences success, don’t claim all the credit for yourself. Acknowledge the people who helped you make it happen: your employees. They’ll feel as though you hold them in high esteem and that they’re part of something bigger than themselves. Your employees are also more likely to stay at an organization where they feel their contribution matters.

Get to Know Your Employees

No one wants to feel like a tiny cog in a gigantic machine. They’re human beings, and the leadership needs to treat them as such.

Take the time to get to know your employees. At a large company, this can be difficult. However, it’s well worth it. Your employees will feel respected. And when employees feel respected, they want to come to work and be productive, which leads to greater business success.

Show Your Commitment

In order for your employees to be committed to their jobs, they need to see that their leaders are committed to the company. When business leaders show enthusiasm and take an active concern in the company’s health, the rest of the team will follow their example.

For example, if there’s a new initiative the company has adopted, business leaders must show that they fully support it. They have to explain why this initiative matters and why the success of the firm depends upon it. The support of business leaders will convince employees of the initiative’s importance.

And of course… Listen to them. Listen carefully.

Use 360 feedback surveys to get the whole story, and learn what your employees think of your leadership.

At Grapevine Evaluations, our 360 degree employee evaluations are trusted by companies such as Pandora Radio, Thompson Reuters, and Macy’s. Request a demo today to learn more!

See our Overview of our 360 Degree Performance Appraisal format of our Software.

Do You Know What Your Employees Think of You?

Tue, 11 Aug 2015 04:00:00 GMT

However, the list doesn’t end there. We’ve rounded up some more things that business leaders need to start doing, if they’re not doing already.

Model the Values You Want to See

Your employees look up to you. They’re inspired by your success. In some cases, they want to be just like you.

Remember Success Is a Team Effort

You might have pulled yourself up by your bootstraps. However, there were people who helped you along the way. And they appreciate when you thank them.

Get to Know Your Employees

No one wants to feel like a tiny cog in a gigantic machine. They’re human beings, and the leadership needs to treat them as such.

Show Your Commitment

And of course… Listen to them. Listen carefully.

Use 360 feedback surveys to get the whole story, and learn what your employees think of your leadership.

At Grapevine Evaluations, our 360 degree employee evaluations are trusted by companies such as Pandora Radio, Thompson Reuters, and Macy’s. Request a demo today to learn more!

See our Overview of our 360 Degree Performance Appraisal format of our Software.

How Bad Attitudes Hurt Productivity

Thu, 06 Aug 2015 04:00:00 GMT

No matter how long you’ve been in the workforce (unless it’s your very first day ever, in which case, good luck!), you’ve probably come across a coworker who seems miserable. Doesn’t every company have someone like that?

This person’s attitude is always negative, and he or she is constantly complaining about something. Everyone else just puts up with it, but they shouldn’t. Bad attitudes hurt productivity, and that’s not healthy for the company.

Bad Attitudes Are Contagious

A negative attitude is similar to the common cold – it spreads and can infect everyone else in the immediate area. Why does that happen?

Let’s look at an example. Jim is surly and rude at the workplace, and he’s not very productive. No one likes working with him. Yet, he still has his job. He shows up, day after day, and collects his salary. After enough time, his co-workers begin to think, “Why am I working so hard? Jim is such a jerk, but he’s still employed. If I do as little work as Jim does, I’ll still get paid the same amount.”

They Are Discouraging

Employees with a bad attitude have a special talent: they know how to discourage their coworkers. And discouragement is an enemy of productivity.

Here’s an example of how one person’s negativity discourages a co-worker: Sam comes up with a great idea to help the company capitalize on a new trend. He shares it at a meeting. Maura, the department’s resident naysayer, is there. She says, “How is that ever possibly going to work? It’s just doomed to fail.” Sam is crestfallen. He was expecting encouragement and support. Now, he has doubts about whether his great idea is so great after all.

They Blot Out Successes

People with bad attitudes frequently can’t see the forest for the trees. And as a result, their focus on negativity can prevent the people around them from appreciating the fantastic view.

Let’s take the example of Scott. Scott is part of a team responsible for developing a new website. His team mates rejected his suggestion of a particular color scheme, which really annoyed him. In fact, he was so irritated about it that all he can think about is how his color scheme wasn’t chosen. No matter how great the website looks, Scott constantly complains that his suggestion would have been better. After enough complaints, his team mates begin to think that’s the only thing that matters about the project.

Find Bad Attitudes Before They Infect the Office

360 Surveys can help you find and actually reverse a bad attitude. Find out exactly why employees aren’t happy, and fix the problem.

At Grapevine Evaluations, our 360 degree employee evaluations are trusted by companies such as Pandora Radio, Thompson Reuters, and Macy’s. Request a demo today to learn more!

Does Your HR Department Have Scale?

Wed, 05 Aug 2015 04:00:00 GMT

Every business leader wants to hear that his or her company is growing. It’s welcome news that tells you that employees are being productive and the firm is more profitable.

Business growth has some other consequences, which are not necessarily negative, but the organization’s leadership needs to take them into account. One of these consequences is that the human resources department must “scale up” to accommodate the firm’s growth.

Starting with a Strong Foundation

You can’t scale up an HR department if your organization hasn’t started off with a strong foundation. What does a “strong foundation” mean in the context of business growth? The company’s foundations are built on a healthy corporate culture.

Author John Coleman has identified six cornerstones of a robust corporate culture:

Vision (the organization’s mission)
Values (how employees should behave to achieve the vision)
Practices (employee actions)
People (whose values and practices align with the company’s vision)
Narrative (the business’ history)
Place (the firm’s location, which should foster the practices, which in turn lead to fulfilling the corporate vision)

Putting Policies in Place

The idea of having an employee handbook can induce groans. “Why do we need an employee handbook?” The HR department needs to be prepared with an answer.

Employee handbooks contain a list of policies which define acceptable and unacceptable conduct. Although it might sound boring and constraining, your employees must know what they should and shouldn’t do at work. The handbook also spells out what the consequences are if rules are broken, so no one can say they were unaware of the penalties.

Invest in the Right People

Part of scaling up is hiring more employees. This includes adding more personnel to the HR department. Another component of growth is making an effort to retain qualified employees (again, this includes the HR department).

Why is investing in the right people crucial to a business’ growth? The role of the HR department is to attract and retain talent. Without hiring people whose values and practices align with the company’s vision, the firm can’t continue to be successful. It’s especially important to make sure that the people in the HR department aren’t burned out and that they can handle the increased workload. Hire more HR staff if necessary and take measures such as offering excellent benefits to keep them at your firm.

Keep the Right People

We help you find these employees and help them before you lose them.

At Grapevine Evaluations, our 360 degree employee evaluations are trusted by companies such as Pandora Radio, Thompson Reuters, and Macy’s. Request a demo today to learn more!

Find Out What Really Motivates Your Staff

Fri, 31 Jul 2015 04:00:00 GMT

The heart of any business is the skilled team of employees who work together to achieve the common goal of creating profit. When your staff functions like a well-oiled machine, with each part performing its function as needed, the resulting boost in productivity can add a lot of value.

One of the most difficult things for any business owner or human resources (HR) manager to determine can be the specific reasons why a particular employee works. Obviously, people work in order to make money to survive. But beyond that, figuring out what motivates individual members of your team can unlock the potential they have within.

Staff Motivation

Workplace satisfaction surveys repeatedly note that the top three most gratifying aspects of employment are meaningful work, employer appreciation, and the ability of employees to self-determine the way they work. Surprisingly, money tends to land towards the middle of the pack of the top motivators for workplace performance.

This reveals that the drive behind worker excellence isn’t utilitarian; rather, the satisfaction of a job well done and a sense of accomplishment provides an emotional boost that appears to be valued more than what might be expected. A well-paying job always attracts candidates, but the culture and work environment can greatly increase the productivity of the people you hire.

The Importance of Feedback

In one way or another, nearly all business owners and HR departments track the performance of their staff members to discover and measure the effectiveness of their performance. Statistics available through CRM, ATS, and other workplace databases provide useful metrics that allow you to work with employees to maximize their performance.

Employers should apply the same process for themselves. Rather than bury their heads in the sand, business owners and HR managers should welcome detailed feedback from employees to discover ways of supporting a healthy working environment.

These surveys can be performed by a third party in an anonymous fashion, which allows workers to be completely honest about their workplace experience. This leads to better quality feedback that’s more in-depth while avoiding potential conflicts that may arise due to negative emotions.

Want to Find out What Motivates Your Employees?

Combining feedback with employee performance is a powerful way of finding out what really motivates your employees. Grapevine Evaluations can provide specialized expertise to help you discover the underlying motivations of your staff through pre-set evaluations and complete customization.

At Grapevine Evaluations, our 360 degree evaluations are trusted by companies such as Pandora Radio, Thompson Reuters, and Macy’s.

Request a demo today to learn more!

How to Help an Employee Who Feels Stuck

Tue, 28 Jul 2015 04:00:00 GMT

One of the worst feelings that an employee can have is the sensation of being stuck in a workplace situation . As an employer, it’s up to you to either help your employee get out of the rut, whether it’s concerning an individual project or the entire job as a whole.

As a manager or supervisor, engaging with your employees is one of the best ways to get the most out of your staff. Rosabeth Moss Kanter, a Harvard Business school professor, outlines two major classes of employees: those who are “stuck” and those who are “moving.”

Those who are in motion look forward to their work and the personal growth that results when they accept new challenges. Employees who are stuck consider their work a deadweight to be shed on the weekend.

From Static to Mobile

If you come across a situation where you notice that one of your employees exhibits behavior that shows a lack of interest or engagement, you should immediately take action to encourage the employee to change from stuck to moving.

The first step in the process involves open communication with your employee. This doesn’t have to take the form of a tense meeting behind closed doors. Rather, communication should be an on-going process that results in genuine discussion. Chatting at the so-called water cooler, exchanging project ideas and providing feedback gives you a chance to learn what motivates your employee.

The Three ‘M’s

Professor Moss Kanter boils the best approach to get employees moving into the three ‘M’s: mastery, membership and meaning.

Mastery refers to providing your employees with goals to achieve, which provides them a sense of growth and increasing mastery of their craft. When employees are engaging as much of their talent as possible, they tend to perform at their best.

Membership means that as an employer, you create a work environment in which your team feels like they are part of a bigger community. By discussing the aspirations of your employees, you can learn how to best integrate your employee as a valued member of the team.

The final ‘M’ is meaning, which is a very straightforward concept. IF your employees are engaged in work that they find meaningful in one way or another, they feel as if the time they spend at work is much more worthwhile.

In addition to the three ‘M’s, utilizing statistics provides valuable insight. When determining the best way to proceed with your personnel situation, Grapevine Evaluations helps provide actionable metrics that allow you to learn more about the overall efficiency and engagement of your staff, ensuring that neither you nor your employee become stuck with each other.

Learn to Listen to Your Employees

Grapevine Evaluations can give you the tools to assess what is happening in your company so you can manage your workforce.

At Grapevine Evaluations, our 360 degree employee evaluations are trusted by companies such as Pandora Radio, Thompson Reuters, and Macy’s.

Request a demo today to learn more!

What Your Employee’s’ Inbox Says About Their Engagement?

Fri, 24 Jul 2015 04:00:00 GMT

Your employee’s inbox can tell you a lot about how engaged they are with their job, but what it tells you depends largely on context, as a full inbox can mean opposite things depending on the reasoning behind it.

Here are the most likely explanations:

Your employee doesn’t care

A full inbox can mean that your employee has disengaged from their responsibilities. If they aren’t responding on time to emails, it could be a sign that they aren’t checking for new messages or that they haven’t done the work required to reply.

Your employee has too much to handle

The HR Capitalist presents another possibility: “The person with a full inbox can be overwhelmed — a white flag if you will that no person could reasonably be expected to deal with the volume and demands they’re under.” If an employee has too much to do, they may not have time to answer the emails piling up in their inbox.

Moreover, as researcher Wayne Hochwater told Business Daily, “Engagement often means taking on more tasks than one’s less engaged co-workers, but with the expectation that the company will provide more of what is needed to assist along the way.” In this way, being overwhelmed can even result in the first issue–an employee not caring–or rather, not having the resources to be able to care.

A personal situation has resulted in a combination of the above

An employee dealing with personal issues may find even a regular workload to be too much to handle, and they may feel emotionally distant from their work as psychological problems consume their energy.

Regardless of which explanation fits the situation, you’re going to want to find out what is going on, for the sake of the company and potentially your employee’s happiness as well.

If the email issue has been present long enough and become noticeable enough to cause concern, address the problem head-on and find out what you can before arbitrarily assigning blame. You may be able to stop the problem before it expands into other aspects of your employee’s work performance, or at least identify the issue and work toward a mutually beneficial solution.

If you’re curious about your employees’ performance, Grapevine Evaluations can help you assess productivity, employee satisfaction, and more with our online multi rater employee evaluation software survey system. You can customize our product to meet the unique needs of your company.

Why 360 Degree Feedback is the Ultimate Solution

How Start-Ups Should Review Employees

Mon, 20 Jul 2015 04:00:00 GMT

While deciding how to review your employees can be difficult–even overwhelming–for any business, it’s particularly challenging for startups.

As YourStory points out , “Employees multi-hat, making it difficult to set clear performance measures. With rapid growth, metrics change frequently. New goals and responsibilities get added frequently.” As with many other aspects of a start-up business, the standard methods of running your company just aren’t going to cut it–and, given that you’ve decided to be an entrepreneur, why should they?

Here are some tips for how to get the most out of employee evaluations and tailor your reviews to start-up culture:

1. Make your employee reviews more frequent

Payscale.com admits that this may end up being more time-consuming than yearly reviews, but for a startup, where responsibilities can change dramatically over a short period of time and the beginning of the company’s growth is accompanied by changes in employee skill level and job titles, the flexibility of a continuous review system may provide a more accurate portrait of your employees’ performance.

2. Ensure that you have specific goals for your employees to work toward

Start-ups can be chaotic, as everyone is trying to figure out how best to help the company succeed.

You need to guide your employees so they know what is expected of them. Your Story explains that “in a startup, you seldom have established procedures and need employees to commit to results rather than get blind-sighted by work tasks.”

Hopefully, with assistance, they will reach a point where they can troubleshoot and innovate on their own as integral parts of your team. Goals will help employees reach that point. You are building a team that is responsible for whether your company will be successful or not; give your employees the tools they need to contribute meaningfully.

3. Approach the employee review as something meant to improve rather than criticize

The review should help both you and the people working for you. This is especially noteworthy with a startup, where employees may be expecting a different command structure than at a big company. Remember: you’re all in this together.

If you’re looking for some useful review tools for your start-up business, Grapevine Evaluations offers online 360-degree appraisals. Our program is easy to use and to customize to your business’s unique needs.

Successful Employee Reviews Require a 360 Degree Approach

Approaching your employee reviews in a stagnant, stressful and minimally effective way just doesn’t make sense. A 360 degree review that accurately assesses an employee’s performance without heavily interfering with your daily workflow is the better option. If you’re looking for an employee review tool that can make a difference, look no further than Grapevine Evaluations. Contact us today to see how 360 Degree Feedback can help your start-up.

See our Overview of our 360 Performance Review Templates from our Software.

Did You Promote the Wrong Person?

Thu, 16 Jul 2015 04:00:00 GMT

Knowing who to promote can be challenging, and the results can sometimes make you second guess your choices.

To determine whether you’ve made the wrong decision and to ensure that you don’t promote the wrong person next time, ask yourself these questions:

1. Are you basing promotions on personal feelings?

While friends and other employees you like could very well be qualified for the job, you may be overlooking inadequacies in their skill sets or ignoring other options because of your own preferences. Consider your motivations for promoting an employee when deciding who should fill a new role or replace someone who’s moving on.

2. Is social politics the reason behind the promotion?

Your personal preferences may not be the only biases in play, according to a recent Gallup survey, as explained by Corter.com . While business can require some strategy, you don’t want your maneuvering to result in employees in the wrong positions.

3. Is this a good fit?

Fast Company warns that employers often “base hiring and promotion decisions on an employee’s past experience, and then reward them by giving them an entirely different role. According to the research, at least 80% of the time this methodology backfires.” Employees need to be provided ways of moving up that work with their abilities rather than being offered promotions for the sake of promotions.

4. Have you considered the whole package?

According to Inc.com, you may find yourself regretting your decision if you hire and promote based on skill and ignore attitude problems or other problematic behaviour. When it comes to management positions, you’re going to need someone who is open to different personalities and ideas.

While your editor or tech guy can afford to be a little antisocial or picky about their work hours (though it’s ideal if they aren’t, and you need to be sure of how much you can compromise), a manager needs to be willing and able to work with others and the schedule you’ve set.

Ultimately, you need to know your employees and their skills well in order to make the right promotion decisions. Grapevine Evaluations can help you learn more about how well your employees are working through our online 360-degree feedback software tool.

Employee Performance Reviews Can Help Identify Top Performing Employees

In huge organizations, some lazy employees might take credit for work that they didn’t do. In extreme cases, such employees can get promoted instead of the person who’s actually doing all the work. In such a case, an employee evaluation tool can help you separate the good employees from the bad ones. At Grapevine Evaluations, our software is the go-to tool for companies such as Pandora Radio and Thompson Reuters. If you think that a 360 degree evaluation tool can help your company, please request a demo with us today!

4 Things an Employee Who Just Quit Wants You to Know

Wed, 08 Jul 2015 04:00:00 GMT

So you’re stuck at an infuriating, soul-sucking, nine-to-five office job that threatens to turn you from a happy, sociable member of society into Patrick Bateman from American Psycho.

You’ve made your decision and you’re ready to go, but as you walk towards the office of your boss, a voice inside your head speaks: “What if busting the door down and telling my boss to shove this job up his heavily-padded posterior isn’t the best way to quit?”

They Probably Already Know You Don’t Like Your Job

If you’re at the point where you’re about to abruptly quit a job, there’s a good chance that everybody already knows that you’re unhappy with your work anyways. If the situation is hostile, they may already be attempting to get you out of the door surreptitiously and quitting just ends up saving them time and money.

Giving Notice Isn’t a Big Deal

You can save yourself a lot of headaches by simply giving an appropriate amount of notice when you want to leave the job, rather than quitting on the spot. Allowing your old employer to have enough time to find someone to fill your shoes ensures that your reputation isn’t tarnished through disrespectful behaviour.

Find Another Job First

The labour market isn’t always going to throw gainful employment at your feet. During times of economic difficulties, employers become much more reluctant to hire, especially those who don’t already have a job. Quitting before finding new employment tends to be foolish, especially during tough economic times.

There’s a reason why this advice is espoused by many: it’s always easier to find another job when you already have one. Also, when you tell your current boss that you’re moving to another company, this may trigger a bidding war for your services, something that wouldn’t happen if you just walked into the office and quit.

Everything Is Being Tracked

Companies that are performing large hiring campaigns now regularly turn to online databases that help with assessments. These databases qualify your credentials while utilizing algorithms that statistically eliminate candidates that display certain patterns of behaviour. In addition to these automated systems, word-of-mouth behind the scenes, especially in a tight-knit industry, can spell career doom.

Evaluation companies such as Grapevine Solutions help HR avoid these types of thoughtless employees by helping to crunch candidate data into useful information.

What If You Could Assess Employees Effectively before They Leave?

With the right tools, you’ll be able to learn more about how an employee feels about their work, and potentially address an issue before it arises. This is where 360-degree software can help you retain your best employees.

Grapevine Evaluations provides easily customizable online 360-degree software that can provide crucial feedback about employees from everyone they work with, including themselves. To learn more about how our 360-degree feedback can help your company, or to set up a one-on-one demo , contact Grapevine Evaluations today.

These 4 Types of Employees are thinking of Quitting Right Now

Sat, 04 Jul 2015 04:00:00 GMT

Losing an employee can put a lot of pressure on a company, both in terms of personnel resources and financial impact.

Some employees are going to leave, whatever you do, and you may not want to keep an employee who’s causing trouble, but many valuable employees quit for reasons that you can do something about. That’s why spotting trouble ahead of time is so important; if you can predict who might leave, you may get the chance to convince them to stay.

Here are four types of employees who may need some extra attention to keep them around:

1. The Distracted:

Employees going through a personal crisis or other significant personal event may be re-evaluating their jobs alongside the rest of their lives, according to When I Work . While they may simply find themselves hankering for a promotion, they may also find themselves wanting a new day-to-day routine, which could mean you lose a valuable employee.

When I Work recommends giving such employees time to de-stress. Showing an employee in such a situation that you are aware of their needs can go a long way. If you really don’t want to lose them, you may want to give them the opportunity for a new role in the company.

2. The Unsung

Similarly, employees who feel undervalued–those who were expecting a raise and didn’t get it, or who were passed over for a promotion–may be contemplating leaving. They may start looking elsewhere and showing reduced interest in and focus on the task at hand. Sometimes such employees have already moved on in their minds; they’re just biding their time until a better opportunity arises.

If this is an employee you want to keep, consider if you are willing to give them what they want. Of course, you first need to know what it is that they feel is missing. Keeping in touch with the professional desires of your employees will help to minimize the possibility of them looking for something new.

3. The In-Demand

Related to the point above, even a talented employee may consider quitting if they feel like they’re overworked. Forbes warns that you may lose people if “you’ve overloaded your best people with too many responsibilities.” Knowing whether your employees have too much to do and not enough time to do it can be challenging; asking employees and paying attention to workflow can help, though.

While some employees may take advantage of your concern and exaggerate their stress, others will appreciate your interest. You probably know your best employees well enough that you can tell if they are telling the truth.

4. The Apathetic

If an employee is displaying apathy toward their work and their peers, it’s a pretty good sign that they are halfway out the door. They may be acting this way for various reasons. As When I Work notes , a personal event may have caused this, but it’s also likely that a change at the company has caused their disengagement.

Annoyances caused by fellow employees or new policies that make your employees’ jobs more difficult can precipitate such a change. Forbes says that a new hire may cause disruption in the office that you don’t notice because you get along with them. Employees may notice incompetence or problematic personality traits before you do.

Some of these traits can be detected by paying close attention to how your employees are working and interacting; you can also find out more about how your employees are, based on responses to evaluations.

What If You Could Assess Employees Effectively before They Leave?

With the right tools, you’ll be able to learn more about how an employee feels about their work, and potentially address an issue before it arises. This is where 360 degree software can help you retain your best employees.

Grapevine Evaluations provides easily customizable online 360 degree software that can provide crucial feedback about employees from everyone they work with, including themselves. To learn more about how our 360 degree feedback can help your company, or to set up a one-on-one demo , contact Grapevine Evaluations today.

Why You’re Losing Talent to the Competition

Wed, 01 Jul 2015 04:00:00 GMT

Wondering why your best people are leaving? Worried that they may be considering other options? You’re not alone. Many companies fear losing their most talented employees.

Here are some reasons why you might be at risk of a sudden talent deficit and some ideas about what to do about it:

1. Detached Employees

Your valuable employees may not be invested enough in the company if they don’t feel like they have any power over how the company runs. According to Forbes, “People (especially great people) like to feel that they’re an integral part of the success of their company. ”

While some decisions are by necessity, keeping employees informed and making them feel that their voices will be heard will give your employees incentive to remain involved.

2. Disinterested Employees

Forbes also warns that great employees may ditch your company if they aren’t interested in the work they’re doing. Everyone has to do some work they don’t like, but “Good people want to be challenged.” Furthermore, “companies that keep their good people make more of an effort to match employee passion and aptitude with job requirements.”

3. Underpaid Employees

A competitor may be able to offer more money and/or better benefits for the same job. To some degree, this can’t be helped. You may not have a higher salary in the budget. If you do, however, and you want someone to stick around, consider offering financial incentives.

4. Job/ Job Description Mismatch

If the job doesn’t match the job description, employees may seek a more suitable position. As CareerBuilder reports , “About 43 percent of professionals say a job description didn’t match the position.” Being honest with employees when you are hiring them about what they should expect if they take the job can save you trouble later.

If you have a disgruntled employee now who you want to keep around, ask them what aspects of the job have provided an unpleasant surprise and see if you can do something about the problem. And, it should go without saying (though we’ll say it anyway), be careful to be clearer with your next hire.

5. Undervalued Employees

Employees who don’t feel appreciated may jump ship. This point is related to every other point on this list, and most ultimately boil down to this. Make sure that you create a sense of loyalty in your employees by letting them know that they are valuable and offer rewards where appropriate.

Knowing your employees is key to keeping the right ones. Grapevine Evaluations can assist you in determining who is helping your company the most through our online employee assessment tools.

Implement 360 Degree Feedback to Avoid Loosing Your Best Employees

If you want to avoid loosing your best performing employees to your competition, you should invest in 360 review software that will help you develop your employees in ways that you never thought possible. Knowing this, however, is just the first step; finding the right tool to use can be daunting.

Grapevine Evaluations has the solution you need: web-based, customizable templates that provide comprehensive reporting. Take a tour of our product, or learn more from us one-on-one , and find out why we’ve helped countless large and small companies

The 5 Minute Guide to Employee Evaluation for a Daycare

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Fri, 26 Jun 2015 04:00:00 GMT

Is your daycare considering implementing an employee evaluation process ?

Employee evaluations aren’t just for people who work at large corporations. Even smaller organizations can benefit from assessing the performance of their workers. The thought of carrying out performance reviews at a small business might make managers nervous. They might be thinking, “Doesn’t it take too long to set up? Won’t the process be too complicated?”

Neither of these things is true. In about five minutes, you can learn how to perform an employee evaluation for people who work at a daycare.

Establish Clear Benchmarks in Advance

Before implementing the employee evaluation process at a daycare, the managers must have clear performance benchmarks in place. “Benchmarks” are just a fancy way of saying that there’s a standard someone must uphold. The daycare management and board members need to decide what those standards should be. At large companies, managers assess how well employees are carrying out their duties and fulfilling the business’ mission statements, which is something that can be applied to a smaller organization such as a daycare.

Thoroughly Explain the Process to Employees

Hearing that your performance is going to be evaluated can be nerve-wracking. That’s why it’s crucial that supervisors clearly explain the entire employee evaluation process to their employees. Workers need to understand the performance benchmarks they should be reaching, as well as who will be assessing their performance. Managers should also discuss what will happen after the performance review takes place. The supervisor discusses the results of the assessment, and she and the employee have a conversation about what needs improvement and what strengths the employee possesses.

Develop a Plan of Action for Improvement

While it’s important to discuss how an employee can improve, it’s also critical to create a plan of action for the employee to improve. What does creating an action plan involve? The manager needs to clearly explain what areas of the employee’s actions or behaviors require improvement. Then, she and the employee must determine how the employee can make progress. When the employee is part of the conversation about what he or she can do to improve his or her performance, the worker feels a sense of ownership and empowerment. The manager and the employee must set a reasonable timeline for these improvements to take place, and the employee must be aware of the consequences for failing to improve.

Grapevine Evaluations: Your Trusted Source for Employee Performance Review Software

If you’re interested in having your daycare employees evaluated, consider working with Grapevine Evaluations. We’re web-based, so we can assist companies across the country, and our evaluations can be tailored to suit your business’s unique needs. Our services are reliable and confidential, so you don’t have to worry about losing your precious employee data or having it fall into the wrong hands. Contact us to learn more about the benefits of our 360 feedback reporting tool.

What We Can Learn from Adobe’s Employee Review System

Wed, 24 Jun 2015 04:00:00 GMT

In 2011, digital marketing and media solutions provider Adobe made an important decision which had far-reaching ramifications. Donna Morris, the senior executive responsible for the company’s human resources, concluded that its employee evaluation process was flawed. Managers would identify their least productive employees and then fire them. As a result, the company’s best employees were fleeing to other firms to avoid being fired. Morris and her team turned to Adobe’s staff to get ideas about how to improve the way the company assessed its employees.

After consultation with employees, Morris chose to implement a system called “Check In.” Employees check in with their managers at least every eight weeks to discuss how things are going, and the managers give out bonuses based on performance annually.

Adobe’s decision to scrap its former evaluation system teaches businesses big and small some critical lessons.

Change Is Possible, No Matter How Big the Company Is

Adobe is a large company. It employs 13,000 people on every continent except for Antarctica. For a company of that size to switch employee evaluation methods is no easy feat. The fact that the company was successfully able to make such a significant change should be encouraging to other firms. Putting a new evaluation system into place at a large company means that it’s possible for other firms to ditch their antiquated assessment program and usher in a new era in which employees can receive frequent feedback from managers .

Change Doesn’t Happen Overnight

Moving to a new evaluation system isn’t something that Adobe entered into lightly. It took time and effort to implement Check In. In an interview with Fortune Magazine , Morris pointed out that managers required extra training so they could learn how to give feedback in real time. Also, she noted that the new system wasn’t automatically welcomed in all of Adobe’s offices. It took longer for the company’s employees in India to adjust to not receiving an annual review. However, eventually they admitted they appreciated the more frequent opportunity to receive feedback.

Employees Are Happier and More Productive

In her interview with Fortune, Morris commented that fewer valued staffers have left Adobe since it implemented Check In. She said that they’ve told her that they feel as though Check In has helped them succeed, because they’re receiving frequent feedback which enables them to improve. Furthermore, real time evaluations keeps everyone on track and moving in the same direction. As a result of implementing Check In, Adobe’s stock price has risen over $50.

Happier Employees Start Here

If your employees are unhappy, then it’s time to think about something new. We help you find these employees and help them before you lose them.

At Grapevine Evaluations, our 360 degree employee evaluations are trusted by companies such as Pandora Radio, Thompson Reuters, and Macy’s. Request a demo today to learn more!

See our Overview of our 360 Performance Review Templates from our Software.

Reasons 360 Degree Feedback for Doctors Makes a Hospital Better

Sun, 21 Jun 2015 04:00:00 GMT

When people hear “employee evaluations,” they usually associate the term with corporations. However, performance reviews aren’t just for people who work for companies. They can be quite useful for a variety of situations, including doctors working in hospitals. Although hospitals have methods and tools to evaluate doctors, a 360 degree assessment provides deeper insight into a physician’s performance. Read on to find out the reasons why 360 degree feedback makes a hospital better.

360 Degree Feedback Examines All of a Doctor’s Skills

Hospitals generally focus on patient outcomes as a measure of a doctor’s success (or failure). While that’s an important component of a physician’s performance, patient outcomes are only part of what makes a doctor “good.” Doctors must also possess excellent interpersonal and communication skills as well as the ability to manage relationships. A 360 degree evaluation gives doctors feedback on their clinical and interpersonal skills.

360 Degree Feedback Promotes Self-Improvement

Research shows that when physicians receive feedback about their clinical and interpersonal skills, they set about working to improve those skills. For example, if they have very strong clinical abilities but they aren’t “people” people, knowing which areas they need to develop helps them enhance their interpersonal skills. Once they know that, and they’re given tips as to how to fix the problem, they can become more empathetic. As a result, their peers and patients feel better about dealing with them.

Better Interpersonal Skills Leads to More Effective Communication

In addition to greater empathy, enhanced interpersonal skills leads to more effective communication. When you show people you treat them with respect and courtesy, they want to listen to you. And that means that instructions are followed. In turn, patient outcomes should improve because no one is confused about the care they should be receiving.

Hospitals Become Better at Identifying Weak Interpersonal Skills

When hospital administrators are aware of the signs of poor interpersonal skills, they can develop a strategy to correct those behaviors. It becomes easy to identify weak interpersonal skills, and with a program in place, the physicians can get the training they need to become more empathetic as well as better communicators.

Grapevine Evaluations: Your Trusted Source for 360 Degree Evaluation Software

Is your hospital considering implementing 360 degree evaluations? Contact Grapevine Evaluations today at 1-866-386-2163. Our web-based 360 degree evaluation software is easy to use and customizable. Managers can receive feedback in real time.

See our Overview of our 360 Performance Feedback Review Templates from our Software tool.

If You’re Doing This, You’re Driving Your Employees Nuts

Thu, 18 Jun 2015 04:00:00 GMT

Everyone has pet peeves, or something that drives them crazy.

As a manager, you might not realize that some of the things you’re doing are aggravating your employees. And your staffers don’t appreciate it. In fact, they might be so unhappy that they’re going to leave the company.

Read on to learn more about what it is you’re doing that can drive your employees nuts, and what you can do to stop.

Ignoring Employee Achievements

In a recent Interact/Harris poll of 1,000 American workers , 63% of respondents said that not recognizing employee achievements was their top complaint about their boss. This was the top grievance listed in the survey. The inability to recognize achievements bothers employees because they want to feel as though their work is valuable to the organization.

How can employers remedy this problem?

Recognizing achievement is more than just saying, “Good job.” Managers must give their employees specific positive feedback when they accomplish something – it shows they’re paying attention.

Unclear Instructions

Over half of the respondents in the Interact/Harris poll stated that unclear instructions were their top peeve. Receiving confusing directions irritates employees because it means that they don’t know what to do or how to do it. Furthermore, they might not complete the task to the manager’s satisfaction because he or she didn’t tell them how to do it properly.

What can employers do to fix this situation?

They can give clear instructions as to how to complete a task. In addition, the manager can also make sure that he or she is accessible in case the employee has any questions while completing the assignment.

Being Unavailable to Meet with Employees

A little over half of the people surveyed commented that their top peeve was a boss who wasn’t available to meet with them. When a manager tells an employee that he or she can’t meet with a subordinate, what the employee hears is that he or she isn’t important enough to merit the supervisor’s time. As a result, the staffer feels less motivated and can become disengaged from the company.

How can a supervisor rectify the problem?

He or she can take steps to be more available for his or her employees. Becoming more available might involve delegating some tasks to others. It can also be as simple as taking stock of what activities are priorities and which aren’t. If an unimportant activity is taking up too much time, it means that it should be put aside in favor of checking in with employees.

Good bosses start here

If your employees are unhappy, then it’s time to think about something new. We help you find these employees and help them before you lose them.

At Grapevine Evaluations, our 360 degree employee evaluations are trusted by companies such as Pandora Radio, Thompson Reuters, and Macy’s. R equest a demo today to learn more!

How Employee Evaluations Can Save Your Restaurant Money

Mon, 15 Jun 2015 04:00:00 GMT

As a restaurant owner and/or manager, you have to place a lot of faith in your employees. They not only determine the quality of your tangible products—the food and drinks you serve—but also operate as brand ambassadors with every action they perform in the presence of our customers.

Servers set the tone for the dining experience, and the cooking staff’s work goes straight from the kitchen to the plates of your customers, so it’s important to know who’s helping your business and who’s hurting it.

Employee evaluations are a great way to check in on whether your money is well-placed. Here’s why:

1. Knowing your employees’ strengths and weaknesses can help you use their skills more efficiently

According to the Restaurant Resource Group, “You cannot control labor cost until you understand that you are not “scheduling” people but rather “purchasing” the potential to do work”. You don’t want to schedule more employees for a particular shift than are needed, as this will end up costing you money.

A better understanding of your employees through employee evaluations will help you determine how many employees (and which ones) you need for a given shift. A positive evaluation can help you decide who to invest in.

2. A positive evaluation can help you decide who to invest in

Restaurant customers often have favorite servers; they’ll similarly notice if the food quality changes depending on who is in the kitchen (one of my favorite Chinese restaurants is terrible on Mondays because they have a different chef that day).

Once you know who’s worth rewarding for their work, you can find ways to make them want to stay. This is easier and creates better quality continuity than having to hire new people if your star employees feel restless and underappreciated and start to move on. Training, morale, legal, safety, and legal issues can all have a negative effect on your business if you constantly need to change your roster or hire temporary workers to fill in for a recent departure.Evaluations can also help you refine your team.

3. Evaluations can also help you refine your team

Having hard data on how well your employees are doing gives you a stronger basis for any hard decisions about who should (and shouldn’t) be working for and with you.

Building a good team is especially important in a restaurant, where the success of a day’s work relies on solid communication between employees (for example, servers giving accurate orders to those preparing the food).

You’re not the only one who will notice an improved team dynamic. So will your employees; Jamba Juice executive vice president and CO Bruce Schroder believes that “employees will feel like they’re part of something and be excited to come to work.” The team dynamic is also evident to customers, who see the results of employee interactions unfold before their eyes in a restaurant. Schroder says, “It’s not just how we serve the customer, but how we service each other. Customers really notice that.”

Essentially, the happier your team is, the better customers will feel about your restaurant. This is good both for overall atmosphere and for your wallet.

If you’re interested in having your team evaluated, consider working with Grapevine Evaluations. We’re web-based, so we can assist companies across the country, and our evaluations can be tailored to suit your business’s unique needs. Our services are reliable and confidential, so you don’t have to worry about losing your precious employee data or having it fall into the wrong hands. Contact us today to learn more about our 360 degree feedback tool.

5 Issues That Can Affect Results of Employee Evaluation for Nurses

Fri, 12 Jun 2015 04:00:00 GMT

When it comes to employee evaluations for nurses , a paper-based evaluation is an inefficient system that leaves a lot of room for error. Here are five reasons why.

Humans make mistakes that can affect the entire process

Let’s say you need to print 50 copies of an evaluation form. Maybe your printer has the ability to collate and staple them for you, but does anyone in your HR department know how to program it to do that? Sadly, many people will opt to do it manually and run the risk of incomplete or redundant forms going out to the staff.

This can lead to missed opportunities for receiving important feedback when not all employees are receiving the same questions to answer. It can also foster a lack of employee engagement as many people will interpret shoddily prepared forms as an indication that the process is irrelevant.

Different departments have different requirements

The factors that affect the working environment of an ER nurse are different from those experienced by a palliative care nurse. One-size-fits-all evaluations simply don’t work in the medical field where employees often have such unique specializations.

The paper-based and electronic solutions to this problem both involve specifically tailored evaluations. However, the difference is that in a paper-based system, someone must ensure that the correct number of each evaluation form is compiled accurately and distributed to the correct department.

With an electronic employee evaluation format, you can create as many different versions as you need. Perform a one-time setup of the different departments to send it to and then never worry about whether your evaluations are distributed to the appropriate places.

Nurses are busy

Remember that show about nurses where they’re standing around chatting all shift and leaving early to go for drinks? Of course you don’t. It doesn’t exist. The medical profession is one of the most fast-paced, high-stress fields out there.

Completing a paper-based evaluation is time-consuming. A conscientious nurse has precious few minutes to spend expounding on the minutiae of their day-to-day job when other people’s lives are literally depending on them. This often leads to them rushing through their forms and providing surface level feedback.

It can also lead to the next problem.

Have you ever tried reading the handwriting of a medical professional?

Nurses just don’t have the time to care about how legible their handwriting is, especially when it comes to filling out forms they would at best consider a tertiary component of their job.

Someone will need to read the evaluation when it’s complete and if it’s written in rough hen scratching, the best case scenario is the loss of HR hours as some poor soul wrecks their eyesight trying to figure it out.

There’s a significant gap between a completed form and the analysis of the feedback

When a paper form is completed, the information contained in it is only as useful as how it’s compiled. Someone will have to type it up in order for someone else to be able to analyze it. In extremely busy environments, this step may not take place. Someone might misfile the forms and not find them for months. It might just sit on the bottom of someone’s to-do list until it no longer seems worth it to bother with such old data.

With electronic feedback forms, the information is already where it needs to be, all collected and in front of you. And a good evaluation platform contains analytical tools to enable you to nimbly respond to issues and proactively influence the mood of your workplace.

Want to carry out employee evaluation for nurses?

If your employees are unhappy, then it’s time to think about something new. We help you find these employees and help them before you lose them.

At Grapevine Evaluations, our 360 degree employee evaluations are trusted by companies such as Pandora Radio, Thompson Reuters, and Macy’s. Therefore, if you’re planning to carry out employee evaluation for nurses , you should definitely consider 360 degree feedback.

5 Tips for Running a 360 Degree Feedback Program for Teachers

Fri, 05 Jun 2015 04:00:00 GMT

In a corporation, 360 evaluations are a standard tool for assessing employees’ performance. These type of performance reviews provide employees with feedback from their peers as well as managers. Three hundred and sixty degree evaluations shouldn’t just be confined to businesses, though. They can also be conducted in educational settings, too. Here are five tips for running a 360 degree feedback for teachers.

Decide on clear benchmarks before holding the evaluation

In some ways, evaluating teachers is much like assessing the performance of a private sector employee. To accurately appraise a worker, the reviewers must know exactly what benchmarks he or she has (or hasn’t) achieved. Setting standards in advance of the review makes it clear to everyone involved in the process what will be measured and what the teacher should have accomplished in the year.

Specify who’s going to be doing the reviewing before the evaluation takes place

A 360 degree evaluation has a greater chance of success when everyone involved knows who the reviewers are (including the reviewers themselves). Many of the school districts which implement 360 degree evaluations allow students, peers, parents and principals to assess teacher performance.

Craft clear, easy-to-understand-and-use evaluation forms

When you have a variety of people reviewing teachers, including younger students, the evaluation form has to be as straightforward as possible. Everyone using the evaluation form has to be able to understand it quickly. And when everyone understands the evaluation form, they’ll be able to provide accurate feedback.

Establish an improvement plan

Successful 360 degree feedback programs in corporate settings don’t just assess the employee’s performance – they include a goal-setting component. This goal-setting component determines what the worker’s aims are, and how he or she can reach them. It also gauges whether the employee has met them or not.

Gain teacher buy-in

Whenever a new program is implemented within an organization, there can be a negative response. Teachers might be skeptical or nervous about receiving feedback from students or their peers. It’s important to explain the entire 360 degree feedback process to teachers so they understand how it works and why it’s beneficial. When teachers fully comprehend why a 360 degree evaluation is a good idea, they’ll be much more supportive of it and they won’t try to sabotage it.

Successful Employee Reviews Require a 360 Degree Approach

To answer this question, Grapevine Evaluations has the solution: a web-based 360 degree feedback tool that includes comprehensive reporting, so you and your employees can get an accurate understanding of what matters: how they are perceived from management and co-workers, and where they can improve. Contact us today to learn more about our product.

5 Important Questions to Include in 360 Degree Feedback for Pastors

Tue, 02 Jun 2015 04:00:00 GMT

Human resources is extra important in a church. While on a surface level the pastor’s function may seem the same as a business’s CEO, the nature of the position contains some key differences.

After all, there’s a big difference between a business leader and a worship leader. You can bulletproof your peer review process and ensure the viability of your church by including these questions.

How does the pastor empower you?

In today’s world, your congregation needs to feel engaged in order to continue to attend worship services and contribute to the church community. As the frontline contact and the face of the church, a pastor who engages with the people, listens to their concerns and empowers them to address the issues they face in day to day life is one you want to keep around.

It may seem unfair but fact is that the health of your church largely rises and falls with the pastor’s ability to keep people coming back.

Describe an instance of the pastor leading by example

It’s a given that a pastor needs to be an example of living a life of integrity, faith, and charity and any performance feedback must address this aspect of the job. However asking for specific examples will provide illuminating evidence.

When a pastor has a true passion for their calling, they’ll express it in so many little ways. You’ll be completely shocked by the feedback you receive from parishioners and board members alike.

How often does the pastor ask for your feedback?

While the pastor is often seen as an authority figure, a truly effective clergyman is aware of their own limitations and is open with their congregation in regards to having their own personal struggles (to a degree, of course). A pastor who’s willing to admit to being a fallible entity on their own journey is better equipped to avoid many of the pitfalls that beset those who feel they must project an image of perfection.

Additionally, asking for feedback is evidence of a learning-based individual. Such people are highly valuable as they proactively look for areas to improve in instead of reacting when shortcomings are pointed out to them.

How is the pastor working toward reaching more people?

It’s not vital that your pastor is a social media expert on the cutting edge of every technology but you do want to ensure that they’re open to new ways of reaching out to their congregation.

You also want to find evidence that they’re working to expand the scope of your church’s outreach. Your church needs to grow in order to thrive and your pastor’s willingness to reach new audiences in new ways in a crucial asset.

How does the pastor motivate the congregation to cooperate and help each other?

Growing the church’s membership is only the first part of building a thriving church community. Like any group, a congregation can fall into cliques, toxic relationships, and infighting. A good pastor is a community builder who works with all types of people and helps them work together for the common good.

Using Grapevine Evaluations’ interactive templates, you can easily customize your 360 Degree Feedback forms with questions like these to ensure the growth and viability of your church.

See our Overview of our 360 Performance Feedback Review Templates from our Software.

Find These Disengaged Employees and Help Them

Thu, 07 May 2015 04:00:00 GMT

An employee who has “checked out” isn’t always easy to spot. They’re not always sitting back with their feet up on the desk, texting.

In fact, employee engagement is often very tough to gauge and remains ones of the biggest issues today’s employers face.

So let’s help you see if you have an employee engagement issue.

What is employee engagement?

Tough to spot, but pretty self-explanatory. This term describes how passionate and involved an employee is about the work they do and your company. It separates people who care, versus those in it for a paycheck.

According to ProfitGuide.com :

“The CMC ‘Build a Better Workplace: Employee Engagement Edition’ found that 23% of employees surveyed are only getting out of bed in the morning for the paycheque. More than a quarter of employees, 27%, are highly engaged, meaning they’ll go above and beyond their job description to help they’re organization achieve its goals.

“That leaves half of respondents moderately engaged, meaning they’re satisfied, but not trying that hard. Ipsos Reid polled 1,200 employees of companies with a workforce of at least 100 employees, across 15 sectors.”

Now that you know the dangers, let’s take a look at some of the typical disengaged employees.

Find These Disengaged Employees

The square peg:

This employee is skilled, but is in the wrong position. Their skills aren’t being used properly, so they’re stifled and frustrated. As a result, their performance is likely suffering, despite their best efforts. It’s hard to care about the work you do, when you feel you’re not being treated fairly

Tip: 360 surveys can show you if a talented worker can be better use, somewhere else in the company.

The burnout:

You may have run your workhorse into the ground. This employee has (hopefully) been with your company for years, but has been doing too much for too long.

The light has gone out, or is flickering. Get them back by lightening their load, encouraging them to take some time off, or moving them somewhere new and exciting. Or any combination of those three.

The paycheck casher:

This employee may never have been engaged in the first place. They may have taken your job as a transitional job. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. Ambition and the desire for more are assets in any employee.

All you have to do is sell this employee on that fact that opportunities within the company do exist, and are actually attainable. More responsibility might actually bring out the best in an under-performer, in this case.

Fix employee engagement with 360 degree feedback

If your employee evaluations aren’t engaged or attached to the work you do, then it’s time to think about something new. We help you find these employees and help them before you lose them.

At Grapevine Evaluations, our 360 degree employee evaluations are trusted by companies such as Pandora Radio, Thompson Reuters, and Macy’s. Request a demo today to learn more!

How Employee Performance is Driven By a Feeling of Importance

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Tue, 05 May 2015 04:00:00 GMT

“My company doesn’t give a damn about me.” That’s such a harsh thought, but one shared by many disengaged employees.

On the simplest level, it’s hard to be emotionally attached to your work if you don’t feel important to your company. And it’s hard to do good work if you’re not emotionally connected.

On a more complex level, this is one of the major causes of employee engagement issues—a very real issue that far too many companies face.

Let’s take a closer look at the problem.

Poor engagement is killing your company

Every company claims to care about their employees, but how many actually do? How many actually help their employees feel important and engaged? Not nearly enough.

According to a report by Harvard Business Review called, The Impact of Employee Engagement on Performance , 71% of respondents rank employee engagement as very important to achieving overall organizational success.

But sadly:

24% of respondents say employees in their organization are highly engaged.
Fewer than 50 % of companies said that they are effectively measuring employee engagement

How to help your employees feel important

Poor employee engagement is reversible. You can win these employees back and turn them into your top performers.

Forbes.com published a great article advising how to make your employees feel valued. In it, they recommend you:

Be Intentional with Everyday Conversations: " Reiterate why you truly value someone’s work: ‘You did a great job designing that website last week…’”
Show Them that Others Need Them, Too: “But, do remember that feedback from others can pack a little more punch—and show your team that they’re not only appreciated by you, but also by clients, co-workers, and even executives.”
Challenge Them: “When you only dole out repetitive tasks (or tasks beneath someone’s skill level), you’re conveying that you don’t really need his or her specific, individual talents.”
Recognize Them as Individuals: “To truly make individual employees feel valued, it’s OK to single them out and reward them according to their accomplishments—and with something that the rest of the team won’t necessarily get.”

Of course, it’s your team. So don’t be afraid to brainstorm and come up with your own ways to help your employees feel valued, appreciated and important. They will recognize something truly original and appreciate the effort.

Fix employee engagement with 360 degree feedback

If your employees aren’t engaged or attached to the work you do, then it’s time to think about something new. We help you find these employees and help them before you lose them.

At Grapevine Evaluations, our 360 degree employee evaluations are trusted by companies such as Pandora Radio, Thompson Reuters, and Macy’s. Request a demo today to learn more!

Nearly a Quarter of Surveyed Companies Have Too Many Disengaged Employees

Fri, 01 May 2015 04:00:00 GMT

Do your employees care about their work? If you can’t answer that or are scared of the answer, you’re not alone.

According to a report by a paper by Harvard Business Review called,

The Impact of Employee Engagement on Performance, 24% of respondents say employees in their organization are highly engaged.

Where is the disconnect?

The growing problem of employee engagement

Forbes.com recently reported that “four out of 10 workers are disengaged globally. In the U.S., the situation is worse. According to the latest State of the American Workplace Report, 70 percent of U.S. workers don’t like their job.” Yikes.

Most employers are aware of employee engagement as a metric. In fact, the same Harvard Business Review article stated that 71% of respondents rank employee engagement as very important to achieving overall organizational success.

They are trying. Another 72% of respondents rank recognition given for high performers as having a significant impact on engagement.

But is recognizing good work the best way to help employees feel engaged?

How to Fix Employee disengagement

Don’t worry. For every disengaged employee you have, there is an attainable way to win them back.

Gallup.com says the best ways to improve employee engagement are:

Use the right engagement survey
Focus on engagement at the local and organizational levels
Select the right managers
Coach managers and hold them accountable for their employees’ engagement
Define engagement goals in realistic, everyday terms

They added that engaged employees significantly out-perform disengaged employees in productivity, attendance, turnover, and even workplace accidents!

Elsewhere, Iveybusinessjournal.com advises what they call the 10 Cs of Employee Engagement:

Connect: Leaders must show that they value employees.
Career: Leaders should provide challenging and meaningful work with opportunities for career advancement.
Clarity: Leaders must communicate a clear vision.
Convey: Leaders clarify their expectations about employees and provide feedback on their functioning in the organization.
Congratulate: Exceptional leaders give recognition, and they do so a lot; they coach and convey.
Contribute: Good leaders help people see and feel how they are contributing to the organization’s success and future.
Control: Employees value control over the flow and pace of their jobs and leaders can create opportunities for employees to exercise this control.
Collaborate: Great leaders are team builders; they create an environment that fosters trust and collaboration.
Credibility: Leaders should strive to maintain a company’s reputation and demonstrate high ethical standards.
Confidence: Good leaders help create confidence in a company by being exemplars of high ethical and performance standards.

Fix Engagement with 360-degree feedback

If your employees aren’t engaged or attached to the work you do, then it’s time to think about something new. We help you find these employees and help them before you lose them.

At Grapevine Evaluations, our 360-degree employee evaluations are trusted by companies such as Pandora Radio, Thompson Reuters, and Macy’s.

Request a demo today to learn more!

360 Degree Feedback Only Helps Management and Other Myths

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Thu, 30 Apr 2015 04:00:00 GMT

Even 360 degree feedback isn’t immune to office gossip and misconceptions. When implemented properly, 360 degree employee evaluations can be a boon for your company. It will turn under-performing employees into stars and transform top performers into the next industry leaders.

That being said, getting these types of results out of 360 degree performance feedback requires you to find out the best and worst practices for this employee evaluation system.

Here are the top 360 degree feedback myths that will steer you in the wrong direction.

Myth: 360 degree feedback only helps management

Unlike many other performance assessments systems, a 360 degree approach doesn’t just tell the management team who your strongest and weakest employees are.

Instead, it provides a comprehensive analysis of how well a given employee is performing in specific areas, and then provides them with a path for improvement.

True to its name, it provides a 360 degree assessment, identifying where both the employee and the leadership team can improve.

Myth: 360 degree feedback is the perfect tool to cull employees who don’t belong

It is easy to perceive any assessment system as an easy way to justify the termination employees who don’t fit. This, however, is not the purpose of 360 degree feedback at all.

As Alice K. Waagen, PhD, of HR.BLR.com said in a recent article , when a manager does this, instead of trying to provide a struggling employee with constructive feedback, they “want to solicit the negative feedback from others and have them convey the bad news.”

This is counterproductive and can significantly damage your relationship with not only the employee you plan on getting rid of, but also the people who are staying, as they will recognize this ploy for what it is.

A 360 degree management system is a tool for improving your entire team’s ability to produce results. If you already know that someone isn’t a right fit, deal with this separately instead of damaging the perceived viability of 360 degree assessment.

Myth: 360 degree feedback is a great way to gauge new relationships

If you are trying to perform 360 degree feedback a month or two after your employees started working together, then you are wasting your time. The number of interactions is too limited for any solid results.

Instead, use reviews between people who have worked together for at least 6 months, and only with employees who have been at your company for at least a year.

Myth: The 360 degree management process is self explanatory

Kenneth Nowack, President and Co-Founder of Ofactor, Inc. said in a recent LinkedIn post, that “all too often, vendors and some practitioners espouse the ‘diagnose and adios’ approach” for their 360 degree feedback.

An assumption that employees will know what to do next can turn a great 360 degree review into a total waste. Make sure that you explain every step in the process to ensure that everyone fully benefits from it.

Have you made the mistake of following any 360 degree management myths?

If these myths have held your organization back from taking advantage of 360 degree employee evaluations, hopefully we have helped dispel them. If you would like to learn more about 360 feedback tools, please contact us today!

This Mistake Sabotages Employee Reviews

Thu, 30 Apr 2015 04:00:00 GMT

tel:1-866-386-2163Every year, you and your workers undergo employee reviews. And every year, there’s one mistake that companies make which sabotage performance evaluations.

What is it that employers are doing, and how can they keep making the same error on an annual basis? Read on to find out whether you’re doing this too, and how you can stop it.

The Employee Evaluation Killer

The mistake is that you’re only carrying out performance reviews once per year. “Why is that wrong?” you’re probably asking, bewildered. “I thought that’s the way it’s supposed to be done. That’s why they’re called ‘annual employee evaluations.'”

Here’s the problem: when you only assess your workers’ performance once a year, you tend to focus on the one thing they’ve done over the past 365 days. This one thing could be good or bad. But when you concentrate on that one thing, it defines the employee. And that’s not fair.

Employees are human, which means that they do many things on a daily basis which are both good and bad. By only paying attention to one action, you’re not painting a full picture of the worker’s capabilities, talents, personality or suitability for the position.

Managers need deeper insight into what their employees do on a daily basis, and evaluating workers only once a year isn’t going to accomplish that goal.

Fixing the Problem

By now, you’re most likely saying, “Okay, I shouldn’t do performance reviews once a year. But I can’t do them every day. How often am I supposed to do them?”

There’s no one-size-fits-all answer to that question. How often your company should hold employee reviews will depend on your firm’s culture, industry and the managers themselves. Do the supervisors feel as though they have a thorough understanding of what’s happening on the ground?

Moreover, do they even feel as though they have a thorough understanding of employees’ roles and job functions?

If the answer to those two questions are “no,” that doesn’t mean that it’s time to perform an employee performance review. It means that you need to gain a thorough understanding of what your workers do and how they do it first.

360 Degree Feedback: Your Employee Review Solution

If you’re looking for an easy, inexpensive way to conduct performance evaluations and receive real time results, contact Grapevine Evaluations today at 1-866-386-2163.

Grapevine Evaluations offer 360 Degree Feedback , a web-based system for employee reviews which allows HR users to quickly and simply create, distribute, manage and track participation in the employee review process. Users can also see the results in real time.

This Government Agency Scrapped Employee Reviews. Should You?

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Mon, 27 Apr 2015 04:00:00 GMT

In May 2014, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced that it would eliminate employee reviews. The agency’s rationale was that these reviews discriminated against workers.

Was this the right move for the Bureau? Should your organization take a page out of that agency’s book? Read more to learn about why eliminating performance reviews might not work for your business.

The Background of Employee Reviews

The CFPB discovered what it called “significant disparities” between the performance of employees of varying ages, races and locations from its 2012 and 2013 reviews. Managers felt that these disparities were based upon discrimination inherent in the employee evaluation process.

To remedy the discrimination, the CFPB decided to pay all employees as if they had received the highest evaluation score. The policy change cost the agency at least $5 million.

The Controversy

The agency came under fire for deciding to eliminate performance evaluations and pay its employees as though they had received the highest evaluation score.

Columnist Thomas Brown wrote, “Treating the agency’s highest-rated employees the same as its lowest-rated ones is the opposite of fairness.” He pointed out that the CFPB’s top performers deserve to be compensated for their conscientiousness and hard work.

When they are given the same remuneration as their lower-performing peers, the hard workers will experience low morale and become disengaged.

The Solution

The way to fix the problem of discrimination might not be to eliminate employee reviews. Instead, the CFPB and other organizations should consider revamping their performance evaluation process to remove bias from the equation.

Biases and prejudices are unfortunately a natural part of human nature, but they can be overcome in several ways. The first method to eradicate discrimination from evaluations is to set benchmarks for employee performance. If an employee meets a standard, he or she merits a positive review. Another way to reduce bias is to hold reviews more frequently than once a year.

When reviews are held annually, the supervisor might focus on the one thing the employee did well (or poorly) during the year, as opposed to thinking about all of the actions that worker took.

A third technique of eliminating prejudice is to customize evaluations for roles, seniority levels and departments. When there are no clear yardsticks for expected performance, managers do not have an effective way to measure how employees are doing.

360 Degree Feedback: Your Tool for Employee Reviews

Are you looking for a method to evaluate employees fairly? Call Grapevine Evaluations today at 1-866-386-2163 to learn about 360 Degree Feedback. 360 Degree Feedback is a web-based tool which allows HR users to quickly and easily create, manage, administer and track participation in the performance review process.

Users can also customize the software to meet their unique needs. Make your next employee reviews about fairness and get rid of bias with 360 Degree Feedback.

360 Assessment Works for the Army, But Will it Work for You?

Mon, 27 Apr 2015 04:00:00 GMT

When you think of professional development in any military organization, you probably think of someone coarsely yelling at an individual in order to motivate them, and not a 360 degree assessment program . However, the reality is the exact opposite.

Retired Senior Chief Officer Jim Murphy recently discussed the U.S. Navy’s culture of professional development on usni.org . He commented that “constructive criticism from peers and subordinates provides new viewpoints and recommendations to assist professionals in their pursuit of continuous improvement.”

He went on to discuss how this culture has fostered a great deal of success in the Navy and how it helped lead to the development of 360 degree reviews.

Bill Ackerly of the Army’s Mission Command Center of Public Affairs recently echoed Murphy’s sentiments, saying in a news article that the Army is implementing a “new leader development program in the Army’s Multi-Source Assessment and Feedback.”

This is yet another 360 degree assessment program. That is great for the military, but will it work for your organization? The answer to this question is a resounding yes. Here’s why!

People like to know what they are doing wrong

Your employees don’t like to show up to work every day not knowing whether or not they have performed well enough to earn that much sought-after promotion, or if they are on the cusp of being fired.

The water cooler rumor mill should not be an employee’s primary source for this information. This causes the wrong messages to be disseminated in the worst possible way. On the other hand, 360 degree feedback allows your employees to gain a comprehensive understanding of what they are doing right and wrong, and how their actions affect the team.

People like to know how they can do better

How can a person improve if they don’t know where to start? Most performance review systems only tell people what they are doing wrong and then demand that they find a way to fix it.

A 360 degree form connects people with a path to improving every skill necessary for success within an organization. This helps employee development happen at a much faster rate.

People don’t like to be talked down to

As Jim Murphy said, 360 degree evaluations include constructive criticism from not only supervisors, but also peers and subordinates. This breaks down the wall that normally stands between people and performance assessments, because it may be easy to perceive your boss as having an out of touch perspective.

A 360 degree approach allows people to see how they are affecting peers and can get them back in touch with how their actions affect their subordinates.

360 degree assessments can benefit any organization

You don’t have to be a part of the military for your organization to enjoy the benefits of 360 degree assessments. At Grapevine Evaluations, our feedback tool is trusted across a broad range of industries. If you are looking to improve your employee evaluations, please schedule a one-on-one demo with us today!

See our Overview of our 360 Assessment Software.

Why We Love 360 Appraisals & You Should Too

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Thu, 23 Apr 2015 04:00:00 GMT

Although they are known to be a business necessity, most professionals deplore employee reviews.

David Ingram of Demand Media said in a recent post on the Small Business Chronicle that “traditional review systems can damage superior-subordinate relationships.” Unlike traditional review systems, 360 degree feedback forms are explicitly designed to foster relationships between everyone at the company.

The diverse perspectives

One of the biggest problems that many employees have with most performance review systems is their monolithic nature. They feel as though they are forced to waste their time going through a lambasting from an uncompromising boss, or entertain meaningless praise from their supervisor.

The 360 degree appraisal system creates the opposite effect by integrating diverse perspectives into the review. Supervisors, subordinates, peers and even the reviewed employee are all included.

As Terri Linman of San Diego State University said in a recent scholarly journal, in this environment, “Criticisms are seen as opportunities for improvement,” as opposed to unwarranted attacks. This, in turn, makes people more receptive to making the changes needed to improve performance.

The honesty

360 degree appraisals incorporate a system of anonymity for the reviewers. This fosters an environment of complete honesty, and protects team members from resentment towards a person for any negative criticisms that they may have given.

This also allows people to take in criticisms from a more empathetic perspective. So instead of dismissing a comment because Tony (who the reviewed employee doesn’t really like) said it, the person being reviewed will only see the substance of the comment and how their behaviors affect other employees.

360 degree appraisal doesn’t play the blame game

A 360 degree review considers how both the individual employee and the company can adapt for better performance.

The connection to professional development resources

A good 360 degree performance review doesn’t just tell an employee what they are doing right and wrong. It will serve as a bridge to connect them to the professional development resources that they need to bolster their strengths and improve upon their weaknesses. This means that none of the important facts discussed in the review will go to waste.

The company morale boost

The benefits of 360 degree appraisal will not go unnoticed at your company. As your team starts to develop better communication, build relationships, improve their own skills and ultimately perform better as a whole, the 360 appraisal system will become recognized as an invaluable resource for the company’s development.

Do you want the comprehensive benefits that 360 appraisal brings?

The benefits that 360 degree appraisals will bring to your team cannot be ignored. At Grapevine Evaluations, our software is the go-to tool for companies such as Pandora Radio and Thompson Reuters. If you think that a 360 degree evaluation tool can help your company, please request a demo with us today!

Why The LA Times Called Employee Evaluations “A Curse”

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Thu, 23 Apr 2015 04:00:00 GMT

In a recent LA Times op-ed, professor and author Samuel A. Cuthbert called employee evaluations a “curse.” Cuthbert has some authority on the subject; he teaches at UCLA’s Anderson School of Management.

Employee evaluations are a fixture of the modern workplace. If companies get rid of them, how can they evaluate employees? Cuthbert believes the system is flawed, and offers his recommendations on how to fix it.

The Problem with Employee Evaluations

According to Cuthbert, performance reviews aren’t objective. He compares one employee’s level of objectivity towards another to how a film critic approaches movies.

Furthermore, employee evaluations stifle workers’ freedom of speech. Many employees feel that if they tell the truth on an evaluation, it will come back to hurt them later on.

Cuthbert also believes that performance reviews stymie personal growth. If a worker admits to weakness, that failing could be used against them in the future. The professor points out that if no one ever addresses their shortcomings, they’ll never be able to improve.

Another problem for Cuthbert is that employee evaluations measure everyone according to the same criteria. They don’t take into account that no two people are the same, and as a result, have different strengths.

Cuthbert’s Solution

The UCLA professor recommends doing away with performance reviews entirely. Instead of relying on a supervisor-centric process, Cuthbert suggests doing what he calls “performance previewing.”

Performance previewing focuses on solving problems in the present so they do not worsen in the future. In Cuthbert’s opinion, employee evaluations concentrate on the past, and on blaming the worker for things that haven’t worked in the past.

A performance preview involves the supervisor and the subordinate taking active roles to improve the situation. No one is completely responsible for failure, but both parties are responsible for success.

Another Solution

Some experts would argue that Cuthbert’s proposal is very drastic. It’s difficult to completely eliminate a fixture in North America’s business landscape. Companies will argue that they still need a way to evaluate employees.

Instead of abandoning the employee evaluation process, businesses should seek to overhaul it. One of Cuthbert’s complaints is that performance reviews take place only once a year. Performing more frequent and meaningful evaluations would solve that problem.

Cuthbert’s point that employee reviews are all about assessing the worker’s shortcomings is an important one, but it doesn’t have to be lost or ignored during the evaluation process.

Employees and their supervisors need to keep this in mind whenever the assessment takes place.

Grapevine Evaluations: Providing a Framework for Meaningful Employee Evaluations

Are you looking for a tool to evaluate employees? Grapevine Evaluations 360 Degree Feedback is a web-based tool which allows HR users to easily create, administer, manage and track participation in the performance review process. It’s completely customizable, and you can receive reports in real time.

Contact Grapevine Evaluations today at 1-866-386-2163 to learn how 360 Degree Feedback can make the employee evaluation process better.

Love Your Employees? Here’s How to Keep Them

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Mon, 20 Apr 2015 04:00:00 GMT

What’s the most valuable resource your company possesses? It’s not hardware or software; rather, it’s human capital. That’s right, your employees are your greatest asset.

Knowing that your workers are the lifeblood of your firm, you need to find ways to retain them. Read on for ways to keep your staff.

Remember How Costly Turnover Is

You might not realize it, but when employees quit or you fire them, it costs your business. That cost is financial, but there are other negative impacts.

When someone leaves a business, it doesn’t always mean that there’s less work to be done for everyone else. The remaining employees may feel overworked and stressed out, which leads to lowered morale.

Moreover, that former worker had a store of job-specific knowledge, which no one else has. Such a loss of knowledge makes it more difficult for the remaining employees to fill their colleague’s shoes.

And when the firm decides to replace that employee, it takes time and resources to do so. Someone needs to post the position on job boards. That person will also be responsible for evaluating resumes when candidates send them. Someone also has to interview candidates. Don’t forget about how long it can take to train the new person.

Staff Retention

So, how can you keep your staff? Employee retention takes effort, but it costs less than losing workers.

Companies must take stock of the situation on the ground. Evaluating employees can tell managers and business leaders that are performing well and exhibits high morale, and which employees aren’t productive and engaged.

What should managers do once they have the results? Employees who have performed poorly shouldn’t be fired on the spot. Rather, supervisors should counsel, coach and correct.

They also need to set a deadline on when the employee must show improvement – counseling, coaching and correcting can’t continue indefinitely. If the employee hasn’t changed for the better by that time, then he or she isn’t a good fit for the company.

How should the firm’s leadership respond to employees who have received positive evaluations? Supervisors might think, “Let’s leave well enough alone,” but that would be a mistake. Productive employees with high morale need their managers to continue to engage with them.

Otherwise, they won’t feel as though they’re valued members of a team. When workers don’t feel valued, their morale drops, as does their productivity.

Grapevine Evaluations: Your Employee Evaluations Experts

If you want to keep your staff, you need an easy to use employee evaluation system. Grapevine Evaluations’ 360 Degree Feedback is web-based, so there’s no expensive software to install. It’s simple to create, distribute, manage and track participation in the evaluation process.

HR users can also see results in real time. Call Grapevine Evaluations today at 1-866-386-2163 to learn how you can retain your top employees.

Are Your Employee Performance Evaluation Methods Killing Your Company?

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Mon, 20 Apr 2015 04:00:00 GMT

The same tool you’re using to help save your company may be poisoning it from the inside. 360 degree feedback questions are a great way to measure and improve employee performance. That being said, the wrong evaluation methods can actually cause some serious harm to your business.

How do you know whether your evaluations are a help or a hindrance? Here are six surefire signs that your employee performance evaluations are killing your business.

Your performance reviews are 100 percent negative

Although you want to use your evaluations as a tool to highlight ways in which your employees can improve their performance, you also want to reinforce their best behaviors. Also keep in mind that the occasional pat on the back helps support morale.

As Forbes contributor Eric Jackson said in a recent article, “Say thanks to your people when they do a good job. It’s the cheapest bonus you’ll ever pay.”

Your performance reviews are too monolithic

Nobody likes to be talked down to. If a supervisor is the only team member giving the employee review, you are talking down to your employees in their performance reviews, no matter how positive or negative the content may be.

For many, this creates an instantly negative perception of the review. Instead of doing this, create a comprehensive performance review that includes the combined opinions of peers, subordinates, supervisors and even the person being reviewed.

Your performance reviews are too vague

There should be no room for interpretation in your employee performance reviews. Vague questions and responses can create misleading result. Avoid broad questions like “How well do you think John has done here?”

Your performance reviews are dishonest

This is the worst thing you can do with your employee reviews. Dishonest reviews mislead people to the point that they will feel as if somebody has a personal vendetta against them when they are penalized, fired, or don’t get that promotion they were expecting.

Also keep in mind that this will in no way help you improve performance.

Your performance reviews don’t focus on the big picture

“What have you done for me lately?” is a factor that should only account for a portion of your performance reviews. If they only focus on the most recent work, then employees will be dismissive of them at best, and annoyed with them at worst. Either way, no progress will be made.

Focusing on the big picture also means looking beyond what the individual is doing and considering how the company, peers, and other environmental factors affect performance.

As the Performance Management and Appraisal Help Center said in a recent whitepaper, “Even the most talented employee is going to have difficulty performing well if he or she lacks the tools, is impeded by poor business and production planning, is not given sufficient resources, or is adversely affected by the work environment.”

What impact are your employee performance reviews having?

Always make sure that your employee reviews are holistic, clear, and take into consideration the fact that your employees are human. If you find that your current evaluation tools don’t allow you to ask the right questions, then maybe it’s time to consider 360 degree feedback. Contact us today for a live demo to learn more!

How to Avoid Discrimination in Employee Reviews

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Thu, 16 Apr 2015 04:00:00 GMT

In recent years, employee reviews have come under fire. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced in 2014 that it would cease to conduct performance reviews after employees complained that members of visible minorities were victims of discrimination.

That’s not the first time an organization has been criticized for showing bias against certain employees. Although prejudice is a difficult set of beliefs to eradicate, it is possible to create a more impartial performance evaluation process.

Employee Reviews and Discrimination

How do biases and prejudices make their way into an employee review ? They are not always consistent in their application. And if there aren’t checks and balances within the system, personal beliefs and opinions can overshadow what’s supposed to be an impartial, objective assessment.

Biases and prejudices based on gender, skin color, religion, sexual orientation or any other category is not a minor matter. Employees can take your company to court over discrimination, and if the evaluation shows that you had an unfair bias against them, they might win. In addition to the moral victory, they might also be awarded a cash settlement, which could have a serious impact on your business.

Making Performance Evaluations Fair

There are a few ways to significantly reduce the chances that discrimination will have an adverse effect on employee reviews.

Firstly, companies should consider conducting employee reviews more often than once a year. When annual evaluations are held, supervisors tend to focus on one good (or not so good) thing that individual did during the last 365 days. They ignore all of the other actions that employee has taken, leading to a rather superficial report.

Secondly, formulating a set of consistent benchmarks means employees are measured according to the same standards. These benchmarks should be crafted so they take differences in roles, departments and hierarchical positions into account.

Finally, using customized questions for departments and roles means that evaluators have an accurate way to assess performance. They aren’t using a vague and general tool to measure diverse roles and departments.

360 Degree Feedback: Your Trusted Employee Review Solution

Are you dissatisfied with your current performance evaluation system ? Contact Grapevine Evaluations today at 1-866-386-2163 to learn more about 360 Degree Feedback.

Take bias out of your employee reviews with 360 Degree Feedback for evaluations that are fair and impartial.

5 Totally Useless Employee Evaluation Questions

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Thu, 16 Apr 2015 04:00:00 GMT

360 feedback surveys can be completely useless if you ask the wrong questions. You need to make sure that your evaluations are effective, because poor execution will upset your employees and provide you with little value.

Creating a great evaluation starts with knowing what questions to avoid. Below are 5 totally useless employee evaluation questions that you shouldn’t ask.

1. What is your greatest weakness?

An employee evaluation isn’t a job interview. You aren’t trying to analyze an employee’s psyche to determine whether or not they are capable of doing the job. You (hopefully) already know this.

You are trying to specifically determine how they can contribute more to the company. Here is a great example of a question you should ask instead, as shown in a Career Intel blog post: “In which area(s) would you like to improve?”

2. What do you like best about the company?

The purpose of employee evaluations are to determine how both the organization and your employee can better synchronize to achieve your goals.

While you should address what people like and dislike about the company, the questions should be specific enough to address elements that help and hinder performance. “What do you like best?” is too vague for this, because the response could be anything, including something irrelevant to your original objective.

3. Do you think that you have done well at the company?

There are a couple of things wrong with this question. Firstly, yes or no questions have no place on employee evaluations. The responses won’t be of any benefit to anybody.

Secondly, even if you restructured the question to be open-ended, this is not a good way to address an employee’s performance. Instead, ask a question that forces them to address specific elements of their job. Career Intel suggests asking: “What accomplishment(s) are you most proud of?”

4. How do you think that your attitude has affected performance?

Never discuss personality traits in an employee review. People will usually talk about themselves in positive terms in response to this question. When team members respond to the same question, there could be negative responses.

This creates an unnecessarily hostile environment. Instead of personality traits, ask questions that address specific behaviors.

5. How have you performed compared to your peers?

Direct comparisons between team members in employee evaluations creates a hostile and unhealthy competitive environment. This is extremely dangerous, as it can lead employees to resort to subterfuge in order to get ahead.

If you feel the need to compare employees to anything, only pit them against performance standards, not other people.

Make sure that you are asking the right questions in your employee evaluations

Make sure that your employee evaluations address the performance of both employees and the company, that they are completely clear, and that they don’t offend people.

The goal of an effective 360 degree feedback is to prevent these questions from ever being asked. If your company is currently struggling with employee evaluations, contact us today to learn how Grapevine Evaluations can help!

See our Overview of our 360 Degree Employee Evaluation Software.

Understand Employee Turnover with 360 Degree Feedback

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Mon, 13 Apr 2015 04:00:00 GMT

How can a 360 degree employee evaluation software feedback tool

help you understand employee turnover? This can be confusing for business leaders, since at face value, all employee feedback resources are designed to evaluate employee performance, not analyze why people are unhappy with a company.

This is one of the things that makes 360 degree feedback stand out. Here’s how it can help!

Perceptions about team members reflect how people feel about a company

A great 360 degree feedback tool will help you develop a feedback system where an employee’s performance is analyzed by peers, supervisors, and subordinates.

When people are unhappy with a company’s culture, this will be reflected in the 360 review, which allows employees to score a broad array of important skills, including credibility, integrity, communication skills, managerial skills and team building skills.

If members of your company, especially team leaders, tend to get lower scores in areas like these on their 360 degree feedback reports, then you have a strong sign that there is discontent among your employees. Employee discontent eventually becomes employee turnover.

360 degree feedback helps pinpoint the source of a problem

Knowing that your employees are unhappy is great, but it won’t help you very much if you don’t know how to turn things around. The secure, anonymous structure of 360 degree feedback allows team members to not only rate employees, but also provide honest verbal feedback. These comments will be critical for determining why people are disappointed with the leadership, team building, or integrity of your company.

Using a better feedback tool can help reduce employee turnover

For many employees, performance reviews create a sense of trepidation stronger than they would feel when waiting for the results of an academic test that they didn’t prepare for at all. This has developed a generally negative perception about employee reviews.

As Darcey Jacobsen of Globoforce discussed in a recent blog post about ways to reduce employee turnover, “only 49 percent of (employees) find reviews to be accurate, and only 47 percent find them to be motivating.”

This negativity can cause your employee reviews to be a key driver for employee turnover, as it drives down people’s happiness and can make them feel as though they will be fired soon.

As Gregory P. Smith of ManagerWise recently mentioned, “A 360-degree feedback assessment shows an individual what others think their performance is versus what it should be. By understanding the perception of others, people can improve.”

In other words, a 360 degree feedback tool can turn the traditional perception of performance reviews on its head. It acts as a bridge for communicating things that are normally difficult to express without someone being offended.

Do you want to stop the cycle of employee turnover?

With Grapevine Evaluations, our 360 degree feedback tool can help you pinpoint the cause of employee turnover and prevent it. To learn more about our software, please request a live demo !

How Bad Employee Reviews Cost You More Than Money

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Mon, 13 Apr 2015 04:00:00 GMT

Every time a company conducts employee performance reviews, it’s inevitable that there will be some less than glowing results. There will always be bad employee reviews. However, there are hidden costs that stem from negative employee feedback.

Businesses don’t take into account that not so positive reviews can cost them money. They can also harm the firm in other ways that might not be tied to the bottom line, but still take a toll.

The Causes of Negative Employee Reviews

There are a number of reasons a colleague might give his or her peer a negative review. It might be because that individual is good at his or her job, but has a very unpleasant personality. Another reason could be that he or she has consistently low morale, and doesn’t seem to care about the job at all.

If the way the employee is acting is a recent phenomenon, then it may be that the person is dealing with a problem in his or her personal life. However, if this individual has been the subject of numerous bad employee reviews, it’s past time to figure out how to deal with the issue.

Why Bad Employee Reviews Matter

A negative employee review is a reflection of what’s happening at the company. It is a warning sign that something is broken and desperately needs to be fixed.

However, for some managers, the problem really doesn’t hit home until they realize that what’s causing the employee to receive a bad review as a high cost. For example, low productivity hurts the business’ bottom line. And what happens when the employee receiving bad reviews finally leaves?

His or her colleagues have to step in to pick up the slack. In turn, they will feel overworked and stressed because they are doing the job of more than one person. Furthermore, when that person left, he or she took a store of knowledge that was specific to that role.

When you replace that employee, it costs you time you might have spent doing something else. Instead of fulfilling the firm’s goals, you’re writing and posting ads seeking a replacement, reviewing resumes and interviewing candidates.

Fixing the Problem

The solution to bad employee reviews is not to keep the individual in his or her position at all costs. Rather, when a manager comes across such an evaluation, he or she should make every effort to counsel, coach and correct. In the long run, retaining an employee is cheaper than hiring a new one.

Grapevine Evaluations’ 360 Degree Feedback is your go-to tool for performing employee reviews. It is a web-based system which offers customizable questions. Furthermore, it’s easy for HR users to create, manage, distribute and track evaluations. Managers can view results in real time. Call Grapevine Evaluations today at 1-866-385-1425 to learn how 360 Degree Feedback can help your organization.

How 360 Evaluations Save Businesses

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Thu, 09 Apr 2015 04:00:00 GMT

Businesses fail for a number of reasons. One reason might be because the company is out of touch with market needs. Another reason is that employees aren’t motivated, and become disengaged and unproductive.

How can you tell if your employees are disengaged? 360 evaluations are surveys that provide employee feedback. These surveys tell firms how employees are performing, which helps them identify strengths and weaknesses, motivate employees to improve and reinforce company values.

360 Evaluations Helps Identify Strengths and Weaknesses

When companies perform 360 evaluations, they give employees the opportunity to share what they see going on “in the trenches.” Their viewpoint can be invaluable. If during the review process the business discovers that one employee performs particularly well, the leadership should take steps to retain that individual.

Conversely, the firm might find that an employee is performing poorly, and is in fact reducing morale in his or her department. Low morale leads to low productivity, which leads to a poorly performing company. Armed with that knowledge, managers can decide what appropriate action to take.

Motivating Employees to Do Better

Employees have the chance to see the feedback on evaluations. Being able to read what their peers think about them might be an eye-opening experience. They will learn that they have undiscovered strengths.

The evaluations will also illuminate areas in which they can improve. Either way, employees will have food for thought.

Ideally, the results of the evaluation will encourage them to continue to improve. Professional growth amongst employees leads to a more efficient, more competitive business.

A Chance to Enforce Company Values

A 360 evaluation offers a business the opportunity to ask questions about company values. Employees’ answers will tell them whether they are aware of what drives the business, aside from profits. While profits are indisputably important, a firm has to have values to which employees adhere in order for it to succeed.

Determining whether employees have any idea as to what those guiding principles are will help the business develop a strategy to reinforce them. Once the company has implemented a plan to strengthen its values education, it can measure how employees have internalized them on future evaluations.

Choosing a 360 Evaluation Tool

Are you searching for the right 360 evaluation tool ? Grapevine Evaluations offers a web-based survey for companies of all sizes . Because 360 Degree Feedback runs in the cloud, businesses don’t need to download expensive software. The surveys are customizable, so your firm can ask the questions it needs and get the right answers.

In addition, it’s easy to create, distribute, manage and evaluate the survey process. The HR department can also track user participation. 360 Degree Feedback enables users to choose from a number of reporting options, meaning they get the information they want.

Contact Grapevine Evaluations today to see how 360 evaluation tool can save your company!

What Every HR Professional Ought to Know About 360 Degree Feedback Questions

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Thu, 09 Apr 2015 04:00:00 GMT

Your 360 degree feedback questions don’t have to incite fear, resentment or confusion among your employees. In fact, your team can come to accept or even embrace them. When everyone is on board with your feedback system in this way, it is much more productive.

Here is what you need to know about 360 degree feedback questions to make this happen.

Explain your questions to employees beforehand

While the questions themselves may seem self-explanatory, the 360 degree review process won’t be for someone unfamiliar with it. This can lead to poor answers for even the simplest questions.

If the reviewer is prepped beforehand, they will understand that the questions are designed to find ways to develop the person being reviewed and respond the way you want them to.

For example, you could make the following statement: “In order to be most helpful to Jon, please answer the questions below candidly, without being unnecessarily critical or uncritical.”

Make questions relevant to the reviewer’s relationship with the person being reviewed

The questions that you ask a manager about someone are not going to be the same ones that you will ask their peers. To this end, make sure that you have a set of questions tailored to match the relationship between the employee and the reviewer.

Make it clear that 360 degree feedback is about employee development

Instead of focusing on what an employee does right or wrong, make the questions all about skills. For example, instead of telling people how good or bad they are performing, allow the respondents to rate the employee on a numerical scale, and give them an opportunity to comment after rating each skill set.

Even the best questions can backfire if the timing is wrong

If you time your 360 degree feedback questionnaire wrong, then it can risk having a negative impact. As Christian Vanek of SurveyGizmo said in an article, you shouldn’t review someone who hasn’t been there for “at least 12 months.”

This is because they could feel blindsided if they receive a review with low ratings, and since they aren’t familiar with the company yet, they could take this as a sign that they are being pushed out the door (even after you explain the process to them).

Also, avoid giving people reviews if they are in the midst of a large, time consuming project, as they aren’t likely to have time to take the necessary steps to adjust to the feedback.

As Susan Heathfield of About.com Money said, 360 degree reviews are about “personal and organizational performance development.” This won’t happen if the employee is too busy or offended to utilize the feedback.

Is your 360 degree feedback system ready for prime time?

If your employee evaluations aren’t giving you the feedback and results that you need, then it’s time to think about something new.

At Grapevine Evaluations, our 360 degree employee evaluations are trusted by companies such as Pandora Radio, Thompson Reuters, and Macy’s. Request a demo today to learn more!

Disengaged Employees? Here’s How to Fix It

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Mon, 06 Apr 2015 04:00:00 GMT

The term “ employee engagement ” has been around for decades. Typically, companies measure it through an annual employee survey . The survey is designed to offer employees the opportunity to share their feedback about why (or why not) they are committed to an organization.

Traditional employee engagement surveys are not always accurate, though. If the management only administers them once a year, they miss out on all of the possible issues that lead employees to engage, or prevent them from it. And that might mean there are disengaged employees at the firm.

Disengaged employees are not productive. They are not focused on fulfilling corporate goals. Most importantly, they discourage engaged employees. Fortunately, there are steps you can take as a manager to fix this problem.

The Changing Face of Employee Engagement

A traditional survey is no longer enough to measure how engaged employees are. Between one year to the next, there might have been a management transition, and the new leadership has not engaged employees. Or, there is no talent mobility, meaning that qualified people are stuck in jobs they have outgrown.

The idea of engaging employees itself has also changed. The goal is no longer to have employees who are happy about their jobs; instead, it should be to make them feel as though they are part of something bigger than themselves. They shouldn’t say, “I don’t feel like going to work today, but I have to.” What they should say is, “I’m so excited to go to work!”

Ask the Right Questions

To determine levels of employee engagement, you need to ask questions that will make it easy for you to get the answers you need. These queries should be as specific as possible. Furthermore, avoid questions with yes or no answers. They cannot provide depth and insight into how engaged an employee feels.

Although the content of the survey will vary from business to business based on a firm’s unique situation, there are some queries that are universal. One enlightening question to ask is, “How do you feel about getting up for work each morning?”

You could provide employees with a list of adjectives to describe their feelings about coming to work. Another query to ask would be, “What have managers done in the past year (or time period of your choice) to inspire you?” The follow up question would be, “What have managers done to decrease your motivation?”

360 Degree Feedback: The Employee Engagement Solution

So, with all of this knowledge, how do you measure employee engagement? 360 Degree Feedback offers a cost-effective web-based solution. There are hundreds of questions to choose from, and it’s easy to create, distribute and evaluate the surveys.

The 360 Degree System is used by businesses that belong to various industries. This includes Macy’s, Kapersky Lab, Husky Energy, Pandora Internet Radio and Thomson Reuters.

Call Grapevine Evaluations today at 1-866-386-0214 to schedule a demo and make disengaged employees a thing of the past.

Losing Your Best Employee Is Actually The Best Thing That Can Happen To You

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Mon, 06 Apr 2015 04:00:00 GMT

Your favorite employee, the one you have come to depend upon for exceptional work, has given their notice. Resist your initial impulse to scream, shout, and stomp your feet, because it is not the end of the world, and it could be the beginning of something even better.

Don’t Panic

Remaining calm is very important. Your company will continue on, though it doesn’t feel that way initially.

“No one employee’s departure will mean the demise of your company, even if it feels that way.” states Alice Bredin , an advisor for American Express Open. Calmly ask them their reasons for leaving, and be sure to really listen, because you can learn quite a bit, and you might be able to make a smart counteroffer, but only if they really want one.

According to Hank Gilman , an editor at Fortune magazine, “If it’s partly about money, I’ll get you some more. If it’s about your title, we can do something about that. (It’s only words.) But if you really want a new job — or need a change — take it.”

Sometimes it really is just a need for change, and there is nothing you can do but be gracious about the situation.

Conduct an Exit Survey

An exit survey is a very important step that should be taken seriously. Not only will you learn about your staff members’ personal experiences with your company, this step will give you valuable insight into the way your company works. It will also help you to retain your other employees.

The information you acquire from the exit survey also helps you to re-examine the position they are leaving. It allows you to make improvements to the job description, and examine how your company can improve its relationship with its employees.

The feedback you get from the exit survey will give you a better idea of the type of person you want to fill the position. It is much better to wait for the best candidate than to hire the first person that applies for the job.

Going Forward

Provide your current team with clear career paths, and have everyone interested in every job. The likelihood of someone on your team who can make the move to the now vacated position will drastically improve.

While the loss of a key employee is painful, there is much you can learn from it. The knowledge you gain about your company and its culture can help you to avoid losing other important team members.

What If You Could Assess Employees Effectively before They Leave?

With the right tools, you’ll be able to learn more about how an employee feels about their work, and potentially address an issue before it arises. This is where 360 degree feed back software can help you retain your best employees.

The Secret to Getting Your Employees to Answer Truthfully During Reviews

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Wed, 01 Apr 2015 04:00:00 GMT

Often during employee reviews, tensions are high. People get nervous when they are being judged. Even when an employee has shown great growth since the last review, they may still be on edge. When this happens, the employee may only tell you what they think you want to hear. They may gloss over issues or downplay areas for growth because they think it will reflect negatively on them.

Stop the cycle of bland employee reviews. Here is the secret to getting the truth from your employees.

Work with Specifics

The first key to a good review is to work with specifics. Numbers, percentages, facts and figures are all black and white. There is no emotion here. Performance metrics are numbers which an employee should be familiar with. They should know what their goal was for the month and they should know whether or not they hit this goal.

Starting out with specifics gets the review off on the right foot. This indicates to the employee that you are looking to stick to the facts. When working with numbers, you can get honest feedback about how they reached their goal or what they feel is lacking when trying to achieve their goals.

Ask for Feedback Often

Employee reviews may only happen once a month, once a quarter or once every six months. This leaves a long time in between. Ask for feedback often from your team. Are the learning objectives set out for the employee something which they can master? Are they seeing an increase in performance? Are they gaining confidence?

Being in charge of HR, you may not see everyone on a daily basis. Therefore, it is important to push for feedback so that you can see how the employee is developing and build a sense of trust between you two.

Follow up with Your Employee

Employee reviews are wonderful if they generate an increase in performance. However, if a review is given and then there is no follow up, does it matter? The employee needs to know that the things which you have discussed are important. Meeting with them once or twice a week to touch on the goals which were set out shows that attention is being paid. They will know that they are valuable, performance will increase and trust will be built.

Use 360 Feedback

Bring it back around. With 360 feedback pros and cons , you are looking at performance from every angle. Observing reportable numbers, getting feedback and following up on performance brings it back to the employee every time. With the proper templates and forms, everything will be easy to document. As time passes, the employee will see a consistent record is being kept and trust will be built. In the end, it all comes back to them. From reviews to performance, the employee is the key to the team.

Where Do You Get 360 Feedback Software?

Glad you asked! Grapevine Evaluations has helped countless companies with their employee evaluations, where both management and employees benefit from the feedback. Take a tour of our product , or request a one-on-one demo , and start building trust and increased performance on your team today.

Common Misconceptions Too Many People Have about Employee Evaluations

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Mon, 23 Mar 2015 04:00:00 GMT

Have you ever been tempted to try 360 feedback questions with employees, and then find yourself put off by many of the common misconceptions floating around the Internet? In truth, employee evaluations can be extremely beneficial for most businesses, but only if they’re done right.

Below, we’re going to go over four of the biggest misconceptions that surround 360-degree employee evaluations.

1. They only benefit managers

This couldn’t be further from the truth. Transparency in the workforce has never been more important, and employees are being given more encouragement to express their opinions, concerns and creative thinking. 360-degree reviews allow for active employee involvement throughout your organization and can help your employees on all levels realize their skills or work on areas that they struggle with. It also provides effective two-way communication between management and employees, as a way to increase engagement, productivity and morale in the workplace.

According to TLNT.com, “Performance management is not limited between manager and employee. It is collaborative and designed to create openness and transparency.”

2. They should be done once a year

Employee evaluations aren’t just something that can be carried out once a year and then forgotten about – that’s not how it’s supposed to work, and doing it this way will at best provide very minimal benefits, or at worst be considered a complete waste of everyone’s time.

As Paycom writes, “In order to be effective, feedback should be given on a regular basis. Feedback not only gives recognition to employees for their efforts, but it keeps them engaged and accountable. A great way to open the lines of communication can be done through monthly or weekly one-on-ones.”

3. Employees don’t really care

Most employees who invest time and effort into their job will find themselves encouraged to achieve more with 360-degree evaluations. They’ll receive the feedback and encouragement they need to improve their skills, and even learn new ones. In turn, they’ll also be able to express their opinions, feel like their voice is being heard, and their opinions are taken on-board.

According to HR.com: “Under the right conditions, people will hold themselves accountable to do the required work. People do better when they feel trusted and will improve performance if given the training and opportunity.”

4. They’re flawed, but they’re the only system we have

Employee evaluations are actually one of the most effective ways to improve workforce efficiency. Of course, one size doesn’t fit all, which is why they can be customized using hundreds of different questions to suit your individual organization. There are also plenty of tools available to make it easier for the HR department – you can even expect detailed, comprehensive reports with actionable data.

Looking for Employee Evaluations That Really Make a Difference?

Grapevine Evaluations has helped countless HR departments and companies to learn about their employees in an effective manner. Our 360 feedback software is web-based , fully customizable and includes comprehensive reporting, making it an indispensable tool.

How 360 Degree Feedback Programs Fail. And How to Avoid This

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Fri, 20 Mar 2015 04:00:00 GMT

Although it is an excellent employee review tool, there are still things that can cause a 360 feedback system to fail.

In order for your 360 feedback system to be successful, you must consider the factors that will reduce its effectiveness, and what steps you can take to avoid failure.

Your line of questioning does not directly address skills and behaviors that affect employee performance

The 360 review system is not designed to arbitrarily tell employees that they are doing “good” or “bad”. It exists to analyze how specific behaviors impact performance and how they can be improved upon.

How to fix this 360 feedback system fail:

Make sure that your questions address specific skills and behaviors. For example, instead of asking employees to assess how well a person does their job, ask them to assess how well a person demonstrates a specific technical skill related to their job.

You do not encourage honesty on your 360 feedback responses

Feedback that is not 100 percent honest will reduce the ability of your 360 review to accurately assess an employee’s strengths and weaknesses.

How to fix this 360 feedback system fail:

As the OI Global Partners consulting firm said in a recent blog post , “If open communication and honest feedback is not valued or desired within the organization (360 feedback) will prove useless.”

You must actively encourage complete honesty from your employees by emphasizing the anonymous nature of a 360 degree system.

You are using 360 feedback to single people out

Only using 360 feedback with employees who are performing poorly limits its effectiveness. This is because everyone can improve; properly executed 360 feedback can identify where. When you target specific people, you are also creating the impression that 360 feedback is a punishment for bad workers, rather than a development tool.

How to fix this 360 feedback system fail:

Make sure that you are using 360 feedback to assess all employees within your organization, from executives to entry-level associates.

Reviewers are dismissive of the 360 feedback process

As Forbes contributor Eric Jackson said in a recent article , every employee, especially a leader “has to be a believer that this stuff helps the team.” This is because no matter how well designed your 360 feedback system is, it will ultimately fail without the support of your employees.

If, for example, your employees do not take the questionnaires seriously, they will give lackluster responses; this defeats your review system’s ability to effectively analyze an employee’s performance

How to fix this 360 feedback system fail:

Make sure that you take the time to help all employees understand that 360 feedback is not a run-of-the-mill employee review system. Emphasize the fact that it is a communication tool for them to help each other grow.

Are you looking for an effective 360 feedback system?

Grapevine Evaluations provides easily customizable online 360 degree software that can provide crucial feedback about employees from everyone they work with, including themselves.

To learn more about how our 360 degree feedback can help your company, or to set up a one-on-one demo , contact Grapevine Evaluations today.

How HR Managers Know They Can Trust 360 Feedback

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Wed, 18 Mar 2015 04:00:00 GMT

How do you know how reliable 360 feedback is? As with any other business management tool, you should not make assumptions about its worth. To help you make an accurate assessment of the reliability of 360 feedback, we are going to discuss all of the factors that affect it.

How reliable 360 feedback is based on its capabilities

A key element of 360 appraisal’s reliability lies in its assessment of the types of factors that are critical for performance in all jobs. It specifically targets skills and behaviors that affect both the employee and those who work with him or her.

The objectiveness of a 360 appraisal

It is difficult to get objective reviews when the reviewers are human. 360 appraisal breaks down this barrier by gathering anonymous assessments. By doing this, people are more willing to provide completely honest reviews. This leads to more reliable results.

The comprehensiveness of a 360 appraisal

As George N. Root III of Demand Media said in a recent article in the small business section of the Houston Chronicle, obtaining “comprehensive information from those who do not completely understand the employee’s job duties can be difficult.”

For example, a supervisor may understand an employee’s job duties as it pertains to their own needs, but know nothing beyond this. This significantly damages your ability to reliably audit an employee’s performance.

In this regard, 360 appraisal is more reliable than other appraisal methods, because it gathers reviews from multiple sources to create a complete picture of an employee’s performance.

Access to 360 appraisal resources

In order for an appraisal system to remain reliable, you need to have consistent access to resources that will help you adjust the system to suit your organization’s ever-evolving needs.

360 appraisal’s wide use by performance evaluation experts means that these types of resources will always be accessible.

How reliable 360 feedback will be based on how you use it

Although 360 feedback is reliable by design, its reliability is still affected by how you use it. You can maintain its reliability by doing the following things:

Explain to everyone involved how 360 appraisal works

A 360 feedback system is very easy to understand, but many employees have been conditioned to be used to other types of appraisal systems. Make sure that you, for example, explain that 360 feedback is not a punishment for low performers, and that the reviews will be completely anonymous.

Provide detailed instructions for the questions

No matter how clear your questions may seem, you should make no assumptions about how employees will perceive them — even if they are familiar with 360 degree feedback. You must explain how you expect them to answer the questionnaires.

Is your company’s employee appraisal system reliable enough?

If your appraisal system is not as reliable as 360 appraisal, then the answer to the question above is “no.” Grapevine Evaluations provides easily customizable online 360 degree feedback software that can provide crucial feedback about employees from everyone they work with, including themselves.

To learn more about how our 360 degree feedback can help your company, or to set up a one-on-one demo , contact Grapevine Evaluations today.

5 Simple Ways to Review Your Employees Without Drama

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Mon, 16 Mar 2015 04:00:00 GMT

Are employee reviews a part of your job that you dread? You’re not alone, as a recent survey found that more than 90% of human resource managers aren’t satisfied with their 360 review for employee feedback and review system .

The tips below can help make your review process less painful and more meaningful for your organization.

1. Be honest

Employee reviews are often inflated. Supervisors often rate mediocre employees as competent, and competent employees as above average and so on. A less-than-honest review doesn’t help your employees improve their performance, and it doesn’t help the company either.

2. Put down the form (keep eye contact)

Don’t just go over a required form point-by-point; this is the worst way to conduct a review. Make the review a discussion between you and your employees. If necessary, put the form away and talk to your employees about not only their performance, but also the problems they faced during the last year. Talk about how these issues were handled, and work with the employee to come up with ways to improve and grow. This should be the goal of the review – not just checking off a form and putting it in a file until next year.

3. Let employees feel they have a voice

Encourage feedback and discussion from your employees. Don’t just throw out goals for them to achieve, ask them what their goals are and what they think they can achieve. Work with them to come up with a plan to achieve goals that meet the company’s targets.

4. Focus on the positives and the goals

Employees should leave the meeting feeling positive and ready to meet their goals, not beaten down. Help them make a concrete plan, including timelines. Work with your employees to come up with a method of tracking progress and identifying obstacles. They should understand how these goals fit into the corporate picture and help the company meet its goals.

5. Use 360 Degree Employee Evaluations

Make your employee reviews as easy as possible by utilizing 360 degree feedback tools. Grapevine Evaluations provides an online tool that makes it simple to tailor surveys to suit your company’s needs. You don’t need to install or download any software. You’ll upload information for employees you want to evaluate, and choose questions from our library, adding your own if you’d like. The tool generates easy-to-understand reports with charts and graphs that show where each employee excels and what they need to improve on.

Why 360 Degree Feedback is the Ultimate Solution

See our Overview of our 360 Review Software tool.

Employee Appraisals the #1 Cause of Your High Turnover?

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Thu, 12 Mar 2015 04:00:00 GMT

Do you have a problem retaining your employees? Keeping good employees can be a challenge, especially when there are other companies who will compete with you for their service. Letting your employees know that they are valuable to your business by evaluating their performance in a timely organized manner is good for morale and can lead to increased performance. Failing to do so can lead to a high turnover rate. Going about 360 degree performance appraisals in a haphazard manner can often leave employees feeling frustrated and looking for the door.

What’s Wrong with Traditional Employee Evaluations?

Ineffective employee performance evaluations tend to focus mostly on what the employee has done during the evaluation period and what they need to do to improve their performance. The problem with this type of evaluation is that it only points to the performance of the employee and does not take into consideration the tools that are or are not available to them. It also negates the effect of poor business practices, the lack of sufficient resources, or poor production plans.

Generic evaluation tools are narrow in scope when performing employee appraisals. They may be a common tool for human resource departments because they are a consistent method of evaluations and reviews but they are not the best tool for a true 360 degree evaluation of an employee’s performance. The main problem with generic evaluations is that neither your employee nor your business is static, so how can a generic purview of their performance give a true picture?

This type of employee appraisal process can lead to frustrated employees, loss of morale and loss of production because it encourages negative feedback. Moreover, it can lead to a high turnover rate if your employees feel that haphazard evaluations have no value to them and that they are only jumping through hoops and performing for a thankless audience. Employee turnover is costly and replacing a lost employee can often be avoided with proper feedback from management and peers.

How 360 Degree Reviews Changed the Game

Let your employees know that you value their service by giving them a performance review that helps them grow and gives you a better understanding of their performance over time. Using 360 degree reviews to evaluate the performance of your employees can give you and your employees a unique insight into their strengths and weaknesses.

Want to Increase Performance and Decrease Turnover?

Implementing 360 degree reviews in your business can lead to increased morale and better performance. Are your employee reviews leaving your employees feeling undervalued or not heard? Grapevine Evaluations solves this issue with our multi-rater feedback tool, where everyone who works with an employee will be able to provide honest feedback for him, which can identify how the employee can improve.

See our Overview of our 360 Performance Feedback Review Templates from our Software.

Good News: Employee Reviews Don’t Have to Stress You Out Anymore

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Mon, 09 Mar 2015 04:00:00 GMT

Nobody likes having 360 feedback reporting done to them – or do they? They are time consuming, scary for employees and their effectiveness can be questionable. Fortunately, your employee reviews don’t have to stress you out. You can make them easier and more effective by transforming them into professional feedback tools that serve to enhance your workplace productivity, rather than being arbitrary punishments or rewards (depending on the results). Here is how:

Don’t Have One Manager Conduct the Review Alone

Most types of work are difficult to objectively assess. As Jeffrey Pfeffer of Bloomberg Business said in a recent article, such performance reviews “mostly reflect how well employees can ingratiate themselves with the boss.” This dilutes your results, and can make the reviews counterproductive.

Instead of conducting single primary manager reviews, make each employee review a team effort, wherein a collaboration of manager and peer opinions comprises the assessment. This will cut out any biased perceptions, while broadening the perspective of the employee review.

Make Employee Reviews a Part of the Regular Workflow

Annual reviews aren’t very helpful. They require reviewers to accurately compile 365 days of data about one of the many individuals they interact with. Unfortunately, most people don’t have photographic memories, so much of the review will be based on the most recent happenings in the office.

Also, annual reviews are more daunting than a final exam — no matter how well most employees do, they will still be nervous about it; this will negatively impact performance during that time. Managers, most of whom don’t know any better, aren’t helpful here either. As human resources expert Susan M. Heathfield said in a recent About Money article, “Once a manager tells an employee about problems with their work or a failure in their performance, employees tend to ‘not hear’ anything else the manager has to say that is positive about their performance.” The reviews then become arbitrary punishments, even for employees with impeccable performance records.

Even workers who enjoy annual reviews won’t benefit from them. As Samuel Culbert said in an interview with the NPR, “They’re going to talk about all their successes — it becomes total baloney.”

In tegrating reviews into the regular workflow provides the following benefits:

More accuracy
Less review fear among employees (they become used to reviews)
More opportunities to analyze employee behaviour and adjust

All of these factors will make your reviews much more useful.

Don’t Pit Your Employees against Each Other

Publicly ranked reviews don’t encourage better team performance. Instead, it fosters an overly competitive environment wherein people refuse to work with — or even sabotage — each other. To avoid this, keep all of your employee reviews confidential.

Successful Employee Reviews Require a 360 Degree Approach

360 Degree Feedback Advantages and Disadvantages: Is it right for MY Office?

Sat, 07 Mar 2015 05:00:00 GMT

Before you can determine whether or not it is the right employee assessment solution for you, you need to compare the most significant 360-degree feedback advantages and disadvantages.

To make things easier for you, we are going to provide you with everything you need to know right here.

360 Degree Feedback Advantages

Feedback is more honest

When someone knows that the person they review will know what they said, it can be difficult to provide honest feedback. As Terri Linman of San Diego State University said in a recent scholarly journal, 360-degree feedback provides an “Assurance that feedback will be kept confidential.” The anonymous nature of 360-degree feedback allows people to comfortably be honest.

People get to hear feedback from a broader perspective

As Neil Kokemuller said in a recent eHow article , “employees are bothered when they feel unfairly critiqued by managers.” 360-degree feedback completely eliminates this problem by providing a comprehensive assessment from peers, subordinates and supervisors.

A path to improvement is given along with the feedback

In addition to discussing how an employee’s behaviours are affecting the company, a properly executed 360-degree assessment system also provides people with the tools they need to improve their behaviours.

360 Degree Feedback Disadvantages

Some people just aren’t used to receiving honest opinions

A person may have been conditioned to believe that everything they do is perfect for so long that the idea of receiving any negative feedback is inconceivable for them. In this case, it can be difficult to deliver any productive message to the employee. You may have to reinforce the fact that everyone, no matter how well they are currently doing, can improve their workplace productivity.

Some people have been conditioned to fear any kind of feedback

As the M&E Studies Group said in a recent blog post , “Stress might be put on individuals for giving feedback.” This means that you have to take steps to ensure that people understand that the feedback is seen as a tool for professional development, not a system for punishment.

Opinions may not be consistent enough

If an employee’s peers absolutely love how their behaviours are affecting the team, but their supervisors and peers do not, then what do you change? Answering this question will require you to sit down with the employee and determine how you can make changes that will result in a positive improvement from the perspective of all of the team members that the employee interacts with.

Choosing the right feedback tool

Before you make any decision for your organization, you should have an idea of whether or not it will work. The information discussed in this article will help regarding evaluations, but the only way to know for sure is to try it out for yourself.

Grapevine Evaluations provides easily customizable online 360-degree feedback software that can provide crucial feedback about employees from everyone they work with, including themselves. To learn more about how our 360-degree feedback can help your company, or to set up a one-on-one demo , contact Grapevine Evaluations today.

This is the Wrong Way To Use Your 360 Degree System

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Thu, 05 Mar 2015 05:00:00 GMT

No employee is perfect, but implementing a 360 degree system can help improve nearly anyone’s on-the-job performance.

Although a 360 degree system can work wonders for your company morale, unity and overall productivity, you can also counteract its benefits by using it the wrong way.

So that you don’t make this mistake, we are going to explain the wrong way to use your 360 degree system.

Your 360 degree evaluation don’t address specific behaviors

If you are trying to use your 360 degree system to build employee personality profiles, then you are using it wrong. The purpose of a 360 degree evaluation is to identify specific behaviors that affect an employee’s performance so that they can improve. Make sure that instead of asking rhetorical psychological evaluation questions, you ask questions about what an employee does.

Your evaluations aren’t anonymous

Anonymity is a critical element of the 360 degree system that cannot be ignored. If people are worried that the responses that they give will not remain confidential, then the honesty and overall quality of your evaluations will be compromised.

Make sure that your 360 degree system is 100 percent confidential. Also be sure that, as Eric Jackson suggested in a recent article for Forbes , when explaining the system to your employees that you “assure them up-front that it is a confidential process and won’t come back to haunt them.”

You don’t implement a 360 degree system that evaluates all employees

A 360 degree evaluation should not be a punishment for employees who aren’t producing results. It should be a company resource integrated to improve the performance of every member of your company’s team. If, however, you only evaluate “problem” employees, this is exactly what it will start to look like.

As the OI Global Partners career development group said in a recent article, using your 360 degree system like this “creates a perception that multi-rater feedback is only for poor performers.” Creating this type of sentiment will be counterproductive, to say the least.

You only focus on employees’ weaknesses

In addition to identifying and mitigated weaknesses, your 360 degree system should also support your employees’ strengths. When you do this, you can cause an employee to lessen their use of their strengths. It also casts a dark cloud over the entire 360 degree process, as people don’t like hearing all bad news.

You don’t create a plan to help employees improve

What is the point in an employee performance evaluation if nothing is done to correct the behaviors identified in the evaluation? There is none. In addition to identifying what is affecting a team member’s performance, your 360 degree system should map out a pathway for improvement.

Are you implementing a 360 degree system that is bound for success or doomed to fail?

By avoiding taking the actions discussed in this article, you can make sure that your 360 degree system is a resounding success.

Using a 360 degree Survey to Find the Office’s Weak Links

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Sun, 01 Mar 2015 05:00:00 GMT

Knowing which employees are weak links in your company can be the difference between success and failure.

360 degree surveys are different in that they take into account perspectives from multiple employees, including peers managers and the reviewed employee.

Here is how:

A holistic appraisal of employee performance

A n employee review provided only by the manager has a few problems:

The man ager doesn’t necessarily interact with an employee often enough to cover all bases in their assessment
Because of the manager’s position, their perspective can be perceived as out of touch
There is nothing to measure a lone manager’s assessment against

This holistic approach gives you more opportunities uncover strengths and weaknesses, thereby enhancing your ability to identify underperformers.

More honesty

As Thomas International said in a recent eBook outlining the basic definition of 360 degree surveys , it “gives people an opportunity to provide anonymous feedback to a coworker that they might otherwise be uncomfortable giving.” This system of anonymous honesty ensures that all of the benefits and drawbacks of an employee’s performance are discussed.

A focus on behavior and skills, rather than personalities

We all have someone that we don’t like. A work performance evaluation, however, is not the place to tell someone how awful you think their attitude is. Instead of giving anyone an opportunity to do this, a properly executed 360 degree survey focuses on the skills that an employee needs to develop and how specific behaviors affect the team’s performance. This gives you an true depiction of an employee’s performance without the assessment being muddled by people’s personal feelings.

A 360 degree survey system also helps you with what to do next

Why not just let the low performers go?

Just because someone is underperforming doesn’t mean that you should start writing their name on a pink slip. Hiring someone to fill the void created takes time and the onboarding process costs money; this hurts your ability to operate. In most cases, points where an employee is performing poorly can be improved upon.

What to do

360 degree surveys help by factoring in how your company’s culture and environment have affected an employee’s performance, and then giving them a path for improvement. Even employees exuding unethical behaviors can be transformed like this. As discussed by Thomas Chanorro-Premuzic in a Harvard Business Review article, “job satisfaction accounts for some of the effects of moral personality traits on counterproductive work behavior.”

Do you know which employee’s performance is hindering your business’ ability to thrive?

You do not have to assume who is hurting the team or fire every low performer your assessments dig up. When used properly, 360 degree feedback will give you the ability to quickly identify low performers, and put them in a position where they can grow to become your company’s biggest assets.

2014 Grapevine Evaluations Scholarship Winner Leah Gerber

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Fri, 16 Jan 2015 05:00:00 GMT

Every year Grapevine Evaluations gives away $1000 each to two qualified top performing students. We are proud to present to you Leah Gerber, who is a journalism student at University of King’s College and a recipient of 2014 Scholarship. In a short interview

Leah Gerber

University of King’s College, School of Journalism

Class of 2015

Q: How did you find out about the Grapevine Evaluations Scholarship?

A: I found it by searching for scholarships online.

Q: How did this scholarship influenced/affected your life? What role did it play in your life?

A: The scholarship helped to reduce the stress of being a student. I was able to concentrate on my studies instead of stressing so much about finances. I really appreciate it.

Q: What was your scholarship spent on?

A: The scholarship went towards tuition costs and school fees (like workshop fees and books)

Q: What are the three things you love about your university/program so far? Why?

A: I like learning how to tell stories in different mediums and platforms, because this expands my skill sets and ability to reach different people in multiple ways. I like gaining practical experience because this increases my confidence in my new abilities and allows me to build a portfolio. I also like meeting all sorts of people already in the field to make contacts with, and to gain some understanding of what life after journalism school will be like.

Q: What does your dream workplace look like?

A: My dream workplace encourages creativity and co-operation among employees. It offers many ways for employees to increase skills, knowledge and to continually grow, and not just for the sake of the company. Employees are considered an integral aspect of the company and are valued and consulted rather than ‘kept in the dark’ about important issues. Trust and growth are encouraged and fostered. I hope to work in a position that allows me to work outside much of the time.

Q: What is your biggest motivation at school/work?

A: My biggest motivator at school is knowing that in April I’ll be finished, and I will need to start using what I’ve learned to make a living. Because of this, I work hard to learn as much as possible.

Q: Can you think of a way companies can evaluate their employees’ performance better?

I guess this question depends on what you are evaluating for. If you are evaluating to see how good the employee is at their job, I would ask them to negotiate a simulation of an out of the ordinary scenario, or a simulation of them taking control during a theoretical serious problem and/or breakdown of the chain of management. You will then be able to see how well they know the position, gain insight in to how they think while working, how prepared they are for trouble and any leadership potential.

Q: If you were to ask your team members only one question to be able to understand their performance on a project, what would you ask them and why?

Before the project begins, I would ask team members what they have to gain or lose by doing the project to gauge how much it’s worth to them, to see what they are willing to invest and how much they will contribute.

Q: What are the three qualities that your ideal boss/manager should have? Why?

The most important qualities of a manager are- Maintaining an environment without favourtism, an ability to truly listen to employees, and trusting employees rather than micromanaging.

Learn more about our 360 feedback tool and Grapevine Evaluations Scholarship. All qualified students are welcome to apply. Terms of eligibility:

Canadian or U.S. citizens or permanent residents with a minimum GPA of 3.0 and enrolled in a Canadian or US university or college for Fall 2014.
Four components must be submitted for your entry: (A) Application Form, (B) Small writing project, (C) Copy of transcript, (D) Proof of Canadian or U.S. Residence
Please note that the scholarship is not limited to first year students. If you are a returning student or in a postgraduate program, you can also apply

How to Prepare Employee Evaluations in FMCG Company?

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Wed, 31 Dec 2014 05:00:00 GMT

Fast-moving consumer goods’ (FMCG) companies are designed for efficient operations, focusing on selling their products quickly to consumers, and at low cost. Efficient operations are necessary because profit-per-item for FMCGs tends to be small. Agile, cost-effective FMCG performance frequently requires selling products in large quantities to generate acceptable revenue.

Performance Appraisal

To be effective, an organization must have the right people in the right jobs; efficient, profitable operations require equally reliable job-specific performance from employees, to meet corporate objectives. Performance appraisal evaluates employees’ ability to meet their job-specific obligations.

Appraisals not only evaluate work performance, they also provide an accurate assessment of which workers should be slotted for promotion and reward. Those whose performance does not meet basic working standards may be given additional training, disciplined or dismissed. To this extent, performance appraisal separates good workers from bad, improving operational efficiency and return-on-investment (ROI).

Employee Performance in FMCG

Measuring 360 employee feedback and performance in FMCG requires reliable evaluation of such worker characteristics as current abilities, creative decision-making, job-specific knowledge, and overall skills, including the capacity for ongoing and useful contribution to the company’s growth. Each job will have key performance indicators (KPIs) that provide the basis for evaluating employee execution of work tasks.

In addition to factors like absenteeism, tardiness, or substance abuse, accurate employee performance evaluation for FMCG companies in cludes measuring:

Connection between job and employee – A primary objective of performance appraisal is improving the match between workers and their jobs; the overall quality of this match influences both worker and company performance. Do these factors influence worker motivation?
Worker motivation – Compare each worker’s performance scores with the firm’s guidelines for good performance for that job. Measuring employee production suggests the worker’s level of job-understanding and her/his desire to meet or exceed operating standards. Do current standards accurately reflect job-specific requirements?
Timely production – Each job has a specified production schedule the worker is responsible for meeting regularly. Timely production also entails maintaining product quality, another factor of assessment. Does this worker sacrifice product quality or job safety to meet production schedules?
Job safety – Where worker performance jeopardizes job safety, the company is liable for a range of negative developments, including lawsuits or production shutdown stemming from injury, or late delivery to customers. How important is job safety in the company’s performance evaluation scale?
Worker strengths/weaknesses – You’ll want to determine where each worker stands in relation to basic job requirements like motivation, production, scheduling, and safety. If performance lacks in any area, or several of them, will this worker benefit from training?

Evaluation of FMCG employee performance encompasses a verified, process-driven approach for appraising worker-contributions to organizational strategies and goals. Reliable, accurate assessment is necessary to ensure management’s knowledgeable and unbiased decision-making about employee performance and its use to the company.

If you’re concerned about the accuracy of your current performance appraisal processes, contact us at Grapevine Evaluations . Our proven methods help you scrupulously describe the efficiency of your workers’ performance, providing essential data for your important human resources decisions.

See our Overview of our 360 Degree Performance Appraisal format of our Software tool.

Measuring Employee Performance in Telecom based Companies

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Tue, 30 Dec 2014 05:00:00 GMT

Performance appraisal and 360 degree feedback is a major concern and responsibility of corporate human resources management (HRM). It is the systematic description of workers’ job-relevant strengths and weaknesses.

In the telecom industry, appraising employee performance is a function of human resource planning (HRP), which combines subjective (qualitative) measures with the objective (quantitative). Accurate evaluation of each employee’s performance can be used to assess:

Workplace satisfaction/motivation: The employee’s desire to improve execution of job-related responsibilities
Need for training: Identifying weaknesses in worker’s performance can pinpoint areas where further training is needed.
Pay, bonus, reward decisions: Basing corporate financial rewards on job performance can be an incentive encouraging employees to work harder to meet corporate objectives.
Personnel decisions: Performance appraisal data is also very useful to HRM in making decisions regarding worker promotions, demotions, discipline, training, layoffs and the like.

At the same time, the very act of monitoring and measuring employee performance can generate side-effects that interfere with the overall performance of the typical telecom company. Thus, assessing employee performance in the telecom indusrty requires implementation of appropriate appraisal procedures.

Worker Satisfaction

Measuring employee recognition of quality of worklife (QWL) provides ratings of worker job satisfaction, which relate to their commitment to and enthusiasm for completing job tasks. To what extent does enhanced QWL contribute to greater productivity? Are better satisfied employees more motivated?

Employee Motivation

Assessment can determine if each worker’s measured motivation adds value to the company productivity and performance. At what point does employee motivation depend on such HRP-determinants as recruitment, training and incentives?

Technological Skill

Virtually every aspect of telecom work requires technological proficiency, from basic repair and job scheduling, to higher-level tasks involving new system development. Does the employee have sufficient technical skill to capably handle assigned job tasks, adding value to corporate functions?

Job-specific Performance Efficiency

Each job has a range of performance-levels that must be met to ensure satisfactory completion of work responsibilities, measures tied to cost-of-work and production. Will this employee benefit from further training?

Worker Compensation/Promotion

Performance appraisal generates data appropriate to HR decisions regarding employee pay, benefits and bonuses. It also provides reliable parameters for promotion/demotion decisions, as well as guidelines for disciplining poor performance, tardiness, absence, etc. Should salaries increases by based on an incremental system for worker service and seniority, or should they be based essentially on good performance? Similarly, should promotions be based on seniority or performance?

Performance appraisals are a significant component of HRM operations. Contact us at Grapevine Evaluations and avail yourself of our expert professional services, designed to improve the quality and meaning of your employee assessments.

Our experience in the field can show your HRM the value of such QWL-practices as employee empowerment/participation, job rotation, and merit-based promotions and compensation for motivating improved worker performance. Accuracy and reliability are guaranteed. Your telecom firm will benefit not only from better analysis of worker performance, but also from the increased employee participation/productivity and job satisfaction resulting from putting the right worker in the right job.

Measuring Employee Performance in the Banking Sector

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Tue, 23 Dec 2014 05:00:00 GMT

The ability to undertake comprehensive measurements of banking employee performance (whether it is 360 degree related or not) has been highlighted as a potential risk factor within the sector. Where knowledge of employee’s abilities, skills and engagements with their work is unknown, the problems that may occur range from an inability to track the source of mistakes to unacceptable losses within the bank itself.

It is impossible to provide adequate training and supervision to avoid these issues if you are unaware which employees need the support. Here are five key specifics that can help you perform risk-free employee evaluations within the banking sector.

Timing

Timing relates to both the timing of the evaluation and evaluating timing in relation to the employee. Evaluations undertaken soon after the employee joins the bank provide a baseline against which to measure the employee’s progress.

In terms of the employee’s abilities, timing will relate to how long it takes the employee to complete certain tasks, such as completing a customer transaction, amount of time each customer waits to be seen, and how regularly documentation is delivered on time.

Question: What is the average time taken by the employee to complete a transaction?

Evaluation of banking employee performance against clear objectives

When measuring performance, it is crucial that the employee can be measured against clearly defined objectives. These must be achievable and known to the employee prior to being assessed. It is not ethically possible to measure someone against objectives of which they are unaware.

Measurable objectives include areas such as errors, customer satisfaction, attendance, and even timekeeping.

Question: Has the employee achieved less that 10% transaction errors?

Variety of Viewpoints

Employee performance measured from more than one viewpoint is more likely to be accurate and effective. The employees themselves will have a view of their strengths and weakness; as will managers, colleagues, and customers. Including customer survey information in the performance data provides a view of the service provided that is less biased than that from within the bank itself.

Question: On average, how well did the employee score in the customer survey?

Knowledge and Understanding

It is just as important that employees are aware of why they undertake certain actions, as it is that they can complete them competently. Knowledge and understanding covers aspects from why certain security features are required to how the check processing system works. Specific questions can be asked of the employee directly to ascertain the depth of their knowledge.

Question: How does the automatic processing equipment work and why was it installed?

Commitment to Employee Performance in Banking

Commitment needs to come from both the bank and from the employee. It is a symbiotic relationship that improves standards and prevents wrongdoing within the system. Commitment can be measured through willingness to develop skills and to undergo training.

Question: What, if any, procedural improvements has the employee suggested?

Measuring employee performance in banking is essential to providing a high-quality, consistent service across the entire customer base. For more information on 360 employee evaluations , contact Grapevine Evaluations today .

See our Overview of our 360 Performance Review Software tool.

Measuring Employee Performance in Public Sector

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Sat, 20 Dec 2014 05:00:00 GMT

Each organization needs to know the skills its workers possess. This is especially important for public sector jobs, which require good performance, since they rely on public funding (taxpayer monies) to operate.

Without objective and timely measurements of employee performance, it is exceptionally difficult for human resources management (HRM) in public agencies to make operational and strategic workforce decisions. The objective is to achieve a union between worker and job that consistently delivers better service to the public, while reducing operating costs.

Job Analysis and Performance Parameters

Job analysis allows HRM to generate dependable descriptions about worker responsibilities for each job, in terms of providing useful services for public agency clients in a timely, efficient manner. Accurate job descriptions summarize workers’ job-skill categories and inform employee performance evaluation processes.

Analyzing the performance of public sector workers illuminates not only how well employees are meeting their job responsibilities, but also if government agencies are meeting their obligations to the public. Performance appraisals generate the data that improve the match between public sector workers and their jobs. 360 performance feedback reporting includes:

Commitment to Agency Goals

Public agencies require employees committed to providing appropriate services to often underprivileged client populations. Assessing how dedicated the employee is to the agency’s mission provides a rating of worker interest in the work. Can worker commitment be acquired through further training or must it depend entirely on the individual’s own personality?

Contribution to Agency Goals

Employees may believe wholeheartedly in the agency mission, seeking to deliver the best quality public services to the organization’s clientele. However, commitment does not always deliver effective workplace contributions, which need to measure up to professional standards to improve agency performance. Does the connection between this employee’s dedication to agency mission and her/his actual performance require improvement?

Are Contributions/performance Consistent?

When employees are committed and performing to their full capabilities, the agency functions most effectively. The objective is to align individual performance with the agency’s strategic goals on an ongoing basis to provide steady service and contribution. Is this employee’s performance consistent or erratic?

Worker Differentiation

Workers at different agency levels have different job responsibilities; evaluation processes need to similarly discriminate among workers to accurately rate their performance. Does this evaluation procedure differentiate between worker responsibilities?

Employee Behaviors

Since they serve the public, agency employees must behave with discretion; also, they must be on time and minimize absences. Is this employee’s behavior appropriate?

Effective performance appraisal and management simultaneously involves and supports all workers, helping them optimize their professional potential for personal development, generating efficient agency operations. It clarifies employees’ workplace expectations by connecting specific agency objectives and strategies to their individual performance.

If you seek additional guidance implementing this valuable process, contact us at Grapevine Evaluation . We’ll ensure that the aims and objectives of your employee evaluation processes are clearly defined, to help you better associate your workers with jobs appropriate to their qualifications and talents.

See our Overview of our 360 Performance Review Templates from our Software tool.

Measuring Employee Performance in Retail Companies

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Fri, 19 Dec 2014 05:00:00 GMT

If you’re a small business owner, measuring employee performance can mean the difference between success and failure. It’s vital to be able to measure performance with specific skill-related questions that will give both you and your employees the means to pinpoint strengths and areas in need of improvement.

5 Valuable Specifics Particular to Employee Performance

The following are five valuable specifics particular to employee performance retail. Questions are also included that you may ask yourself and/or your employees during evaluations.

Sales Experience/aptitude for Sales

How proficient has the employee been at his or her job?

While there will almost certainly be a learning curve with less experienced employees, the overall assessment early on should be that the employee is a fast learner and has a knack for sales.

Motivation

How motivated is the employee to look for and create sale opportunities?

It takes both tenacity and efficiency to make a sale. The motivated employee will engage prospective customers as they browse and create sales opportunities.

Communication

How good is the employee at communicating with customers about products, and following up on leads?

The employee who is truly interested in helping people – not just in “making the sale” – will go above and beyond to communicate with customers about products, follow up on leads, and close the sale. With the best employees, the lines of communication are always open, and customers will always get their questions answered.

Education and Product Knowledge

How knowledgeable and educated is the employee about the product or service in question?

Depending on the industry and the employee in question, formal education may or may not be necessary; for example, an employee who works in computer sales may be better at the job because he/she also has a degree in computer science, although this is often optional.

The most important thing is that the retail employee is educated and is knowledgeable about the products he or she sells. The employee must be able to converse knowledgeably about the product in great detail with customers, to know its advantages and benefits without fail. He or she must be able to answer questions about the product, what it can or can’t do, and what alternatives may be available if a particular product doesn’t quite fit what a customer needs.

360 Appraisal

What does customers, managers, peers, and other people who interact with the employee think of him or her?

This is one of the most effective evaluations of employee performance, since the employee is assessed by everyone he or she interacts with. This includes typical performance measurements by managers and peers, but it also includes evaluations from customers and other people the employee interacts with on a regular basis. This is one of the most comprehensive and accurate ways to measure performance.

Ready to take your 360 feedback system to the next level? Contact Grapevine Evaluations to learn more about implementing 3 60 employee assessments in the retail industry.

See our Overview of our 360 Performance Feedback Review Templates from our Software.

Why Is Measuring Employee Performance Essential?

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Thu, 11 Dec 2014 05:00:00 GMT

Measuring employee performance benefits organizations in a variety of ways. While regularly scheduled reviews are beneficial to the employees, they can benefit the company even more. Below, we take a look at some problems that can transpire when organizations fail to conduct employee evaluations.

Measuring Employee Performance Ensures That Employees Don’t Feel Neglected

When an organization fails to routinely evaluate its employees, many workers feel as though their contribution isn’t valued. Some will go as far as searching for a new job. It is imperative that employers offer feedback to all employees at least once per year. It informs employees about their performance , their current standing with the organization and how they can improve.

No Clearly Defined Goals

Evaluations allow employers to pinpoint specific goals for the organization. This helps the employee to develop into a more useful resource and it also serves the organization’s interest as well. Each goal should be written down during the evaluation.

Documentation of Work Performance

Organizations should go to great lengths to document just about everything that involves the business. Employees who fail to meet their targets should be informed of their underwhelming performance during evaluations. This will shed light on the employee’s shortcomings, and function as tangible proof that the organization is displeased with the employee’s performance. This documentation can become quite important in the event that the organization decides to terminate the employee. It will help the employer prove in a court of law that the employee wasn’t wrongfully terminated.

A Lack of Criteria For Judgment

Employers should seize the opportunity to evaluate employees on a regular basis because it provides them with a chance to clear the air. Aside from assessing employees’ productivity in the workplace, the evaluation will outline exactly how they’ll be judged. Evaluations are valuable communication tools that ensure all employees know what is required of them while at work and what they can do to improve.

While there are a number of ways to assess job performance, the best is 360 degree feedback. This is feedback offered by an employee’s close co-workers. In some cases, it is prudent to include feedback from customers as well. Feedback provided in this manner ensures that an employee will be fairly judged instead of being reviewed solely by those in management.

If you are interested in a 360 degree feedback consultation for measuring employee performance, contact us today.

See our Overview of our 360 Performance Review Templates from our Software.

3 Benefits of Honest Employee Feedback

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Mon, 08 Dec 2014 05:00:00 GMT

Many business owners and managers offer constructive criticism to employees but do not request honest employee feedback. Oftentimes, it is prudent to seek employee feedback in an anonymous manner as it ensures that employees will offer truthful opinions and reports. Let’s take a look at the top 3 benefits of honest employee feedback via a 360 angle.

Honest Employee Feedback Offers Unique Insights

Business owners and managers are oftentimes disconnected from the cubicles and work stations where employees get most of their work done. Employees spend most of their time working in the office. Therefore, their observations and opinions regarding the organization’s typical daily challenges and the dynamics of the workplace might prove to be quite illuminating from a manager or owner’s point of view.

Just think of how much employees see and hear on any given day. They probably have plenty of ideas on how to make the business successful. They also might have valuable ideas regarding current solutions that aren’t as effective as management or ownership believes. Requesting honest feedback from employees is actually a fantastic opportunity to learn more about the business and understand things from the staff’s perspective.

Engages Employees

When workers are provided with a platform to express their feelings about the business and the work environment, they feel empowered. Employees want to feel as though their opinions mean something to management. When workers are excluded from meetings, planning sessions and other discussions, they feel alienated from both the organization and their day to day activities.

Some employees who feel as though they don’t have a voice within the organization will become so frustrated that they quit. When you solicit feedback from your employees you’ll likely notice that your retention rate increases. Everyone wants to feel as though their thoughts and opinions are valued.

Improves Teamwork

When employees are offered the opportunity to speak in an open forum about the workplace, it creates the potential to uncover nagging issues. Oftentimes, there is a severe communication disconnect between employees yet no one sheds light on the problem out of a fear that the airing of grievances will either be misunderstood or create even more conflicts. Don’t let your employees fall into this trap.

If you suspect that you won’t receive honest feedback in an open forum or even in one on one interviews, solicit anonymous feedback through regularly scheduled surveys. Alternatively, you can have everyone type up an honest feedback letter and drop it into a suggestion box. This way, management will be aware of conflicts between employees, clients and third parties. Soliciting honest employee feedback might identify a critical misunderstanding or disagreement before it picks up steam and causes a more significant problem.

Building Employee Evaluation Forms: Part VIII – Assessment from Vendors/Suppliers

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Wed, 26 Nov 2014 05:00:00 GMT

We have already looked at one form of external feedback in Part 7 of this series –client/customer reviews. But, it doesn’t end with the end user. Some employees spend a good amount of time dealing with vendors and suppliers, who should be seen not as expendable commodities but as valued, trusted members of the extended team. Thus, employee evaluation forms from vendors and suppliers are another type of external feedback that comprises the 360-degree feedback paradigm . It can be a crucial clue into how well the employee plays with others.

As you know, the performance appraisal model is shifting to a more holistic approach whereby employees can be evaluated from multiple angles: by their peers, managers, subordinate staff, self-assessment, clients and customers, and vendors and suppliers. This 360 degree feedback can be a more accurate measure of an employee’s performance; after all, a supervisor might only witness a tiny percentage of their employees’ contribution compared to the vendors and suppliers they are responsible for dealing with every day.

Benefits of Vendor/Supplier Assessment

Feedback from vendors and suppliers can be used as part of an overall strategy to reinforce organizational goals or values, or as a diagnostic tool for problems at the supply chain level. One of the things to assess before soliciting this kind of feedback is, Why? Don’t forget to diagnose your company’s needs first and make sure the climate is conducive (i.e. there are no anxiety-inducing downsizing or m anagement transitions occurring) before introducing external feedback. Vendor/supplier employee evaluation forms can result in:

High er vendor retention rates
Acknowledgment for employees who are working well with their vendors and suppliers
Improving the employee’s integrity, fairness and consistency when dealing with suppliers
Assisting the employee to hold vendors and suppliers to account for agreed-upon deliverables

Structure of a Vendor/Supplier Assessment Questionnaire

While there’s no doubt that vendors and suppliers will be pleased to provide feedback – in part because almost no one ever asks them to – there is still the question of what to ask. Employee evaluation forms concerning vendors cannot ask questions over which the employee ha s no control, such as issues of pricing or company purchasing policy. The questions, therefore, must be more behavioural in nature. Think of assessing:

Is the emplo yee working with the vendor to improve procurement processes?
Has the employee routinely processed payments and handled the transactional details correctly and in a timely manner?
Are vendors generally satisfied and happy to work with this person?

With any kind of external employee evaluation forms, the value of the process may be lost to resistance unless the employee is offered professional help to interpret the results. But if the feedback is delivered by a positive HR professional who knows how to connect this data to the employee’s work goals, and demonstrate how vendors’ perceptions may be blocking her from reaching those goals, the employee will be motivated to change her behaviour for the better.

Building Employee Evaluation Forms: Part VII – Assessment from Clients/Customers

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Mon, 24 Nov 2014 05:00:00 GMT

External customers are defined as those outside the organization including, but not limited to, the general public. The interesting thing about obtaining their feedback as a performance indicator is that employees are often stunned by the results. Anyone who has cringed at an episode of Hotel Hell can understand the typical reaction at being told that your cherished product and white glove service is, in reality, appalling. Equally, little brings a smile to your face like employee evaluation forms saying how your service made someone’s day better.

Active solicitation of customer feedback has historically been limited to comment cards in restaurants or online surveys with extremely low response rates. Fortunately, the paradigm of performance appraisal is shifting to a more holistic approach whereby employees can be evaluated from multiple angles: by their peers, managers, vendors, subordinate staff, and self-assessment, as well as by their clients and customers. This 360 degree feedback can be a more accurate measure of an employee’s performance; after all, a supervisor might only witness a tiny percentage of their employees’ contribution to the team effort compared to the clients he or she deals with all day.

Benefits of Client/Customer Assessment

Even if the customer isn’t always right, it’s customers large and small who provide a company’s bottom line. Therefore, customer feedback can round out what could otherwise be a rather self-serving chain of command. It also prevents low-ranking workers from concentrating solely on satisfying the people who directly control their working conditions (think of the stereotypical DMV employee with a long lineup in front of them, chatting chummily at the coffee machine with their manager). Customer employee evaluation forms can:

Help customers feel appreciated and he ard
Support client-facing employees in identifying and dealing with unforeseen customer service issues and difficult customers
Motivate the sales team to hit their targets through better client interactions
Identify unacceptable performance and advance ways of improving the client experience

Structure of a Customer Assessment Questionnaire

Customers should not be asked to evaluate a single employee’s performance except in situations where they dealt with a single front-line employee, but rather their overall experience with the team. Now that you have designed employee evaluation forms that deal with the org anization or unit as a whole, what specific types of questions should you, the HR manager, ask the customer?

Feeling s-based questions such as, “How do you feel about the company’s work ethics based on your experience with us?”
Business-related questions such as, “Were your results delivered as promised?”
Communication skills questions such as, “Did the person you were dealing with ask you questions, and know when to listen to your concerns?”

Ultimately, feedback coming from external sources is just as important as internal feedback. As long as 360 degree feedback is combined with a professional delivery process to prevent any confusion or denial of the results, customer feedback is an integral part of the full circle.

Building Employee Evaluation Forms: Part VI – Assessing Top/Senior Management

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Fri, 21 Nov 2014 05:00:00 GMT

If you watched the movie Horrible Bosses and thought ‘Why doesn’t someone just evaluate them, for heaven’s sake?’ then you probably already see the value of rating the boss on his or her performance. Traditionally, there was no one keeping score but the top brass: the Board of Directors, maybe a couple of brave near-peers like the COO and CFO. Other than that, it was up to the leader to decide what part he had to play in the company’s overall performance.

Fortunately, the paradigm of performance appraisal is shifting to a more holistic approach whereby company leaders can be evaluated from multiple angles: by their peers, managers, customers, vendors, subordinate staff, and entire departments as well as by themselves. This 360-degree feedback can be a more accurate measure of a boss’s performance; after all, who better to hold up the mirror of truth than those whose entire work lives hinge on the decisions made by this person?

Benefits of Senior Management Assessment

Employee evaluation forms of this nature are naturally controversial because even though it’s obvious to everyone that subordinates are probably the best people to comment on managerial effectiveness, supervisors still feel threatened by it and staff are afraid to give honest feedback for fear of reprisal. When conducted in an atmosphere of respect and privacy, assessments of senior management can:

Give bosses a mo re comprehensive picture of employees’ issues and needs than they would otherwise get
Empower employees to feel they have been heard
Provide the best available feedback surrounding the management’s interpersonal and leadership skills

Structure of a Top Management Assessment Questionnaire

It’s essential, when using subordinate employee evaluation forms as a source of feedback, that the data be kept anonymous. Unlike others, subordinates simply will not participate fully if they fear identification by their supervisors. Now that you have designed the forms to be anonymous, what else is essential for them to contain?

Strate gy-type questions such as “Do you feel the company has become a better place to work under the manager? In what way?”
People-skills questions such as “What do you wish the CEO had learned about managing people?”
Development-type questions such as “What kind of coaching do you feel would make your company leader more effective?”

Because many subordinates who are completing this type of survey will only have fleeting experience with top management via following orders, reading company policies or attending company-wide meetings, they should not be asked to comment on task-oriented skills they may not understand. It’s also important to make sure the staff filling out the employee evaluation forms have been with the company, in good standing, for at least a year. Finally, the feedback should be delivered in person.

If these cautions are followed, assessing top management can be significantly more effective than an ‘open-door policy’ in identifying employee concerns that might otherwise go unnoticed. With 360-degree feedback, it’s no longer lonely at the top.

See our Overview of our 360 Performance Review Templates from our Software.

Building Employee Evaluation Forms: Part V – Assessing Subordinates

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Wed, 19 Nov 2014 05:00:00 GMT

There is a reason why 360-degree feedback is almost universally used among Fortune 500 companies (Ghorpade, 2000). Across the corporate landscape, the performance review paradigm is shifting to a more holistic approach whereby the employee is evaluated from multiple angles: by their own self-assessment and by customers, vendors, support staff, other departments, and their peers. This 360 degree feedback can be a more accurate measure of an employee’s performance; after all, a manager who works off-site or oversees multiple departments might not even witness more than a tiny percentage of their employee’s daily contribution to the company.

360-degree feedback notwithstanding, evaluations by superiors are still the most widely used and traditional source of employee feedback. They typically involve the employee being rated on his or her performance during a given period, held up against the expectations and guidance given for the period. It can also provide an opportunity to set future goals and targets; to create formal documentation; and to provide a basis for employee development, promotion and compensation programs.

Benefits of Assessing Subordinates

While the scenario of the absentee supervisor is a possibility, the reverse is often equally true: the supervisor may actually be a daily fixture at work, plus he has the best knowledge of the job requirements. In this case, the first-line supervisor can give the greatest contribution to an employee’s performance appraisal because his feedback takes a birds-eye view of the employee’s competencies, behaviours and achievements.

A direct supervisor’s assessment should:

Give a cle ar idea of what direction the employee should move towards
Yield clear follow-up actions to take in the areas of employee coaching, development, and even discipline
Help human resources departments to adjust their hiring and promotions activities based on the feedback given.

Structure of a Subordinate Assessment Questionnaire

It’s important to remember, when designing these employee evaluation forms, that the supervisors need to be able to measure and document all facets of an employee’s work to make a fair evaluation – an evaluation that might later be used to re-design and re-assign an employee’s duties. Therefore, the employee evaluation forms should include:

Open-ended questions that don’t assume any bias, so the supervisor can give their honest and reasonable opinions
Personality-based que stions such as, does the employee work better in a team or on their own? Are they introverted or extroverted?
Skills-based questions, such as whether the employee can think critically and problem-solve
Potential-based questions, such as what further training or development would help the employee realize his maximum potential

Compared with anonymous peer evaluations, performance appraisals from a direct supervisor are less likely to be met with resistance from the employee; the potential for the employee to act on the feedback is high, because it comes from a respected source. If done well, assessing subordinates’ strengths and weaknesses can lead to a greater understanding of what is happening on the ground – which is the foundation of every company.

Building Employee Evaluation Forms: Part IV – Assessing Direct Supervisor

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Mon, 17 Nov 2014 05:00:00 GMT

If you’ve ever wished you could fill out an employee evaluation form on your supervisor, read on. What may seem like a novel idea in North America is an established practice in Europe: that of holding management, not co-workers, accountable for everything from bottom-line results to employee satisfaction and team well-being. It’s the difference between IKEA and Wal-Mart: both are wildly successful, but we all know which one takes the employee-centric approach.

Lately, the employee evaluation paradigm is shifting to a more holistic approach whereby every employee is evaluated from multiple angles: their own self-assessment, plus evaluations by peers, customers, vendors, support staff, other departments, and management. This 360-degree feedback can be a much more accurate performance measure than traditional top-down evaluations.

Benefits of Assessing the Direct Supervisor

A chain is only as strong as the weakest link. But in hierarchical structures, the success of the entire team often hinges on the direct supervisor. We often assume that this person is ‘in charge’, so they must know what to do, but the only way to truly judge a supervisor’s competence is through a formal performance assessment. Assessing the direct supervisor can pay many dividends:

Exposes who is really responsible for the company’s success (i.e. are the employees meeting their targets in spite of the supervisor, or because of her?)
Identifies whether the supervisor is effectively carrying out the full management cycle of Planning, Monitoring, Developing, Appraising, and Rewarding, or whether they need further development in any of these areas
Encourages communication between the manager and the supervisor about the entire unit’s job performance and business goals, so staff can be made aware of the plan and can enhance performance accordingly.

Structure of Direct Supervisor Employee Evaluation Forms

As an HR manager, it may be challenging to oversee the assessment of supervisors; after all, these people may be your friends. One of the most important concerns is choosing the appropriate mix of management and subordinates to rate the supervisor’s performance. Ideally, the supervisor will have some involvement in identifying who they think ought to fill out the employee evaluation forms; credible raters result in greater buy-in when it comes time to adopt feedback. The questionnaire should attempt to capture at least the following:

How th e supervisor generally treats his employees; whether fairness and consistency is at play
How the supervisor communicates with his employees: does he clearly define and set appropriate targets?
How much guidance and support does he give?
Does she take personal responsibility for making things happen?
Is she vigilant about possible risks facing the team, and proactive in problem-solving?
Does she encourage and support peers, even those who are in ‘competition’ with her?

These questions will help determine whether your supervisors need further training in management techniques, whether they can handle more responsibility, and whether their subordinates are happy – all of which can make or break your department.

Building Employee Evaluation Forms: Part III – Assessing Team

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Fri, 14 Nov 2014 05:00:00 GMT

The top-down hierarchy still has its place in Canadian business, but increasingly, it’s all about the team. Teams are created for special projects; to work in tandem with other departments towards a particular goal; or to form more permanent structures, such as departments, units, sales forces, and so on. It used to be that the performance of each individual team member was assessed directly by their manager. But increasingly, companies are starting to realize that there really is no ‘I’ in team.

Lately, the employee evaluation paradigm is shifting to a more holistic approach whereby the employee is evaluated from multiple angles: their own self-assessment is considered, and so are evaluations by peers, customers, vendors, support staff, other departments, and the team. This 360-degree feedback can be a more accurate measure of an employee’s performance; after all, a manager might only witness a tiny percentage of their employee’s daily contribution to the team compared to the people working on the same project.

Benefits of Team Assessment

In today’s highly competitive business environment, organizations are continuously looking to improve performance…but in order for employees to adapt, they have to know exactly what needs improvement. This can be a difficult proposition for traditional employee evaluation forms ; after all, the manager hasn’t necessarily witnessed the behaviours that should change. Benefits of team feedback in clude:

Increased employee self-awareness; decreased employee defensiveness
The ability for HR managers to focus on professional development efforts around the skills and competencies required for successful performance on a particular team
Motivational incentives such as awards or recognition, such as ‘most valuable team player’, can be developed based on team feedback

Structure of a Team Assessment Questionnaire

Obviously, it’s key for you as an HR manager to find out whether work teams – teams you may have no direct supervision over – are working smoothly. It might be naïve to expect all team members to be perfectly in sync since conflict is a part of life. But you do want to know that ov erall, the team can come together as a cohesive group to get the job done. On a team-based employee evaluation form, you might want to ask if the individual:

Gives clear instru ctions to others?
Makes good use of his time…or does he slow down any processes, creating unnecessary bottlenecks?
Maintains a positive attitude to help motivate her team members?
Is enjoyable and fun to work with?
Takes the lead to push projects forward past roadblocks?

With this kind of employee assessment, it’s important to make sure the team is large enough that one rater’s viewpoint can’t have too significant an impact on the overall results. If the team is smaller than three to five people, it might be necessary to combine departments or groups to maintain the confidentiality of the employee evaluation forms. But if done properly, this form of 360-degree feedback can play a major role in helping the team understand, and improve upon, its current dynamics.

Building Employee Evaluation Forms: Part II – Assessing Peers

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Wed, 12 Nov 2014 05:00:00 GMT

Remember peer evaluations in school? There was a tacit agreement that if you gave your friends a good evaluation, they’d return the favor. In the workplace, peer evaluations are considerably rarer, partly due to challenges around anonymity, and largely due to companies taking a more traditional approach to performance appraisal.

Fortunately, the paradigm is shifting to a more holistic approach whereby the employee can be evaluated from multiple angles: by their own self-assessment as well as by managers, customers, vendors, support staff, other departments, and even their peers. This 360 degree feedback can be a more accurate measure of an employee’s performance ; after all, a manager might only witness a tiny percentage of their employee’s daily contribution to the company, while the people who work alongside her are much better positioned to comment on her performance.

Benefits of Peer Assessment

With teams becoming ubiquitous in Canadian workplaces, it has become apparent that peers might be better evaluators of their colleagues’ behaviours than, say, time-honoured personality tests like the Myers-Briggs.

There are obvious potential pitfalls to peer assessments, such as tension among co-workers. What, then, are the principal benefits of having peers fill out employee evaluation forms on their co-workers?

Peer pressure: most employees would rather meet team or department goals than sweat for the glory of one boss. Knowing peers are rating them fost ers more of a team attitude
Peer perspective: people working side by side, especially those performing similar tasks, have a unique ‘on the ground’ perspective of their peers’ behaviours
Peer predictions: employee evaluation forms completed by peers have proven to be excellent predictors of future performance, making them particularly useful for employee development.

Structure of a Peer Assessment Questionnaire

Peer assessments work best in an environment where there is generally good morale and a spirit of cooperation; in this milieu, employees are typically receptive to the concept of rating each other. The scores on the employee evaluation forms can later be averaged out by the HR manager to eliminate any possible biases of fellow employees.

A well-designed peer assessment questionnaire should include:

A description of the specific work behaviours which are essential to carry out the job description
Questions that are relevant to the raters’ day-to-day activities, such as, “Does the employee ensure that deadlines are met?”
Questions that focus on broader social behaviours, such as, “Does the employee treat everyone fairly?”
The opportunity to indicate whether they have actually observed the conduct firsthand, so no one has to guess
The opportunity to break confidentiality if desired, in order to maintain a healthy work environment that encourages mutual respect, openness and trust.

Depending on the culture of your office, the degree of competitiveness among your staff, and the climate in which feedback has traditionally been given and received, a peer evaluation can be a wonderful tool to identify the kinds of people you want to retain and promote.

See our Overview of our 360 Review Software.

Building Employee Evaluation Forms: Part I – Self Assessment

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Mon, 10 Nov 2014 05:00:00 GMT

A timid employee enters his manager’s office, sits in a chair that’s a foot lower than the desk, and accepts a tongue-lashing in lieu of discussing his employee evaluation forms : definitely an image from the archives. Yet…if you have ever felt nervous in the face of an impending annual review, you know it can still be intimidating to submit to an evaluation by your superiors.

Fortunately, the paradigm of performance appraisal is shifting to a more holistic approach whereby the employee can be evaluated from multiple angles: by their peers, managers, customers, vendors, support staff, other departments, and even themselves. This 360-degree feedback can be a more accurate measure of an employee’s performance; after all, a manager might only directly witness a tiny percentage of their employee’s work, thus missing the bulk of their daily contribution to the company.

360 Degree Feedback: Benefits of Self-Assessment Employee Evaluation Forms

You may have already experienced a form of self-assessment when a supervisor casually asked you, “So, how do you think you did?” Yet we may be unfamiliar with a formal self-assessment. Far from leaving loopholes through which an employee can skate, the self-assessment tool is generally seen as quite insightful, for the following reasons:

It allows employees to identify accomplishments they feel best represent their performance – successes and failures that might not even have been noticed by their superiors
Employees tend to be quite honest about their abilities, and may even err on the side of rating themselves more harshly than others do
Answers can reveal key behavior patterns. For example, an employee who writes that her performance would have been better if she had received more training may highlight a genuine need for development, but if she consistently denies responsibility, she may have problems with accountability.

Structure of a Self-Assessment Questionnaire

What sorts of questions should be included in a questionnaire to provide the nost comprehensive picture of the employee?

Firstly, employee evaluation forms should be tailored to the employee’s current job description so an employee can honestly gauge whether they met the requirements. It should also provide a formal rating system (for example, a scale from 1-5). Questions to ask can include:

General Skills questions such as “Do you feel that you present a professional image to clients?”
Interpersonal Skills question s such as “Do you actively listen to your peers’ ideas, and give constructive feedback?”
Business Skills questions such as “How well do you prioritize tasks?”
Leadership Skills questions such as “How well would you say you handle crisis and conflict in the workplace?”
Customer Skills questions such as “How important is it for you to establish a rapport with customers?”

The most noteworthy contribution of self-rating employee evaluation forms is the improved communication between supervisors and subordinates. An honest self-appraisal allows your employee to introspectively review his or her performance, and set career goals for their future with your organization.

See our Overview of our 360 Assessment Software.

Which Superheroes Do Your Employees Represent And How To Use Their Superpowers

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Mon, 03 Nov 2014 05:00:00 GMT

Wouldn’t it be awesome if every person you hired was a superhero? Employee superheroes do exist, but they’re not always easy to spot. By unmasking these talented employee superheroes, via employee evaluations, you can build your own Justice League to take control of your next high-profile project.

Top 5 Employee Superheroes Who Can Save Your Day

What kind of employee superheroes could you unmask in the process? Here are five such employee superheroes that will make your business able to fight any challenge and remain invincible in the marketplace:

1. Superman – This may be an employee who, like Clark Kent, is unnoticeable most of the time. They keep their head down, do their work, and make a great teammate. However, their true employee superpowers come up when there is an emergency, like a work deadline. Then, they rise to the challenge, putting in a superhuman effort and bringing unique talents to the job at hand.

2. Spider-Man – This individual is agile in the extreme. They will see projects like high-rise buildings that they catapult between in order to get their work done. They can do many functions of the business, all with equal agility. They’re like having three employees in one.

3. Aquaman – When situations get sticky or wet, Aquaman is the person to call. This individual can go into projects that seem politically daunting and swim through them like a dolphin. He communicates by sending out feelers to different, needed, departmental functions (where he has allies) that will bring the right type of support to the project right in the nick of time. He has excellent communication skills and a vast network of friends.

4. Batman – While not genetically gifted with employee superpowers, this individual is a super-user of technology. He comes with a ton of entrepreneurial ideas and isn’t afraid to put them into action. Some of his ideas may seem wacky, but they will be proven to work over time. This employee superhero is shy about publicity and doesn’t mind working in the background.

5. The Hulk – When you just need an employee super hero to break down the walls through sheer brute strength and dominating will power, the Hulk is the one to call. Employee superheroes who identify as the Hulk may only call upon their strength and leadership capabilities during times of crisis, making them hard to spot in day-to-day operations. However, they can be an awesome teammate, too, and lead by inspiring people to action.

To get an accurate view of which employee superheroes might be hiding undercover, your company needs to talk to many eyewitnesses to discover their true nature. By using 360 degree evaluations , you won’t just be relying on a supervisor’s input, but instead can get the real picture from Jimmy, the amateur photographer who works in the mail room, or from this person’s work teammates who have seen them in action. Unmask your superheroes before you need them, by clicking here.

5 Ways Companies Are Rewarding Their Employees

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Fri, 31 Oct 2014 04:00:00 GMT

Employee rewards are essential for creating a successful, motivated and forward-thinking workforce, but studies have shown that money isn’t always enough to achieve that.

If you’re looking for creative and effective ways to reward your employees without always spending a lot of money, we’ve come up with some of the best options.

Help Them Develop Their Skills

Many forward-thinking companies like to issue employee rewards by providing ways to learn and move up in the organization, because they realise that ambitious, intelligent individuals need stimulation and growth. You can do this by looking at the latest training courses. Or fun team building days that will help your employees build on their skills and develop their confidence in the workplace. You’ll reap the benefits and your employees will be happy and motivated – all of this thanks to proper 360 feedback techniques.

Say Thank You

Sometimes it’s the simplest solutions that are the most effective, which is why many successful companies utilize the power of ‘thanks’. It doesn’t cost a dime to say ‘thank you’ to someone, and there are many ways to do this, such as paying a personal visit to their desk to say it in person, having someone higher up in the organization do the same, or sending a ‘thank you’ card or email.

Reward Them Publicly

Public employee rewards can go a long way to making your employees feel appreciated, which is why many companies choose to acknowledge their employees’ achievements at staff meetings. There are a number of ways to use public rewards, for instance you may want to acknowledge your employees in a team email, at a meeting, or have them mentioned in the staff publication if you have one.

Invite Them to Lunch

Sometimes special attention is required for those who go above and beyond the line of duty, and many companies recognize this by inviting their employees to a special lunch where they can have some one-on-one time to talk about their future and what their vision is for your company. You could ask when they are free and then treat them to a special lunch at their chosen spot – taking an hour just for them will make them feel special and appreciated.

Reward With Responsibility

Nothing says you have confidence in your employees’ abilities by empowering them to do more and help them to develop within their current role with extra responsibilities. Forward-thinking companies do just that, and you can, too, by finding ways you can evolve your employees’ roles and allow them to expand their horizons by taking on more responsibility, and perhaps even giving them a new job title. They’ll feel like they’re moving forward in their chosen career path, and will be less likely to look elsewhere for better job opportunities.

Find People to Reward Using 360 Degree Evaluations

360 degree evaluations provide a great way of recognizing who should be rewarded for their hard work and efforts in your organization, and you’ll get real feedback from your employees. Contact Grapevine Evaluations to request a product demo today.

10 Spooky Statistics That Will Help You Improve Your Workplace

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Thu, 30 Oct 2014 04:00:00 GMT

Statistic #1: 58% of applications contain inaccuracies

What It Means to You: More time weeding out falsehoods versus honest mistakes.

How You Can Apply it to the Workplace: Consider an Applicant Tracking System (ATS) to weed out applicants.

Statistic #2: 61% of HR departments go through a reorganization or redesign within 2 years

What It Means to You: You won’t be able to rely on the same people or business process for long.

How You Can Apply it to the Workplace: Keep good digital records to improve workplace continuity.

Statistic #3: Nearly half, 50%, of companies expect to move HR to a shared service environment

What It Means to You: You will need to be adaptable to new ways of doing business.

How You Can Apply it to the Workplace: Embrace opportunities to learn new technologies and processes.

Statistic #4: 90% of performance reviews don’t stimulate high performance overall, according to a study done by the Society of Human Resource Management

What It Means to You: Traditional review processes might not be working to improve workplace performance.

How You Can Apply it to the Workplace: Use 360 degree feedback reporting to motivate your employees and gain consensus in the performance process.

Statistic #5: A negligent hiring case lawsuit can cost your company up to $1 million and in 79% of cases the employer loses

What It Means to You: You must take reasonable care to make sure you hire qualified candidates.

How You Can Apply it to the Workplace: Have a stringent hiring process, with proper vetting.

Statistic #6: 50% of your employees are not engaged in their jobs, and another 20% are actively disengaged, according to a 2013 Gallup report.

What It Means to You: Motivating employees is a constant challenge.

How You Can Apply it to the Workplace: You can increase productivity by 42% with one-on-one performance coaching.

Statistic #7: Your engaged employees, 30% of your staff, are going to be the primary source of new business ideas and clients.

What It Means to You: Recognize and reward those employees.

How You Can Apply it to the Workplace: Spotting the superheroes in your staff may take 360 degree evaluations.

Statistic #8: The price tag to replace a salaried employee that quits is $7,000.

What It Means to You: Employee retention is important for the bottom line.

How You Can Apply it to the Workplace: Maintain a superior environment that keeps employees engaged.

Statistic #9: The majority of drug abusers, 75%, have a job.

What It Means to You: You can end up facing a negligent hiring claim.

How You Can Apply it to the Workplace: Use pre-employment screening with drug testing.

Statistic #10: It is estimated that by 2025, 75% of employees will be Millennials.

What It Means to You: Attracting Millennials is important to your company’s future success.

How You Can Apply it to the Workplace: Provide benefits that this cohort responds to, like shared workspaces and flexible hours.

11 HR Pros List Their Favorite Employee Survey Questions

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Wed, 29 Oct 2014 04:00:00 GMT

Have you ever thought:

“ What questions to ask my employees to evaluate them better “?

Don’t worry. You are not alone. Most HR managers and consultants wonder exactly the same thing. And who can better answer this question than people who’ve been working in the HR industry for many years?

We asked 11 HR professionals the same questions and this is what they told us:

Tim Sackett ,

The Tim Sackett Project

(HR and Talent Blog)

“If you could only work for one other person in this organization, besides me, who would it be and why?”

It ‘s really the perfect question that gets right to the core of performance. It’s definitely indirect, you’re not evaluating the

person answering the question, but they’re telling you who the top performers are in your organization. You can make slight changes to this question to bring it back to your group: If you could only have one person on this team as a project partner, who would it be and why? What you will find when asking questions like this in your organization is who is really getting the work done, and who are your most valuable. Many times the names that come up aren’t your highest titled individuals or highest paid individuals!

BlackbookHR just came out with a really cool tool that actually shows this in an organization real-time, side-by-side with your actual organization chart, and it shows you a picture of your organization chart that is based on influence, not the title. It’s super cool, and telling! To have a tool that actually shows you who your employees believe are the most important people in the organization in getting the work done, not who you are told is the most important, is very powerful.

Jessica Miller-Merrell ,

Workplace Technologist and Founder of Blogging4Jobs.com

“What ways can I help you achieve your professional goals and aspirations with our company?”

Employee evaluations are one of the most important aspects of an employee’s engagement, development and tenure with a company. They are often overlooked because development and work-related conversations are uncomfortable for managers and leaders of teams. Instead of focusing on their performance, I would focus on their development and engagement levels and goals. Metrics are often already tied to an employee’s productivity or success level. Their review score already pre-determined by a metric or score in reviewing an employee’s acceptable level of performance. The question I would ask them is, “What ways can I help you achieve your professional goals and aspirations with our company?”

Asking this question gives you insights into their personal expectations, how they value their individual contribution and where they align themselves with the organization. Managers are clued into how the individual views their contributions within the organization for the long term. Managers can better understand career goals and how they align with where the manager sees the employee growing. This question puts the employee in the driver’s seat of their own individual engagement, future career and success with your organization instead of just focusing on the past and how their performance is measured and evaluated by their management team. This is an important component of employee engagement and retention. Employees need to understand that they are just as responsible for their own current and future success within an organization. It’s a joint effort between manager and employee.

Jenna Filipkowski , P hD Director of Research,

Human Capital Institute

“Do you have everything you need to be successful at your job?“

A unique question for performance evaluation, but if you have the right person in the right role a question like this uncovers what resources and support from the organization can drive employee performance. It would relieve pressure placed on the manager and employee for the evaluation. Instead, this question focuses on what is needed to have performance aligned to business objectives.

Robin Schooling , SPHR; Managing Director at Silver Zebras, LLC.

Author of HR Schoolhouse

“Describe the accomplishments and goals you have met and how you met them.”

The answer to this question not only brings out the obvious “what” an employee did, but also uncovers “how” they did it. By discussing how an employee achieved a goal (and not just the fact that they completed it) allows for reinforcement and strengthening of cultural and behavioural expectations in areas such as collaboration or the building of effective interpersonal relationships.

Ben Slater , Head of Marketing at Seed.jobs

“What do you want to achieve over the next 12 months?”

This question lets you get to grips with your employee’s personal motivation. What are they keen to learn? How do they want their role to expand? What other responsibilities do they want to take on? It’s crucial to keep maintain your team’s drive and enthusiasm and you can quickly gauge this by asking where they want to be in a year’s time. It also helps you nail down their allegiance to your company – are they likely to leave? If so, knowing this early on gives you time to find a replacement.

Maren Hogan , Chief Marketing Brain (CEO) of Red Branch Media

“What do you want to achieve over the next 12 months?”

Doug Kirkpatrick , Principal at Redshift , TEDx Speaker

“What have you done recently to make your colleagues’ work easier?”

Reason for the question: a contribution mindset is an crucial element of effectiveness (Peter Drucker, The Effective Executive , 1966).

Nicole Dessain , Founder & Principal Consultant at talent.imperative inc

“What value have you delivered today?”

When I had a team I would ask them to pose this question to themselves every day. It is a great way to keep the team focused on what is really important. It also helps identify misalignment between managers’ expectations and how team members prioritize tasks. It can result in impactful coaching opportunities and provides the leader with a chance to re-iterate key strategies or values.

Valerie MacLeod, Global Partner with the Haines Centre for Strategic Management

Author of Valerie MacLeod Blog

“Tell me about a time when you made a mistake at work, no one caught it and it would be easier to move on. What did you do?”

This tells me about the person’s values, work ethic & honesty. I would probe around who they talked to before they did anything, what they said to people, if they tried to rectify or apologize, what they did to correct the error & how people reacted & what these people said.

Jamie Lawrence , Editor, HRZone.com

“What do you believe in?”

If you only have one question to evaluate a potential new employee, you need something that taps into their belief system that gives you an insight into how they think. You can then gain an understanding of how they’d respond in situations that are likely to arise within the organisation. If you don’t know an employee’s underlying foundations, dreams, motivations, wishes, do you really know them?

Ceil Tilney , VP HRO Engagement at Aasonn

“What do you find most satisfying about your work – and please include examples (to avoid too much momandapplepie in the response).”

Did you find those questions unexpected? Relevant? Strange? We really believe that with the help of these prime examples you’d be able to understand your employees better, accurately rate their performance and produce actionable development plans for your company. Feel free to share your personal favorite questions in the comments below.

Once you have a list of questions you’d like to ask your employees, you will find that survey distribution and collection might be a time consuming and tedious task. Consider using a 360 degree feedback tool that will take care of all those manual tasks for you and automate your entire employee evaluation process.

If you never used 360 assessment before, you can learn more about it here .

What Do Employees Really Think When They Hear “HR”

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Wed, 29 Oct 2014 04:00:00 GMT

There are so many popular misconceptions when it comes to HR departments, and a lot of the time they get a bad wrap from employees.

We’re going to look at some of the popular responses and misconceptions many employees answer when they’re asked what they think about HR, and what can be done to turn this thing around.

Paperwork

This one’s a given, as usually when employees take on a new role – even if it’s an internal position – there’s always the standard paperwork to fill out, including bank details, references, criminal disclosure checks, that sort of thing. It’s also worth noting that first impressions count for a lot, and many employees’ first impressions will be through a company’s HR department and how they are initially dealt with during their induction to the company.

Rules and Regulations

HR may decide to issue an employee handbook, or a list of rules and regulations that must be followed by staff at all times. This will include all the usual stuff, such as no smoking on the premises, no alcohol, no excessive internet usage, no stealing stationary, if you want stationary see this person… etc. etc. It’s HR’s job to ensure employees are aware of the company rules and the standards that are expected of all employees, and this can usually appear to be a bit of a drag for people who are trying to settle into their new roles.

Training Videos

Have you ever had a lengthy induction by a large company, which involves going to regular training videos? Some of these might include a clip of employee ethics and moral standards, where Jan spontaneously gets a shoulder massage from Roy in Accounts, and you’re then asked whether this is acceptable behaviour in the workplace? And of course, there’s the health and safety training and/or workshops to look forward to. Sometimes these videos can be deemed disruptive and a bit of an annoyance. Saying that, proper training is essential and it’s up to HR to make sure you know what to do in the event of a fire or sexual harassment in the workplace – so, there’s that.

Paycheck or Other Complications

Another common one is having trouble with your paychecks – usually, if an employee says they have to speak to HR, it’s not a pleasant phone call as there’s generally something wrong. Some of the more serious examples may be a warning about their behaviour, or an interview regarding another work-related matter.

How to Turn it Around

Are you ready to find out what your employees really think about your HR department? A great way of getting to the heart of the matter is via 360 feedback evaluations , which can be customized to allow you to ask any question you like to as many employees, and find out the honest answers that will allow your company to improve. These programs can be tailored to different departments, managers and teams, and can help with organisation AND individual development. Contact us for a quote today.

It Is Time To Give Your Employees More Control Over Evaluations

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Mon, 27 Oct 2014 04:00:00 GMT

Are you getting tired of carrying out the same one-on-one employee evaluations every year, and wonder whether they’re actually yielding any real results?

Perhaps you struggle to come up with the right questions, or wonder if there’s a way to get more out of your employees. Fortunately, with 360 feedback , you can now get a better idea of an individual’s performance and where they fit in your organization. This article is going to explain how employees are taking control back in their evaluations, and how you can reap the benefits.

The Old Days

In the old days, employee evaluations were carried out on a formal, one-on-one basis where a manager, or HR boss would sit down across a desk from an employee, and ask the same pre-planned questions that everyone else got.

They’d be asked to rank themselves on performance, skills, training and abilities, and if they were lucky they might have been given access to development opportunities if any seemed suitable. The responses would be processed by the HR department, put on-file, and in most cases nothing more would be said about it until next time, when they were hauled back out again to judge the employee’s progress at the next evaluation meeting, often a year or more later.

Luckily, this is not the case anymore – wait, what? Are you still living in the past? With 360 degree evaluations, you no longer have to.

The Benefits of 360 Evaluations

Now managers and colleagues are taking control of their employee evaluations, and getting a much wider perspective when it comes to their performance and behaviours in the workplace. This is because 360 evaluations can be customized to ask any questions you want, to a much wider set of people that an individual communicates with and interacts with on a regular basis, covering all elements of their job.

As a result, you’ll not only get a much more rounded idea of an employee’s performance, this review and feedback system also allows you to pinpoint an employee’s strengths, and work with them on their weaknesses so that any problems can be overcome, ultimately making your workforce stronger.

On a personal level, an individual can learn of weak spots they may not currently be aware of when interacting with their colleagues, which can help with their personal development and also strengthen work relationships.

Better Career Development

Once an evaluation is completed, managers can work with employees to develop a clear plan that will help them overcome any obstacles or behaviours that are detrimental to their work, as well as implement any training that may be require to strengthen their skills. You may find that an individual may be suited to a different role, or that with a little more confidence in a certain area, they’d really be able to soar.

If you feel your organization could benefit from a 360 degree evaluation program, click here to get a free demo today, or contact us at 1-866-386-0280 .

Interview with 2014 Grapevine Evaluations Scholarship Winner

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Mon, 27 Oct 2014 04:00:00 GMT

Every year Grapevine Evaluations gives away $1000 each to two qualified top performing students. We are proud to present to you Daniel Gary, who is a student at Schulich School of Business and a recipient of 2014 Scholarship. In a short interview he told us about his perspective on employee evaluations and talked about his dream workplace among many other things.

Daniel Gary

Schulich School of Business

Class of 2017

Q: How did you find out about the Grapevine Evaluations Scholarship?

A: I found out about the Grapevine scholarship through StudentAwards.com .

Q: How did this scholarship influenced/affected your life? What was your scholarship spent on?

A: I was incredibly proud to have received the Grapevine scholarship- it is truly a privilege that I am grateful for. Through writing the blog entry as part of the application, I gained a sincere appreciation for employee evaluations and the role they play in operating a modern business. As I develop my career in business, I will look to employee evaluations for a source of inspiration and communication in the workplace. The scholarship itself contributed to my studies at the Schulich School of Business- I am using it to buy textbooks for this year and next. It is a great privilege that has made a real difference to affording my education.

Q: What does your dream workplace look like?

A: Three traits you’d find in my dream workplace are innovation, empathy, and a strive for excellence. Creating an environment where innovation is encouraged is more difficult than it sounds– it means that employees can take risks and learn from their mistakes. Innovation allows for businesses and their employees to flourish in the long run. Empathy is important because it involves communication and mutual understanding amongst all those in the workplace- respect in this sense fosters job satisfaction and strong teamwork. Finally, a strive for excellence should be present in the workplace. Everyone, from custodian to CEO, should show genuine enthusiasm for performing to the best of their ability– for both personal growth and organizational benefit.

Q: Have you ever been evaluated at work/school with by multi-rater feedback? Do you think it’s better than if only your professor/manager evaluated you?

A: My first experience with 360 degree feedback was in high school. While the results only measured a small project, I found the feedback to be invaluable. Hearing what my classmates thought about my performance as a teammate, (instead of just the teacher’s feedback) allowed me to hear how I could improve my skills as a member of the team. I was able to use the advice to improve in future- not only the end product, but my interactions with team members. It also gave me tremendous encouragement when the feedback was positive, because my teammates were expressing gratitude.

Q: How important would you say it is for an employee to be evaluated fairly by their management? Why?

A: Fairness is integral to employee evaluations, as it promotes a sense of trust and openness between a leader and his or her team. Employees know whether their leader is telling the truth, and fairness in job evaluations helps employees understand that their leader respects their contributions to the workplace and is genuinely interested in fostering personal growth. Without fairness in employee evaluations, employees will come to treat the office only as a political arena, and lose focus of the company’s vision.

Q: Can you think of a way companies can evaluate their employees’ performance better?

I think that evaluations should measure both quantitative and qualitative attributes of employees. Many companies seem to focus on one over the other, but I think they’re both equally important. Quantitative evaluations should measure performance figures and measurable attributes. Qualitative attributes, like feedback from colleagues and direct-reports, is also important as it reflects the workplace environment and the employee’s contribution to the well being of the workplace.

Additionally, I think that incentives should be closer related to qualitative employee evaluations. performance-based bonuses are highly motivating, but employees who are charismatic and strong team players should also be rewarded. Presenting these incentives at the same time as the evaluations will help employees realize the importance of interpersonal performance.

Q: If you were to ask your team members only one question to be able to understand their performance on a project, what would you ask them and why?

If I was restricted to just one feedback question after a project, it would be:

“If we did the project again, what would you want me to do differently?”

This question encourages answers that are specific and realistic. It’s not too open ended, so the results should be practical and genuine. Also, it’s based on past performance (not “…next time” improvements) so results will be more factual rather than a wish-list of ideal character traits.

Learn more about our 360 feedback tool and Grapevine Evaluations Scholarship. All qualified students are welcome to apply. Terms of eligibility:

Canadian or U.S. citizens or permanent residents with a minimum GPA of 3.0 and enrolled in a Canadian or US university or college for Fall 2014.
Four components must be submitted for your entry: (A) Application Form, (B) Small writing project, (C) Copy of transcript, (D) Proof of Canadian or U.S. Residence
Please note that the scholarship is not limited to first year students. If you are a returning student or in a postgraduate program, you can also apply

3 Early Signs Your Department Needs To Be Restructured

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Sun, 28 Sep 2014 04:00:00 GMT

Working in human resource management (HR) can be challenging, especially when it comes to department restructuring.

You are responsible for employee performance, training, payroll, benefits and industrial relations.

As one of the most essential positions in any company, you are required to manage several aspects of the business regarding overall employee performance. It is a daunting task for even the best HR manager but knowing what to look for can save you both time and money. Here are three early warning signs that you may need to engage in department restructuring.

Employee Confusion

Your employees should come to work knowing what they are expected to accomplish and how to go about doing so. When your workforce is organized, they will understand how to work in an efficient manner. If they do not understand the game plan, then there is a good chance that vital tasks are left incomplete or neglected. As a result the department’s overall performance will suffer and problems spiral out of control creating a management nightmare.

Lack of Daily or Weekly Review Meetings.

Each department should be conducting regular review meetings to discuss company performance, quotas, and work habits. Meeting details should include some of the following:

Give workers a clear plan of action
Set individual and departmental quotas
Overall department performance
Safety regulations
Daily/Weekly goals
Change of operations
Policy changes
Address the strengths and weaknesses of each Department
Issue awards or admonitions
Foster unity and teamwork
Address workers concerns

When these meetings fail to take place, it lessens the awareness of the workers and the management and the business suffers unnecessarily.

The Supervisor is Neglecting the Workforce.

The supervisor is a vital cog in the machinery of your workforce and as such, they should have a clear plan of action. When problems arise, they need to be able to enact the plans set forth in the weekly or daily meetings. When the supervisor neglects his job, valuable data is not being tracked regarding time lost and underlying problems will not be addressed. The company will retain underperforming employees, fail to recognize efficient workers, and profits will fall.

Using a 360 Feedback Report to Identify Core Issues

One of the most efficient and reliable ways of testing the performance of your department is to use a 360 degree feedback tool . This is a report on individuals from an anonymous circle of coworkers and managers including a variety of performance related questions. The anonymity encourages individuals to report more honestly on what is and what is not working.

When you know the strengths and weaknesses of each employee you are more able to address these issues and craft a plan that will help enhance individual performance and it will let you know where to trim the fat. You can call Grapevine at 1-866-386-0280 or click here to see a sample report and discover how using a 360 Feedback Report can aid you in department restructuring.

How To Build An Employee Evaluations Report You Can Be Proud Of

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Mon, 22 Sep 2014 04:00:00 GMT

Employee evaluations are important as they help determine the overall performance of employees.

Before you can determine this, you need to build a system that will help measure their performance.

For every employee, you need to have performance standards, which are descriptions of what you want your employee to accomplish for the jobs they have been assigned. These standards also apply to other employees with the same job specifications.

Goals are another aspect of employee evaluations. These are based on the individual weaknesses and strengths of the employees. After you have defined the goals and standards, put them down in writing and give them to the employees. This helps them know what they are expected to achieve at the end of each year so as to be given a positive evaluation.

Giving employee evaluations

Keep logs for all your employees. Note all the memorable moments involving individual employees whether bad or good.

Evaluate individual the performance of the employees, at least once a year. Hold individual meetings with them and giving performance appraisals.

Review all of the documents then give an appraisal. Appraisals may be of different forms but they need to include:

Standards and goals that you set for each worker and the specific job
Your resolution and whether the employees met the goals and standards that you set\
Reasons supporting the conclusions you make

Once this is done, meet with the individual employees giving reasons for your conclusions. Take time too to listen to their comments through your discussions.

Employee evaluation tips

Employee evaluations are not easy as some of them become defensive and most will not know what will merit evaluations that are positive. Resentment may arise too especially when you are soft on some and come down hard on other employees.

To avoid all these problems follow the following tips:

Be specific as you set the standards and goals of the employees. Make sure you spell out what they need to do to achieve them.
Give employees timelines to do the jobs you want done.
Your standards and goals need to be realistic otherwise the employees will have no incentive to get the job done. However, make sure that they are not too hard or easy to achieve
Honesty is important so that employees can know the areas that they need to improve on.

With Grapevine Evaluations you are able to customize and create your own evaluations using a 360 degree feedback template or from scratch. Additionally, you have access to all the features that give you control over the evaluation size and reports.

Imagine If You Didn’t Have To Evaluate Your Employees

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Sun, 21 Sep 2014 04:00:00 GMT

Any HR manager would love a better way to evaluate employees.

Evaluating employee performance can be an expensive and time-consuming proposition. But and until someone finds a better way of measuring an employee’s progress, the HR manager must endure this hardship.

… unless

Using web-based software to evaluate employees

Well, it just so happens that somebody has found an answer to this tedious, but necessary, enterprise: Grapevine Evaluations. This 360 degree feedback system is a web-based evaluation tool that takes the drudgery, as well as demands on your time, out of employee evaluations.

With our user-friendly interface, all that is required of you is to input the necessary data that corresponds to the employee you want to evaluate. Grapevine does the rest. At the end of the evaluation period your software will output a detailed and comprehensive report using charts and graphs. It shows you what areas your employee excels, and where they lag behind.

Choose how you want to evaluate employees

Since no two companies are the same, your Grapevine software allows you to tailor the questions that you want answered in the report. This means that you can choose from a library containing hundreds of questions. Or you can come up with your own questions.

Your software also gives you the ability to tailor the evaluations to the employee’s relationship with:

The company
Managers
Peers
Or even customers

A web-based evaluation tool is a money saver

Because there is no expensive software to purchase and install, the tool saves on both money and time. You don’t incur any added expenditures from hiring some expensive IT firm to come in and install it. And because there’s no monitoring required on your part. All you have to do is sit back and wait on the report you requested on a date of your choosing.

5 Things To Learn About Your Employees

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Sat, 20 Sep 2014 04:00:00 GMT

Knowing who your company’s employees are on a personal level is just as important as knowing who they are on a professional level. So considering things to learn about your employees is a good place to start.

If an employee has good personal values, it will certainly show in their work habits and performance.

Five Things To Pay Attention To:

Problem Solutions

How does each employee solve common and not so common problems in the workplace? Does the employee keep a cool head while in the solving process? Solving problems are a big part of every job and having skilled problem solvers in the workplace is a valuable asset and should be looked upon and appreciated as such.

Job Attitude

It is desirable for every employer to have workers that know what they are doing. Some employees may have just been hired and you will need to pick out things to learn about your employees. And if they are visually enthusiastic about learning everything there is to know about their particular job, this person will go far.

Work Ethic

For an employee to be successful, their attitude must reflect upon a good work ethic. The employee’s ethic helps keep the morale up for their fellow co-workers as well. One thing to look for is what type of people the employee in question corresponds with the most. For those with a good overall attitude about most things within the work place, they will most likely be in friendly relations with like-minded people.

Conflict Resolution

How the employee deals with conflicts inside the work place is one thing that reveals their overall attitude. Does this particular employee deal with multiple work place relation conflicts? If so, then why? Does this employee get along with just about everyone they come into contact with? How they resolve minor professional conflicts will also give you a perspective as to how they will fare in more serious conflict resolutions.

Work Quality

During their day, pay attention and observe how the employee performs their job and completes projects. It can be any type of project according to what position they are in. The quality of the finished material is an important factor in seeing what their overall work ethic is. If their work is of poor quality, this gives opportunity for evaluation and possible betterment of the questioned employee’s work in the future.

When picking out things to learn about your employees, make sure they reflect what your company is all about. If there are questions that you would like answered about 360 degree feedback , please contact us at Grapevine Evaluations and we will be happy to help you.

A Great Way To Manage Relationships Between Employees

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Fri, 19 Sep 2014 04:00:00 GMT

Managers should know how to deal with employee relationships. Monitoring all the employee interactions is essential in managing their relationships.

Human resource managers should play an important role in managing these relationships by nurturing and monitoring them.

Good relationships in the workplace are beneficial for your business. They result in improved communication thus increasing the productivity and efficacy of any business. When people are comfortable in their work environment, they are more likely to want to stay, consequently improving staff retention. The following strategies help managers in improving the relations between their employees.

Evaluations to manage employee relationships

It is not enough for you to assume that the employees are satisfied with their jobs just because they report to work daily. As a manager, you can evaluate employee relationships with 360 degree feedback tool so that you can uncover hidden problems. These are the worst kind of problems because they always implode at one time or another.

Instead of allowing these problems to fester, you should befriend the employees. Make them feel comfortable enough to involve you in their private conversations. If they are ganging up on one employee, you need to nip it in the bud before it becomes a full-blown harassment issue.

Developing open and honest channels of communication

Communication is crucial in creating strong employee relationships. Managers should be devoted to communicating regularly and sincerely with employees about all the issues that have an impact on their work. The better the communication in a workplace, the stronger the employee relationships become.

This makes all the employees loyal thus improving the productivity of any business. It also leads to a reduction in turnover and discontent. When you develop an open communication channel, you will be able to notice withdrawn employees. You can also get them to open up and tell you what problems they are experiencing.

Manage employee relationships by creating a balanced environment

For effective management, you need to recognize that employees have a life outside the workplace. Doing so will help you in becoming more considerate. Instead of biting their heads off when they arrive late, you can try to understand their home situations.

You should also take steps to make sure that the employee’s work life is properly balanced. You should be able to notice signs of dissatisfaction. Content employees usually have better relationships and get into fewer arguments. This results in increased efficiency thus boosting and improving the overall well-being of your business.

Human resource managers need to manage employee relationships efficiently if a business is to succeed. It takes skill and determination to manage any relationship. This means that the business owner needs to hire a proficient manager.

The workplace needs to be a place of productivity not one that breeds enmity. Letting employee relationships deteriorate to hostile levels will not only make you look bad but it could also destroy the business.

5 Questions Every 360 Evaluation Should Have

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Thu, 18 Sep 2014 04:00:00 GMT

Annual reviews are certainly an important part of employee evaluation.

They help you determine performance, compensation and areas for growth.

Peer and employee evaluations can be very helpful. So it’s important to consider the 360 evaluation questions that you’ll be including on the survey or evaluation form.

As you’re creating your evaluation, here are five areas of 360 degree feedback questions you should include and customize for your company and employees:

Leadership

Does the employee exhibit and seek out leadership roles? If so, how does the employee contribute through leadership? If not, how can the employee improve their leadership? This is an important component as it will help you determine future leadership within the company.

Interpersonal

When the employee works with others, what interpersonal skills are demonstrated? Are there any interpersonal problems or areas for improvement? Interpersonal relationship are key to having positive morale and productivity at the company. This results in better retention of employees and success of the company.

Problem Solving

Does the employee solve problems effectively? What skills has the employee shown in solving problem and what problem solving areas would you recommend improvement? Problems will always happen, and it’s important that your employee knows how to handle them and the team has confidence in her to do so.

Motivation

Does the employee appear to be motivated by the work they do? Does the employee help motivate team members? Have you experienced difficulty with the employee’s motivation? Motivated employees are more productive.

As every person is different, it’s also important to determine what will motivate your employees. For some it may be more flex time and working from home, for another it might be assignment to a large project, for others it might be financial.

Efficiency

Are the employee’s work habits effective, efficient and constantly improving? What areas can the employee work on to improve her efficiency? We all have limited time, so it’s important that employees are being efficient with their time. A lack of efficiency can frustrate other employees and cause problems within the team and the company.

These are only five areas that are recommended when you’re creating your 360 evaluation questions. The questions will help your employees know the areas that your company values. And organizing the feedback for your employees will help them grow within the organization.

Framing questions to guide feedback will be more effective than simply leaving broad questions or those that are too narrow resulting in one or two word answers.

Creating 360 degree feedback questions can be challenging. There are great resources where you can learn more about creating and designing employee evaluation tools.

Sit Back, Relax And Watch Employee Evaluation Perform Itself

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Sun, 24 Aug 2014 04:00:00 GMT

A 360 feedback survey can be one of the easiest ways to solicit feedback from multiple employee evaluations.

Unlike other surveys done through email, you would still need to export and reformat the data to analyze the results.

However, the 360 survey process already has the statistical model set up. As answers come in, they are tabulated, graphed, and meaningful results can be viewed at a glance.

Once the HR manager has reviewed the results, they can be disseminated to managers to help the entire organization get better at what they do.

The Top 3 Ways a 360 Survey Facilitates Employee Evaluations

The process of employee evaluations no longer needs to occupy a large amount of time from your management staff. With 360 surveys, they can just be one more participant in a process that, after the questions are chosen, can basically run itself. The 360 degree feedback software is set up to do the following:

1. Automatically Email Participants

The survey will be automatically mailed to the participants who will rate their peers, direct reports, and managers as well as themselves. The HR person will just designate the raters for each individual and emails will be sent accordingly. Usually each participant will have between 3 to 5 raters, who will also be participants in their turn.

2. Collects Data

The entire process is automated so that no data is lost or needs to be exported or reformatted. All of the participants will get data collected from each of their raters and the system will then collate it for multiple, individual, reports.

It does this for each participant, cross-referencing different raters to their individual participants. It also never loses track of the data for multiple employee evaluations.

3. Generates a Report

The data will be analyzed by the 360 survey software to generate multiple reports. One for each participant.

The report can spotlight strengths and also opportunities where the employee can improve.

As a bonus, the 360 survey can easily be tweaked and rolled out once again.

This provides Human Resources with a template of questions that can be used to determine how each group in the company is progressing.

Human Resources can just set up an intermittent schedule and let the software do all the number-crunching. Create visually-appealing reports that tell them the whole story, with minimal effort on their part.

Want to find out how you can streamline your own employee evaluation process? Contact us today.

Do You Recognize the 7 Reasons Your Best Employees Are Leaving?

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Sun, 24 Aug 2014 04:00:00 GMT

Even though unemployment rates are a bit high, many people walk out of their jobs on a daily basis.

Unfortunately, it’s sometimes the best workers who walk out. They know they can turn right around and find employment somewhere else. For you, this means that you need to be on your toes at all times, watching all of your workers and making sure that they are happy. Especially the ones that you treasure the most.

Your best employees leaving is never a good thing, so make sure to look out for these 7 signs that one of them may be about to walk out the door.

1) You’re Never Around

If you’re never around to encourage your workers to be productive and praise them on the tasks that they are doing well, they go to another company that values their work. This isn’t to imply you have to stand over their shoulders all the time. But being around to actually ‘supervise’ is always a good thing.

2) You Don’t Offer Promotions

Your best workers are going to want to know that they have opportunities to better themselves. Whether it by promotions or pay raises, you need to let them know that they can grow as your company grows.

3) You Expect Too Much

When you overload your workers with tasks, sometimes enough is enough. If workers have to go home and continue working on work-related duties, this means they don’t have time to spend with their families. This is never good, and it can easily lead to employees leaving.

4) You Don’t Know How to Delegate

Tasks should be delegated to the proper workers. If you don’t know the right way to delegate, you need to learn. Fortunately, there are lots of online resources that you can use to learn the ins-and-outs of delegation.

5) You Never Ask for Feedback

When your workers feel as if they don’t have a voice, they usually get disgruntled and want to take their services elsewhere. Fortunately, there’s a simple solution to this problem. You can start performing 360 degree feedback . Each worker will get a chance to anonymously voice his or her opinion about anything and everything that takes place at work.

6) No One Knows What’s Going On

If everything is disorganized and no one knows what they’re doing. Your best workers will walk out with the hopes that they can find another employer who takes their day to day operations more seriously.

7) You’re Constantly Changing Things

Change is a good thing…in moderation. If you’re constantly changing things up from one week to the next, this can be very aggravating. And it can lead to low levels of productivity, as well as the best of your employees leaving

If you would like more information on how to keep your employees happy, please feel free to contact us today.

One Major Reason Internal Recruiting is Better Than Hiring Externally

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Wed, 20 Aug 2014 04:00:00 GMT

Many leading companies have an internal first policy – recruiting externally is a last resort.

It’s plain to see some of the main benefits of this practice. But one major reason it’s better does not concern the candidate being reviewed, but everyone else around him or her.

Surprisingly, hiring internally has a positive effect on everyone else, aside from the candidate.

360-Degree Feedback is Key

Modern businesses utilize only the best methods of assessing potential candidates. One such method is 360 degree feedback . A candidate is assessed by gaining a comprehensive picture of their capacity for the role by gaining insights from all around. From the candidate’s lateral counterparts to people above and below the candidate’s position.

360-degree feedback surveys people all around the candidate for their:

-Perceived strengths and weaknesses

-Performance appraisals

-Professional opinions

It’s a holistic method of assessing internal candidates that you simply can’t do when recruiting externally. Hiring from the outside, you’ll be limited to past experience and the provided references.

Investing in Existing Talent

When recruiting externally, a new investment in talent is made. Onboarding an external hire means matching preferred salary, which is almost always higher than your standard. Not to mention the time and resources recruitment and screening take.

When recruiting internally, what a company does is invest further in existing talent. Internal hires have limited pay grade increases, and cannot as easily put a premium on their experience as external hires.

Furthermore, as you open higher positions to existing employees, you increase retention. Each employee that leaves translates to costly severance packages and an opening that you’ll need to fill. And you fill it via equally costly external recruitment costs, salary negotiations, and onboarding.

Growth and Career Planning

Try and perform a survey of your workforce to find the top five or so reasons they would stay in a company. Salary will only be the second or third item in their list. Employees seek stability and prioritize either career growth or work-life balance over money.

When recruiting externally, you disrupt – even momentarily and only slightly – the existing dynamics of the workforce. The culture needs to be readjusted and productivity may be affected. Luckily, unless you made a mistake and hired a jerk, morale shouldn’t fluctuate too badly.

When hiring internally, employees see their colleagues advance rightfully. They observe that they have direction: a well-defined career path and active investments in their growth. The top reasons they’ll stay. Best of all, a promotion within a harmonious workforce boosts morale, making the environment more productive.

Finally, recruiting externally is a telltale sign of employee problems in your company.

Ready to find your best internal talent? Click here , We’re here to help.

What Your HR Manager Won’t Tell You About Employee Evaluations

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Mon, 18 Aug 2014 04:00:00 GMT

Even though your HR manager likely won’t ever mention it, poor employee evaluation systems just might be responsible for your business’ struggles.

Why wouldn’t that be the case?

Employees are the backbone of every organization. The quality of folks you have managing the day-to-day operations of your business influences how the organization will perform.

A business with unenthusiastic employees will typically struggle. These aren’t exactly the type of employees that will go the extra mile. Especially of your aren’t standing over their shoulders. More than likely, such a crop of workers will do just enough to keep their jobs.

Conversely, a business with a bunch of ambitious, energetic employees is more likely to succeed. There is a collective effort to build the business.

Of course, your HR manager won’t tell you this. That would likely mean THEY aren’t conducting proper employee evaluation. Nobody wants to be blamed if your business is filled with a bunch of Homer Simpsons!

Besides helping you weed out underperforming employees, proper employee evaluation also:

1. Motivates employees

When employees are frequently evaluated, they get a clearer picture of what their job entails. It also gives them a better idea of how they fit into the organization as a whole and the possibilities of future promotions.

In addition, employees being aware of the fact their productivity is being closely monitored increases their productivity as well.

2. Spot most productive employees

With proper monitoring of your employees’ productivity, you’ll be able to easily locate the top performers in each department. Obviously, you want to keep these folks around for as long as possible. It’s wise to compensate them generously for their efforts to keep them motivated with promotions or bonuses.

3. Reduce turnover rates

Training new employees costs money, so it’s best to give new hires all the tools they need to succeed. With frequent employee evaluations, your expectations can be clearly expressed. This is while getting their feedback on things makes their jobs easier.

Obviously, if you’re not doing all the things listed above, you might have a struggling business. If your HR manager is having a difficult time keeping your business stocked with productive employees, an upgrade to a web-based evaluation system might just be what the doctor ordered. Don’t wait any longer! Contact us at 1-888-407-6574 or online for a demo of this innovative 360 degree feedback system.

Turn Office Gossip Into Strategic Action Plans with 360 Feedback

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Sun, 17 Aug 2014 04:00:00 GMT

Gossip is a natural part of human existence.

People around the world want to share information they know that someone else does not even if it might not prove completely true.

There are extremely popular gossip magazines and newspapers, printed on nothing more than speculation or a shred of fact, yet sell millions across the globe. Gossip also takes part in the work place. But in a closed environment, it often has extremely negative consequences. It causes fighting between employees and other problems that might drag down productivity.

All of this is something you need to handle before it boils over into something rather serious.

It is always possible to take a negative and spin it into a positive though. And with the right strategic action plan, you can turn office gossip into something beneficial. You just need to know how to go about doing this.

There are different ways you can create a strategic action plan. Some of these options include:

Surveys

Regular Private Sessions with Employees

Group Activities

Move Quickly

Surveys

You need to provide an outlet for employees.

If they feel like their suggestions or questions are never met, they are going to feel:

– Neglected

– Less productive

– Less confident

The 360 degree feedback surveys can remain anonymous, yet might prove extremely helpful.

Regular Private Sessions with Employees

You need to spend time with each employee individually. You can schedule this with a review session of their work annually, quarterly or for any other amount of time. During this time you need to open up the floor and allow your employees to talk to you.

While you always should have an open door, you should also schedule a time for each employee. Some people are just not going to come forward on their own.

Group Activities

People generally gossip about other individuals they simply do not know much about. The better they get to know people, the less likely they are going to spin gossip, especially negative gossip. By scheduling group activities, you can help cut down gossip while you create your strategic action plan.

Move Quickly

When you hear gossip, you need to squash it quickly. Gather the people spreading the rumors and talk to them about it or if it is a large issue, bring everyone into the conference room. Together, you can work through the situation and come up with a plan to correct what is going on and prevent it from going any further. If you do not move quickly, gossip can spin out of control and cause massive problems.

If you have any questions about how our software can help you manage your employees, please contact us any time.

3 Little Known Ways to Stop Your Employees From Complaining

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Fri, 15 Aug 2014 04:00:00 GMT

As a manager or supervisor, it’s not your job to keep your workers happy all the time. It is your responsibility, however, to make sure that their complaining doesn’t get in the way of productivity.

If you happen to have one or more workers who sit on the complaining fence all day, here are three helpful tips you need to start following.

Use a Feedback System

A 360 degree feedback system requires all workers to complete anonymous surveys. This enables them to provide the most truthful feedback possible. Each employee is able to voice his or her opinion without feeling as if it will hurt someone else’s feelings. The feedback is meant to apply to coworkers, supervisors, company owners and any other staff members. Being that all workers have a chance to voice their opinions, this is an effective way to stop employees from complaining.

In order for the complaining to actually stop, though, you need to listen and respond to the feedback. Take for example that 15 out of 20 of your workers state Mark is causing lots of aggravation to them. In response, you would need to pull Mark to the side and let him know that things are going to have to change or you’ll have to let him go.

Lead By Example

The number one thing you can do to stop employees from complaining is leading by example. If you complain, they’ll be likely to complain. On the other hand, if you come in with a chipper attitude, then they’ll be much more tempted to follow your footsteps.

Be Fair

If you’re not fair with your employees, they’re going to complain. This doesn’t mean you have to give into everything that they ask for, but respect goes a long way. If they complain about not having long enough breaks, then come up with some type of compromise.

For example, if they want an extra 10-minute break each day, tell them that’s perfectly fine. But in order to receive it, they must show up or stay after 10 minutes each day. Also, let them know the break will be unpaid.

Another way to be fair with your workers is to provide them with a reasonable amount of time off.

If you make them work six days a week every week, this is going to stress them out and cause them to be tired. This will likely lead to lots of complaining, not to mention poor productivity. By giving each of them two to three extra days off each month, this is an effective way to stop employees from complaining. To fill in the spots when these workers are off, consider hiring part-time workers.

If you would like more information on 360 feedback tools , please contact us today.

Low Response Rate To 360 Degree Evaluations? Fix These Six Items

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Mon, 21 Jul 2014 04:00:00 GMT

360 degree feedback tools are important for organizations and businesses looking to increase productivity, maximize workplace efficiency, and engage your entire staff in the evaluation and review process. Of course, the better the 360 evaluations response rate , the more credible the study is and the more comprehensive the data becomes. According to recent studies, employees cite six reasons why they “opt out” of these evaluations. The reasons include:

Personal unwillingness
Organizational mistrust
Doubt about their ability to self-assess
Mismatch between those evaluating and those being evaluated
Poor communication about the purpose and the process
A heavy reliance on “buzz words” rather than good tool design

By understanding your employees’ reluctance to participate in 360 evaluations , you can create a more efficient survey, a better selection sample, and achieve optimal results. Here four simple solutions to help you increase your 360 evaluations response rate.

Address roadblocks head on

Staff may offer a number of reasons why they can’t participate in the survey, including time and personal circumstances. By allowing reasonable accommodations for completing the tool, such as extending deadlines on other projects, offering lunch to responders, for example, you can address any personal unwillingness and increase your participation rate.

Create a culture of trust

Employees may be wary that their answers will not remain confidential, that their evaluations will not be seriously considered, or that their responses would be invalidated if they differed from the norm. Consistently communicating that your business or organization is committed to learning from all staff members and that you value their opinions will go along way towards increasing the 360 evaluations response rate among your staff.

Validate their opinions

Many employees don’t believe they are capable of evaluating their own performance. Conversely, other employees may feel they don’t know another employee or his/her work well enough to craft a thoughtful evaluation. Expressing that their participation in the survey is valuable will increase their ability to self assess. Running respondents by mangers helps ensure appropriate pairings.

Communicate the instructions clearly

Survey designers may be so entrenched with the design and delivery process, they overlook communicating the basics of the survey. Asking a small team who was not part of the tool design, what they find clear and what they find confusing, ensures that responders have all the information they need to thoughtfully complete their evaluations. Additionally, capturing and creating language that reflects the actual work or process being evaluated is a more effective tool than just listing some industry buzz words. If your evaluators understand the questions, they are more likely to answer and provide thoughtful response. Creating a connecting between the survey tool and the employee will help increase your 360 evaluations response rate.

360 degree evaluations, when designed, delivered, and administered correctly, can provide wonderful feedback and information for your business or organization. By identifying and managing potential issues,your 360 evaluations response rate will be higher, giving you a better picture of your employees and their strengths and weaknesses.

The Psychology Behind 360 Feedback. Or Why Is It Better Than Other Employee Evaluations?

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Thu, 17 Jul 2014 04:00:00 GMT

By using a new method of employee reviews called 360 feedback reporting, employee evaluations can be much more effective. Through this system, employees learn about all areas of their job — not just the areas observable by their superiors — thus improving their receptiveness to both positive and negative feedback.

Though research is limited, some suggest that employee reviews can benefit a great deal from a 360 degree approach in which an employee is evaluated by his or her superiors, colleagues and subordinates. Despite a few potential draw-backs (including defensiveness, biased reviews and a reluctance to change), the benefits of 360 degree reviews cannot be ignored.

Employee evaluations can cover all areas of performance

Rather than hear directly from a superior about his job performance, the employee will receive feedback from multiple sources, thus reducing the chance of praise or problem areas being overlooked. This means that the employee will have a more rounded idea of his strengths as well as any areas of opportunity he might have.

Multiple sources of feedback lessen the risk of bias

Except for a few cases of colleagues gunning for the same promotion, 360 degree reviews lessen the chance of evaluator bias. This includes superiors who might have qualms with an employee’s personality rather than performance as well as situations in which employee favoritism is involved.

A feedback coach can help reduce uncertainty about responses

After evaluations have been collected, a feedback coach must get involved to answer questions about responses and guide the learner towards new goals. This is an important part of the 360 review process because it ensures that employees remain focused on goals rather than the sting of unfavorable feedback.

Employee evaluations can reduce defensiveness

One of the biggest concerns with employee evaluations is potential defensiveness of those being reviewed. If this should occur, the learner will be less receptive to constructive criticism and thus may not benefit from the review.

By using a specially trained feedback coach, however, defensiveness can be reduced because the coach will have the necessary skills to evaluate responses objectively. When responses can be addressed in a constructive way, defensiveness is reduced and an employee’s responsiveness can thus increase.

Employee reviews are an important way to maintain or improve production. They are the avenue through which employers reward their best workers and encourage others to improve — and they have taken on a whole new dimension.

By approaching reviews using 360 feedback , employee evaluations provide a more rounded view of a worker’s performance which will help him or her improve in all areas of the job. Because a company is only as good as its workers, and its workers deserve to know exactly where they stand within the company and how they can help it improve.

See our Overview of our 360 Performance Review Software tool.

Employee Performance Mystery: What You Cannot See By Observation

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Mon, 14 Jul 2014 04:00:00 GMT

The management teams of business enterprises, both large and small, are continually monitoring employee performance to see how they do their work and also how they interact with and help one another. The task is augmented and supplemented by such tools as 360 degree feedback, in which different people provide assessment for the same employee simultaneously. However, as with all aspects of human behavior, there are those things that one cannot easily learn by simple observation because they are not immediately apparent to the senses, or at least to the eyes. For such things, it is necessary to take other approaches that will be discussed in the sections below.

Observation vs. inference

One thing that young people learn in junior high school science is how to make a distinction between an observation and an inference. An observation is something that is made with the senses, whereas an inference is an interpretation of an observation; one arrives at an inference through the workings of the mind, such as logical deduction.

As an example, one may observe that an employee is constantly looking around himself or herself, widening his eyes and raising his eyebrows, but that behavior may mean any number of things: It could mean that he or she has done something wrong and is worried that others will find out about it, or maybe he is expecting the arrival of somebody overdue and is wondering if something bad has happened. Only by approaching that individual appropriately and asking the right questions can the true cause be determined, but if he or she does not want to answer, then there is little that can be done.

Hidden aspects of performance

When it comes to trying to find out things about employee performance, there are certain performance indicators that might be hidden. For instance, an employee might not have the confidence to share his or her achievements with the rest of the team. That person may be worried about what others think about his work, for example, that they might not share his enthusiasm for what he did. Other employees, or somebody outside the work force, may be bullying or otherwise annoying an individual through personal emails.

The importance of communication

Whatever the case, the backbone of any company is communication; without it, no matter how up to par everything else may be, things cannot get done. Every company, therefore, must have a certain level of transparency, and a worker performance system should be in force that will allow the workers to evaluate each other. Often, those who are on an equal level can learn things about each other that would be difficult for a superior. That is why there are things like the 360 degree feedback method mentioned earlier.

How employee performance may be improved

There is a program designed to analyze employee performance, of which managers can download a demo by going to Grapevine Evaluations and filling out the form that appears there.

How To Properly Craft a Questionnaire for 360 Surveys

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Mon, 07 Jul 2014 04:00:00 GMT

360 degree feedback software is a tool used by management to assess the strengths and weaknesses of an employee based on the feedback of their co-workers, managers and employees they may supervise. This usually involves between eight and twelve people who fill out anonymous surveys that cover a number of competencies relating to the workplace. There are a series of questions and written comments.

It can be a useful tool for measuring performance, but must be carefully structured to capture honest responses without bias. The survey should address specific skills and how the employee interacts with others as a leader and team player.

Criteria to Consider

Drafting a 360 surveys questionnaire should take a strategic approach. You should know what types of information you wish to gather, taking into account this is not the way to measure:

Employee performance objectives that have been set by management
Whether or not the employee has met all the basic job criteria
Anything objective, such as quotas or attendance

The survey should be customized for that particular employee with ratings that will capture the data you are looking for. It should also allow comments to be made for each and every item listed. The questions should be subjective. Standard categories should include Interpersonal communication, character, knowledge, innovation and leadership at a minimum. Based on the level of the employee, it may also include Talent Building, Strategic Capacity and Execution. To formulate an effective questionnaire, think about the following:

What are your company’s values?
What is the mission?
What is the vision?
What is expected of all employees?
Are there any specific competencies that should be addresses?

Keeping the Questionnaire Inclusive

Prior to putting together your 360 surveys questionnaire, senior management should identify standard competencies and what is expected across the board. The level of authority the employee has in the organization should determine which behavior patterns should be evaluated. It is important to delineate what a successful employee looks and acts like to pinpoint key functions that should be included. When including questions, think about what type of data you wish to capture. Having a balanced amount of numeric and written feedback is key.

Always Test Before Implementation

Once you have put everything together, one or two associates should test the survey by rating an employee that you are familiar with. This will eliminate any duplicate questions, any items that are confusing or misleading, and will allow you to include or discard any competencies that do not apply. The individuals who test the survey should be able to give feedback on the survey as a whole and determine whether or not it was thorough enough or if there were any parts missing.

Using this system will help you develop a 360 surveys questionnaire that can be adapted for any level of the organization based on your preferences and data you wish to capture.

3 Eye-Opening Facts You Can Learn About Your Business With 360 Evaluations

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Fri, 04 Jul 2014 04:00:00 GMT

A 360 degree feedback is a form of employee evaluation that is made through the superiors, colleagues and subordinates of a given employee. Such a method of assessment, if introduced and implemented in the right way, can have numerous advantages for the company as a whole. It can provide a given employee with insights into his or her work performance from a variety of perspectives, and it can show them what aspects thereof are up to par and which ones could use improvement. The benefits will inevitably extend to the customers. Outlined below are three facts about the business that 360 evaluations can reveal.

Fact #1: How the employees work and interact with one another

The management wants to know such things as:

How well do groups of employees get along with one another?
How likely is it that one employee will help a colleague who is in need?
Does a given employee work better alone or in a group of people?
In which areas of the company does each employee feel the most comfortable?

All of these questions, and more, can be answered through 360 evaluations. An employee who likes to work within groups, for instance, will actively seek out the aid and company of others and will, in turn, offer to help them if he or she perceives that they need it. Likewise, an evaluator can observe the way an employee behaves when asked to do a certain task or work with a certain colleague in a certain place.

Fact #2: Whether an employee is happy with his or her current work here

People might be able to tell if a fellow employee is thinking about leaving the job. The individual may mention it in passing or say things that would appear to imply so much. If this turns out to be the case, employers want to know why the person is dissatisfied and what could be done to make him or her want to stay.

Fact #3: How employees are being trained

The way in which people are trained to do their various tasks has a great impact on how well they perform. If people are improperly trained, one wants to know specifically how, and what needs to be corrected.

The most valuable thing about 360 evaluations is that they are conducted anonymously. Anonymity can enable the management to learn things they could not otherwise find out. In addition to the signals that people deliberately give out, there are those that they transmit involuntarily and unconsciously, and a trained person can easily spot these unconscious signals and figure out what they mean or at least could mean. Knowing that something is wrong is the first step towards fixing it, and knowing where things are going well is the first step towards making them even better still.

When Should You Invest In Employee Evaluations? Always!

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Tue, 01 Jul 2014 04:00:00 GMT

Everybody thinks they know themselves best. They know better than anyone else just what knowledge, skills, and abilities they possess. However firmly they hold these perceptions, the self-perceptions are subject to the perceptions and 360 degree feedback of others. Indeed, your sense of yourself is shaped by what others say about you inside and outside the workplace.

The power of feedback

“When feedback is abundant and regularly given, a set of firmly held self-perceptions is formed.” The return on employee evaluations investment lies in the frequent and timely completion of the feedback cycle. Employees value assessments as a thermostat of their value as perceived by the employer. The employer values employee assessments as a tool to improve employee performance.

Performance data: Assessments must be based on measured and stored data. There must be evidence of performance and measures of its quality. However, if quality is not easily quantified, it is not a metric.
Select information: The data should be relevant to the work and behavior at work. There are many aspects of employee behavior that have no bearing on performance or the work at stake. For example, creativity may not be a relevant metric for a machine operator. Only the relevant has value.
Employee options: The data saved and reported must lead to clear paths for the employee. The options might be as simple as continuing the path or reversing the process. On the other hand, the middle path is often harder to define.
Corrective action: The assessment must produce a plan of action to reinforce or rectify the behavior. The feedback cycle completes with the scheduling of the next feedback event.

Why you should invest in 360 review software

1. People find traditional employee reviews to be too stressful

Most people simply don’t know how to conduct performance reviews, especially when they are negative. As Tara Perker-Pope of the New York Times mentioned in a recent blog post , a poorly conducted employee review “can damage physical and mental health, as well as productivity.”

360 review software, on the other hand, is designed to provide the most effective possible employee reviews without damaging the psyche of your employees.

2. Feedback from managers rarely hits the mark

Managers are ineffective reviewers for a number of reasons. Their reviews are usually brief, include arbitrary praise and are biased. As Eric Jackson of Forbes reports, this gets the employee review done, “But how does a report take that as feedback and improve their job performance in the next year?” With 360 review software, you can accurately make the assessments you need to evaluate an employee’s performance and provide effective feedback.

3. Underperforming employees shouldn’t be surprised when they are let go

You don’t want to develop a reputation for firing people without warning because this makes it difficult to hire talent in the future. However, a bad review process can lead to this. This is because most employee reviews are neither thorough nor accurate enough for employees to clearly see that their performance is dragging down the team. Good 360 review software provides employees with clear and accurate depictions of their performance, so they can understand why they are let go.

4. Bad employee reviews have caused you to stop reviewing

As mentioned earlier, nobody really likes to do reviews. Combine this with lack of clear results and you are likely to scrap the review process all together. 360 review software make reviews easier while guaranteeing usable results; this gives you a reason to relaunch your review process.

5. 360 review software will help you identify opportunities to promote from within

As Kate Stull of pop forms recently mentioned, if your reviews aren’t clearly depicting an employee’s progress, “you can come away with no better idea of how a good employee became great.” This includes opportunities to get the most out of an employee by putting them into a leadership role.

When should you invest in employee evaluations?

A business’s investment in employee evaluations is an issue of policy, time, and employee engagement.

Policy: A typical policy might require a department manager to conduct assessments at the end of a new hire’s probation period and annually thereafter.
Time: Training is time intensive, and the delegation of annual assessments might require an hour/employee. Quarterly reviews might require 30-minutes/employee, and daily feedback takes only seconds. Obviously, for a sizable workforce, this takes strategic delegation and allocation of time.
Engagement: Training employees in how assessment serves their self-interest and talent development pays for itself in making time more productive and feedback more valued.

Making your employee evaluations investment pay!

Without leadership, managers typically hate the process, and employees focus solely on whether or not there is a pay raise attached. Such managers have not been well-trained, and their employees have low expectations.

An effective corporate policy would do better to train managers and employees thoroughly in the cost and consequence of effective assessments. It would hold managers accountable for conducting formal assessments as frequently as quarterly and for providing immediate and frequent positive informal feedback. When should your business invest fully in employee evaluations? Always!

New Trends in HR Software 2014

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Fri, 27 Jun 2014 04:00:00 GMT

In a Forbes Magazine article on the workplace in 2014, Josh Bersin declared, “The war for talent is over, and the talent won.” Globally, leadership is in short supply and retention is a challenge. Companies must develop new strategies for recruitment, retention and engagement to stay competitive.

Organizations are looking towards HR software to help them in this regard. HR tools such as 360 feedback evaluations help organizations recruit, retain and engage employees. But to be as effective as possible, the software should be up-to-date as well. The new trends in HR software for 2014 are directed towards a talent-centric workplace.

Web-Based Systems

In 2014, the trend of companies moving away from on-premises, legacy software continues. Organizations want web-based and web-enabled systems. Web-based software has both convenience and cost savings going for it. No downloading, no installation, no upgrading of company systems. And no need for additional hard drive storage.

Web-based software can also be scaled up or down, providing flexibility for small businesses. The ability to use the software from any device that can access a browser is forward-looking. Anytime, anywhere access across multiple devices provides another kind of flexibility. Importantly, it allows for the introduction of new devices into the market. By now we can expect that process to be ongoing and continual. It also gives a boost to productivity and efficiency that will be felt throughout the organization.

With advantages like this, why would anyone go back?

Big Data

Big data is a big trend in HR in 2014. The more data, the better: the better to understand how to attract, retain and engage talent. But with the amount and complexity of data that is now easily available, the focus is on how to create value from it using analytics.

Employees without regular feedback are less engaged. Top performers who do not feel that the company is interested in their development will leave.

The data collected through 360 surveys can also be put to further use. 360 degree feedback data should form part of the performance data that determines the top performers. This in turn will give the organization the information it needs to develop talent.

Ease of Use

Big data analytics is a challenge at the HR end. At the user end of HR software, the challenge is ease of use. As an HR professional, you want data, and lots of it. Big data is the only way to develop competitive strategies for recruitment, retention and engagement. But in many cases you will need to get that data from stakeholders. This means that you must have their full cooperation in the process. Accordingly, the trend is for user interfaces to become increasingly simple and intuitive.

Enhanced Customization Options

Templates make HR software quick and easy to use. With a template, there is no need to start from scratch when you are creating a survey. You can benefit from the knowledge of the template’s creators.

However, forward-looking HR software vendors understand the importance of customization. Rigid, inflexible software is of limited use to HR professionals. HR professionals do not want to achieve efficiency by sacrificing precision.

Evaluating Your Senior Management with 360 Evaluations. How To Get Started

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Fri, 27 Jun 2014 04:00:00 GMT

One of the best ways to ensure the success of a 360 degree feedback program is by getting senior management to go first. It helps inaugurate the process in an organization in two ways:

By showing staff that senior management is not exempt from the process
By showing staff that senior management supports and believes in the process

360 performance evaluations are professional development tools. They can help everyone from an entry-level employee to executives at the highest level. Rolling out a 360 feedback program at the executive level, however, requires a different emphasis. Executives should understand the importance of the process for their own development. They should also understand the example that their willingness to go through it sets for the organization.

The way to get started when evaluating your senior management with 360 evaluations is, therefore, by educating them on these matters.

Senior Management as Role Models

In the first place, let the executives know that by being evaluated in this way they will serve as role models for employees. Unlike the traditional performance review, 360 evaluations use feedback from both peers and direct reports. This makes them an especially democratic form of evaluation. Senior management will set an example for employees by showing that they are willing to listen to this feedback. They will also earn employees’ respect.

360 evaluation programs are also more likely to work if employees feel that the process is taken seriously at the highest organizational level. Employees may think that the 360 program is just for show and no one really takes it seriously. In that case, survey participation rates will be low and employees will be less responsive to the feedback. Let senior management know that their participation in the process will make a difference to its success at other organizational levels.

Creating a Feedback Culture

Executive participation in 360 programs send a strong message about the organization’s feedback culture. 360 evaluations require employees to be able to give honest feedback about managers without fear of reprisal. They also require employees to be able to accept feedback. Employees who are not used to feedback cannot use it for their development.

Both giving and getting feedback is easier in an organization with a strong feedback culture. Let senior management know that their participation in the 360 program is part of building a feedback culture.

A Development Opportunity

360 evaluations are always about development. However, this aspect may be of special importance to senior management. The higher your position in the company, the less likely employees are to feel comfortable giving you feedback. Executives may find themselves in a feedback vacuum, which makes it difficult for them to grow or be challenged.

Senior management should approach 360 evaluations as a rare opportunity for multiple-source feedback. When you are initiating executive 360 evaluations, make sure that you emphasize this opportunity. But also remind executives of how much their development matters to the organization.

Disclosure and Accountability

This option may come as a surprise. The Wall Street Journal reported on the practice of disclosing 360 evaluation results in a 2011 article. Joann S. Lublin wrote that 25 top executives at HCL Technologies Ltd. shared their results on the company’s internal website. Nearly 6600 other managers at the company shared their feedback results with the employees who evaluated them.

What better way to take accountability and show leadership than by publicly owning up to your flaws? Not every organization may feel that this level of transparency is necessary or desirable. However, you can use such examples to emphasize the impact of senior management undergoing 360 evaluations.

See our Overview of our 360 Degree Employee Evaluation Software tool.

What Is The Real Reason Some HR Managers Dislike 360 Evaluations?

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Wed, 25 Jun 2014 04:00:00 GMT

360 feedback evaluations inspire enthusiasm in some HR managers and skepticism in others. It’s easy enough to say that the skeptics are blaming the program when the real problem is the failure to implement it properly. However, there’s no doubt that the correct implementation of evaluation processes is a challenge. From getting senior management buy-in to ensuring sustainable change, the success of the 360 evaluation process is driven by the behaviors of the HR manager.

Fortunately, there is consensus on how to get the best results from 360 feed back tools . HR managers do not have to proceed in the dark. Making positive changes in the culture of a workplace is never easy, and cannot be accomplished by any evaluation process by itself. However, when it happens, it is well worth the effort.

There are five main components of successful 360 evaluations implementation:

#1: Design

A successful 360 evaluation program starts with a well-designed survey. In the first place, the survey must have a clear goal. What organizational objective do you want to achieve with the evaluations? What information do you need to find out in order to achieve that objective?

Once you are clear about the goal of the survey, the next step is to use appropriate questions. When creating or selecting questions for 360 surveys, ask yourself:

Are the questions clear or confusing? Specific, or vague?
Do they focus on observable behaviours, or are they too personal or subjective?
Are the questions about behaviors that are trainable?

#2: Promotion

When promoting 360 evaluations, it’s important to get buy-in from both senior management and the managers who are in direct contact with the employees who will be participating in the evaluations. The support of management is crucial for raising participation rates. Employees will not commit to the process unless they see that commitment from their bosses.

Other things to consider when promoting 360 evaluations:

Do employees have a clear sense of what the organization hopes to achieve with the evaluations?
Do they understand the value of the process for themselves?
Do they understand how the feedback will be used?
Have they been assured that the feedback is confidential?

#3: Delivery

Proper delivery of 360 feedback is absolutely essential. Employees should receive feedback on their strengths as well as their weaknesses, and any feedback on weaknesses should be constructive. Some organizations hire trained professionals to deliver the feedback and coach employees.

#4: Action

The point of 360 feedback is not the data; the point is what you do with the data. One of the factors linked to the failure of 360 programs is tying the feedback to merit pay or promotions. Accordingly, many organizations only use 360 feedback exclusively for employee development.

Simply receiving the feedback, however, is not enough to motivate most employees, as research shows. Instead, coaches or managers should create an action plan with specific, measurable goals for the employee’s development. The action plan is the link between the feedback and the desired results.

#5: Follow-Up

No action plan can succeed without follow-up. Follow-up is the key to a successful 360 evaluation program. 360 programs cannot be used to achieve sustainable change unless you follow up on the action plans.

Follow-up includes things like:

Ongoing coaching
Reviewing progress at particular dates

Follow-up ensures the sustainability of changes made in response to 360 feedback, but it also ensures that future 360 programs will be successful. If you do not follow up with employees after their 360 evaluations, they are unlikely to believe that the organization is committed to change. Accordingly, they are unlikely to take the process seriously the next time.

Assess Your Sales Team With 360 Feedback To Increased Sales

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Tue, 24 Jun 2014 04:00:00 GMT

With any sales team, it’s necessary to employ some means to effectively assess your team’s productivity, and 360 degree sales team evaluation is one of the top systems for the job. Following is a brief run-down of what 360 sales team evaluation is and how it increases your sales.

What is 360 sales team evaluation?

The 360 degree feedback survey approach collects confidential, relatively-anonymous data about a single member of the team from a number of people, including:

Managers
Teammates
Clients or customers

The data ranges over a number of competencies in the workplace, and requires these individuals to rate the employee’s performance in each area. There is oftentimes an additional area for written comments. The individual being assessed is also required to fill out the assessment for themselves.

The 360 degree feedback assessment measures such things as:

Positive and negative behaviors
Competency in various required tasks
How teammates and customers perceive him or her
Crucial skills such as planning, active listening, and setting and meeting goals
Subjective areas such as teamwork, leadership ability, and general character

How will 360 sales team evaluation improve your team’s productivity?

There are a wide variety of benefits that 360 degree feedback can lend your sales team.

It allows peers to bring up issues without risk of strife. Oftentimes, the more problematic an individual is, the more uncomfortable his or her peers are with giving feedback which can be traced back to the source. This evaluation method hinges on anonymous feedback, which allows individuals to give their honest assessment of where each sales team member needs work. The more issues are aired and worked through, the more effective the team is overall.
It helps each member of your team recognize and understand their strengths and weaknesses. One person’s opinion may not be enough, but when the majority of responses in a 360 degree evaluation state, for example, that someone is uncooperative in team-based assignments, it’s much more likely to shock them into some sense of reason. An effective sales team is one in which everyone’s working to fix the areas in which they struggle.
It gives the team leaders and other superiors a more objective picture of where everyone’s strengths and weaknesses lie. To be able to make sure the best person for the job is assigned to each task, team leaders and other such superiors need a well-rounded means of assessing the Big Picture of each member of the team.The 360 sales team evaluation technique offers them just that.
It improves customer service. Giving the customers the ability to give feedback to the employee and know that feedback is read and acted upon makes the customer feel like their feelings and concerns truly matter. That customer will then be more liable to come back later on for continued business.

All in all, the 360 sales team evaluation will improve cooperation within your sales team and also improve customer relations, drastically boosting a sales team’s productivity overall.

See our Overview of our 360 Performance Feedback Review Templates from our Software tool.

How Do Employees Fill in 360 Evaluations. And What To Do About It

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Mon, 23 Jun 2014 04:00:00 GMT

Every HR professional understands the benefits of using 360 degree feedback to gather data that can improve organizational performance. Most also understand the challenge of this method: getting employees to participate. Understanding how employees fill in 360 evaluations is the first step in figuring out what to do about it.

There are two challenges involving employees when you’re trying to implement a survey. The first is getting employees to complete the survey at all. The second is making sure that the information that is gathered is as valuable as possible. These issues have to do with survey implementation and survey design. If both are done correctly, not only will you have more data, but it will be of a higher quality.

Build Awareness

The first step is building awareness about the survey within the organization. Get the support of senior management so that the enthusiasm from the top will be communicated throughout the organization. This support should be communicated in multiple ways. The methods can include:

Email
Flyers
Announcements in meetings
A mention in the company’s newsletter

It is equally vital to get the support of managers who will act as direct points of contact for employees. Involve managers by letting them know what their role will be, such as that they will receive the results for their team and will be expected to develop an action plan. Managers who feel involved in the process will be more likely to motivate their teams to complete the surveys.

Show Value

Receiving the message from senior management and immediate supervisors that completion of the evaluations is important will not motivate employees by itself. Employees also have to understand the value of this process for them. Clearly communicating the objectives of the process – what the evaluations are about, and what they are not about – is essential for employee buy-in.

Understandably, employees are not always eager to participate in an evaluation process. They may, for example, think that the results will harm them. Employees must be made to understand that 360 feedback is not about compensation but about their own development. Most employees appreciate efforts made by their workplaces to engage them and offer them opportunities for growth. When promoting the evaluations, keep the focus on what they can do for the employees.

Emphasize Confidentiality

Another top concern for employees when they give feedback via surveys is confidentiality. It is unfortunate that so many employees feel that they cannot give honest feedback in the workplace without the risk of penalty, but it’s a fact. Therefore, confidentiality of the survey responses must be kept front and centre in the promotion of the evaluation process.

Be prepared to answer specific questions about how that confidentiality will be maintained. For example, comments and answers to open-ended questions can be summarized so that the author’s identity is protected. Alternatively, if written answers will be reported verbatim, employees should be advised to avoid including references that will identify them.

Ask the Right Questions

Now that the employees are eager to participate, what remains is to gather the most useful data possible. This is a matter of survey design.

A few general rules about 360 survey questions:

They should not be confusing
They should be about behaviours, not the subject’s personality
They should be about behaviours that are specific, observable and trainable

Ways to avoid confusing questions include keeping the language simple and positive and only asking about one behaviour at a time.

To ensure that your survey will capture the information you need, use a vendor that provides various options.

Why Do HR People Love Their Jobs? Let’s Find Out!

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Thu, 12 Jun 2014 04:00:00 GMT

HR people always ask their employees how satisfied they are with their jobs, how happy they are at work and what they require to be more productive, efficient and cheerful.

But does anybody ask HR people how THEY feel?

WE DO!

We did a little bit of research on our own and found out the following:

“THERE IS VERY LITTLE INFORMATION ABOUT HR PEOPLE”

because most of the time the workplace research is done BY HR PEOPLE! They are the ones crafting employee satisfaction surveys, collecting data and putting together reports and presentations. They are responsible for identifying which team members will work well together, which employees are potential leaders and they need to make absolutely sure that the workplace is safe, comfortable and allows people to work effectively. They are like a photographer who is responsible for all the beautiful photographs, but is never in the pictures. We are about to change that!

Today we are on a mission to find out what makes an HR job awesome, exciting and truly the GRAPEst job ever!

What makes YOU want to come to work every day?

Is it your boss?

Your team?

Maybe your desk and cosy chair?

Do people who come in for interviews make you smile?

Do you travel to exotic locations as a part of your job?

Or maybe you organize amazing corporate events?

To participate, just take a picture of your favorite thing about work and submit it on the contest page.

Alternatively, use #GRAPEstWorkplace hashtag to submit your picture through Twitter and Instagram.

Why not also check out the 360 feedback tool while you’re at it?

As a bonus, we are giving away a Kindle Fire HDX along with 20 1-year licenses to our 360 feedback software to one randomly selected winner! If you’ve never evaluated your staff’s performance with 360 surveys, this might be a great start! And if you decide it’s not for you, there is absolutely no obligation to continue using it afterwards!

See our Overview of our 360 Performance Feedback Review Templates from our Software tool.

3 Situations You Wouldn’t Perform 360 Surveys In… But You Really Should

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Tue, 10 Jun 2014 04:00:00 GMT

Everyone knows about the advantages of 360 feedback over traditional, staid performance reviews. The 360 process gleans insights from sources ignored by traditional employee evaluations. Those types of evaluations only get a manager’s perspective. 360 degree feedback uses the perspectives of co-workers and direct reports as well. The result is a more complete picture of the employee.

360 evaluations are associated with thinking outside the box. However, that doesn’t mean that businesses always make use of their full potential. Here are three workplace situations where 360 surveys should be used – but often aren’t.

#1: When your company is unprofitable and you cannot offer salary increases

Ideally, 360 degree feedback surveys should never be used to determine compensation. 360 performance evaluations should be used for the following purposes:

Employee development
Employee engagement
Employee motivation

It is important for employees to learn to separate their individual development from compensation. Top performers should be rewarded whenever possible. But every employee should be committed to their improvement. 360 feed back surveys should be seen by all employees as an opportunity to change, grow and improve. The workplace can offer more than one kind of enrichment.

The truth is that if an organization is going through difficult times, it is more vital than ever to give feedback to employees. Many employers feel an obligation to let employees knows whether they are meeting expectations. If employees are not given regular performance evaluations, they may come to feel that:

Their performance doesn’t matter
What is expected of them is unclear
No one will help them to improve

It’s easy to see how the workplace culture will start to suffer.

There are also more pragmatic reasons to gather data on employee performance. Such data is used to make informed decisions about termination as well as about salary increases.

#2: When you’re deciding whether to hire an intern as a permanent employee

Nowadays internships are not just about allowing the intern to gain professional working experience. More and more, the trend is for internship recruiting to replace entry-level recruiting. Forbes Magazine reports, “69% of companies with 100 or more employees offered full-time jobs to their interns in 2012, according to a[n] [Internships.com] survey.”

The trend toward internship-pool hiring is growing. In a competitive job market, companies need better ways to evaluate candidates. What better way to ascertain that an intern is a good fit for the workplace culture than by using a 360 evaluation? 360 surveys reveal aspects of an employee’s performance that traditional performance evaluations miss. An example is the candidate’s mindfulness of her impact on her co-workers. These additional factors can make all the difference when other factors are equal.

Furthermore, before you hire an intern full time it’s probably a good idea to give them a sense of what they’re doing right and wrong. If you give them a sense of how the people who work with them view them, all the better. Their 360 feedback will help them begin their tenure as a permanent employee at your organization on the right foot.

#3: When an employee is leaving the company

According to The Conference Board of Canada, the voluntary turnover rate in Canadian organizations continued to creep upwards in 2012-2013. The cost of turnover is well known. Yet not enough companies recognize the value of performing exit surveys. Exit surveys contribute toward improving recruitment and retention practices. You will never have a better opportunity to get honest feedback from an employee. The exit survey will allow you to identify problems with workplace culture. You can then develop an action plan for lowering turnover at your organization.

6 Tips To Encourage Your Employees to Use the 360 Degree Tool

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Mon, 09 Jun 2014 04:00:00 GMT

Who wants to fill out a survey? Anyone? Anyone? …

You will find most employees are apprehensive about confidentiality of their responses. Others look at them as pointless tools that only waste time. The challenge, therefore, is to engage employees and make them see the value that a survey can provide.

Here are some tips for you to encourage your employees to use the 360 degree tool.

1. Explain the System First

A 360 feedback tool is indeed a great tool, not just for your company but also for the employees. But to make the most of it, you need to first explain what it is and how it can benefit them. So instead of shooting an email with the survey link, take the time to have a chat with your employees.

Tip: Explain why you have introduced the new system and how it will help them.

2. Address Concerns

It is actually good when employees ask questions and have doubts in their minds about a new system. It just proves that they are paying attention to what you are saying. So encourage them to ask you questions about the system and how it works.

Tip: You should focus on discussing the confidentiality.

3. Follow Up

The idea is to take actions according to the findings of the survey. For example, if you find the need for development training for an employee, follow up on possible courses that can help.

Tip: Hire a feedback coach who is familiar with typical reactions to 360 feedback and can discuss necessary development needed.

4. Keep it Short and Simple

Nothing puts off your employees like a long, never-ending survey questionnaire. To make matters worse, many organizations include irrelevant or confusing questions. If you don’t want your participants to close the survey window as soon as it opens, take a minute and think. Are the questions really relevant? What will your employees think when they read them?

Tip: You should also keep your questionnaire short and specific to your employees’ needs. Limit the number of questions to 10 and include only those that matter.

5. Share Constructive Feedback

If you don’t want to turn the 360 degree tool into a system that demoralizes your workforce, focus on how you are going to share feedback.

Tip: You should prepare well. The discussion should be balanced and you should treat the findings as an opportunity to boost their morale.

6. Make Opinions Count

Statistics are never useful unless you know how to use them for improvement. Moreover it is frustrating for your employees when they know that their voices are not going to be heard. You should, therefore, focus on ensuring that their opinions are taken into account.

For example if you find that an employee is keen on taking up a new job responsibility, you can encourage a job shadowing role.

Tip : If you want them to use a 360 degree tool to tell you what they want, you have to think like them. What will be more valuable to them? What are they expecting from the initiative? These are all important questions that should matter to you. So before asking them to participate in the survey, make sure you have done your homework.

How Can 360 Feedback Be Used as an Employee Retention Tool

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Fri, 06 Jun 2014 04:00:00 GMT

According to The Conference Board of Canada , the voluntary turnover rate for Canadian organizations has been creeping upward in recent years. In 2012-2013, it was 7.3 percent. The overall rate does not give an accurate picture of the effect of turnover on particular sectors, however. The voluntary turnover rate in the retail industry in 2012-2013, for example, was a whopping 20.6 percent.

Employee turnover is a challenge that every company must address. It results in costs associated with:

Recruiting
Interviewing
Lowered productivity

In order for your company to make the best use of 360 degree feedback, you should understand the connection between 360 feedback and three vital elements of employee retention:

Engagement
Development
Feedback culture

Engagement

You have probably heard that employees hate performance evaluations. What this really means, of course, is that employees, understandably, hate negative feedback. What you may not have heard is that employees hate being ignored even more than they hate negative feedback. This was the result found by a 2009 Gallup study . According to this study, employees who felt that they received mainly negative feedback from their managers had the following relationship to engagement at work:

45% were engaged
33% were disengaged
22% were actively disengaged

In contrast, only 2% of employees who were ignored by their managers were engaged at work. Ignored employees were also almost twice as likely to be actively disengaged as employees who received negative feedback. The results couldn’t be clearer: employees need feedback to feel engaged at work.

Employees want to feel that what they do at the workplace makes a difference to the organization. If the workplace culture is one in which no one seems to care about the quality of your work, engagement and morale will suffer. Feedback also provides employees with the guidance and expectations that they need to do their job. An employee who does not get regular feedback may feel that it is impossible for him or her to do a good job. Since most people derive satisfaction from the quality of their work, not receiving the support they need to succeed at their job is frustrating.

Of course, this doesn’t mean that you should give negative feedback to employees. The highest levels of engagement occurred with employees who felt that managers focused on their strengths rather their weaknesses. Moreover, their chances of being actively disengaged were only one in a hundred. Obviously, constructive feedback is the way to go. This is a question of how 360 feed back is presented to employees, which is crucial to the success of a 360 program. But the study shows that feedback is essential for engagement. Engagement, in turn, is an important factor in employee retention.

Development

The main purpose of 360 evaluations is for talent development. That means that once you have used the surveys to gather data, the data should be used to create an action plan for developing the employee at work. Managers must then follow up in order to make sure that the plan is working. Creating sustainable change takes continuous effort.

Employees who feel that their workplace is committed to their growth and success are more likely to stay with the company. Wouldn’t you be?

Feedback Culture

There is nothing that will help more with employee retention than building a sense of trust, and no better way to build trust than by encouraging open, honest communication from staff constantly. 360 feedback can play a big role in creating a feedback culture. However, you will get the best results from 360 feedback if employees are already used to feedback and feel that they can be honest.

See our Overview of our 360 Degree Employee Evaluation Software tool.

10 FAQs from Consultants About 360 Evaluations Answered

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Tue, 03 Jun 2014 04:00:00 GMT

What exactly is a 360 evaluation and how is it different from other performance evaluation methods?

When you think of a performance evaluation, you probably think of a manager giving feedback to employees. This top-down method doesn’t necessarily give a rounded picture of the employee on the job. 360 evaluations include feedback from multiple sources: not only managers but direct reports, peers and, in some cases, external stakeholders.

What is the purpose of 360 evaluations?

360 evaluations have multiple uses for companies, including:

Individual development
Executive development
Career development
Coaching
Training
Succession planning
Team building
Performance appraisal

The bottom line is talent development. The purpose of collecting data from 360 degree feedback is to identify employees’ strengths and weaknesses in order to develop their skills and competencies. 360 evaluations help companies discover which employees are struggling, and which are already top performers. Companies can then develop an action plan based on the results. Struggling employees will need more coaching and training. The development of top performers should also be a priority for any organization.

In the end, both the employees and the company benefit from properly conducted 360 evaluations.

So, what types of companies would most likely benefit from 360 feedback?

Although 360 programs are scalable in terms of company size, the truth is that they’re not best-suited to a mom-and-pop business that only employs around three people. A company with more than five to seven employees will benefit from 360 feedback, which also accommodates the needs of businesses of all kinds. 360 programs are equally suitable for small businesses and large corporations.

What can HR consultants do to ensure that 360 degree feedback is implemented correctly?

Critical Success Factors for proper implementation of a 360 program include:

Development planning and follow-up. The evaluation should not be performed on its own. Instead, consultants must also perform development planning and follow-up activities.
Management buy-in . Make sure that the manager of the person being evaluated understands and supports the process.

You should also:

Start at the top. 360 degree evaluations work even better if the process starts with senior management and cascades down. By going first, executives serve as role models.
Make the use of 360 surveys an ongoing practice. Sustainable change requires continuous feedback. Studies show that the more often the 360 process is performed, the greater the improvement in scores.

Finally, you will need to:

Choose the participants carefully and manage the feedback process closely;
Train all involved in advance;
Ensure that managers meet with the feedback recipient to discuss the results;
Ensure that the results are used for feedback and development, not decisions about compensation and promotion.

Why is 360 feedback superior to other forms of evaluations?

360 feedback eliminates the bias inherent in single-source evaluation methods. Feedback from multiple sources gives a more complete picture of the employee at work and helps employees understand their impact on the people in their work circle. Since the feedback is anonymous, the process also encourages honesty.

We regularly run webinars for HR consultants showing Grapevine Evaluations Software and explaining the benefits of 360 degree evaluations. Please sign up for the webinar for consultants to get more specific questions answered, such as:

How can I offer custom 360 feedback solutions to multiple clients?
What functions of the evaluation tool can help me be more efficient with 360 evaluations?
What kind of data does Grapevine Evaluations software allow me to work with?
How can the tool help me appear more professional to my clients?
How can 360 degree evaluations improve my compensation?

BONUS: There is a special treat at the end for those of you who watch the webinar. Grapevine Evaluations will be revealing an offer specially tailored for consultants that is guaranteed to lift some financial pressure off your shoulders!

Presenting 360 Survey Results Back to Your Employees

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Mon, 28 Apr 2014 04:00:00 GMT

Your company’s 360 performance review’s success hinges on how you present survey results back to employees.

The American Psychological Association reported evaluations are wasted if employees are simply handed their results. There is much more work to be done to get the most out of 360 performance reviews.

The 360 degree method gives a broader, more accurate picture of the employee’s performance. In traditional performance reviews, feedback comes from only one source: a supervisor. 360 surveys, on the other hand, use multiple sources. Supervisors, subordinates, peers and customers can all be among the feedback givers.

The purpose of performance evaluations is to improve organizational performance by improving employee performance. If you are going to invest in a performance evaluation system, it only makes sense to do it right. Here are some suggestions for presenting 360 survey results , the right way.

Minimize Emotion

Whenever you deliver feedback to an employee on their performance, emotions are apt to run high. Sometimes there may even be tears or anger. It’s human nature: feedback makes people defensive. For that reason, feedback givers have to be cautious and sensitive. If the feedback is delivered in the wrong way, the consequences will go beyond discomfort. The subject of the review will not be receptive to the feedback and will not improve. The purpose of the performance evaluation will be defeated.

There is no magical method that will eliminate the emotion. There are definitely ways to reduce it, however. 360 feedback is not just coming from a single source and only from the top down. This method eliminates one reason for employee defensiveness. But receiving feedback from multiple sources is also challenging. The feedback recipient may feel overwhelmed by all of the information coming at them.

A few things you can do to reduce the sting of criticism:

Be constructive
Focus on strengths
Focus on action/the future
Create a feedback culture at the workplace

Creating a feedback culture is something you do all year round. It is something you have established prior to the particular 360 performance evaluation . It means that employee will not be surprised by the survey results because they have been receiving feedback all along.

Focusing on action and the future helps employees remember the goal of the feedback. In other words, the goal is not to make them feel bad, but to help them improve. Creating a development plan based on the survey results is necessary. Employees cannot improve without it. But it can also reduce emotion during the presentation of the survey results. The employee will not feel like a passive recipient of criticism. Instead, they will feel like a participant in their development.

Given the emotional nature of performance appraisals, managers should be trained in how to give feedback. Some companies even hire an outside expert to help employees interpret the results and coach them. Especially if it’s the first time your organization has used the 360 degree method and no one internally is familiar with it.

However you choose to do it, remember that emotions are part of any performance evaluation process. Employees will need support in order to make the process successful.

Keep it Actionable

One of the ways to keep criticism constructive is to keep it actionable. Focusing on action, or what can be done, keeps employees from feeling passive when they are receiving feedback. Reducing employees’ feelings of passivity has many positive results. Employees who feel that something can be done about the feedback will feel:

In control of their performance
Ownership of their performance
Engaged in the evaluation process
Motivated to improve

Actionable feedback keeps the focus on employees’ behaviours, not on who they are as people. Behaviours can be changed with coaching and training. If employees feel that they are being criticized as people, they will take the feedback more personally. They may also feel that there is nothing they can do to change. Making employees feel hopeless and helpless is obviously not what you want.

Employees must feel in control of their performance and hopeful about their ability to improve. Keep the emphasis on behaviours, not the person. Focus on creating an action plan for improvement.

Make It a Conversation

Another way to reduce employees’ sense of passivity and increase their engagement in the process is to make the feedback session into a conversation. In other words, use the performance evaluation as an opportunity to discuss, not just deliver, the results. Involve employees in their own development by soliciting suggestions from them as to how they can improve.

There’s another advantage to a conversational performance review. It helps with participation and motivation. It also helps with something even more basic and just as essential: communication. If you have a discussion about the employee’s 360 survey results , you can clarify the meaning of the data.

Going Forward

When presenting 360 survey results back to employees, the focus shouldn’t be on the past. This is when the behaviours that need to be coached occurred. The focus should be on the future, or the goal towards which you and the employee want to move together. This is where the action plan or development plan comes in.

When creating development plans:

Make the goals specific and actionable
Let employees know about training, coaching and mentoring resources available to them
Set dates

Setting dates keeps employees moving forward. It gives them a time frame within which specific goals should be accomplished. They also assure employees that you will be following up.

Presenting the results of a 360 performance evaluation does not have to be a negative experience for employees. Performance evaluations are a tool to be used for employee development.

How To Get Honest Feedback From Employees – Read Between The Lines

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Sat, 19 Apr 2014 04:00:00 GMT

It’s not always fun being the boss, and not just because you have more responsibility.

Not just because your employees thought it was hilarious to give you that World’s Best Boss mug from The Office, either. Sometimes it may seem like it’s hard to get your employees to do the simplest things – like being honest with you.

Yet employers need honest feedback for all kinds of reasons. Maybe you’re doing a 360 review and you need employees to honestly evaluate their co-worker. Maybe you’re the subject of the review. Maybe you’ve initiated an employee engagement survey, but no one wants to participate. Or you may just want some feedback on an idea or a new initiative.

The honest opinions of your employees are a valuable resource. Employees can give you feedback on what they need to do their jobs, as the people who do them every day. They can give you more perspectives on a co-worker or supervisor.

They can tell you what they like and dislike about the company culture and work environment. Which, if you act on, can help with retention. They are sources of insight and creativity, suggestions and ideas. In order to avail yourself of this resource, you have to learn how to encourage employee honesty. And maybe do some reading between the lines.

Cast A Wide Net

Just because people are talking to you doesn’t mean they’re being honest. If the employee is afraid of offending you or someone else in a senior position, they may still withhold vital information.

They may also pretend that everything is fine even though morale is low. This is a natural reaction to their fear of consequences for speaking out. Employees know that it’s hard to receive criticism, and they know that you have power over them. But if you don’t have an accurate picture of morale, your company could pay the price of turnover.

As HR leader Josh Bernin wrote, “Many studies show that the total cost of losing an employee can range from tens of thousands of dollars to 1.5-2X annual salary.”

This is where reading between the lines becomes important. One way to determine if there are issues you need to work on is to cast a wide net. Amy Gallo suggests that you “triangulate between several points of feedback,” for instance by asking the same question of several people.

Another way to cast a wide net is by using 360 surveys as a feedback tool. 360 surveys allow you to get a complete picture of the subject’s performance. They collect feedback from peers, supervisors, and subordinates. This method avoids the possibility of bias in single-source appraisal by a supervisor. It can also be a way to compensate for the reluctance of individual employees to give honest feedback to their bosses. Keep an eye out for patterns.

Employees will be more likely to give their honest opinion when they don’t have to do it face-to-face. It’s always unpleasant to give criticism, especially when you’re already afraid to do so. But it’s also because surveys offer anonymity.

As part of rolling out any workplace survey, you should explain to employees how the survey works. Stress how their anonymity will be protected. Take heed of the Captain Hindsight meme: “If you wanted anonymous answers from your employees, you shouldn’t have asked for our names on the first page.”

Keep It Positive

Surveys alone won’t create a culture of honesty and trust. They must be used in combination with other methods and continual effort. But that doesn’t mean the effort can’t be enjoyable.

Another way to promote honesty among your employees is to establish positive associations with feedback. Make it positive and constructive and make it fun. If you are the boss, set the example. You encourage feedback, while showing employees that you appreciate feedback and will change your behaviours based on it. Use humour to make employees comfortable. Consider how language contributes to a positive or negative atmosphere. For example, Kit Hickey calls it “feed-forward” instead of feedback “to reiterate the fact that it’s about improving, not about past mistakes.”

Make It Part of the Culture

The only way to create a feedback culture is to make sure that feedback is happening all the time. That means during or after meetings or through regular one-on-one or group meetings for that purpose. Feedback shouldn’t wait for scheduled times. But it’s important to have those scheduled times to ensure that it happens.

Consider all the different ways of collecting feedback and their advantages and disadvantages. Naturally it’s important to meet one-on-one with your team members and be able to communicate openly in groups. It can also be important to allow employees the chance to give feedback that’s anonymous or at least not face-to-face. It may be necessary to keep things low risk at the start. Once employees understand that feedback is truly desired, they will become bolder.

Don’t Just Ask. Do

No matter how much effort you spend creating a positive experience, you can’t create a culture unless the feedback has results. Even if employees aren’t worried that their honesty will be unwelcome, they won’t care to give feedback if it has no effect.

Show them that you’re listening. One way to do this is to lead by example and share the criticism you receive. Rachel Emma Silverman and Leslie Kwoh tell the story of the social-media software company Hearsay Social Inc. They made feedback public, yet anonymous. This was so their employees could hold them accountable for improving.

Likewise, if you’re using surveys to gather feedback, make sure to act on the results. In the case of employee evaluations, use the results to create a development plan for the employee. In the case of employee engagement surveys, it is equally important to take action. As Kate Jennings , cautions, “Our recent research tells us that running a survey without visible follow-through will actually reduce engagement levels in your organisation.” Remember that gathering feedback is not an end in itself. Rather, you’re collecting data so that you can make improvements where they’re needed. As it turns out, the best way to encourage employees to give feedback is to use it.

How To Improve Employee Survey Participation – Make It A 360

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Sat, 12 Apr 2014 04:00:00 GMT

When the HR team at an organization invests in employee surveys, it’s with the best intentions.

These surveys are designed to give employees a voice and use their ideas and insight to improve the workplace. Yet all too often employees are reluctant to participate, resulting in a waste of time, energy and money.

Why do employees hate surveys, and what can your company do to motivate them to participate? If they don’t like to participate in surveys there must be a good explanation for it.

Generally speaking, employees avoid surveys for two main reasons:

• They’re afraid that their responses are not confidential

• They don’t believe that their responses will make a difference

From these basic beliefs flow other reasons for employee reluctance, like the feeling of not having the time. If employees feel their company wants their feedback AND it will lead to concrete results, they’ll make time.

Some companies even use incentives to improve employee survey participation. However, besides costing money, incentives don’t address the deeper reasons for low survey participation. Getting the confidentiality message across is one thing. But there’s also the matter of employees not believing in the efficacy of the survey process. That may be the most fundamental problem of all, and it’s the most challenging to address.

Using 360 Surveys to Motivate

One way that companies can motivate employees to participate in surveys is to use 360 surveys for performance development. Traditional performance evaluations are conducted top-down, with a worker being evaluated by a supervisor. In the 360 evaluation process, on the other hand, multiple raters contribute to the subject’s evaluation. These may include supervisors, peers, subordinates and even customers.

Using 360 surveys for performance development sends a strong message to employees that you care about the fair appraisal. Companies that use 360 surveys aren’t only interested in the opinions of managers. They want to get a more comprehensive picture of an employee’s abilities. They also want to gain insights from their employees – not just managers – about how the people around them do their jobs.

The 360 performance evaluation method has more potential to make employees feel their opinions count. The survey process still has to be implemented correctly, however. If it’s not, the process will fall victim to the same problems that plague other types of employee surveys. There are also confusions and concerns specific to the 360 method.

To get the most out of the 360 feedback process , companies must address these concerns. They must prove to employees that their feedback makes a difference.

Allaying Concerns with the 360 Process

Making employees feel involved begins even before you roll out the survey. Explaining a survey is an important part of its implementation. This is especially true if you’re introducing a novel process. Karen Carney wrote that the 360 performance evaluation process should involve a “contract” with employees. Specifically, she suggests, “Call a meeting to explain the purpose of 360º feedback, how it will be used, and who will see the results.”

People need to know if the feedback will be used only for professional development or if it’s tied to compensation. If the latter, they will need to know exactly how the results factor into compensation.

The more transparency you show, the less anxious employees will be about the survey. The emphasis should not be punitive possibilities, but on their importance for employee development. To that end, what happens after the survey is as important as what happens before it, and both are as important as the survey itself.

360 performance evaluation surveys are tools, not ends in themselves. The purpose of gathering the feedback is to get information that can be used to create an employee development plan. Giving feedback to employees won’t accomplish their development by itself. As Russell Horwitz wrote, “While having a clear developmental goal is essential, it is not enough. The developmental goal must be turned into actionable steps that can be taken to move towards it.”

Taking Action

Employees will be motivated to take 360 surveys once they understand that the surveys are a step in the direction of action. The point of the process is the actions that the surveys lead to. Making employees understand this is not just a matter of explaining the purpose of the survey. It’s also a matter of taking action after the survey is completed.

Following through on that plan, with training, coaching and mentoring. If employees see that the feedback they’ve given is being acted on, they will have faith in the process the next time around. If they see management follow through with a development plan that leads to growth, they will have even greater faith.

On the other hand, if they receive feedback and never hear anything about it again, they’ll feel the survey was ineffective.

The problem was not the survey. The problem was not understanding the purpose of the survey. Companies benefit from 360 performance evaluations when they’re committed to taking action. Those benefits include employees who want to give feedback because they believe it will lead to results.

The Top Questions Not To Ask An Employee In A 360 Survey

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Thu, 10 Apr 2014 04:00:00 GMT

360 surveys can be powerful tools for employee evaluation. However, as with any kind of performance evaluation tool, 360 surveys can fail toget the desired results if they’re not used correctly. Research shows that asking the wrong questions in a 360-feedback survey can actually “demoralize workers.” It can also confuse them about the kinds of behaviours that are desired from them (Carson, 2006). That’s why it’s important to make sure that the survey questions clearly convey company values and goals.

In addition, the purpose of a 360 feed back program is to uncover information that will help the feedback recipient identify their areas of strength and weakness. Then you and the recipient can come up with a development plan for them.

Sometimes it’s easier to look at examples of what not to do. With that in mind, here are the top questions not to ask an employee in a 360 survey. Learn to dread these types of questions!

The Over-General

Imagine if a 360 survey asked the respondent to rate an employee, Claire, on the following attribute: “Embodies the company mission.” This seems to have the desirable form for a 360 survey question. It starts with an action verb. It’s phrased positively: embodying the company mission is a desired behaviour. So what’s the problem?

For one thing, “embodying” is an abstract concept. Have you ever seen anybody embody something? Well, yes, perhaps you have. But if you have, you’ve seen them do it in the form of specific behaviours. How does Claire embody the company mission? By delivering outstanding customer service? Then that’s the behaviour that you want the question to be about.

Of course just about any question can be broken down further into even more specific behaviours. “How does Claire deliver outstanding customer service?” You don’t have to take it too far, but it’s good to keep the following things in mind:

Is this behaviour something that can be witnessed?
If not, can it be broken down into more specific behaviours?

Another benefit of narrowing down the behaviour is that it will be less open to interpretation. Remember that the ultimate goal of a 360 survey is to collect data about the subject – not opinions. The more you concentrate on simple observable behaviours, the less room there is for confusion and misunderstanding.

The Untrainable

The behaviours the survey identifies must be trainable if the subject and company are to benefit from the process. The purpose of a 360 performance evaluation is to improve performance. If the areas of weakness it identifies aren’t subject to training, there was no point in identifying them.

Recipients may be frustrated if they are told that they’re performing poorly in certain areas but not what they can do to improve. They will then start to feel that they’re under attack. The last thing you want to do is make the feedback recipient feel like the point of the exercise is to criticize them. As Martha Duesterhoft wrote, coaching is “about a dialogue (asking), not a monologue (telling).” According to Duesterhoft, one of the characteristics of a good coaching question is that it’s focused on useful outcomes. Whether it’s a quick coaching session or a 360 review, remember to make it clear that the point of the activity is a result.

Say that Claire got a low rating on “Embodies the company mission.” Clearly, “embodying” is not a trainable behaviour. However, breaking down the trainable behaviours that go into “embodying the company mission” will be uncovered.

Things like:

Motivation
Problem solving
Accountability
Patience

These are all areas where employees can improve with coaching and practice. Because they are specific and narrow, they are not overwhelming. Now Claire understands what’s being asked of her and can participate in her development.

The Personal

The personal question makes it about subject’s personality rather than about their behaviour. That’s the reason it’s a good idea to use action verbs instead of linking verbs when creating 360 survey questions. It’s pretty easy to understand what an action verb does: it tells you what the subject of the sentence does. Linking verbs aren’t such a common concept. But the name gives it away: linking verbs link the subject to the information in the sentence.

Linking verbs describe states of being, not action. A very powerful linking verb when it comes to feedback is “is,” as in “Claire is a great employee.”

When giving feedback it’s important to avoid personalization as much as possible. That wouldn’t be the case if all feedback were positive all the time. But the purpose of employee evaluations is to identify areas that need improvement as well as areas of strength. That’s the tough part of giving and getting feedback.

It’s not just that it’s an unpleasant experience. If feedback is handled incorrectly, it will not achieve its purpose of improving performance and may even make things worse.

Usually if there’s a way to phrase something with a linking verb, there’s also a way to phrase it with an action verb. The psychological difference it makes should be clear even from a very simple example. “Claire is punctual” describes the way Claire is. If in a coaching session you let Claire know that she’s not very punctual, there’s not much either of them can do about that. However, if what Claire is doing is not coming to work on time, that’s a behaviour, and a behaviour can be changed. Now Claire and her coach have something to work with.

360 survey questions should not ask for opinions or guesses. But just because the feedback is not opinion, that doesn’t make it fact. It’s important to make people understand that the feedback is based on others’ perceptions. Just as employees must be able to separate behaviour from self, they must be able to separate how they appear from who they are.

If how they appear to others does not reflect how they see themselves, which is something they can work on with a manager. A behavioural change will produce a different perception.

The Best Practices For Employee Evaluations

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Sun, 06 Apr 2014 04:00:00 GMT

Talent is a company’s most important asset. And employee evaluations are an essential part of talent management.

Regardless of an employee’s performance, successful companies want their people to learn, grow and develop.

But employee evaluations aren’t just about the company. They aren’t about improving performance for the sake of compensation and promotions. The workplace should be a place where personal development is front and centre. If your company can make that claim, your employees will be happier people.

Feedback that only comes from only one source is only so helpful. That’s why 360 feedback is such an important evaluation tool. Feedback from multiple sources helps employees identify more blind spots. It can also help supervisors get a more rounded picture of the employee on the job and find out what they are like when they’re not around. After all, nobody can be everywhere at once.

As Eric Mosley wrote , when one manager writes the performance reviews, “This makes that one manager a potential single point of failure for the process.”

Still, 360 reviews are only as good as their implementation. That implementation starts with the design of the survey itself. Here are a few tips to help you make your 360 review a resounding success:

Know What You Want to Know

This may seem obvious, but it’s also crucial. Designing a 360 evaluation survey requires thought and research. In order to get feedback that’s useful for your company, you have to know what you want to find out. As Gwen Moran wrote , “It’s important to understand the skills and qualities you need in your top performers” when you’re coming up with questions to ask your peers. This means not only their hard skills, such as their areas of knowledge and expertise. It also means their soft skills or “people skills,” as well as character traits and skills that are common to top performers in many fields.

Once you’ve moved beyond the hard skills, determining the skills you need in a top performer calls for some creativity. Will you need someone who’s good at teamwork, at self-motivation, or both? Do they work in a fast-paced customer service environment? Do they have to be able to work under pressure and show patience? Do you want to identify leadership traits? What should the problem-solving skills of top performers look like? Think long and hard about the role and your business culture when designing questions.

Create Effective Questions

You can’t get useful answers if employees can’t understand the questions. Here’s an example of a good way to word a survey question, in this case asking respondents to rate an employee on punctuality:

“Comes to work on time.”

Here are the general rules used in choosing that wording, with an example of breaking the rule in parentheses beside it:

Ask about observable behaviours (NOT: “Thinks punctuality is important”)
Ask about one behaviour at a time (NOT: “Comes to work on time and starts working promptly”)
Use action verbs (NOT: “Is punctual”)
Use clear language (NOT: “Utilizes the principles of punctuality”)
Focus on the positive (NOT: “Comes to work late”)

The right wording asks about objective data: a person’s actions or behaviours. It uses clear and simple language and asks about one behaviour at a time to avoid confusion. Finally, it keeps the tone of the survey positive, describing desired behaviours. As Colleen Francis recently warned , “Negativity in the office can be a real business killer.” Francis gives the good advice that “eliminating negativity from your team starts at the top with you.” Don’t let your wording make your workers feel that performance evaluation is a negative process.

Open-Ended Questions and Comments

Consider including open-ended questions. Or allowing respondents to comment in addition to giving a rating. These kinds of answers give you a different kind of insight. No matter how well you do your research, you can’t be expected to cover everything. Long answers allow respondents to give input on what they think is important. They will feel valued for being asked for their ideas, and you can benefit from them. Remember, too, that a rating scale can only tell you so much. Evaluating employee performance is qualitative as well as quantitative.

Size Matters

Don’t overwhelm respondents with questions, or yourself with data. Concentrate on what’s important. It goes back to “Know what you want to know.” You will also get a better quality of answer if you give respondents time to think about the questions.

At the same time, keep in mind that the survey has to be thorough. You’re not going to find out everything that you need to know, or get a complete picture of an employee, by asking a dozen questions. When doing your research, think about how many questions you need to ask in order to cover each area of employee competency.

Use a Template

If you don’t know where to begin, start with a template. Choose a 360 employee evaluation with the flexibility to customize questions and other aspects of the survey. This relieves you of the burden of starting from scratch.

Consult the Experts

You may want your 360 survey to be as customized as possible but still feel unsure about how to design the best survey for your needs. In that case it’s time to talk to the experts. Arrange a consultation with your provider to take advantage of their knowledge and experience.

The Top HR Professionals On Twitter

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Wed, 02 Apr 2014 04:00:00 GMT

The top HR professionals on Twitter are a dynamic and inspiring group of experts, strategists, entrepreneurs and motivators. Some of them know a thing or two about feedback and overcoming adversity to attain your true potential from personal experience. Most of them are influential on the internet as bloggers as well as tweeters. All of them, however, are forward-thinking leaders in their profession who can help you with your full spectrum of human resources needs.

Let’s get to know 15 of the top HR professionals on Twitter, listed in order of their number of followers:

Jessica Merrell:

Located in the San Francisco Bay area, Jessica is the founder of Blogging4Jobs, an HR, Recruiting and Workplace blog that Forbes chose as one of their Top 75 Career Websites in 2012. “Sometimes red head or blonde” according to her Twitter bio, Jessica is leading the way in HR blogging either way.

Victoria Mavis:

Pennsylvania-based Victoria Mavis, aka The Queen of Coffee Conversations is the author of Building the Ultimate Network, an Amazon.com bestseller. Victoria is also a person with a disability and a speaker who is committed to inspiring others to reach their potential.

Laurie Ruettimann:

A writer and speaker on Human Resources, employment and technology, Laurie blogs about Life, Work, and Cats at LaurieRuettimann.com . Besides cats, Laurie is fond of running and describes herself as a cynic. In fact, her former blog was titled The Cynical Girl . She is based in Raleigh, NC.

Jennifer McClure:

Keynote Speaker, Strategic Adviser and Executive Coach, Jennifer is the Cincinnati-based President of Unbridled Talent, LLC. This awesome consulting and advisory firm helps clients in the areas of keynote speaking, leadership, executive communication skills and talent strategy. Besides HR, Jennifer is passionate about horses, as her Instagram attests.

Kris Dunn:

Based in Birmingham, Alabama, Kris is the Chief Human Resources Officer for Kinetix, a recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) firm for growth companies. He’s also the founder of the talent management blogs HR Capitalist and Fistful of Talent . Kris is a basketball enthusiast who started out as a college basketball coach at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

Dr. Nat Williams:

The CEO of HumanWorks, Nat is also the author of several business and self-help books and a motivational speaker. A product of the New York City foster home system, Nat went on to earn three masters degrees and a doctorate. His first business was a Pennsylvania agency offering support for individuals with developmental disabilities.

Trish McFarlane:

She co-founded the forward-looking conference HRevolution and has helped give a voice to HR professionals who are passionate about issues affecting women in the workplace by co-founding Women of HR . In addition, the St. Louis-based HR star co-hosts the HR Happy Hour Show, a podcast and web radio show.

Laura Stack:

She is a Keynote Speaker, trainer and author who has been a member of the National Speakers Association since 1990 and served as President in 2011-2012. Laura’s most recent productivity book is Execution IS the Strategy (2014). She also finds the time to write columns for Business Journal, Success,Training, Productive! and Time Management magazines.

Tim Sackett:

Based in Lansing, MI, Tim is the President at HRU Technical Resources and blogs at The Tim Sackett Project . Tim’s career has been split between recruiting and being an HR generalist, and his stated focus is on increasing the core talent base of organizations. Tim is available as a Keynote Speaker, Panel Moderator, trainer, motivator, or Dancing Monkey , according to his website. A man of many talents, including self-deprecating humour.

Maren Hogan:

CEO/Chief Marketing Brain of the full-service B2B Marketing Agency Red Branch Media, Maren is based in Omaha, NE and blogs at Marenated . Serving clients in the UK, Africa, China, Israel, Europe and North America, Maren counts Yoko Ono among her famous Twitter followers. How’s that for influence?

Charlie Judy:

Charlie Judy of Chicago, IL is the Chief Human Resources Officer at Baker Tilly Virchow Kraus, a full-service accounting and advisory firm. Charlie is passionate about bringing change to the current “over-engineered” norms of the HR profession by fostering debate over the advantages of a more customized and personalized approach. He blogs about his approach at HR Fishbowl .

Barry Deutsch:

A Los Angeles-based thought leader in hiring and peak performance management, Barry is one of the founding partners of IMPACT Hiring Solutions. Barry was named “IMPACT Speaker of the Year” in 2006 by Vistage International. This amazing organization provides over 1000 speakers on management and personal success topics to over 15 000 CEOs and Senior Executives every month. Barry’s award recognizes the Speaker/Expert with the greatest impact on the member companies of Vistage.

Robin Schooling:

A speaker, strategist, blogger and Society for Human Resources Management volunteer leader, Robin blogs at the HR Schoolhouse and is the Managing Director of Silver Zebras, LLC, which provides strategic advisory services in the areas of HR and Talent Management.

John Kenney:

Senior Consultant at SBI: Sales Benchmark Index, John is a Greater Boston Area HR professional who specializes in the interaction between Human Resources and Sales by authoring content for HR leaders who support Sales leaders. John writes about HR issues affecting sales on the SBI blog.

Emma Weare:

Emma Wear, or Emma King on LinkedIn, is Director of Talent Acquisition at Wet Seal, Inc. in Orange County, California Area. With 14 years of experience in managerial and directorship roles in which she has built and led teams of up to 40 members, Emma has received three Stevie Awards, including two Stevie Awards for Women.

Customer Service Questionnaires: Because Employees Are Your Customers

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Thu, 27 Mar 2014 04:00:00 GMT

The ability to keep customers happy separates successful companies from the unsuccessful ones. By employing a 360 feedback reporting tool within your company, odds are you will be more successful.

If you want to stay ahead, you have to maintain good relations with your customers. Regardless of who your customers are, you cannot take them for granted. You need to keep tabs on what they want and live up to their expectations. If you fail, they go to your competition and never come back again. You’d surely like to avoid such a situation and the only option available to you is to be on good terms with your customers.

All successful businesses have one thing in common. They listen to their customers. They take their feedback seriously and offer solutions they need. An effective tool that can help you achieve the same result is the customer service questionnaire. Designed to gain customer insights, customer service questionnaires help you reach your target audience. You can make them feel truly cared for.

In addition to bringing you closer to your customers, they help your employees in various ways. If you’re wondering how questionnaires relate to your employees, understand that your employees are also your customers. If you’re confused, consider the role of your resources. Your employees are at the heart of your business operations. They bring in the customers and help you achieve targets.

In other words, you need to keep them happy if you want your business to grow. Customer service questionnaires grow your business by boosting communication with your customers, internal (staff) as well as external (clients). Here are some ways in which a customer service questionnaire can help your business and staff.

Valuable Feedback from the Target Audience

A good company pays attention to its stakeholders. It listens to what they have to say about the product and service to facilitate improvement. A customer-centric questionnaire enables you to understand what works and what doesn’t. Based on the feedback, you can make changes, improve processes and focus on ways in which you can keep your customers happy.

Increased Customer Loyalty

Frequent communication with customers goes a long way in cementing relationships. When you interact more closely with your customers, they feel valued and cared for. They share their thoughts with you and count on you to take care of their needs and expectations. Getting clients to count on you can help you increase loyalty and achieve a competitive advantage.

Suggestions for Future Innovation

Getting stakeholders to fill out a customer service questionnaire helps you anticipate future demands. You can frame questions that will probe them to open up more and respond to deeper questions. Based on their responses, you can find a trend that might catch up later. You can leverage your knowledge to gain first mover advantage and respond to a latent need of your target audience.

Crisis Management Before Disaster Strikes

Businesses that fail to gauge the mood in the market end up losing customers. You should focus on identifying issues before they escalate and become unmanageable. With an extensive customer-centric questionnaire, you can find out problems affecting your customers. Based on the feedback you receive, you can fix problems and provide a better customer experience. Today’s companies are adopting a customer-focused approach to stay ahead of competition. The customer service questionnaire has emerged as a preferred tool to understand them.

See our Overview of our 360 Performance Review Templates from our Software.

Want Great Employees? Invest In Employee Leadership Development

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Thu, 27 Mar 2014 04:00:00 GMT

What is the real value of employee leadership development?

Quality of leadership has a significant impact on the pace and sustainability of an organization’s growth.

Absence of a good leader can make a huge difference. It hurts:

Employee loyalty
Respect amongst peers
Market perception
Development of a growth-friendly organizational culture

Investing in leadership development via 360 feed back results is better than hiring people who have shown leadership before. For starters, those who were good leaders in another company may not be as successful in your organization.

Secondly, implementing employee leadership programs will offer additional benefits like:

An organizational culture where success and growth involves something more than meeting targets.
Desire to work for something beyond monetary benefits.
Lower attrition due to better opportunities for development of skills and career growth.

Employee Leadership Development: What Does it Involve?

Leadership development involves something more than giving motivational pep talks at random intervals. There must be a sincere and real effort to identify potential leaders amongst employees. And this must be followed by an attempt to hone and improve their skill and abilities.

Create a Formal Structure

How are potential leaders identified? What are the minimum performance requirements? How will intangible aspects like soft skills and team work be assessed? Your organization must have a formal and structured employee leadership development program. Your employees should have clear and specific answers to questions like:

How do I qualify?
What does the program entail?
How long will it last
What benefits can I expect?

Lack of clarity may discourage employees from taking the process seriously. Office politics and employee discontent may become the norm if the leadership program is implemented poorly.

Use Mentorship for Permanent Benefits

Those who are mentored today will appreciate its benefits. They will be prepared to play a key role in future employee leadership development programs. Such a setup ensures your firm a continuous and steady supply of leaders.

Create New Challenges

While ordinary employees shy away from challenges, a leader is one who thrives under pressure. They recognize that every challenge represents a new opportunity for the firm to grow faster.

A leadership program where potential leaders are never forced to work outside their comfort zones is bound to fail. Asking an ace marketer to streamline your firm’s sluggish supply chain mechanism can contribute to growth and development.

It is important to adopt a flexible approach and allow potential leaders to fail. A leader who knows what it feels to fail can connect better with other employees and motivate them to work harder. A successful employee who is trained to condemn failure will never be a good leader.

Establish a Feedback Mechanism

Many firms make the mistake of presuming that leadership development is a one-way street. A robust feedback mechanism where employees can contribute their suggestions makes a huge difference.

Apart from improving communication between management and employees, it helps identify flaws before they cause damage.

Conclusion

Change is a dynamic process that may lead to unexpected consequences. A firm that is really serious about developing employee leaders should be prepared for change.

Adopting a straitjacketed approach and expecting potential leaders to just obey may not work. Instead, work with your next generation of leaders.

Is Your Company Satisfaction Survey Performing How You Thought It Would?

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Tue, 25 Mar 2014 04:00:00 GMT

There are numerous advantages of conducting a 360 degree feed back survey for a company . It acts as a measuring instrument and provides useful insight.

It provides an effective way for organizations to receive feedback from stakeholders. This may include customers, employees, creditors and suppliers. A survey lets you know the needs of the stakeholders, in addition to helping you know how to resolve problems. Satisfaction surveys contribute significantly to the survival of the organization.

The simplest way of knowing whether stakeholders are satisfied with your organization is to ask them.

Some of the tips to ensure a successful survey include:

Set Realistic Expectations

Expectations and goals for the survey will go a long way in improving the performance of the business. Your expectations and goals should be realistic, measurable and achievable. Know how and what to do to keep your customers satisfied.

This can make the difference between keeping your stakeholders and losing them. For example, design good marketing strategies that can help bring in new customers, while retaining existing ones.

It’s also important to create the ideal working environment. You do this by providing attractive salaries and allowing for employee growth and development.

Getting the Most From Your Surveys

When you ask the right questions, you will know what your stakeholders need. Fortunately, there are ways your company satisfaction survey can help you improve your company. For example, there are ways you can know whether or not your customers are satisfied with your company, products and/or services:

Talking with them face-to-face
Calling them on the phone
Mailing/ emailing them questionnaires
Asking them to participate in a customer satisfaction survey

How to Make the Most Out of a Survey

Begin by considering how you currently use the feedback and information from your surveys
Identify the positive feedback
Identify the negative feedback, noting the areas that need improvement
Ask the respondents for any additional information not included in the survey questionnaire
Use customer feedback as a marketing tool, and when benchmarking
Maximize the response rate by making it easy for the respondents to answer and participate in the survey

USE This Information

It is easy for your stakeholders to say yes, without the positive response translating into tangible results.

If you are not seeing the value of your company satisfaction survey right now, get fix that. Know what to ask the customers, know how often to conduct the surveys. Avoid upsetting stakeholders with too many surveys, and know what to do with the answers.

Can Satisfaction Survey Questions Improve Your ROI?

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Sun, 23 Mar 2014 04:00:00 GMT

Always pick your 360 degree satisfaction survey questions carefully.

Customer satisfaction surveys are extremely useful. Basically, they ask your customers questions about their experience with your company.

There are several ways to conduct a customer satisfaction survey, that include:

Face to face
Written forms
Surveys via the Internet on company websites
Surveys distributed by emails
Call customers by phone

Timeliness of Customer Satisfaction Surveys

Investors are obviously concerned with their return on investment. Customer satisfactions surveys should be conducted soon after their experience. This allows a customer to have their opinions and feelings at the forefront.

Taking too long to submit a survey can skew the results. Customers no longer recall particular characteristics and answer questions with a clouded memory.

Surveys can sometimes reveal that a business has hit the mark with a new item immediately following an analysis of multiple survey answers.

Surveys should also be repeated every few months. This will measure the success or decline in satisfaction of the initially promising item. The analysis from repeated surveys can easily lead to improving the return on investment.

Ask the Right Questions

The questions should be detailed enough to reveal why a customer is pleased (or not) with a particular product or service. The questions should cover all areas that concern the success of any company.

Some questions may include:

Were you satisfied with our product or service that you recently purchased?
What particular part of the product or service did you like, or not like the most?
How can we improve our product or service?
How satisfied are you with our company overall?
Will you purchase from us in the future?
Would you recommend our product or service to someone else?

Analysis of the Answers to Customer Satisfaction Surveys

The goal of a survey is to reveal what products or services are resulting in the greatest gains on return on investments. A great deal of analysis should take place following the completion of multiple surveys.

There are many areas of analysis to consider:

Various demographics or areas that a particular product or service is successful or unsuccessful
Age groups of survey takers in relation to customer satisfaction
Gender or ethnicity groups that are trending towards a certain product or service
The primary complaints or praises that a product or service receives in each survey

Customer satisfaction surveys are an absolute necessity to gauge a return on investment. They identify how to attract new customers, while maintaining a devoted and long-lasting clientele.

See our Overview of our 360 Performance Feedback Review Templates from our Software tool.

More is More: One Voice on Employee Evaluations isn’t Enough

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Thu, 30 Jan 2014 05:00:00 GMT

Having one person in charge of your future and your employee evaluations doesn’t seem fair does it? It’s not. The more people you can involve, the more accurate an evaluation will be.

This is why 360 degree reviews give you the proper feedback you are your boss are seeking. This means none of their strengths or weaknesses are missed. They’re evaluated by the supervisors who manage them and the teammates who work beside them.

“The best way to correct this is to involve a diverse group of people in the evaluation process to water down individual bias,” wrote Derek Thompson at www.theatlantic.com.

“One-on-one evaluations can feel personal. Groups critiquing groups isn’t just more constructive; but also, it’s a realistic way to evaluate systems and workflow, which are often as important as individual merit in larger organizations.”

The main problem with being evaluated by one person is the output is too weighed down by the previous working relationship between the reviewer and the reviewed.

Also, if someone gets a bad evaluation from one person (as opposed to a 360 review from a team of people), it’s very easy for the employee to feel personally attacked or lambasted by their reviewer. This leads to grudges and poisons morale.

If you have any questions about what 360 employee evaluations can do for your company, please contact us any time.

The Boss Hates You? 360 Reviews Mean You Still Get a Fair Shake

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Wed, 29 Jan 2014 05:00:00 GMT

The good thing about 360 reviews is you get feedback from multiple sources. Not just your boss. Which is good news if you’re boss doesn’t like you.

Experts agree that 360 reviews are a far better way to assess any employee, for that very reason.

“Giving performance review feedback with only a manager’s perspective is like trying to play football with only a quarterback,” said Ryan Smith, CEO of research company Qualtrics in a great article at hwww.businessinsider.com.

He added, “Multi-rater feedback helps managers get a well-rounded view of an employee, including strengths and innovations, that a manager might not know even exist.”

An employee’s hidden strengths is really key there. A frontline sales staff employee might have great people skills that aren’t quite coming across in their sales metrics just yet. Someone who works side-by-side can speak to their potential, but a manager who only sees numbers can only rate their sales figures.

The same can be said for hidden weaknesses. An employee can have great sales numbers that impress their higher-ups. However, his coworkers might point to inter-personal issues with their fellow team members.

If you have any questions about what 360 degree feedback reviews can do for your company, please contact us any time.

How to Speak Honestly During An Employee Evaluation

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Sat, 25 Jan 2014 05:00:00 GMT

People hate to be critiqued. That’s why a lot of people hate giving criticism. However, during employee evaluations time, that’s your job.

So how do we give them the honest feedback they need to hear—without any sugarcoating or glazing over their weakness?

Bill Howatt recently wrote in The Globe and Mail that you need to remain honest, while making sure the conversation is two-way.

“Speak honestly about the employee’s performance, core competency scores, and goals. It will be counterproductive if the employee worries about the review process and believes it is a lecture, not a conversation.”

He added, “Effective leaders understand their primary role in the review conversation is to be a coach. Their attitude will influence the quality of the employee’s experience.”

Help Your Employees in the Long Run

If you’re a good leader, employee evaluations may not be your favourite time of year, but it’s a time where you can do your team a lot of good. If you couple clear and constructive feedback with a follow up plan for each employee, you should see improvement across the board.

But, if you skim over employee evaluations, or don’t take them seriously, you may be dooming your employee to carry on with the same shortfalls they had before their review. This will hurt their career in the long run and hurt your team’s performance right now.

If you have any questions about what 360 evaluations can do for your company, please contact us any time.

Where Traditional Performance Appraisals Fail

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Thu, 23 Jan 2014 05:00:00 GMT

Old school performance appraisal is getting older by the day. As we’ve reported in the past, more companies are adopting 360 performance appraisal systems , after they lose confidence in the more traditional models.

Experts are also losing faith. Susan Heathfield has written a number of articles about the challenges HR faces these days. She feels that traditional performance appraisals succeed at the wrong things.

“Sure, they work for straining relationships and making people angry. They contribute to managers going through the motions when many employees want legitimate, helpful developmental feedback,” wrote Heathfield.

“And, performance appraisals make managers angry and upset when both HR and their reporting employees are harassing them for their performance appraisals because their pay raise depends on their completion.”

She added that embracing a 360 performance appraisal system can give you a more accurate assessment of any employee.

“Provide the opportunity for broader feedback. Use a 360 degree performance feedback system that incorporates feedback from the employee’s peers, customers, and people who may report to him.”

These systems can be implemented quickly and cost-effectively, resulting in less stress and animosity come review time.

If you have any questions about what a 360 performance appraisal system can do for your company, please don’t hesitate to contact us any time.

See our Overview of our 360 Degree Feedback tool.

You Have 360 Degree Feedback… Now What?

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Wed, 22 Jan 2014 05:00:00 GMT

You’ve got it, now what the heck do you do with it? How you use 360 degree feedback is just as important as gathering it. Managers need to use this data effectively, both in how they present the feedback and how they coach from that day forward. The first thing they need to do is frame impressions from feedback so it can be used to achieve measurable results.

“For example, a 360-degree review might say, ‘John is not very customer focused.’ That is an impression,” wrote Allen Moore in an article called How to Incorporate 360-Degree Reviews Into Coaching.

“The related behavior the coach should work on may be that, ‘John doesn’t prioritize actions based on customer input.’ When a coach helps shape behavior-based messages and then works with John to determine how to better prioritize actions, one typically sees real impact.”

The more you use feedback, the better you'll get

The important thing is that you’re actively trying to move forward using the feedback. Each year you use this system, the more you and your coaches will learn from it. You will also learn how to best implement the actual reviews, and how you use the finding.

If you have any questions about how 360 degree feedback can help your company, please contact us any time.

Why Employee Evaluations Can’t Be the Only Time Your Employees See You

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Thu, 16 Jan 2014 05:00:00 GMT

Has this ever happened in one of your 360 employee evaluations :

“We really value the work you’ve done this year, Dan”

“Stan.”

“Sorry?”

“Stan. You really value the work of Stan.”

You need to be a regular presence around your employees or the above disconnect will be the least of your problems. Being available and accessible is important. It’s also equally important to offer feedback (good and bad) all year long.

This ensures the opportunity to improve isn’t just a once-a-year-thing. It’s an every-day-thing.

Making regular feedback a part of your company culture is essential. First of all, it gives you the chance to catch a slight issue in any employee before it becomes a problem, or a regular habit.

Getting an employee to stop doing something wrong is easy if they’ve been doing it for 10 days. However, if they’ve been doing it for 10 months, they’re frustrated because nobody brought this to their attention sooner. This also makes you look distant and out of touch.

Regular feedback also gives you the chance to celebrate small victories. You can pat your team on the back for good contributions that would be lost in an annual review. This helps each employee feel appreciated, while raising that employee’s value in the eyes of their coworkers.

If you have any questions about how to conduct better employee evaluations, please don’t hesitate to contact us any time.

Netflix Scraps Performance Reviews in Favor of 360 Reviews

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Mon, 13 Jan 2014 05:00:00 GMT

It seems that Netflix is taking steps to shake up their company culture—including adopting 360 degree appraisals and scrapping their old performance appraisal system.

“Netflix ditched the formal performance reviews in favor of an informal 360-review system ,” reported Shelly Kramer .

“With a corporate culture that’s all about regular and honest communication, this ongoing review process is designed to keep people on track, identify problems and let you both (or all) know what needs to change.”

It’s great to see a mega company like Netflix taking an active role in improving their culture and embracing 360 reviews . This should give a voice to every level of their company. Or as Kramer put it, the systems means you “don’t just assume good performance is happening, you talk about it.”

Netflix is also doing a number of other interesting things. They’re famous for a philosophy of treating their staff “like adults” to foster a relationship built on trust and freedom. This includes an “honor system” in the place of a traditional vacation time system. Employees are trusted to take an appropriate amount of time off, at times that work for the whole team.

If you have any questions about what 360 reviews can do for your company, please contact us any time.

See our Overview of our 360 Degree Evaluation Software tool.

What Job Title Leads to the Most Misery?

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Sun, 05 Jan 2014 05:00:00 GMT

CareerBliss and www.seattlepi.com recently examined 24,000 employee evaluations across more than 250 types of positions to see which job title is linked to the least happy employees.

They developed what they call a “bliss score,” which rates an employee’s overall happiness on a scale of one to five. Some of the factors they weighed include work-life balance, relationship with coworkers, work environment and compensation.

Here are the top 20 least happy employees out there:

1. Analyst

Bliss score: 2.914

2. Dispatcher

Bliss score: 2.938

3. Program coordinator

Bliss score: 2.950

4. Pharmacy technician

Bliss score: 2.954

5. Teacher

Bliss score: 2.963

6. Senior buyer

Bliss score: 3.039

7. Clerk

Bliss score: 3.048

8. Assistant professor

Bliss score: 3.053

9. Operator

Bliss score: 3.074

10. Engineer

Bliss score: 3.099

11. QA specialist

Bliss score: 3.104

12. Customer service associate

Bliss score: 3.144

13. Legal assistant

Bliss score: 3.146

14. Registered nurse

Bliss score: 3.147

15. Security officer

Bliss score: 3.180

16. Driver

Bliss score: 3.206

17. Cashier

Bliss score: 3.226

18. Operations supervisor

Bliss score: 3.230

19. Associate

Bliss score: 3.248

20. Sales associate

Bliss score: 3.253

If you have any questions about what employee evaluations can do for your company, please contact us any time.

Employee Evaluations: Don’t Groan at Them. Own Them

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Fri, 27 Dec 2013 05:00:00 GMT

Very few organizations do 360 feedback evaluations the right way. Which is unfortunate and why most companies dread them.

However it’s important to remember that there IS a reason you do them, and there IS a benefit—if you own them.

You need to take employee evaluations seriously and make them a integral part of your office culture.

“If you’re going to conduct performance reviews—no, scratch that—if you’re going to invest in performance reviews, then it is only sensible to use the time and resources necessary to make them worthwhile,” wrote Holly Jones, in an article at www.hr.blr.com.

“Because performance reviews are just that—an investment.”

This is a great way to look at employee evaluations. Treat employee evaluations like any other investment: expect a return. And if you’re not seeing a return, take steps to fix it.

If you spend any time whatsoever on employee evaluations, you might as well do them the right way.

Consider 360 employee evaluations, if you’re not doing them now,. This gives you an entirely new perspective, by giving you the entire perspective.

If you have any questions about employee reviews, or what 360 employee reviews can do for your company, please contact us any time.

No Offence: Keep Employees From Getting Defensive During 360 Feedback

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Fri, 20 Dec 2013 05:00:00 GMT

Very few people enjoy getting feedback. It’s easy for anyone to go on the defensive. Especially if 360 employee feedback or any other type of employee review isn’t handled properly.

So how do we keep employees from getting defensive, or taking the feedback in a negative way?

Here are a few tips:

Don’t Give Feedback Once a Year

If I only saw you once a year and it was to tell me what I was doing wrong, I wouldn’t like you either. Make sure you’re a presence 12 months of the year. Give feedback, negative and positive, all year round.

Show Them How This Will Help

The term “opportunity for improvement” has sadly become a euphemistic buzzword in the workplace. That’s a shame because the feedback is, in fact, a chance to be better.

Luke Roney recently wrote, “Constructive criticism from your boss can be a gift in the way that a free gym membership can be a gift: Even if you didn’t want it, it can benefit you greatly.”

It’s ultimately up to the employee to decide what to do with the feedback. But try to show that following a few simple steps can make them an office superstar.

Keep it IMpersonal

Stress that this feedback doesn’t come from one person (or just you). 360 Employee Feedback gives you different perspectives, from multiple levels of an organization.

If you have any questions about what 360 employee feedback can do for your company, please don’t hesitate to contact us any time.

How a Bad Employee Evaluations System is Worse Than a Waste of Time

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Wed, 18 Dec 2013 05:00:00 GMT

Anything that wastes your time in business wastes your money. However, a bad or ineffective 360 employee review system can do much more harm than that.

Here are some of the side effects caused by a damaged system:

Poisoned Morale:

You first see a drop in morale leading up to employee evaluations, as people from all levels of the company will dread them. But, it can last for weeks after that.

Employees that feel they’ve been reviewed unfairly will complain out loud and digitally to other coworkers, who might relate or feel the same. This creates a toxic “Us vs. Them” atmosphere.

Employees Feeling Underpaid:

The only thing worse than an employee feeling undervalued is an employee feeling underpaid. These reviews are often tied to yearly raises, so if an employee doesn’t feel they’re getting fairly assessed by the system, they lose faith in the company.

High Turnover:

The two things we listed above will contribute to people leaving, or actively looking to leave, you. A bad work culture and the idea that they can do better elsewhere are the most popular reasons people quit.

Creates Bad Guys

We touched on the “Us vs. Them” culture earlier. A bad employee evaluation system can polarize your employees and turn HR and management into “The Bad Guys.” Whereas employees that are treated and reviewed fairly don’t feel that way.

If you have any questions about what 360 employee evaluations can do for your company, please don’t hesitate to contact us any time.

Yahoo! Performance Review System Under Fire

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Tue, 17 Dec 2013 05:00:00 GMT

We are sort of geeks when it comes to performance reviews. We’ve made it our business to become obsessed with them, including looking at how the biggest companies in the world review their employees.

Recently Yahoo! has been criticized for a controversial performance review system. Their Quarterly Performance Reviews have been maligned for not accurately evaluating an employee’s true worth and creating a lower class of employees that may not actually exist.

“Under the controversial ‘Quarterly Performance Review’ (QPR) system, Yahoo! managers are required to rank employees along a bell curve, meaning that half the workforce will be ranked as meeting expectations (or, in Yahoo’s terms, ‘Achieves,’) while at least 15 percent must be ranked below the average (either as “Occasionally Misses”or ‘Misses.’),” wrote Holly Jones in an article at www.hr.blr.com.

This is similar to Microsoft’s “stack-ranking,” system, which was recently abandoned. It was an example of another system that does a decent job of recognizing the highest achievers. However, it punishes everyone who works on the same team as an achiever.

These systems are also frustrating for managers. Imagine you’ve done an incredible job managing your team and worked hard to create a roster of superstars. Now imagine your company’s policy says you have to give at least 15% of your team a below average grade.

If you have any questions about performance reviews or what 360 performance appraisals can do for your company, please contact us any time.

See our Overview of our 360 Performance Feedback Review Templates from our Software tool.

360 Employee Feedback Ensures Office Politics Stay Out of Reviews

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Wed, 11 Dec 2013 05:00:00 GMT

Does your boss hate you? Is there an enemy afoot in management? 360 employee evaluation feedback reviews have your back and make sure that one loud voice isn’t the only voice heard during your performance appraisal.

Some people feel their boss hates them, or is even out to get them. Their not always wrong. In a perfect world, everyone would get along in the workplace and personal feelings for a coworker would never taint an opinion of them as an employee. Unfortunately, this is not the world we live in.

Heather Foley recently wrote a great blog

at www.callcentrehelper.com, in which she described how she used 360 employee feedback to make sure her standing wasn’t tainted by a bad boss.

“I also ensured that the final part of my appraisal was where we booked a date for the follow-up meeting. Furthermore, if 360 feedback isn’t currently part of your company’s performance management scheme, then suggest it is introduced,” wrote Foley.

“This is something that really helped me because it ensured that comments about me came from other colleagues, as well as customers and suppliers. In that way, my lousy boss wasn’t the sole contributor to my appraisal!”

If you have any questions about what 360 employee evaluation software feedback can do for your company, please contact us any time.

See our Overview of our 360 Assessment Software.

Will More Gratitude Lead to Better Employee Feedback

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Thu, 28 Nov 2013 05:00:00 GMT

Is a simple “Thank You” the key to better results from 360 employee feedback ? How much does gratitude from management factor into employee morale?

A recent survey conducted online by Harris Interactive (on behalf of Glassdoor) polled 2,044 workers. The results showed that 53 per cent of employees would stay at their company longer if they felt more appreciation from their boss.

Another 81 per cent of respondents said they’re motivated to work harder when their boss shows appreciation for their work.

“This survey shows that most employees just want to feel appreciated and valued,” said Allyson Willoughby, Glassdoor’s senior vice president of people and general counsel.

“They want to be involved in decision making processes, do interesting work and have a purpose. If employers keep this in mind, they’ll likely longer retain some of their most talented employees.”

The survey also revealed that 68 per cent of surveyed employees claimed that their boss shows them enough appreciation. Another 24 per cent said their boss shows greater appreciation to workers with more experience, while 23 per cent of respondents said their boss shows more appreciation to newer employees.

If you have any questions about what 360 employee feedback tools can do for your business, please contact us any time.

Grapevine Partners with Akira Wavelength

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Thu, 21 Nov 2013 05:00:00 GMT

Everyone at Grapevine is excited to announce a new partnership with Akira Wavelength, combining our employee evaluation software with their comprehensive and cost effective Workforce Management (WFM) solution

“We are a leading provider of survey/evaluation software and will continue to expand our offering to other areas by partnering with companies; that have great products such as Wavelength and that follow the same model of being cost effective and scalable for any size opportunity without falling short on features provided,” said Wesley Houston, Director, Operations of Grapevine.

Akira Systems Inc. provides IT solutions for many organizations including, Western University, London Health Sciences Center, Goodlife Fitness, ConnexOntario, and Chatham Kent Public Health Unit.

Their flagship product, Wavelength, extends beyond traditional HRIS, Scheduling, Time and Attendance systems by engaging the workforce through a workflow centric approach. Combining their offerings with our employee evaluation program creates a synergy that will make life easier for HR professionals, while offering their companies more value for their HR dollars.

“Partnering with Akira further shows our commitment to providing organizations of all sizes, HR applications that are easy to use, flexible and fully customizable to meet any needs,” added Houston.

If you have any questions about what this partnership means, or what our employee evaluation software can do for you, please contact us any time.

Using Past Employees’ Experiences to Build a Better Culture Today

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Tue, 12 Nov 2013 05:00:00 GMT

Learn from your mistakes. It’s good advice for any individual or company. Using the feedback from a 360 exit survey can help you do just that.

Simply put, you can use the feedback from someone who quits to make sure other people don’t quit. It sounds simple, but far too many companies fail to use the exit survey or exit interview as a tool that can really help company culture.

“It is conducted to understand the employee’s views about the work culture, work environment, his/ her colleagues and the company as a whole. Employees are questioned about their reasons for quitting and possible means through which the organisation could have retained them,” said Keyuri Singh, vice president, HR, Blue Star Infotech.

Your past employees will appreciate the chance to voice their opinion, or even “rant” a little bit, which can give you unfiltered feedback. The “hold nothing back” nature of many exit surveys can be more valuable than surveys from a current employee—today’s employees may be too shy (or fear retribution) to voice complaints.

We’ve said it before: It’s easier to make changes to keep your current employees, than it is to hire and train new ones. So if you have the chance to find out why people are leaving, take it.

If you have any questions about what exit survey software can do for your company, please contact us any time.

HR Managers Losing Faith in Traditional Employee Evaluations

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Wed, 30 Oct 2013 04:00:00 GMT

Learn from your mistakes. It’s good advice for any individual or company. Using the feedback from a 360 exit survey can help you do just that.

We’ve said it before: It’s easier to make changes to keep your current employees, than it is to hire and train new ones. So if you have the chance to find out why people are leaving, take it.

If you have any questions about what exit survey software can do for your company, please contact us any time.

5 Ways Managers Can Ruin Performance Reviews

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Thu, 24 Oct 2013 04:00:00 GMT

If you’re not getting good feedback from your employee reviews, the problem might not be on the employee side. 360 employee feedback can give you all the information you need.

But if you’re not using the info the right way, everyone’s time is wasted.

Here are 5 things to avoid.

1. Ask the wrong questions:

360 employee feedback comes with lots of options in template questions. There are lots of good ones to choose from, but they’re not ALL for you. Be sure to work with your managers and HR staff to choose the questions that work for you.

2. Ask the right questions too often:

Many questions ask the same thing. So don’t double up. Your employees can quickly pick up on repetitive questions, which can cause them to become bored or disinterested. This obviously hurts the answers.

3. Not enough focus on the good:

When presenting the 360 employee feedback findings to each employee, don’t forget to spend enough time talking about the good work they’re doing. Even if they need a lot of work too improve, employees that feel lambasted are less motivated to improve.

4. Truth-shifting:

You’re not doing anyone any favors by presenting anything but the unfiltered truth from these appraisals.

Making things seem better or worse than they are defeats the purpose of 360 employee feedback. So don’t gloss over the findings, on an individual basis or for your entire organization.

5. No follow-up:

This is probably the most important step. Giving your employees areas to improve is meaningless, unless you give them a clear plan of action, while gauging their progress along the way.

If you have any questions about how to use 360 employee feedback to improve your yearly reviews, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

Moving Forward: How to Ensure 360 Employee Evaluations Help

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Sun, 29 Sep 2013 04:00:00 GMT

Like any tool, the feedback and findings from 360 employee evaluation software will only help your company if they’re used correctly.

So how do we use the information we collect?

Kenneth Nowack, PhD and Sandra Mashihi, PhD, developed a model called “ Enlighten, Encourage, Enable ,

” as a way to implement behavior change in the workplace.

Once you have the proper feedback from a 360 degree review or assessment, the first step features working with the employee to become aware of how he or she is perceived and how to go about the behavior change necessary to improve.

Next, help the employee work towards a change, rather than just acknowledging that something is wrong.

“The employee has to be motivated to do something about it,” says Nowack.

During the “Enable” phase, clients need to track their progress, reward success and built a support system to help sustain their motivation over time. Managers also take the needed steps to help the employee avoid relapses into previous behavior, by garnering the support of the employee’s coworkers, or even their family and friends.

While a company helps the employee from each phase, it’s important to note that change is not a linear process

“Successful behavioral change is often NOT linear but can be progressive, regressive, or even static. Clients may pass back and forth through each of the three stages due to a number of contributing elements.”

If you have any questions about 360 employee feedback or 360 degree employee evaluation software, please contact us any time.

Why Employee Evaluations are beneficial for organizations?

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Tue, 28 May 2013 04:00:00 GMT

Employee evaluation program or staff appraisals are an enlightening experience for both, employees and an employer. In order to get the most out of the evaluation, it is vital to set aside a particular time, especially when the review will be held. It helps your employees to get sufficient time to prepare themselves properly. To make your employee evaluation program successful, the first thing you need to do is to create a firm review schedule.

In the program, there is a list of questions that an organization asks from employees. The main purpose of employee evaluations is to evaluate the performance of employees. The best aspect of this evaluation is to determine whether the skills of employees match to his job profile or not.

There are many benefits that are linked to employee evaluations as it helps in knowing the strengths and weaknesses of employees. It gives an insight to the employer to provide a job assignment to deserving employees. It also helps in analyzing collective talents of employees by a team or department. With this program, an employer can assess the skills of his employees and provide them work accordingly.

Employee evaluation programs are also important for employee training and development. The training part of the program scrutinizes the new skills of employees and the development helps in building up the aptitude and current performance of the employees. Apart from these, this evaluation also throws light on the development programs, which benefit both, employer and employees of an organization.

Employee evaluations also contain performance standards. According to this level, the employees perform their tasks and duties to meet the expectations and requirements of the employer. The performance measured by this program is a basic part of many organizations. This evaluation gives managers and supervisors an opportunity to value the hard word, dedication and commitment of the employees towards the organization’s success.

Improving business prospects with employee performance evaluations

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Fri, 24 May 2013 04:00:00 GMT

The performance of the employees has a direct impact on the success of a company or business. If the work performance of your employees is reaching the set standards, then it can be termed as satisfactory. However, if their performance is lower than the expected level, then you need to find the cause behind their declining productivity and then take appropriate measures to improve the same.

In such scenarios, 360 employee performance evaluations prove to be a highly effective and useful tool.

Today every company, whether big or small, understands the crucial role that the employees play in its success and growth. Thus to ensure their employees are able to perform according to the desired level, they conduct regular evaluations. These evaluations help the company to know the performance level of the employees. Generally these evaluations are conducted by the personal of the HR department. The work record of every individual employee is maintained by the HR department, so that their performance can be evaluated based on their job profile and work responsibilities.

Depending on the company, the employee performance evaluations can be conducted after every six months or after a year. However, the most important thing is that these evaluations are conducted in a fair and unbiased way. As the results obtained through these evaluations can be really helpful for the growth of the company, thus the HR personal should make sure that the data is recorded in a safe way and can be accessed easily whenever needed. Based on the outcome of the employee performance evaluations it can be decided that which employees are providing satisfactory results and which ones require more training so that their performance can be improved.

Any company that is looking forward to achieve success in this competitive world has to give considerable attention to the performance of its employees and ensure that they stay motivated to put in their best efforts and lead their company towards success.

Evaluate Productivity by Installing Employee Performance Evaluation Software

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Wed, 22 May 2013 04:00:00 GMT

Performance evaluation is mainly a timely interface among employees and the employers, in which the employee’s performance is evaluated. This evaluation is generally carried out in order to improve the employee’s flaws and to work on enhancing and strengthening their skills.

If the process is executed manually, then certainly it would be time consuming and very mind-numbing. As employees are the important assets of organization, so it is important to manage their details and performance regularly.

To make the task easier and uncomplicated, Employee performance evaluation software are designed. This easy to use software is very effective to carry out any sort of survey for evaluating the performance of employees. It also offers complete scrutiny of the performance of employees in a very precise way.

Undoubtedly, this software can help in aligning the employee’s objective regarding their business. This software can be easily used by employees and employers of a company. The main goal of this software is to guide the manager and employees and help them in knowing the productivity level of an organization.

With the Employee performance evaluation software , employers can easily evaluate, work delegation, monitoring work, goal setting, job defining, actual performance, rewarding, performance rating and so forth.

Employee performance evaluation software plays a vital role in evaluating working issues experienced by employer and employees. As everything is based on computers nowadays, this software offers the ease to calculate the productivity of employees in a very effective and fast way.

The best aspect of installing this software is that it is applicable for all, small, medium and large businesses. The software is also beneficial for measuring assignments and employees task. This software is user-friendly and is rewarding for employees for self promotion and can be easily managed by all cadres of employees.

Weighing the benefits of 360 degree feedback

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Thu, 16 May 2013 04:00:00 GMT

360 degree feedback is an organizational process, in which employees receive anonymous and confidential feedback from the people working in the same organization. It is also known as multi-rater feedback, which is used by many companies as an effective evaluation tool. The main aim of this system is to provide employees with proper information about their performance from different perspectives.

The feedback form is filled by peers, managers, direct reports, and other staff. About eight to twelve people fill out a surreptitious online feedback questionnaire that covers a vast range of workplace competencies. The questionnaire is measured on a rating scale and it also asks the rater to endow with written feedback. The person who is getting the feedback also fills a survey form in which he rates himself and it consists of the same questions that are answered by others.

Many managers and leaders of the same organization make use of 360 degree feedback in order to understand their strength and weaknesses. By understanding these aspects they can work on them accordingly.

The system tabulates the results automatically and presents them in such a format that is easily understandable by feedback recipient. This system can be also used as a development tool for those who are not in the role of management. It gives a prospect to grant anonymous feedback to a coworker that might otherwise be difficult. Generally, this feedback measures –

Behavior and competencies
Feedback on how others identify an employee
It addresses skills, such as planning, listening and goal setting
It focuses on subjective fields, such as characters, leadership effectiveness, and team work

The popularity of 360 degree feedback is irrefutable. It helps in enhancing the personal development of workers and the organization. From this feedback, the employees can set their goals that help in enhancing their career and are also beneficial for the organization.

A synopsis of 360 degree feedback software

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Fri, 10 May 2013 04:00:00 GMT

360 degree feedback is an essential tool that helps in analyzing the weakest and strongest points of the employees. This survey is a big help for organizations to understand the aptitude and concerns of the employees. The feedback system works with a self assessment tool in which an employee, his colleagues, and other workers fill a questionnaire about the employee or employer. To make the task more efficient and easy to use, many organizations are using 360 degree feedback software . This software is designed to find out what other workers of an organization think about the competencies and performances of the employees or employers.

With the success of 360 degree feedback, many organizations are getting aware of its benefits and installing 360 degree feedback software. This software is being used as an effective system for performance evaluation of the employees. However, it is important that the software you select will support the system and provide you effective results as possible.

Installing this software is very essential for the growth and development of the employees. It helps in the development of workers as a team. Also, this software gives direction to improve the working of the employees by understanding their needs and demands. The software consists of various raters, so there is no possibility of any discrimination against race, gender, and age.

Today, 360 degree feedback software is easily available in the market. You can also download it from internet on trial basis and can buy it, if it suits your requirements. The software allows the employees to give honest feedback about the other employees, leaders or managers. The system consists of a thorough assessment that provides a comprehensive list of negative and positive aspects on which you need to work. By executing the task this way, you will not only move forward towards growth, but also take your organization towards success.

360 degree evaluation: An easy way to check employee competencies

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Tue, 07 May 2013 04:00:00 GMT

360 degree evaluation plays a vital role in the growth, development, and performance of a business. It is one of the most valuable options for employee performance evaluation. For the human resource department, collecting appraisals and analyzing the importance of employees is very crucial. It helps employers to understand the needs of the employees and by analyzing them the company can make certain changes that are suitable for both, employees and the business. The 360 degree feedback, which is also known as multi-rater feedback or multi-source feedback, is a process of collecting all kinds of response from the employees. It involves self assessment of the employee, and feedback from his colleagues, managers, and supervisors.

The technique of 360 degree evaluation is developed to improve working performance. Also, it is considered as a human resource mechanism to examine human prospective of a company. The method of appraisal or evaluation is very helpful, as it helps in identifying both, weak and strong, points of the employees. As compared to traditional evaluations, 360 degree appraisal gathers particular feedback from different sources working under one roof.

The 360 degree evaluation is very imperative for companies and managers, as it display the effectiveness level of a certain company. It is an effectual development tool for both teams and individuals. The survey is carried out by the Human Resource department of a company. The entire process is confidential and is executed in a very smooth way. It helps in clarifying every issue that an employee experiences in the job. By executing such survey, an employer can evaluate all the weaknesses and strong aspects of the employees with ease. The evaluation is beneficial for employees and employers. Also, it is an easy way to check the competencies of the employees.

Positive Outcomes of 360 degree surveys

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Mon, 06 May 2013 04:00:00 GMT

The 360 degree surveys refer to an online survey that is a structured and efficient way of collecting important information about the behavior of employees in a particular role. The survey provides an employee with a view of his/her efficiency as a staff member, co-worker, or employee. Additionally, it enables management to identify gaps within the organization, so that they can take measures to fill those gaps by taking right training programs and other essential agendas.

This survey can be used for workplace survey, HR needs, and leadership evaluation. It is an ideal tool that provides performance feedback from reporting staff members, customers, co-workers, peers, and employee’s supervisor. In the survey, the employee will be given an opportunity to retort through a self assessment.

There are many positive outcomes of executing 360 degree feedback surveys, such as:

• It enlightens the strength, mentoring insight, weaknesses, and areas that need proper development.

• The survey also helps in team development, as the members in a team can provide this feedback and help the employees to be more accountable to the team for their performance and communication.

• The 360 degree surveys also help the employers to understand the requirements necessary for personal and organizational development.

• The peers and supervisors will understand the career and personal development requirements of the employees.

• It also helps employees to get feedback about the quality of service they provide and also they can improve their promptness, reliability, and service quality.

These surveys also promote growth of the employees and their development in a supportive organizational environment. 360 degree surveys involve mapping the link between members of an organization, whether it is their direct reports, clients or customers, or manager. Certainly, 360 degree feedback survey is an important tool for both employees and organization as a whole.

Types of 360 degree evaluation

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Sun, 05 May 2013 04:00:00 GMT

360 degree feedback is a process in which employees get to know the opinions of people who work around them. It is a confidential feedback that includes response of the peers, direct reports, and managers. About eight to twelve people fill an online survey questionnaire that consists of queries related to the competencies of work place. The questions in the form are measured on a rating scale and raters add their comments on the questionnaire as well. Individual, who is receiving the feedback, also fills out a self-rating survey that includes same questions that are answered by others.

There are two types of 360 degree evaluations :

• As a development tool

360 degree feedback is highly effective as a development tool. It gives an opportunity to provide unspecified feedback to a co-worker that they might not be comfortable in providing directly. This feedback helps employees to recognize their strengths and weaknesses and become more effective. It helps them to know how others perceive them and so that they can adjust and make improvement accordingly.

• As a performance appraisal tool

Many organizations use 360 degree feedback as an appraisal tool, though it is not a very good idea. It is because when you use 360 degree evaluation to measure performance, it becomes difficult to properly execute the process. The reason for this is simple, as this evaluation focuses more on competencies and behaviors, rather than job requirements, performance objectives and basic skills.

The main aim of 360 degree evaluation is to enhance self-awareness of employees so that they can improve their work performance. It is also very essential to keep the survey short and precise. Basically, the evaluation process is based on diverse sources, like customers, co-workers, managers, vendors, contractors, and others, providing an objective and more balanced approach to measure the performance of an employee. This helps in ensuring better customer services, higher productivity, and improved organizational performance.

Outstanding features of Employee evaluation software

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 04:00:00 GMT

Employee evaluation software is the best software for improving the productivity and efficiency of a company. It makes it possible for the organization to make some changes in their staff and policies, based on the results of the evaluation. To improve the business and productivity of an organization, it is very important that the software should encompass an array of features.

An appraisal solution consists of four different sections. The first section here is the evaluation of all the employees. The area of utmost importance includes careful observation of the contribution of the employees in achieving the goals of the company.

This includes some of the factors, like work quality, problem solving capabilities, productivity, cooperation, attitude, leadership quality, communication, self improvement and adaptability. After this comes the step of ratings and ranks. Here the results obtained from the assessment are rated by the prominent people of the organization. It includes suggestions, appraisals and comments of the higher authorities. These appraisals are generally categorized as excellent, outstanding, acceptable and deficient or marginal.

360 employee evaluation software mainly works with the target of improving the efficiency and productivity of the employees and the company. In fact, employees also take it positively as they can see that a company is taking their opinions and suggestions quite seriously. All the enterprises, irrespective of their size, have realized the importance of this software and are employing this in their normal working sphere.

With the arrival of such unsurpassed employee evaluation software , and their amazing features, the task of evaluation has undoubtedly become simpler and easier now. While looking for the employee evaluation software, you will find a large number of options. In order to choose the right one, you need to understand that employee evaluation software is unique and no two are same. Thus, these should be chosen as per your need and requirement.

Employee performance evaluations – essential for business growth

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 04:00:00 GMT

Managing and operating a business is definitely not easy. It involves a lot of responsibilities which need to be performed well, in order to ensure smooth functioning of your company. These responsibilities are primarily related to monitoring operations and determining if you are actually getting the desired results. Reviewing the performance of your employees is one integral part of monitoring the operations. For this purpose, 360 employee performance evaluations are conducted by companies on regular basis.

The process of evaluating employee performance is sometimes also called as performance appraisal or performance review. However, the purpose of all these reviews and surveys is the same – to evaluate work performance of the employees. The aspects which are evaluated in this process are related to the work quality, attendance, skill development, results produced etc. The evaluation is generally performed by either the supervisor or the manager of the employee.

Most of the companies believe that employee performance evaluations are only required to analyze if a particular employee is meeting the work standards established in a company or not . In fact, it is more useful than that. These evaluations help the employers to know the worthiness of a particular employee and how well he is contributing to the growth of the company. In case the results of the employee performance evaluations are lower than expected then the management can make provisions to train the employees and develop particular skills in which they are lacking. If an employee is meeting the set work standards of the company, then it can help the management to provide appraisals to such deserving employees.

Using these evaluations in a constructive way can prove immensely beneficial for the growth of a company. It is important to remember that the employees are the backbone of an organization and by developing their skills and knowledge; you are improving the growth prospects of your business as well.

Benefits of using Employee performance evaluation software

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 04:00:00 GMT

The importance and relevance of conducting employee performance evaluations is appreciated and recognized by companies that consider their employees as the most imperative assets. Employee’s performance plays a vital role in the working and success of every company. So it is essential that their performances must be evaluated on regular basis. Employee performance evaluation is used for different purposes, such as monitoring performance, organizational goal settings, competency assessments, development planning of employees, on boarding – off boarding, and gratifying good performance.

As many companies depend on computers for keeping a track record, in order to evaluate employee’s performance special software is designed that helps in the entire process of scrutinizing the employee’s performance. Employee performance evaluation software is a computer based tool that is used especially to track the reviews of employees and their overall performance.

There are different types of Employee performance evaluation software available that offer numerous uses. Professionally designed software helps in keeping a track of employee performance that can eradicate the need for paper files. It can also serve as an important resource that provides both employers and managers more visibility and control to the employee’s performance. In today’s technology age, these processes are quite important due to the popularity of company’s telecommuting and spreading out. By tracking the performance of employees online, it will be easier for distant managers to appraise their talent pool and better understand the needs of their human capital. The Employee performance evaluation software eliminates paperwork and provides all the essential information.

Additionally it can also help in reducing time and money that a company spends on employee performance appraisals, while improving consistence, quality, and value. The software is an effective tool that helps management to perform numerous tasks in order to improve the work performance and take their company towards success.

An overview of 360-Degree Feedback

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 04:00:00 GMT

Gathering response to evaluate employees performance or scrutinizing the importance of employees is imperative for any Human Resource Department. Without collecting precise information regarding the performance of employees and the benefits they provide to the organization, prospect actions cannot be expanded to utmost effect. That is why different corporations collect such data in diverse ways, depending on the requirements of the organizations.

As the employers become more concerned to collect precise information about the employees, they are opting latest measures, like 360-Degree Feedback . This is a tested method of job satisfaction and improving productivity of a business.

360-Degree Feedback is carried out with a specialized survey software that has been designed especially by psychological experts who evaluate the employees performance in the corporate environment. These surveys are very effective, anonymous and efficient, as they offer open questions to timely text comments and close questions by requesting quantitative ratings. There are many benefits of 360-Degree Feedback such as:

– It allows employees to gain more systematic understanding of their impact on others, with whom they interact daily.

– The feedback also fosters an environment of trust and teamwork. Employees work together as a team with total honestly and help others to gain an understanding of their actions and performance. This helps when assessment results are positive, as it can build trust among employees to promote effective organization and high-performance.

– This feedback is designed especially to support development of leaders, increased competitive advantage, and increase in productivity and withholding of high-performing employees. This feedback can be completed by peers, managers, clients, stakeholders and colleagues.

– The 360-Degree Feedback is superlative for carrying out appraisals for top-level managers.

There are many benefits linked to the 360-Degree Feedback . It is one of the best tools used by many organizations to provide feedback to the employees, collected from other workers working in the same organization.

A Synopsis of 360 feedback system

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 04:00:00 GMT

360-Degree Feedback system is a course of action in which employees receive anonymous and confidential feedback from clients, peers and managers working in the same organization. It is also known as multi-source assessment, multi-source feedback, full-circle appraisal and multi-rater feedback. Around 8 to 12 people fill out an online feedback questionnaire that contains different questions covering a vast range of workplace competencies, such as job knowledge, communication, listening, planning, decision making, interpersonal relationships, character, team work and leadership.

360 Performance Feedback System is often used as an essential part of a performance evaluation and is also used for the development of an organization. The system is commonly used to get accurate feedback on leaders or managers in an organization. It is also used as development tool, due to its numerous benefits, such as identification of probable problematic areas, increased self-awareness and professional development, gaps in perceptions and openness and increased communication among the employees. 360 Feedback System helps in making general decisions, such as termination, pay increase, promotions and probationary status.

Today, using this system for performance appraisal has become a common practice. The managers and leaders use this system to get a better understanding of their strengths and weaknesses. The system usually measures –

. Behavior and competencies of employees and employer

. It provides feedback on how others observe an employee

. It addresses skills like planning, listening and setting of goals.

. The system also focuses on subjective areas, like character, team work and effectiveness of leadership

Use of 360 feedback system is most appropriate in the performance development of both, personal and organizational. It is quite successful, especially when a Human Resource expert is involved in the process and when the feedback supports the development of an employee with respect to the mission and vision of an organization and its core values.

See our Overview of our 360 Performance Feedback Review Templates from our Software tool.

Precise usage of 360 degree feedback software

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 04:00:00 GMT

360 degree feedback software provides an inimitable level of insight of the employees of an organization often presenting areas for improvement or concern that might have been missed through a review carried out by management alone. It is an ideal way to evaluate the performance and leadership qualities and the way those leaders are identified by their teams. This form of survey has been created by psychological specialists, who conduct performance assessments in a corporate environment. It is an anonymous way of asking questions, the results of which are complied in a report, out of which individuals can get to know the areas where they need to improve.

Questionnaires designed through the 360 degree feedback software can be fully tailored with your style and brand, your own evaluation framework and questions meant to target your desired competencies. It is not just a performance appraisal but a continuing development project. You get the option to let your employees create their management and leadership by using online coaching sessions or an interactive workbook. Follow on progress would be calculated with the development tracking tools. Since this kind of feedback is exceptionally thorough, so it is received more personally as compared to other types of appraisals. This is why it is actually significant that those who receive it are mentally prepared for the information which they might get.

360 degree feedback software is used by an organization that has an HR expertise for supporting the process, adding full justice to it. It has an approach of depersonalization that allows the subject, who is being assessed, to receive any alleged criticism in a productive way. It is a very personal procedure that needs business experience. The software and tools should be well developed and engaging and the performance appraisal procedure must be harmonized by resources for afterwards development.

The power that 360 degree evaluation system holds

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 04:00:00 GMT

Amongst the number of evaluation programs that are run and used in companies, 360 degree evaluation is one of its kinds, with a main purpose to evaluate the observation of others about you. It is a like a group review that may include subordinates, colleagues, customers and supervisors as well. The results that come out of this feedback let the individuals identify the areas where they need to put more efforts. Some of the features that are linked with 360 degree evaluation include help in team development, guidance in personal development, creation of a sense of authorization, improvement in customer service, help in career development, identification of organizational training needs and decrease in the risk of prejudice.

When employees are evaluated by a group, instead of a supervisor, it helps to get a true picture of how they are perceived. Their weaknesses and strengths in contribution to the organizational goals can be determined. By trusting the reviews, employees can see that what all they are required to do in particular areas for increasing their value in the organization and consequently improve their career opportunities. Including both internal and external customers as reviewers can provide a clearer image of the supposed significance of customer service. Instead of guessing the areas that need improvement, customers inform you that what is essential to them.

Since there are diverse and multiple raters, thus the risk of age, race and gender discrimination is totally reduced. Both, customers and employees, who take part in this effective evaluation system, get a sense of authorization knowing that their views are actually important for the total performance of the organization. Make sure that your review system is properly designed so that your results turn out to be accurate. Invest in training and time to ensure that the 360 degree evaluation is understood easily and becomes productive.

Improve overall productivity of your company with Employee Evaluation Software

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 04:00:00 GMT

In this competitive world, when the companies are not letting any stone unturned to make a mark in the industry, having an endowed and sincere employee has become the need of the hour, and to know about the potential, efficiency, behavior and performance of an employee, nothing can be better than employee evaluation. Although companies have understood the importance of this evaluation, but they are finding it quite difficult to actually conduct this, as it takes a lot of time and effort in designing, conducting and evaluating the report. Thus, many of the companies are now using 360 employee evaluation software , which, apart from saving time and energy, has a number of other advantages as well.

For the overall good performance of the company effectual and objective assessment is of great importance, and for this nothing can beat this software. With these, it has now become possible for the companies to conduct recurrent evaluation, thus serving to recognize the problematic areas and suggesting solutions for resolving the problem. In fact with the help of some advanced employee evaluation software it is now feasible to do reimbursement analysis, ordered data management and performance appraisal. Being user friendly, these give quick results, thus abridging the whole process.

For bigger companies, a competent well managed database is a must and this is what this software actually does. This helps in evaluating the performance and effectiveness of the employees. Companies can use this as a tool to extol the achievement of the employees, thus rousing them to perform even better. Thus, it would not be wrong to say that employee evaluation software is the boon which can help companies to find the problems of the employees and also reward the most endowed and deserving employees to appreciate their efforts.

Different domains of employee evaluations

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Sat, 23 Mar 2013 04:00:00 GMT

Employee evaluations are the most vital task in the workplaces, more precisely it can be called as a sound inspection of staff, if it is done well. Commonly in companies it is the responsibility of the manager or the supervisor to carry out such evaluations. Generally it is seen that work related aspects are covered in this. However there are a number of other aspects, which should not be overlooked. Given below is the checklist of different elements which should be included in this process, and following all this will surely help the managers to help their employee flourish.

Other than job related aspects, three main areas which should be covered in 360 evaluations are the attendance issues, customer interaction issues and employee interaction issues. We all know that employee efficiency, to a great extent, depends on his or her presence. Issues like leaving early, coming late, or taking off should not be ignored. If the employee is in the position which requires direct contact with the customer, then his interaction with customers becomes the precedence, as the growth of your company depends on the approach, consideration, personality etc. of your employees to a great extent.

Many people may think that the third area, which is the employee interaction area, is mainly related to tittle-tattle, but this is not true. This area is about understanding the problems of employees or understanding the factors motivating them. While doing employee evaluations it is very important that positive and negative effects both should be included in that. It should never come as an assault for the employee; however it should be, to a certain extent, like an open-dialogue about the performance, competence, and improvement areas of the employees. If done appropriately, these evaluations can truly make you and the employee feel that you people have actually accomplished something, and this helps in proper working of the company also.

Employee Performance Evaluations for the Betterment of Employees and Company

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 04:00:00 GMT

An employee performance evaluation can help open up a convenient and respectable channel of communication between different levels of authority in an organization. However, there are certain things that need to be kept in mind while pursuing such 360 feedback evaluations so as to not hurt the sentiments of any workers. Some of these facets are briefly discussed below –

Writing an honest appraisal can be difficult, due to the fact that some employees are easily offended, while others feel offended with final warnings. In general, this practice is awkward for all the parties involved in it.

However, employee performance evaluations can also help to bring out the best in people. A positive review can help bring forth a previously undeserving worker into a better light, which can give him an opportunity to work on better assignments and compete for promotion, leading to higher satisfaction and growth opportunities.

Giving reviews that are not honest or sugarcoating, these employee performance evaluations on the other hand can lead to an employee misunderstanding the overall idea and shutting down the windows for personal growth. Not being made aware of their shortcomings means that an employee would be less likely to take any corrective actions for the future.

Some easy tips for giving accurate reviews for such evaluations are:

• Keeping brief, pointed notes throughout the reviewing period and recording both the positives and negatives helps to ease the pressure and avoid confusion that a sudden evaluation brings with itself.

• Providing frequent and honest feedbacks throughout the reviewing period is essential for maintaining a healthy, trusting relationship with employees.

• Planning in advance about how and what points have to be put forward and handling possible objections is crucial.

Lastly, beginning the talk on a positive note is always a respectable way to begin such an evaluation.

Purpose of Employee Performance Evaluation Software

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 04:00:00 GMT

The employee performance evaluation software helps to make the evaluations easy to collect, combine and utilize. As there are different kinds of software available for this purpose, it is wise to compare the features and prices of these. Knowing the actual requirement and purchasing work-specific software is the key to making good use of this software. The main idea behind using employee performance evaluation software is to help improve the current employee performance in an organization, identifying the top performers who deserve the appropriate appreciation. It also helps in identifying the under-performing divisions or groups and maintaining a reliable database of past surveys to help avoid repeating the same mistakes and maintaining a relationship of trust with the employees.

Depending on the requirements, the 360 performance evaluation software can be either a simple web-based software or it can be customized into a specific evaluation system. Web-based Software offers a number of benefits and make the employee performance evaluation accessible from anywhere, using the web. Usually, such software work by storing all the information on a secure web server. Custom solution software on the other hand allows one to configure the evaluation according to the needs of an organization or business.

As the evaluation process may not be taken kindly by certain employees, who react in a defensive manner, or it might be considered partial, thus it is important to keep the employees in the loop while using any such software in the organization. Giving the employees a set of detailed goals and explaining the motive behind such appraisals, putting forth more challenging but realistic goals, giving workable deadlines to employees, remembering to judge the work and not the personality of an employee are some the things to be kept in mind while performing such a survey.

The Amazing and Impressive Key Features of 360 Feedback System

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 04:00:00 GMT

360 Feedback system is a multi rating evaluation system that determines what others think about you. The raters involved in the system are none other than your supervisors, colleagues, clients, etc. The individual is then asked to rate himself or herself. Based on the combined ratings, a final result is prepared highlighting the strong areas and the weak areas of a person.

One of the Key features of 360 Feedback system is that peers or colleagues who work at the same level or same designation always give a better feedback about an employee including how you respond towards the work assigned or how you contribute towards achieving team goals, etc. The system involves 10 to 12 different people working around you to rate you and this eliminates the chances of any kind of discrimination or partiality on the basis of gender, race, age, etc. The result of the 360 Feedback system is prepared and presented in a tabular format and many people feel that this feedback is more valuable than the ones they receive from a single person. This format helps them in thinking of ways or to prepare a plan to get the desired result within no time.

Since customers are also involved in the survey, one gets a clear picture of what they think about them, what are their expectations and where they feel one lags, thus making it easier for one to improve. The data collected from the feedback system for each and every employee of the company can actually help the organization to have a glance of the strengths and weaknesses of all the employees. The firm can then plan for programs to improve their weak areas so that the employees can give better outputs and achieve their assigned goals.

360 Degree Feedback Redefined

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 04:00:00 GMT

360 Degree Performance Feedback is a modern day tool used by organizations to improve the work performance of their employees and inculcate a feeling of job satisfaction amongst them. A questionnaire is prepared and then people who are colleagues, clients, etc. of the person being surveyed are asked to give their ratings about him or her. This is mostly performed online and around 8 to 15 people are asked to participate in the survey. The identity and the responses of each person who participates in this unique feedback system are kept secret.

The main motive of organizations to conduct a 360 Degree Feedback is to encourage a healthy competitive spirit amongst its employees by promoting them to improve on their work skills. This initiative is also useful for identifying the potential future leaders and managers by the human resource departments of a company. The individual being surveyed is also asked to rate himself on the same aspects. All the ratings are then combined and the final result is prepared.

Most of the time this report is presented in a positive manner to the person, but in some cases it can be kept private and used by the company to handle the weaknesses by providing some kind of training to the employee without revealing his or her weaknesses to them.

The result generated from 360 Degree Feedback is also used as an input for performance management, succession planning, etc. The feedback provides an individual with the point of view of others about him or her. The result is presented in a form that an individual can work on his lacking factors and grow with the organization and become a valuable asset for the company. This survey has now become an integral part of almost all the organizations irrespective of them being big or small in terms of workforce.

The Benefits of using a 360 Degree Feedback Software

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 05:00:00 GMT

The 360 Degree Feedback Software is easily available in the market nowadays. In fact, a lot of them are available on the internet and can be easily downloaded and used on a trial basis. This can actually help an organization know, whether or not it is beneficial for them and their employees. Before, you download and begin using a 360 Degree Feedback Software; you must know the two basic ways in which you can use this software for the betterment of employees and the organization.

The software allows the employees to give their honest feedback about their managers or leaders. Normally, they might not be able to tell the concerned person about his or her weaknesses or the areas on which he or she needs to work. This software allows them to rate the person without the risk of being disclosed. On the other side, the software allows the feedback to be presented in such a way that the concerned employee is able to know clearly about his positive areas and his weak areas. This allows him to carefully work upon them and improve his career prospects. This way he can prove to be a good and valuable asset to the organization.

360 Degree Feedback Software is being used as an efficient system for performance appraisals of the employees. However, it is not advised as this software mainly takes into consideration the behavior and competencies of an employee while rating him. The performance appraisals require a lot more analysis and sincere approach and depend upon the qualification, skills, the objectives set for their performance and job related requirements. Therefore, the results of the 360 Degree evaluation must be incorporated with a detailed communicative review between a manager and an employee when it comes to performance appraisals.

All About 360 Degree Evaluation

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 05:00:00 GMT

360 Degree Evaluation is an advanced system or method, which revolves around the concept of collecting confidential information from employees in the form of feedback. The people who give this feedback are the peers, managers and even juniors of the concerned employee. A form is required to be filled by approximately 10 to 12 anonymous persons, who work in close co-ordination with the targeted employee. The form contains questions about his working capabilities, behavior and competency at his or her job. The person who is giving this feedback is supposed to rate the targeted employee on the above mentioned grounds. 360 Degree Evaluation also requires the people giving feedback to write comments within their feedback forms.

The concerned employee is also made to go through a self rating survey, where he is supposed to rate himself on the same set of questions issued to his co-workers during the survey.

The 360 Degree Evaluation is of great significance, especially to the managerial level employees or for team leaders, as it helps them to get the real picture about their strengths and weaknesses. The result of this evaluation is presented to the concerned employee in a tabular format and this helps him or her to come up with a plan to improve his capabilities. The self ratings given by the employee is combined with the ratings from other sources to give a better and exact picture. This is also crucial from the point of preserving the identity of the people, who have rated him. This survey is not just important for managerial level personnel, but even for others as it can help them improve their lacking areas. They can come up with improvement plans for themselves and this will lead to the overall growth of their career and in the future they can become effective Mangers and Leaders.

Employee evaluations – An imperative façade of your company

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 05:00:00 GMT

Employee Evaluation is basically quite a primitive administrative practice. From small scale firms to the biggest names in the market use various different managerial strategies. Even then they tend to be dissatisfied with their methods to improve the performance of their employees. Employee evaluations are necessary because even if there is no actual documented performance appraisal process, people will always judge others around them which leads to an air of doubt and dissatisfaction.

To have a constant idea of the performance of their employees, many companies now encourage well documented 360 employee evaluations so that there is less chance of dissatisfaction or doubt among employees and there is no bias or favorability kept in the account. Organized employee evaluation is merit based and only performance is measured so that the employees are classified according to their performance for the company.

Many institutions adopt this method so that no chance of bias remains. Not only private companies but also government organizations, like the armed forces, have wider use of employee evaluation. Non-profit organizations again need employee evaluation just as much as any other firm because for a NOP the internal affairs have to be spot-on to ensure maximizing their effectiveness.

It is important for a company to maintain good relations with the employees, as well as ensure good quality of work done by them. This has to be balanced for a smooth running company. Employee evaluations are used almost in every field nowadays, because there is more need than ever for the smart utilization of the resources that a company possesses. Performance appraisals can have a very positive effect on the company as a whole because it uplifts the development of the company, as well as developing the people who work in the company. Employee evaluation is an important facet of any company’s success.

Employee Evaluation Software – a priceless tool for your company

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 05:00:00 GMT

Employees are the most important and valuable assets of an organization. The employees are the people who make the organization what it is. Hence performance management has become a vital practice around the globe in various companies. Organizations want to encourage continuous improvement in the performance of its employees. It is very important therefore to have a systematic evaluation of the employees that work in a company so that proper steps can be taken to improve their performance.

Employee management software is exactly the software for the job. It provides performance evaluations and performance appraisals along with performance reviews. This is the basic information that is provided by 360 evaluation software due to which the organization can easily attend to the areas that need attention.

More advanced features of the employee evaluation software include compensation analysis, employee evaluation , organized data management and performance appraisal system. This software is very accurate in classifying employee performance and overall management of employees. This software makes sure that the competition among employees remains healthy and productive for the organization and not the other way round. These software are incredibly user friendly and offer quick analysis and results to the organization. it simplifies the review process and helps identify the top performers immediately while keeping in check the legal and regulatory compliances.

The employee evaluation software is also very important nowadays because it removes any possibility of bias in the evaluation of employees. The evaluation is done solely on the basis of performance and capability and nothing else. It defeats the whole concept of pointless office politics. Basically a hassle-free work environment and a healthy competition is encouraged. An employee evaluation is something that has been going on for centuries but the well documented and organized process that the software provides makes this a lot more efficient and instantly effective from the organization’s point of view.

Making the Best Use of Employee Performance Evaluation Software

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 05:00:00 GMT

Employee performance evaluations are integral for the growth and development of every company. It keeps the employers aware of the performance levels of its employees and in case the outcomes are not satisfactory then they can make provisions for improving their work performance. Although the importance of employee performance evaluations cannot be overlooked, still many companies avoid conducting these evaluations.

The reason behind this is that conducting the evaluations can be very time consuming. Everything from preparing the evaluation form, distributing the forms and then collecting and recording the information, requires a lot of time, efforts and man power. It is usually seen that in this complicated process of conducting the evaluations, the real purpose gets lost somewhere.

Taking the help of technology is the best way to make this process easier. Today there are number of 360 feedback solutions, which are developed specifically to cater this need of companies. Integrated with forms and other customizable features this software is a quick and easy way to conduct the evaluations. Also the need for distributing the forms manually get eliminated as employees can access these forms online. Even the process of collecting and recording the outcomes can be done online.

Once the results are recorded in the employee performance evaluation software, the Human Resource department can easily segregate the employees based on their performance levels. With the help of the software it becomes very easy to find out the employees, which are performing according to the set standards and also those which require more training in order to improve their performance.

As the data is kept safe in the software program all the time, it becomes easy for the Human Resource personnel to access the records anytime they want, from anywhere. It eliminates the need for maintaining heavy record books. It also saves the companies from the additional expenses which are otherwise spent on printing the evaluation forms, thus making the employee performance evaluation software a necessary tool for every company

360 degree feedback- Few important considerations

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Wed, 13 Feb 2013 05:00:00 GMT

As a business head, if you want to increase the efficacy of the 360 degree feedback then there are few things which you need to know. Considering some important things will help you to make the most out of this evaluation method. You first need to answer this important question. Which group will respond better to a critical feedback- the ones who feel disparaged and judged or the ones who feel acknowledged and appreciated?

The disparaged- We all know the fact that if people come across lot of criticism, they tend to resist change, become rigid and likely to develop a very fortress mentality. They become the constantly stuck employees of your organization with a very limited vision.

The appreciated- As opposed to this, employees who feel respected, valued and appreciated have a more open mind to accept new challenges and work with them. These are the people on growth path which is partly because of the outer support and partly the inner strength. If they discover that a person is having issues with them then they do not dig in. It encourages them to figure out how they can actually correct or improve this.

When it comes to 360 degree feedback, the employees usually receive critical comments and feedback or may be a mixture of appreciative and critical comments. However, you can structure this evaluation in such a way that it puts across appreciation at the top, thus telling the employee their contributions and skills are respected and valued. There are few ways which can help to improve their performance.

Essence of 360 degree feedback lies in the fact that it provides balanced and comprehensive employee reviews pertaining to different workplace competencies. The feedback is collected from multiple sources to get the most candid feedback about the performance and behavior of the target employee. This helps to get a clear understanding of the employees’ strength and weaknesses and thus helps to increase the overall performance and productivity of the organization.

See our Overview of our 360 Degree Performance Appraisal format of our Software.

360 degree evaluation- An excellent development tool

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 05:00:00 GMT

The 360 degree evaluation is one of the best ways to improve the efficacy and performance at the work place. This is a perfect tool to appraise the potential and productivity of the company’s workforce. The fact is that constructive and positive feedback, if presented in a respectful way and with the helpful intention, can benefit the employees as well as the organization. Also studies indicate that lack of recognition and feedback often comes out to be the major reason why employees choose to leave an organization.

As a business head, you need to make sure that the employees in your company receive useful feedback on a regular basis, so as to help them to hone their skills and enhance their performance. The feedback is received from multiple sources, like managers, supervisors, colleagues, peers, subordinates and stakeholders about the performance and behavior of the target employee. This feedback goes much beyond the yearly performance reviews and provides comprehensive and balanced employee reviews which help them to perform better at the work place.

The best part about 360 degree evaluation is that it helps the employees to know about their weaknesses and strengths and also find out ways to work on these. Also, the business organizations are able to determine the training and development needs for certain employees so as to enable them to contribute to the organization overall growth and development in a better way. The employees get to know how their performance is perceived by other employees, which helps them to make an efficient improvement plan. Organizations get this benefit of having a highly developed and efficient workforce and also increased quality and productivity. Thus, the 360 degree evaluatio n is an excellent development tool which helps both the employees and organizations equally. However, in order to make the most out of this brilliant tool it is quite important to conduct the evaluation process in a proper and effective way.

How 360 degree surveys can benefit your business organization?

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 05:00:00 GMT

One of the most perfect methods developed to improve efficacy at work is 360 degree evaluation method. Today, more and more business organizations are using this appraisal technique to provide the employees useful feedback for growth, development and career advancement. This kind of feedback completely differs from the traditional evaluation or appraisal, as it helps to collect feedback from multiple sources. The feedback is collected from managers, colleagues, supervisors, peers, subordinates, stakeholders and clients and then thoroughly compiled to give a rounded impression of the employees’ performance. The 360 degree surveys offer valuable insight and information, unveiling areas of improvement or concerns, which otherwise could have been missed in other evaluation methods.

This kind of evaluation method is also good to assess leadership qualities to determine how the leaders and managers are actually perceived by the employees. Thus 360 degree surveys are one of the efficient ways to forge growth and development in the organization. Since this kind of feedback is very thorough, thus it is most likely to be taken personally, as compared to other performance evaluations, thus it is essential to prepare the employees before receiving the feedback. A 360 degree survey generally consists of the ratings of competencies and behaviors with a range of open ended questions. This appraisal method proves extremely useful, as it helps the employees to identify their strengths, as well as weaknesses and find out ways to work upon these.

Thus, the feedback so received motivates the employees to perform even better at the work place and contribute towards achieving organizational goals in a significant way. So, with the help of 360 degree evaluation, every employee can see and understand that what all it takes to enhance their efficacy and performance at the workplace. This also helps the management to identify training and development needs for specific employees, so as to improve the areas where they are lacking behind. Hence, 360 degree surveys help to improve the overall productivity and performance of the organization.

Benefits of using employee evaluation software

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 05:00:00 GMT

In the present competitive business world, it has become quite difficult to recruit and maintain the most talented and sincere employees for a job. Proper 360 employee evaluations are a key to understand the employees’ behavior and performance to know about their potential, how they are likely to perform, which helps to make an informed decision when selecting the right person for a job. These kinds of evaluations help to improve the efficacy and quality of hiring, interviewing and also, the decision making process. However, currently, even the most successful business organizations are not satisfied with their method of conducting employee evaluations.

In order to make the entire evaluation process effective and objective, there is a need for an excellent system to evaluate individual performance. Here lies the importance of employee evaluation software which helps the corporations, particularly the larger ones, to appraise the performance of the employees on a regular basis. This software with different features helps businesses to improve their employee evaluation process by saving a great deal of time and administrative work on part of the HR personnel. Conducting frequent employee appraisals helps to identify the problem areas or issues and resolve them. Also, performance deficiency of some employees can be instantly corrected.

Using employee evaluation software also helps you to skip the documentation part, as with the help of this software, you do not have to worry about writing the evaluation report. This motivates the management to conduct employee evaluation on a regular basis, as it would help to improve performance and productivity of the employees. This also enables the organizations to identify the most talented employees who are significantly contributing to corporate promotion, advancement and succession. Besides, you get to know about the employees who are underperforming and thus, figure out various training and development needs for certain employees. Thus, the employee evaluation software helps to carry out the appraisal process in an effective way to improve the overall performance and productivity of the organization.

Benefits of Employee Performance Evaluation Software for Business Organizations

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 05:00:00 GMT

The importance and relevance of conducting evaluation of the employees performance is acknowledged and appreciated by the organizations, who consider their employees as their most significant asset. However, realizing its importance does not mean actually implementing the process. It can be because of various factors, such as difficulty in conducting regular employee performance evaluation surveys, designing and developing the questionnaire and making an evaluation report. For any evaluation process to be effective and efficient, it is important that the organizations conduct performance evaluations on a regular basis.

The management must monitor the performance and behavior of the employees on a regular basis to enhance the productivity and performance of the organization and to build a satisfied and engaged workforce. However, this requires using a proper evaluation system in order to carry out the appraisal process in the most efficient manner. Using employee performance evaluation software is the most perfect way to perform employee appraisal process.

With the help of this software, managers and supervisors no longer need to worry about designing and developing a perfect questionnaire or writing an evaluation report. An efficient, well arranged and managed database is extremely important in business organizations, particularly in larger ones, to know and analyze the performance and efficacy of a number of employees. The employee performance evaluation software performs this function for the administrative and professional HR personnel.

When organizations conduct regular employee evaluations, they are easily able to identify the problem areas, if any, and resolve them accordingly. Performance deficiency of specific employees can be immediately corrected. The employee performance evaluation software can also be used as a perfect tool to praise the achievements of the employees and motivate them to perform even better and contribute to the organizations’ overall growth and development. Thus, performance appraisal system is an essential evil which allows an organization to recognize as well as reward the most talented and sincere employees to encourage them.

Get comprehensive employee reviews with 360 feedback system

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 05:00:00 GMT

Performance appraisals or performance evaluations are one of the most effective ways to assess the performance of the employees at workplace. The most commonly evaluated areas are competencies at completing tasks, meeting deadlines, achievements, growth, organizational skills, managerial and leadership qualities, intellect and relationship with other employees. Psychologists and human resource personnel have designed and developed different systems to carry out the performance appraisals. Usually, such an evaluation process is performed by the managers and supervisors. Also, when it comes to evaluating and analyzing the employee performance and behavior, many companies choose to utilize different software tools.

The 360 feedback system is a kind of evaluation system which involves appraisal of the performance of the employees by obtaining feedback from multiple sources. These sources can be peers, colleagues, subordinates, stakeholders, managers and supervisors. The major benefit of 360 feedback system is that the employers are able to get comprehensive and balanced reviews of the employees related to workplace competencies . Around eight to twelve employees are asked to complete the online survey anonymously where they provide their feedback and rank an employee on certain competencies on the rating scale.

The employees are also asked to give text comments to support their ratings, in order to have a lucid idea of how the target employee is perceived by the other employees. The 360 feedback system is one of the best ways to have a clear understanding of the strengths, as well as weaknesses, of the employees. As the feedback comes from multiple sources, the employees are more likely to accept the reviews and figure out effective ways to work upon them. Thus, the system can be used frequently to maintain quality work and high productivity at all times. Thus, the system must not be used as a perfect evaluation tool, but it should be utilized as an efficient self help tool by the business heads to ensure high productivity and performance within their organization.

Significance of 360 degree feedback

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Tue, 08 Jan 2013 05:00:00 GMT

The 360 degree evaluation is one of the best methods to improve efficacy and performance at work. It involves confidential assessment of the employees based on the feedback obtained from multiple sources. These sources can be the managers, supervisors, colleagues, peers, subordinates, stakeholders and customers. The information or feedback can be collected while using the well designed forms which have a range of questions pertaining to different competencies at workplace. The questions are then weighed or measured on the rating scale. The 360 degree feedback has become extremely important to acquire valuable information to be utilized in the decision making process.

To make important decisions in various important areas, like marketing, compensation, production, training and succession, organizations need to know about the effectiveness and performance of the employees. 360 degree feedback provides useful information and insight and unveils areas for improvement or concern, so as to improve the work culture within the organization. This kind of performance appraisal is also perfect to assess leadership qualities and how the leaders and managers are perceived by the employees. As this kind of feedback is very comprehensive and detailed, it is likely to be received personally as compared to other kinds of performance evaluations.

For this, it is important to prepare the employees, so that the perceived criticism is taken in a positive manner for protecting their morale. Also, it is very essential to keep the surveys anonymous and confidential so that the employees can give an open and honest feedback without any apprehensions. This helps the employees to know about their strengths, as well as weaknesses, and figure out ways to work upon them. This also helps the organizations to determine training and development needs for certain employees in order to improve the overall performance and productivity. Thus, 360 degree feedback is one of the best ways to improve overall performance and productivity of an organization.

360 Degree Evaluation Method for Most Comprehensive Employee Reviews

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 05:00:00 GMT

Conducting performance appraisal or performance evaluation is the most effective way to assess the performance of the employees at work place. The most commonly evaluated areas are intellect, competencies at completing the tasks or meeting deadlines, growth, achievements, relationship with other employees and communication skills.

The 360 degree evaluation method offers detailed assessment of the employees’ behavior and performance and collects feedback from multiple sources. This feedback can be collected from managers, supervisors, stakeholders, peers, colleagues and subordinates. The 360 degree feedback provides valuable insight and helps to unveil areas of concern or improvement, so as to make any necessary changes.

This kind of evaluation method is perfect to assess leadership qualities, also how the managers and supervisors are perceived by the employees and thus, is an effective way to spur growth & development within an organization.

However, there are various things which you need to consider before conducting the 360 degree feedback process. Since this kind of feedback and appraisal method is so comprehensive and thorough, it tends to be taken more personally, as compared to other types of evaluation methods.

Thus, a simple depersonalization process would help the employees to take the criticism in a positive or constructive way. This will promote effective development and thus, you can make the most out of this evaluation procedure.

The 360 degree appraisal method is quite beneficial for the business organizations, as it helps to identify the strengths, as well as weaknesses, of the employees and to figure out effective ways to work upon them. Also, it gives a brilliant opportunity to the employees to improve their performance and productivity, so as to enhance the level of efficacy which is expected from them.

The 360 degree evaluation method also helps the employers to identify the training and development needs for specific employees and thus, this system serves as a brilliant development tool for the business organizations.

See our Overview of our 360 Degree Evaluation Software tool.

Employee evaluations- Some useful tips to get the best results

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Thu, 27 Dec 2012 05:00:00 GMT

In today’s business world, finding, recruiting and maintaining the most talented and dedicated employees can be quite a difficult task. Employee evaluation is the key to understand your staff and how your employees are likely to do at workplace. This can help you to make an informed decision to select the right people for your company. Today, employee evaluations are not just the means to determine raises and reprimand employees but these are a significant tool for development of the employees and growth of the company. Employee assessments are a brilliant way to bring together both the employees and the company on same page as how things need to be changed to make the organization more productive.

An efficient way to make the most of these 360 employee evaluations is to allow the employees to evaluate their performance before they receive your feedback as both the evaluations can vary. This way both the company and employees can learn a bit of what all is expected and how the problems can be efficiently dealt. Also, you need to balance the assessment with a right combination of negative and positive comments as mixing in with a lot of encouraging and positive thoughts will help them to make necessary changes. Besides, give them an opportunity to defend any negative point in the evaluation as there might be a reason for reduce productivity and performance and failure to match the benchmarks set for them.

Always end up on some positive note after the appraisal and allow the employees to give their opinions on the evaluation. When the employees realize that their opinions and concerns do matter, they will have a sense of confidence and satisfaction and will make every effort to keep their employer contended and happy. Thus, with few important considerations, you can get the desired results from employee evaluations and can improve the overall productivity and performance of your organization.

Employee Evaluation Software for Business Growth

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Mon, 24 Dec 2012 05:00:00 GMT

In today’s competitive environment, 360 employee assessment is the key to business success. Every company that considers its employees an integral asset, recognizes and appreciates the importance of regular employee evaluations. With the feedback and information obtained from these evaluations, you will get a fair idea of which employees should be retained, which to use differently, and the ones that are not able to match your expectations.

Evaluate Business Growth & Performance Expectations

These evaluations provide a perfect opportunity for the business to enhance their performance and productivity. Also, the employee evaluations will help you to improve the effectiveness and quality of your hiring, interviewing and decision making process. This gives an opportunity to managers and supervisors to identify the qualities, work style, weaknesses and strengths of employees.

Why Employee Evaluations Fail

Conducting regular employee evaluations is quite a difficult and time consuming task. This is why most evaluation findings remain unused. Many companies conduct the employee evaluations on regular basis, but seldom use the results for the betterment of the work culture, of the company. The ineffectiveness frequent evaluations can be eliminated with the help of employee evaluation software.

What Makes Employee Evaluation Software Effective

The specially designed software is an easy and a simple way of ensuring that the whole process of evaluation can be conducted in a streamlined way. From collecting information, to recording it for future use, the software can prove immensely useful for a company that wants to enhance the performance and efficiency of its employees, by improving the work culture.

Employee performance appraisal is not just a regular exercise but an important investment in staff if done in a proper manner. Using employee evaluation software is the best way to conduct performance evaluation.

Boost up your employee morale and productivity with employee performance evaluations

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Fri, 21 Dec 2012 05:00:00 GMT

Owning and running a successful business comes with lots of responsibilities. These include monitoring the operations and determining whether or not the business is producing the desired results. And one of the most important aspects of monitoring the business operations is evaluating employee performance. Performance evaluation is a periodic and systematic process which helps the managers and supervisors to assess the performance as well as productivity of the employees with respect to the established organizational and individual objectives. This means to check regularly how the employees are performing their responsibilities and duties, doing the tasks against what all is expected from them.

Also, in today’s competitive professional world, the business organizations focus on recruiting and maintaining the most talented and sincere employees. 360 feedback questions are a significant tool for keeping the right employees in the business. However, the performance evaluation has to be conducted in a right and proper way as to make the most out of this process. An effective appraisal system is the one in which performance goals and objectives are properly defined and the results obtained from the appraisal process are strictly implemented. As a business head, you need to keep this in mind that the employees are the greatest asset of your business and you should make every effort to protect the morale of employees, figure out ways to improve their productivity and performance.

The employee performance evaluations offer a perfect way to monitor and accurately document how the employees and staff are contributing to the overall performance of the organization. When you integrate the performance evaluation process as an efficient part of the system, you can earn their cooperation and trust to improve their overall performance. This will benefit both your company and employees and you can take your business to a next level. The employee performance evaluations also help to identify the training and development needs of certain employees. This even helps to motivate the employees and improve their performance.

Importance of 360 feedback system for business organizations

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Fri, 14 Dec 2012 05:00:00 GMT

Performance evaluation is one of the most effective ways to assess the employees’ behavior and performance at workplace. The most commonly evaluated areas are organizational skills, competency at meeting deadlines, quality of work, behavior, communication, productivity growth and achievements, relationships with other employees and a lot more. This kind of thorough evaluation helps the management to have a comprehensive feedback from the employees. The 360 feedback system refers to a process through which a specific employee receives feedback from multiple sources about matters related to work. This feedback is provided by colleagues, subordinates, peers, managers, supervisors, stakeholders and clients. This kind of feedback is collected with the use of a well designed questionnaire which includes a range of important questions pertaining to various competencies related to the workplace. These questions are then weighed or measured on the rating scale. It is also quite essential to include open ended questions as to encourage text comments and comprehensive feedback from the employees.

The 360 feedback system is a significant way to gather important information and insight to be utilized in the decision making process by the management. As such, this system finds great importance in the human resource and research field. Business heads and managers make the use of this evaluation method to understand the strengths as well as weakness of the employees. The results obtained from the evaluation are tabulated automatically to create an efficient plan for the growth and development of the organization. The system also offers a brilliant way to the employees to develop effectiveness and efficacy in their current roles. It helps them to know about areas where they are doing well and also the areas which require improvement. Thus, the 360 feedback system serves as an excellent development tool for the organizations to enhance overall performance and productivity and take their business to exceptional heights.

Improve performance and efficacy with 360 degree feedback

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Tue, 11 Dec 2012 05:00:00 GMT

The concept of 360 degree evaluation has become increasingly popular in the business organizations today. It refers to a system or process through which the employees receive valuable feedback from multiple sources with respect to competencies related to the workplace. The received feedback is collected from the other employees, colleagues, peers, subordinates, supervisors and managers. 360 degree evaluation is quite an efficient way to acquire valuable information which can be used by the management during the decision making process. As such this system finds lots of importance in the human resource and research field.

The 360 degree feedback helps the managers and supervisors to comprehend the strengths and weaknesses of their employees. It helps them to determine the training and development needs for the employees. This evaluation method also offers a perfect opportunity to the employers to appreciate the achievements of the staff and thus boost up their morale. The results obtained from the evaluation process are tabulated automatically in a simple and easy to use format which helps to make an efficient development plan. Likewise, employees get to know about the areas where they are doing well and also the areas which need improvement.

Thus the 360 degree feedback system provides an excellent tool to the employees, which helps them to develop efficacy in their existing roles. However, keeping the survey anonymous and confidential is very important as to get an open and honest feedback from the employees. This kind of feedback helps the employees to understand how their colleagues and subordinates perceive them. And in turn the employees cultivate behaviors and skills which help them to perform in a better way in their given responsibilities. This appraisal method also helps to unveil areas which can probably miss in other evaluation methods. Thus, the 360 degree feedback can be efficiently used as a development tool for the business leaders to enhance their company’s overall productivity and performance.

Benefits of 360 degree feedback software

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Fri, 07 Dec 2012 05:00:00 GMT

The best way to improve effectiveness and efficacy at work is through the use of 360 degree appraisal method. Generally, this appraisal method is acknowledged as a perfect tool to analyze a company’s workforce potential. Either complicated or easy, various strategies are utilized to appraise employees’ performance, skills and competencies. The 360 degree evaluation method represents an anonymous and confidential assessment of the employees on the basis of valuable information received from the feedback survey. Today, specialized survey software, known as 360 degree feedback software has been developed and designed by the human resource personnel and psychological experts to conduct thorough performance evaluation in the business organizations.

The surveys conducted in this manner are anonymous, effective and efficient. The 360 degree feedback software helps to design a perfect questionnaire which includes all relevant and important questions. This would incorporate open ended questions to encourage text comments and comprehensive answers and also closed ended questions to request quantitative ratings. Also, you would be offered a range of competencies to include and these can even be customized as per the traits and specifications of your company. The results of the questionnaire would be complied into the report which will help the employees to improve their performance and efficacy.

Besides, with the help of 360 degree feedback software, the questionnaire can be completely customized as per your style and brand, your organization’s assessment framework, as well as the questions, targeting the desired competencies of your business. Thus, 360 degree evaluation is not just a performance appraisal method but a continuing development project. The essence of this method is to offer a balanced and comprehensive review of the employees as it involves different workplace competencies. This also helps the managers and supervisors to forge growth and development within the organization and allow the employees to enhance their performance and productivity.

360 degree evaluation for balanced and comprehensive employee reviews

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Tue, 04 Dec 2012 05:00:00 GMT

The 360 degree evaluation method is becoming increasingly popular in the modern business organizations particularly due to the amazing benefits which the system offers. This evaluation method offers thorough assessment of the performance, as well as behavior, of the employees. It differs from a conventional performance evaluation or appraisal, as it collects valuable feedback from multiple-sources with whom the employee works. This can include managers, colleagues, supervisors, peers, stakeholders and clients as well. The feedback so obtained is then compiled to give a rounded or overall review of the employees’ performance and behavior.

Thus, 360 degree evaluation offers an unmatched level of knowledge and insight, which also unveils the major problem areas and also areas for improvement which otherwise are difficult to identify and assess. Thus, this kind of appraisal method is an effective and perfect way to spur development and growth within the organization. Also, as this appraisal method is so detailed, employees tend to receive it more personally, as compared to other performance evaluation methods. Thus, it is very essential to prepare the employees for the data or feedback they would receive. This will help them to take the perceived criticism or feedback in a positive way and prevent them from feeling discouraged or upset. Thus, this kind of feedback would promote effective development and growth of the employees.

Also, it is very important to keep the surveys anonymous and confidential, so that the employees can give an open and honest feedback. The 360 degree evaluation is very important as it helps to identify the weaknesses and strengths of each and every employee. Thus, every employee is able to see what exactly is required to improve and to enhance overall effectiveness and efficiency at work. So, this appraisal method serves as a perfect development tool which helps to improve overall performance and productivity within the organization.

Employee evaluations- An important tool for successful business organizations

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Fri, 30 Nov 2012 05:00:00 GMT

Appraising the employees performance is extremely important for business organizations particularly the larger ones. The most perfect way to do this by evaluating the performance and behavior of the employees on a regular basis. Performance reviews not only serve as a development tool but also foster healthy professional relationships between the employees and employer. These help to set goals and also improve the quality of work and thus overall performance within the organization. Also, in today’s professional world with fierce competition, the focus is mainly on how significant is to recruit and maintain the most talented and sincere employees. Employee evaluations are a significant tool which helps to maintain sincere and talented employees in the business. Besides, an efficient evaluation process is the one where the performance goals and objectives are properly defined and the system of appraising and monitoring the employees’ performance is rightly implemented.

As a business owner, it is your responsibility to monitor the ongoing operations and determine if your business is giving the desired and optimum results. And one of the most important aspects of monitoring the operations is evaluating the employee performance. This kind of evaluation is done in terms of work quality, cost consciousness, attendance, productivity, communication and various other factors. Usually, the evaluation is carried out by employees’ supervisor or immediate manager.

People often consider the employee evaluations as a perfect tool to determine whether or not the employee is attaining compliance with job competencies and work knowledge requirements. However, the employee evaluations are an important tool for the employers as they help to determine the value and overall contribution of an employee to the growth of an organization. It is the tool which analyzes the earnings as well as costs attributed to a particular employees’ performance. Of course, this does not imply that the employees are presently not contributing the organization’s overall goals or are not satisfying the needs and requirements. Rather, this helps to determine what assistance can be given to the employees to improve their performance.

360 degree evaluation- to make improvements in employee performance

Fri, 30 Nov 2012 05:00:00 GMT

Accumulating feedback for employee performance evaluation or analyzing the contribution of employees is crucial for HR departments of any organization. It is important to gather accurate data relating employees’ performance and the benefits they provide to the company, to ensure that prospect business operations can be established to maximum effect. Therefore, many organizations accumulate this feedback in several ways as per their requirements. 360 degree evaluation also known as multi-rater feedback or multisource feedback is a methodical practice directed towards acquiring response from employees.

The term 360 is a reference to the 360 degrees of a circle, with the employees being measured as the focal point of the circle. It includes the feedback from the workers as self-evaluation, their managers, their superiors, their colleagues, as well as internal and external clients, stakeholders and affiliates. The foremost implementation of 360 degree evaluation survey dates back to the Second World War, after the German Armed Force decided to assess performance through feedbacks obtained from various sources. However, it was not before the 90’s that 360 degree feedback was widely understood and executed by HR departments worldwide. Now, as an entrepreneur or business head, you can conduct 360 degree evaluation survey to defensively plan the training and coaching required for your employee’s growth, with regards to the benefits they will provide to your company. Some critical administrative decisions and actions that you make, such as employee’s compensation and bonuses are also influenced by the feedback gained.

The research regarding the precision of the feedback proves that the relationship between the employee being appraised and the HR manager who conducts such survey as in the period of time have both known each other and it can have most significant impact on the accuracy of the results obtained. The accuracy of the results of 360 degree evaluation surveys can yield decisive endings. By conducting such surveys, you are able to witness an overall improvement in your employees’ performance within a short period of time, if not instantly.

Employee performance evaluations- An overview

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Fri, 23 Nov 2012 05:00:00 GMT

Evaluating the behavior and performance of the employees is one of the most important ways for the businesses to succeed and flourish. The most perfect way to do this is through regular performance reviews or employee appraisals. This means regularly checking how the employees perform their duties and do their tasks. Constructive and consistent performance evaluations of the employees are quite important to boost up their morale. This gives a lucid idea to employees about how they are performing and what are the areas which need improvement. This kind of evaluation system is a significant tool to enhance productivity and performance within the organization.

An efficient evaluation system is the one in which performance goals are properly defined and process of appraising and monitoring the employee performance are strictly and formally implemented. The results of three sixty feedback evaluations are properly tabulated and communicated to all the employees. Remember that employees are extremely crucial for the success of your company. Thus, as a business owner and a prudent employer, you must make every effort to protect the morale of your employees, build the trust of your employees into the system and try your best to enhance their productivity and performance. An efficient evaluation system is a perfect way to document and monitor accurately, how the employees and workers are contributing to their organization.

However, in order to make the most out of these employee performance evaluations, it is quite important to include all the important aspects, such as productivity, quality of the work, cost consciousness, meeting deadlines, communication, intellect and a lot more. Usually this kind of evaluation is carried out by the supervisor or immediate manager of the employees. Employers usually consider this evaluation system, as a means to determine that whether the employees are attaining compliance with various workplace knowledge requirements and competencies. However, employee performance evaluations are a significant tool for the employers to determine the employees’ worth for an organization or business.

Know true capability of employees with Employee performance evaluation software

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Tue, 20 Nov 2012 05:00:00 GMT

When the capability of an employee is measured in terms of his performance, it gives the correct knowledge about his potential to the employer. It can be useful to know what an employee actually deserves, which can be transformed in terms of recognition, pay structure and bonuses by the company to motivate him. The ability to know the actual performance of an employee helps to improve the future endeavors.

360 feedback software is primarily used to correctly evaluate the performance quotient of the employee. The software helps to make the process automated and saves a lot of effort and time of the management. This tool aids in augmenting the quality of work done by an employee and cultivates a high performance environment in the company. Workforce tends to become more conscious of their efforts and move in the direction of constant improvement.

When an employee knows that his performance is being calculated by the management, it can instill a spirit in him to set new higher standards of performance, where he wants to surpass the performance levels of his peers and his own past records. Performance evaluation with the help of employee performance evaluation software gives an opportunity to know the past year’s performances and helps in establishing newer standards for employees, by the management. It also gives a chance to the employee to re-assess his performance and take proper measures, in case they have derailed from the right track.

It is essential to explore latest technology in the form of employee performance evaluation software , to increase the output of the workforce and have an edge in the competitive market. The software ensures that there is no biasness in the evaluation, which further brings positive changes in the behavior of the employee. Employees tend to become more hardworking and committed to the assigned job and work their level best to achieve higher performance levels.

How Organizations Can Benefit From 360 Feedback Tools

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 05:00:00 GMT

360 degree surveys denote a system or process through which employees receive feedback about various aspects related to workplace performance and behaviour from multiple sources. 360 degree feedback figuratively refers to a degree of circle with employee at center of circle. The received feedback comes from various sources such as managers and supervisors, colleagues and peers.

How surveys are conducted

In order to obtain the most honest and open feedback, the surveys are kept anonymous. Also, in order to make the most of the 360 feedback system , it is important to have a well designed questionnaire that includes a range of important and relevant questions. These questions pertain to different competencies in the workplace. The questions asked in the survey are weighed or measured on the rating scale. The feedback recipient is also asked to fill the self evaluation form, which will contain similar questions related to their peer evaluations.

Why 360 feedback tools are so important

360 feedback tools are extremely important to acquire the information used by the management during their decision making process. As such, this helps the managers to have a fair idea of the various aspects of their employees’ performance and also enables the employee to recognize their strengths and weaknesses and how to work on improving them.

3 60 feedback systems help to boost up employee morale and motivate them to perform even better and contribute in the overall growth and development of the organization. The system provides a robust tool to the employees as it enables them to develop efficacy in their current roles.

Importance of 360 Degree Feedback

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 05:00:00 GMT

In today’s competitive business world, the use of 360 degree feedback surveys is growing at a very fast rate. This kind of multi rater system provides in depth evaluation of the employees behavior and performance.

The 360 degree feedback system differs significantly from the traditional performance evaluation or appraisal methods as this gather comprehensive feedback from various sources such as managers, colleagues, stakeholders, peers and supervisors.

It gives a more rounded evaluation of the performance and behavior of the employees and offers valuable insight while unveiling areas for improvement. Also, this kind of evaluation method is ideal to assess the leadership qualities and how the leaders and managers are perceived by the employees. Thus, 360 feedback is an efficient method to forge growth and development in the organization.

With the increasing popularity of this evaluation system, specialized survey software is designed and developed by the psychological experts to carry out performance evaluation in the business organizations. Surveys when conducted in this way are efficient, effective and anonymous.

Besides, it is very important to efficiently design the questionnaire which include open ended questions as to facilitate honest and open suggestions and comments and must also include close ended questions for quantitative ratings. Also, you can include a range of competencies that can even be customized as per the nature of your business and desirable traits.

This means 360 degree feedback questionnaire can be completely customized as per your style and brand and the desired competencies which you wish to include.

Thus, 360 degree feedback is not just a performance evaluation method but it is a consistent development project which allows the employees to know about their weaknesses and strengths and figure out ways to work upon these. This evaluation method helps the organizations to acknowledge training and development needs and also boost up the morale of employees.

See our Overview of our 360 Performance Feedback Templates from our Software tool.

360 Degree Evaluation– Unlock High Productivity & Performance

Tue, 06 Nov 2012 05:00:00 GMT

360 degree feedback system is one of the best performance evaluation methods that offer detailed assessment of employee behavior and performance.

360 Evaluation vs Traditional Evaluation

The basic difference between this evaluation and traditional evaluation methods is that it collects feedback from different sources, such as managers, stakeholders, supervisors, colleagues and peers. As this kind of appraisal involves collecting feedback from varied sources, this makes quite an effective option to assess employees’ performance at workplace.

Skills Assessed

The areas that are most commonly assessed are quality of work, organizational skills, productivity, intellect, achievements, growth, training needs, relationship with other employees, communication, and competencies at completing various tasks. 360 degree evaluation is the most effective form of evaluation as it gathers complete understanding of employees’ performance and behaviors from multiple sources.

How to Get The Most Effective Results

In order to get the most out of 360 degree feedback it should be anonymous and include open ended questions prompting detailed, written feedback and also closed ended questions with a scoring system. This kind of feedback helps the employees to have a clear idea of their strengths, as well as weaknesses, and this would enable them to find out effective methods to work upon these.

Facilitate Growth Within Your Business

The 360 degree evaluation represents an anonymous employee assessment based on the valuable information received from coworkers or superiors and managers.

This kind of evaluation provides valuable insight and unveils the areas of improvement or concern which otherwise are difficult to figure out. It is also an efficient way to facilitate growth and development within a business. Use the 360 degree evaluation method to enhance the overall productivity and performance of the organization.

Use 360 degree surveys for identifying development and training needs

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Sun, 04 Nov 2012 04:00:00 GMT

360 degree surveys serve as a development tool for the business organizations to evaluate the performance, as well as development needs and requirements, of the employees. These aim to provide groups and individuals valuable information about their strengths, weaknesses and training or development needs. This feedback is collected from the co-workers, peers, supervisors, managers and others while using a well designed questionnaire which covers all important areas and competencies, such as abilities or skills, productivity, job performance and much more. The data collected is then organized and tabulated to make a report which shows the weaknesses, as well as strengths, of the target employee.

Also, since the feedback is collected from the multiple sources in the 360 degree surveys, the employees and workers tend to find the results more compelling, as compared to the traditional evaluation process, which is conducted by a manager or supervisor. Also the questionnaire is kept confidential and anonymous in order to facilitate more open and honest feedback from the employees. This helps the employees to identify their strengths and weaknesses and the areas where they are doing well or the ones which need improvement. This also helps to boost up the employee’s morale which eventually leads to improved productivity and performance.

The organization also gets a clear idea of group or individual development needs and thus can figure out effective ways to improve the overall performance of the organization. This will lead to more cost-effective and efficient use of the development resources, as well as improved performance. You can use the same questionnaire again after a specific period of time to assess the effectiveness of development and training by measuring the improvement in productivity and performance of the employee. Thus, 360 degree surveys significantly help to enhance the organization’s performance which eventually leads to increased sales and escalating profits.

360 degree evaluation- Must for balanced and comprehensive employee reviews

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Tue, 30 Oct 2012 04:00:00 GMT

The 360 degree survey is an efficient evaluation method that offers in depth assessment of the behavior and performance of the employees. This evaluation method varies from traditional performance evaluation or appraisal, as it collects valuable feedback from various sources, such as mangers, colleagues, peers, stakeholders, clients, which are then compiled to give a comprehensive review. Thus, 360 degree evaluation provides valuable insight which helps to unveil areas for improvement or concern that are otherwise missed in an evaluation which is conducted by the management alone.

This kind of evaluation is perfect to assess leadership skills and managerial qualities and also how the leaders and supervisors are perceived by the teams. So, this evaluation method is an efficient way to forge growth and development in the organization. However, it is quite important to consider few essential things to make the most of the evaluation process. Careful and proper planning helps to ensure success and efficiency of these kinds of initiatives and help the organization to maximize the benefits.

Today, more and more organizations are making the use of 360 degree evaluation as one of the best development tools. The feedback received in this way helps the employees to have a better understanding of the weaknesses and strengths and also to find out effective ways to work on them. However it is quite important that the raters, which are providing the feedback, must have direct working experience with the employee. In 360 degree evaluation, the ultimate objective is to have a fair idea of how others view the behavior and performance of a specific employee within the organization, in terms of various performance factors or specific competencies.

Of course, all this is carried out confidentially and anonymously to ensure open and honest feedback from the employees. The results obtained are then utilized to create an appropriate development plan for a specific employee, which will focus on training needs and strengthening areas.

Elements of efficient employee evaluations

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Tue, 30 Oct 2012 04:00:00 GMT

In today’s professional world, 360 degree evaluations are extremely important as these allow both small and large organizations to know about the productivity and performance of the employees. These are not just any routine exercise in a workplace rather these are rewarding investments in the staff if done in a right way. As a manager, if you are responsible for the annual reviews then you must incorporate these elements in the evaluation process and watch the employees bloom and contributing to the organization in a significant way. Give the employees an opportunity to complete the self evaluation form before receiving their performance appraisal from your side.

You can ask the employees to evaluate how brilliantly they have done their work and met the job standards and duties. You can include questions like what kind of resources that you require to excel at the job? How does the position given to you fit into the personal goals and missions? What constraints and frustrations you experience in the job and how these can be overcome?

Apart from this, meet the needs and requirements of the HR department before you prepare the employee evaluations. Also, discuss with the employees the differences as well as commonalities which exist between self evaluation results. Emphasize on the employees strengths as well as growth opportunities. Also, talk about the specific strengths and efficacy of an employee and how this contributes in enhancing the organizational effectiveness, productivity and performance. This helps to build employee morale, improves performance as well as work environment, makes job easy and inspire others. The employee evaluation also helps the employees to know about their strengths and weaknesses and also determine effective ways of how to work upon them. Efficient employee evaluations when conducted in a right way motivate the employees to look beyond horizon, grow professionally and significantly contribute in achieving the organization’s overall goal and mission.

Guidelines for using employee evaluation software

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Mon, 29 Oct 2012 04:00:00 GMT

Employee evaluations are one of the most efficient ways to know about the performance and productivity of the employees and how they are contributing to the organization’s goal and objectives. However, today, even the most established and sophisticated business organizations are not happy and satisfied with the way they employ the methods and ways to evaluate the employees, specifically to improve them. The entire appraisal process has to be effective and objective. Thus, there is a need for good 360 degree evaluation software which can carry out this complete process in an efficient manner. This can serve as a perfect tool for organizational development to improve the performance and productivity of your company.

The evaluation process should also include the weaknesses, strengths, development and training needs and also opportunities for growth and promotion of the employees. However the problem with this kind of evaluation process that it is quite arduous and requires a lot of time and administrative work as it is quite unstructured. The employee evaluation software works well for the managers and supervisors as it helps them to do the entire appraisal process in an efficient way. This serves as quite an organized and structured way to appraise the individual performance of the employees and also to obtain valuable feedback which can be used for organizational improvement and development.

Also, for any evaluation system to become efficient, it is quite important to conduct this evaluation process on a regular basis particularly before the decision making process by the management. When the organizations conduct employee evaluation on a regular basis, it will be easy for them to identify the problem areas and issues and resolve these accordingly. Mangers often do not prefer to conduct regular employee evaluations as it involves a lot of time and efforts but with the use of employee evaluation software the entire appraisal process becomes quite easy and simple.

Conducting Employee performance evaluations

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Fri, 19 Oct 2012 04:00:00 GMT

In the current economic climate, the importance of conducting 360 degree feed back surveys is recognized, as well as appreciated, by the organizations who acknowledge their staff and employees as the most significant asset. But this recognition is only beneficial when such kind of system is actually implemented within the organization in order to enhance productivity and performance of the employees. In this fiercely competitive world, emphasis is mainly on how to recruit and retain most talented employees to do the job in an effective way. Employee performance evaluation is a significant tool to retain right people to do the job efficiently in your organization.

The employee performance evaluations are important for not only the business organizations but these are quite beneficial for employees also. Constructive and consistent employee performance evaluation is essential to boost up the morale of employees. These evaluations also help them to identify their weaknesses and strengths. They can thus figure out effective ways to work upon them and thus deliver outstanding results. This is important for the career progression and advancement of the employees. Also, when these evaluations are regularly conducted, it becomes easier for the organizations to identify the problem areas and also ways to resolve them in an efficient manner.

Low productivity and performance issues of specific employees and staff members can be immediately addressed and corrected. Thus, the performance evaluations of the employees are a perfect way to improve the efficiency of your team and also the bottom line of your business organization. Employees are the greatest asset of your business and so you need to make every effort to build the trust of your employees, boost their morale and figure out effective ways to enhance their productivity and performance. The employee performance evaluations are thus a perfect way to efficiently monitor and evaluate how the employees are doing and contributing to your business’s overall productivity and growth.

How can organizations benefit from 360 degree feedback?

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Tue, 09 Oct 2012 04:00:00 GMT

How 360 degree evaluation works?

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Thu, 04 Oct 2012 04:00:00 GMT

In today’s organizations, 360 degree evaluations have become increasingly popular when it comes to appraising the work performance of the employees. This is acknowledged as one of the most effective ways to analyze the organization’s workforce potential. Either complicated or easy, strategies are utilized to analyze the performance, skills and competencies of the employees. 360 degree evaluation represents confidential assessment of the employees, based on the information received from the coworkers, peers and supervisors.

The concept of surveying the performance of the employees is not new; however the idea of having the multiple employees rating a specific employee to have an unbiased input is relatively a young concept. This type of evaluation system works in quite an effective way to collect valuable information about the employees, in terms of their performance at work, productivity, skills and competencies, attitude, behaviors and a lot more.

The 360 degree evaluation helps the employees to understand in a better way about their weaknesses and strengths. However, in order to get the appropriate results, it is very important to carefully select the raters, who are going to provide the feedback. They must have direct working experience with the specific employee on a regular basis. Definitely the biases of other employees would enter into the evaluation process.

Thus, it is quite essential to include sufficient number of people, to get away from the inherent biases and opinions in the evaluation process. The idea behind conducting 360 degree evaluation is to have a fair understanding of what others feel and how they view the target employee’s performance, with respect to various performance factors and specific competencies. This helps the employees to have a clear idea of the areas which need improvement and the areas where they are doing well. This also instills a sense of confidence and accomplishment, besides encouraging the employees to do better and significantly contributes in achieving the organization’s overall goal.

Importance of employee evaluation survey software

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Tue, 25 Sep 2012 04:00:00 GMT

The importance and relevance of regularly conducting evaluation of the employees is appreciated and acknowledged by the organizations, who contemplate their employees as their one of the most significant assets. However, acknowledging its importance can work only when you actually implement the system. An employee appraisal system is the most efficient tool to manage and develop employee skills. Efficient employee evaluation software has to be the one which gives the management a fair idea of the areas that require more improvement and attention.

As a business owner, you need to consider that you can use the regular evaluation of the employees as a great development tool, which can efficiently help you to enhance the performance of the employees and boost up their morale. Usually many of these types of systems miserably fail, as these are regarded more as the comparison tools and less of evaluation or development tools. Thus, this is more likely to create a very unhealthy competitive business environment, which can have a very damaging effect on the morale of the employees.

Performance appraisals and evaluations must be conducted in order to help recognize the strengths, as well as weaknesses, of the employees in their present role. They must not be utilized as a means to blame the employees for some departmental or even overall business failure, which have occurred. An efficient appraisal system with the help of good employee evaluation software, following a comprehensive review of employee performance, must provide the employees with a defined set of targets and objectives to focus on. This can be used as a great way of inspiring and motivating them. Also, when conducting the staff evaluations, you should include the required development or training programs for any particular employee or employees. As with such a system of appraising and reviewing the performance of the employees, you get to know the areas which need improvement and thus you can initiate efficient development and training programs for the employees. Thus, you can use employee evaluation software as an efficient development tool for your organization.

Preparing Yourself for Employee Performance Evaluations

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Sun, 23 Sep 2012 04:00:00 GMT

Employee performance evaluations, as the name suggests, helps to evaluate the performance and efficiency of an employee and also how well they are contributing in the growth of a company.

Almost every company today conducts these evaluations to know the performance and productivity level of each employee. These evaluations also help identify strengths and areas that need improvement.

Tension For HR Professionals & Employees

Most companies avoid conducting 360 degree performance evaluations , because they are considered to be highly time consuming and hectic. The HR department has to prepare the surveys and then collect the information and record all of this data for further evaluation. It requires a lot of their time and efforts. It is an equally daunting time for employees as well as it is their performance that is going to be evaluated by the senior staff and managers.

How Preparation Makes Feedback Beneficial

The outcome of these employee performance evaluations have a huge impact on employee career prospects. Preparing yourself in advance is extremely useful. You can get time to prepare a list of all the achievements and progress that you have been able to make during the past and goals that you wish to achieve in future. You can also save your senior’s time and effort by preparing yourself in advance. Generally these evaluations are conducted in the form of face to face interviews.

The Bottom Line

With good preparation you can present yourself as a confident and motivated employee. As an employer, these evaluations also help to identify the shortcomings of your employees, along with their achievements. With the help of these evaluations you can not only improve your work performance but can also open new avenues for professional growth.

Tips for buying employee performance evaluation software

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Wed, 19 Sep 2012 04:00:00 GMT

Employee evaluations and surveys are conducted in every company, no matter how big or small. However, many companies consider these highly time consuming and that is why they look for ways to avoid conducting these surveys. It is true that preparing and distributing the questionnaires and then collecting and recording the information requires a lot of time and efforts. However, with the help of specialized 360 performance evaluation software , this task can be completed in a fraction of time and with least amount of effort.

Plenty of employee performance evaluation software, having various features are available today. These are specifically designed to make this evaluation process easier for the companies. Before investing in any such software, it is advisable to keep some important factors in mind. The very first thing that you need to analyze is your business needs. Every company is different and so are the parameters which define the level of its productivity and employee efficiency. Primarily, this type of software should help you to analyze and improve the work performance of the employees, by evaluating their strengths and shortcomings. Also check if the software has the option of customizing the available features.

There are a lot of benefits offered by this employee performance evaluation software . Most of the software contains sample questionnaires and forms, which can be utilized by the companies for evaluation. It is also possible to modify and add or remove any questions present in these forms according to the specific needs of the company. Another benefit that the software offers is of easy distribution of forms and collection of data. The software allows you to distribute forms among the employees online and then collect and record the data in a centralized system. It becomes easier for the managers and HR personals to access this data anytime they want and from anywhere.

Improve employee performance with 360 feedback system

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Fri, 14 Sep 2012 04:00:00 GMT

Employee surveys are of many types, however all of these are aimed at evaluating the work related performance and attitude of the employees. The best way to evaluate your workforce is to assess them from all the sides and for that 360 feedback system can prove highly useful. It can help you by providing all the information that you need and that too from various aspects. More commonly used surveys include the views of only the managers or supervisors; while the 360 feedback involves the opinions of every individual who is related to an employee. In this system an employee is evaluated by his seniors, subordinations, peers and juniors as well.

In 360 feedback system a questionnaire is formulated according to the desirable areas which need to be evaluated and this questionnaire is distributed among the managers, peers and juniors of that employee. The information or data collected through this system can prove useful when deciding if a particular employee should be given a promotion or more training. A prime factor which makes this system so effective is that there is very less scope for biasness and that is why it is more reliable.

Another factor related to this type of feedback system is of greater acceptance. An employee is more likely to accept the opinions of his subordinates and people with whom he deals on regular basis, rather than the views of a specific senior.

The 360 feedback system can help an employee to find out his strengths and the areas in which he lacks. It is a great opportunity for an employee to acknowledge his shortcomings and then improve his weak points. As the opinions expressed by the people who participate in this process are kept confidential, it allows them to share their views and suggestions more openly and honestly. Thus this feedback system can prove to be highly beneficial for a company that is seeking ways to improve the performance, attitude and behavior of its employees, with constructive feedback.

360 degree feedback system – a comprehensive organizational tool

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Tue, 11 Sep 2012 04:00:00 GMT

A number of surveys are conducted by various companies, in order to streamline its processes, improve employee performance and facilitate the achievement of its organizations goals. Out of various surveys, the 360 feedback system is highly acknowledged to be the most successful and useful. 360 degree feedback involves the opinion of all the individuals and does not rely on the views of any one individual and that is the prime reason which makes this feedback system so effective.

360 degree feedback refers to a system where an employee, whom is to be evaluated, receives feedback from all the individuals around him. It could include his seniors, managers, supervisors, peers, juniors and even customers. This type of all round feedback is considered to be more reliable and effective as compared to the other commonly used surveys. Since the views of all the people associated are given equal importance, there is relatively no scope for biasness. Every person who participates in this process is free to share his true opinions and thus there is greater possibility that the final outcome will be based on the honest and genuine feedback of the employees. Generally in 360 degree feedback system all the information is kept confidential, which further motivates people to share their honest feelings without exposing their identity.

The information that is collected through this type of surveys can be utilized in a number of ways. First of all the collected data can be used to identify the strengths and weaknesses of a certain employee. It will give him a chance to work upon improving his weak points and emerge as a more credible and efficient employee. The HR department can also use this information while awarding appraisals. Work performance, abilities and skills are the primary factors, on whose basis the performance appraisals are given in any company. This type of comprehensive feedback system can provide the desired information to the HR department regarding the employees which are performing according to the desired standards.

360 degree evaluation – a comprehensive employee evaluation tool

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Tue, 04 Sep 2012 04:00:00 GMT

Conducting employee surveys has become a common norm today, as every company wants to ensure that it is getting the desired outcome from its employees. In most of the companies these surveys are conducted once or twice in a year and are considered to be a great tool for evaluating the work performance of the employees. Apart from the professional development, these surveys also prove valuable in analyzing the behavior, attitude and growth of each individual employee.

When it comes to selecting the most effective and useful type of employee surveys, 360 degree evaluation emerges as the clear winner. Owing to its immense benefits, it can be rightly said that 360 evaluations is undoubtedly the most valuable method and highly preferred by companies of all sizes. It is a comprehensive form of evaluation which involves feedback from peers, seniors and juniors of the employee who needs to be evaluated.

Along with being highly cost effective and time saving 360 degree evaluation offers immense other benefits as well. The biggest advantage that this type of evaluation offers is that it helps to improve work relations, enhances productivity and also proves useful in the professional and personal growth of the employees. The surveys which were conducted before the introduction of 360 degree survey included the opinions of only one individual and it could be the manager, supervisor or the immediate senior of the employee, who was to be evaluated.

Biasness, lack of communication and improper recording of the data were some of the factors which highly affected these one sided surveys. However, all these factors are totally absent from the 360 degree evaluation as in this type of survey the opinion of all the individuals, who come in contact with an employee, are considered. Thus the final outcome is not based on any one individual’s opinion, but views of different individuals are used to form a collective conclusion of an employee’s behavior and attitude towards work, subordinates and seniors.

Employee evaluation software- An overview

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Thu, 30 Aug 2012 04:00:00 GMT

Employee evaluation is acknowledged as a perfect art form when it comes to the administration of the businesses. Constructive and consistent employee evaluations are extremely important to enhance the productivity and morale of the employees. These allow the employees to identify their strengths as well as weaknesses. However, in this highly competitive world, even some of the most established and sophisticated companies are not satisfied and happy with the ways they perform appraisal methods and techniques. Thus, it is very important to have a good and effective system to evaluate the performance of the employees so that it can serve as a valuable tool for the organizational development to enhance the overall productivity and performance of the organization.

With the advancement in technology various systems are available for appraising the workers and employees however there are few methods which brilliantly stand out. The employee evaluation software is one of the best ways of evaluating the performance of the employees. Performance evaluation provides the employees with valuable feedback in terms of their performance, quality of work, competency at completing tasks and their overall contribution to the organization.

The employee evaluation software helps to monitor and analyze the core values and performance and behavioral practices against some objectives or attributes. The results obtained from this kind of evaluation are provided to the employees in terms of quantity, quality, cost and time. In fact, the employee performance evaluation is quite an important task and is based on calculations and reviews. This kind of appraisal system helps to review the employee’s performance, productivity, attitude, behaviors, relationships with other employees and their contribution in the organization. The results of the appraisal system help the organization to take necessary steps for improving the morale and productivity of the employees. This can also include some sort of training programs so that they can perform better at work. Thus, employee evaluation software proves to be extremely useful for the successful and efficient working of the organizations.

Benefits of employee performance evaluation software

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Wed, 22 Aug 2012 04:00:00 GMT

In today’s competitive world, it is very important for the business organizations to figure out innovative and smart ways to outperform the fierce competition. One of the perfect ways to achieve this is to improve the morale and performance of the employees to enhance productivity and take the business to new heights. For this, a 360 degree feed back evaluation is an excellent tool which provides valuable information about the performance of the employees. Also, a well arranged, well managed and effective database is very important to have detailed information about the performance and efficiency of the employees.

Employee performance evaluation software efficiently performs this function for administrative and professional HR personnel. This kind of software makes it quite easy for the businesses to monitor and assess the performance and efficiency of the employees and thus must incorporate several important features. One essential factor of the employee performance evaluation software is the goal management. The staff and employees need to determine from the evaluators the way they are performing at work. The software which aligns company’s procedures and objectives with the employee accomplishments and behaviors helps this kind of understanding and perception to come forth.

With the features of goal management in the software, the evaluators and the managers are provided with tools in order to assign achievable and suitable goals to various employees or a single employee. Also, the 360 performance evaluation software needs to efficiently assess these kinds of individual goals with respect to the business goals. The results derived from this kind of performance evaluation prove to be extremely beneficial for the employees as well as the organization. This allows the employees to identify their strengths as well as their weak areas where they need improvement or training. The evaluation also helps the organization in terms of enhanced performance and productivity. This also helps to improve the company’s bottom line.

Importance of 360 feedback system

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Thu, 16 Aug 2012 04:00:00 GMT

Performance appraisal or performance evaluation is one of the most effective ways to assess the performance of the employees at workplace. This helps the business organizations to figure out effective ways of improving the performance of employees and also boosting up their morale. The most commonly evaluated areas are organizational skills, strength of relationships with others, competency with respect to completion of tasks, productivity, quality of work, growth expectations and several other factors. The 360 degree feedback is one of the most significant parts of the evaluation process of employee performance. It works as one of the important development tools as it helps the employees to identify their weaknesses and strengths. This system allows the employees to get feedback from different people including their peers, supervisors, mangers and coworkers.

The 360 feedback system gathers comprehensive feedback about the performance, attitude and behavior of a specific employee. This helps the employer to find out the ways to improve the performance of employees and boost up their morale. Also, it is very important that 360 degree feedback should be kept anonymous and confidential so that the employees can give a clear and honest feedback about the target employee. Thus, in a business organization where 360 feedback is implemented in a right and proper way, the employees would be able to cultivate their skills and develop their careers in a better way. The 360 feedback system helps the employees to comprehend how effective they are, at work, as staff members through the perspectives of other people.

The ultimate objective of making the use of this system in the business organization is to provide the employees a fair idea about the kind of attitude and skills which are required in an organization. It also helps them to discover the types of skills which the employees must develop. These skills and competencies are the key to success for any business organization which enable it to achieve its mission and goals. Thus, this system is extremely important for the business organizations as it is not just a performance evaluation method but is a persistent development project.

Benefits of 360 degree feedback

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Tue, 14 Aug 2012 04:00:00 GMT

The 360 degree surveys or 360 degree feedback is one of the performance evaluation methods, which provide comprehensive assessment of the employee’s behavior and performance. This kind of feedback significantly varies from traditional performance evaluation or feedback as it collects relevant feedback from different sources. These sources can include the peers, subordinates, supervisors and managers who can give valuable feedback about the target employee. This feedback can be then compiled to give an overall impression of the employee’s performance. The 360 degree feedback can be obtained through direct reports or by using the forms, which include questions pertaining to various competencies in work place.

The 360 degree feedback is quite a significant system in order to acquire information which can be efficiently used by the management during the decision making process. This feedback helps to reveal positive as well as negative aspects of an employee in terms of his position at work, effectiveness, productivity and attitude. This also allows the employees to understand their strengths as well as weaknesses which, also helps them to improve their performance and productivity besides boosting up their morale.

The results obtained from the feedback are tabulated automatically in such a format which is easy to be used and can help in creating a good development plan. The individual responses of the employees are placed into different categories to maintain the anonymity and also help the target employee to understand the weaknesses and strengths. Thus, the system acts as a brilliant tool to help the employees to develop efficacy in their current roles. However it is quite important to keep the feedback anonymous so that the employees can honestly give their views and opinions and they do not have any discomfort in providing critique. It helps the employees to understand how their coworkers perceive them. This in turn encourages them to cultivate skills, capabilities and behaviors to perform their duties in a better way. Thus 360 degree feedback is quite a valuable tool which helps the organizations to improve the performance and boost up the morale of the employees.

Your complete guide to 360 degree evaluation

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Tue, 07 Aug 2012 04:00:00 GMT

Known as multi rater feedback, multi source assessment, full circle appraisal, multi source feedback, 360 degree evaluation is an excellent way to improve your employee’s performance and productivity. This evaluation not only helps the employer to get valuable information about the performance of the employee but also helps the employee to identify his weaknesses and strengths. With 360 degree evaluation, employees get a chance to evaluate one another which encourages a healthy and friendly competition.

The feedback received from a 360 degree evaluation is kept anonymous and confidential. The feedback is often provided by peers, colleagues, managers and supervisors. Another way of doing 360 degree evaluation is by using the forms which include the questionnaire to be answered. The questions can pertain to different competencies and capabilities in the work place. The answers to these questions are then weighted or measured on the rating scale. Thus, 360 degree evaluation is quite a significant system in order to acquire useful information, which can be used by the management to enhance productivity and eventually boost up the sales.

This kind of evaluation is also used as one of the development tools which, helps to assist the employees in identifying their strong and weak performance areas in order to improve their productivity and effectiveness. The 360 degree evaluation is done sincerely and anonymously so that the employees do not have any discomfort while providing their feedback. This also helps the employees to understand how the other employees perceive them. This in turn allows them to cultivate behaviors and skills which help them to do their duties in a better way. Besides, this system can also be used as a performance appraisal tool in order to evaluate employee’s performance. However you need to keep few things in mind while using 360 degree evaluation as a performance appraisal tool. It is quite important to structure the atmosphere of trust and sincerity. Thus, 360 degree evaluation is gaining immense popularity these days and is widely being used by various business organizations owing to its great benefits.

Importance of 360 degree surveys in today’s corporate environment

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Thu, 02 Aug 2012 04:00:00 GMT

In today’s competitive business world, it is extremely essential for the employees to find out the ways in order to collect valuable information about employees and the workers. Employers need to implement different ideas and methods to know about employees’ performance and how it can be improved to enhance productivity and the company’s bottom line. One good way to get correct information about performance of the employees is to conduct 360 degree surveys . This is an excellent performance evaluation process as it offers a comprehensive assessment of the employee’s behavior and performance.

These surveys are quite different from the traditional performance evaluation or appraisal as these gather feedback from various sources. This information can be collected from peers, managers, clients, stakeholders and colleagues. The feedback thus collected is then compiled to give a rounded impression of the employees’ performance. Thus, 360 degree surveys provide valuable insight and information, usually unveiling areas for improvement or concern. These kinds of performance evaluations are perfect to assess the leadership qualities and the way these leaders are actually perceived by the teams.

However, one important thing which you need to consider while conducting 360 degree surveys is that this kind of feedback is quite comprehensive so the employees tends to receive it more personally as compared to any other performance appraisal. A simple depersonalization process will help the employee whose performance is being evaluated, to take the perceived criticism and feedback in a positive manner. This process even helps to promote effective development through 360 degrees surveys. Also, the psychological experts have designed special surveying software to conduct performance assessments in corporate environment. Surveys conducted in this manner are quite effective, anonymous and efficient, including open questions for encouraging text comments and also closed questions to request for quantitative ratings. Thus, 360 degree surveys are not only a method for performance evaluations but these are actually a consistent development project.

Measuring competencies and behavior with 360 degree evaluation

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Tue, 31 Jul 2012 04:00:00 GMT

In this fiercely competitive world, business organizations endeavor to find out unique and innovative ways in order to enhance the productivity and the overall growth of the business. The 360 degree evaluation is a method which is gaining immense popularity in the recent times. The idea of evaluating the employees’ performance or surveying the employees is not new. However the thought of having various employees and workers rate a target employee in order to provide an unbiased and honest feedback about the individual’s performance is relatively a young concept. In the 360 degree evaluation method , the superiors, subordinates, peers and coworkers provide sufficient feedback, which in most of the cases help the employee to understand their weaknesses and strengths in a better way.

The objective behind conducting a 360 degree survey is to have a clear idea of how others view the target employee’s performance. It is in terms of some performance factors and specific competencies like quality of work, productivity, cooperation, communication, leadership qualities, behavior, attitude and many more. The employees and other staff members provide the rating as per their perception and opinion about the performance of the employees with respect to various competencies listed in feedback form. However the raters which are selected to provide the feedback must have direct working experience with that target employee.

Definitely the biases and personal opinions of the employees providing the feedback would enter into this process thus it is quite essential to include a large number of people in order to have fair and valuable feedback about the employee’s performance. As a business owner, you need to consider the 360 degree evaluation as the team building tool and also a perfect way to help the employees comprehend their weak areas and their strengths. Today, an increasing number of business organizations are making the perfect use of 360 degree evaluation in order to enhance the productivity, boost morale of the employees and eventually take their business to exceptional heights.

360 evaluation tool determines your business’s success

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Thu, 26 Jul 2012 04:00:00 GMT

In this competitive business world, 360 degree employee evaluations have become quite an essential component in majority of the successful companies. As a business owner, you will be able to get valuable information about your employees which will eventually help you to enhance your business growth. This evaluation is done in terms of work quality, attendance, productivity and quantity produces and cost consciousness. Usually these kinds of evaluations are performed by the immediate manager of the employees.

Employee evaluations are basically a tool which analyzes the earnings and cost accredited to the employee’s performance. Of course, this should not be taken as that presently, the employee is not contributing in a significant way to the organization and must be terminated. Rather, after knowing about the weaknesses of a particular employee, these evaluations help the supervisors and managers to figure out the ways in order to improve the performance of that employee. In few cases, this can involve some sort of additional training on certain procedures. While in other cases, this can involve some training on various competencies such as efficiency, teamwork, accuracy and productivity. People often take employee evaluations as an important tool to analyze if a particular employee is accomplishing compliance with the job requirements and competencies. However the employee performance evaluations have become an essential component in the business organizations as these help the managers and supervisors to determine an employee’s worth to the organization.

As an entrepreneur, the employee evaluations help you to find a right team for you and thus are very important for the business growth. Also, it is always a good idea to use employee evaluations system as this can prove to be quite a helpful tool to determine your business’s direction. You need to contemplate the fact that the employees are one of the most important factors which determine if your business is moving in a right direction or not. Thus, it is very important to perform employee evaluations on regular intervals of time in order to enhance the productivity and take your business to exceptional heights.

Features of Employee evaluation software

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Tue, 24 Jul 2012 04:00:00 GMT

For a business organization to emerge successful there is a need of an efficient policy in order to review the employee performance on a regular basis. This helps to evaluate the execution of the responsibilities given to the employees and also help to comprehend exact status of employees, areas of growth and development and also to develop a healthy and positive relationship with the seniors or supervisors. Thus, a well managed, properly arranged and effective data base is extremely important to evaluate the employee performance and efficiency. 360 degree evaluation software successfully performs this function for the administrative and professional HR personnel.

This appraisal solution usually consists of four important sections. The first section is for the evaluation of the performance of employees. This area of evaluation is extremely important and includes a careful record and observation of the contribution of the employee in achieving the organization’s goal. This solution evaluates factors like work quality, problem solving capabilities, productivity, cooperation, attitude, leadership quality, communication, self improvement and adaptability. The next important section is the rankings and ratings. In this section, the results from the assessment are rated by the superior authorities. They give their suggestions, appraisals and comments. These appraisals by the administrative personals and superior professionals can be taken as excellent, outstanding, acceptable and deficient or marginal. The section for comments contains suggestions, improvements, employee’s potential, the expected goals etc.

The employee evaluation software also works in order to enhance the efficiency and productivity of the employees. They feel more valued as they know that their opinions and feedbacks are considered important by the company. Enterprises, both big and small, have realized the importance of employee surveys to keep their workforce motivated and working efficiently. The advent of such high end employee evaluation software and their easy to use features has made this job extremely simple and easier today.

Considerations When Using Employee Performance Evaluations

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Thu, 19 Jul 2012 04:00:00 GMT

The prospects and growth of any business organization significantly depend on its employees.

As a result, the survival and development of any organization in the marketplace necessitates paying sufficient attention to employees. This requires an understanding of recruiting talented and skilled people and their retention as well.

For this it is very important to recognize the employee’s aspirations, desires, ideologies and other important aspects that drive them. In order to understand and analyze the challenges and accomplishments of each and every employee, it is essential to conduct 360 degree performance evaluations.

The Purpose of Employee Evaluations

The employee performance evaluation is also called as performance appraisal, employee appraisal or performance review. Irrespective of its name, the purpose remains the same, which is to efficiently evaluate the employee’s performance.

This evaluation is mainly done with respect to work quality, cost consciousness, quantity produced, attendance and other important factors. Usually these kinds of employee performance evaluations are performed by the employee’s supervisor or immediate manager.

Important Performance Metrics & Setting Goals

Today, the majority of businesses use employee performance evaluations as a perfect way of measuring success, examining challenges and as a motivational tools. It provides an opportunity to monitor progress, and performance objectives, on top of allowing an employer to establish achievable and clear goals and expectations.

Often, companies look employee performance evaluations as a perfect tool for determining if an employee is complying with job requirements and competencies.

Assessing An Employee's Organizational Value

These evaluations are actually a very important tool for employers as the major objective is to determine the employee’s worth to an organization or business. This is a tool that evaluates the earnings and costs attributed to an employee’s performance.

Evaluations should be used as a way to identify weaknesses and also find ways to improve performance. Employee performance evaluations prove to be quite a valuable tool for organizations. Learn more about how you can customize 360 evaluations for your business.

Uses and benefits of employee performance evaluation software

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Tue, 17 Jul 2012 04:00:00 GMT

Reviewing employee performance is quite a significant part of the survival and sustenance of any business. Today, majority of the business organizations perform employee performance evaluation in order to have valuable information about the employees. It proves to be an excellent way to review the team and is definitely a great way of improving the efficiency and productivity of your business. Thus, employee performance evaluations are a good way to improve the efficiency of your team and eventually the bottom line of your business. One perfect way to achieve this is to use 360 degree feed back reporting , which will help you to fetch the appropriate results.

With the help of employee performance evaluation software, evaluations will be made quite easily and you can utilize the time of your employees in a more productive way. Thus, before investing in any appraisal software you need to contemplate your business key roles so that you can make the best use of this software. The appropriate software will help you in these following aspects:

• Identifying the best performing employees in the organization which are extremely important for the corporate promotion, succession and development.

• Enhancing the present employee performance level across the organization.

• Identifying the departments/ divisions/ specific employees and groups which are average or underperforming.

• Improving the retention rate of the employees and also comprehending if the employees consider the organization an excellent workplace.

The results obtained using the employee performance evaluation software, are seamless. With the use of this valuable software the HR department of an organization can make their decisions flawless with the feedback obtained from their employees. Depending upon the feedback, the organization can make flawless decision about any particular employee and also if they necessitate further training or deserve any promotion. Thus, the ultimate goal to use employee performance evaluation software is to enhance the business prospects. So, as a business owner if you can ensure that appropriate evaluation of your employees will help your business to reach its target then you must consider using the employee performance evaluation software and take your business to exceptional heights.

360 Degree Feedback- A Tool to Enhance Employee Performance

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Tue, 10 Jul 2012 04:00:00 GMT

The 360 degree feedback is also known as multi source feedback , multi source assessment, full circle appraisal or multi rater feedback.

It denotes a system or process with which the employee receives feedback about work and performance. 360 refers to a circle with the employee being at center of the circle. The feedback is anonymous and is provided by managers, peers, or could even be received from the direct reports.

360 Questions and Employee Rating

This feedback can be obtained by completing the questions on our employee review forms pertaining to different competencies in the workplace. These questions are weighted or measured on a rating scale. The feedback recipient also needs to complete the self rating survey that may include similar queries like those in the questionnaire answered by others.

What Feedback Used For?

The system is used by the management team and leaders to gather the necessary information about employees to analyze their strengths and weaknesses. The feedback results are tabulated in an easy to use format that helps to create a development plan.

3 60 degree feedback is a development tool that helps employees to recognize their strong and weak areas so that they can improve their performance. This allows employees to cultivate the behavior and skills that help them conduct themselves in a more competitive and professional way.

360 degree evaluation – a useful tool for business owners

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Thu, 05 Jul 2012 04:00:00 GMT

Evaluation has become a common norm today, which the big and small companies are following. The performance levels of employees, behavioral attitude, ability to take responsibilities, understanding of company goals, future expectations are some of the key factors which are determined through evaluation. Quite different from the conventional method of evaluation 360 degree evaluation takes into account the feedback not only from seniors but from peers and juniors as well. An employee’s performance and behavior is evaluated by everyone who comes in contact with him, which means even the clients can give feedback in this kind of evaluation.

The reason for introducing 360 degree evaluation is to enhance self awareness among employees. Another reason is to imply that the responsibility of imparting feedback should not be limited to the immediate senior or manager only, but should include other people as well. That is why the subordinates, colleagues, managers, supervisors, clients, juniors, everybody equally participates in the evaluation. The idea behind involving all these people is to enhance the spirit of teamwork and coordination. 360 degree evaluation can also help the management at the time of appraisal. By analyzing the information collected through the evaluation, management people can determine the performance levels of their employees. With the help of this data, they can award appraisals to the eligible employees and can make provision for the training of those who lack in skills and performance, accordingly.

For conducting this type of all round survey successfully and smoothly, the support of the management and seniors is of utmost important, as they are the ones who can facilitate the whole process. Also, the feedback should be based on professional conduct and performance only, rather than personal grudges. Every employee should give an honest and credible feedback, which can help an employee to improve himself, rather than making him feel discouraged or de-motivated. Knowing and accepting what your subordinates, seniors and juniors, think about you is the first step towards being a proficient employee and a better human being.

Significance of using employee evaluation software for companies

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Thu, 21 Jun 2012 04:00:00 GMT

Employees are an integral asset of every company. Their performance has a direct impact on the growth of a business. It means that better the employees will perform, better will be the growth prospects of a company. That is why it is important to evaluate the performance of employees, manually or using the employee 360 feedback software, to ensure that they are working according to the company requirements.

Every company has some goals that it wishes to achieve in a given time. For the achievement of those business goals, management sets a certain standard, according to which the employees have to perform. This standard might include things like minimum working hours, daily work limit, monthly targets etc. To make sure that the employees are working according to the set standards, regular evaluation plays a key role. There are various ways by which the companies evaluate their employee’s performance. Written forms, online surveys and personal meetings are some of the common methods used by the companies. The advent of evaluation software has made it even more convenient and simple to conduct the evaluation surveys. The employee evaluation software can prove very helpful in collecting and recording the data of every individual employee’s performance.

There are a number of software available today and each software has its unique features. When selecting employee evaluation software for the company, it is important to ascertain that it aligns objectives and work procedure of the company with the employee behavior and performance. The data which is gathered through the evaluation process can give the management a clear view about the performance levels of their employees. They can find out that which employees are working as per the standards and which ones are lacking behind. By discovering the reasons behind their unsatisfactory performance, management can the take required steps to improve the performance of such employees.

360 feedback system – The most effective way of evaluating your employees

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Wed, 06 Jun 2012 04:00:00 GMT

Surveys and evaluations play a key role in the development of any business. The employees are the biggest asset of a company and these surveys help to evaluate the performance and skills of these employees. By identifying the individuals who lack in a particular skill, a company can make provision for their training. Similarly, the company can also give reward or appraisal to those employees who are performing well. There are a lot of different ways by which the surveys are conducted in various companies. The 360 degree feedback system is one such method which helps to evaluate the performance, efficiency and skills of the employees, in a very effective and useful manner.

360 feedback system differs from other evaluation systems in many ways, but most considerable difference is that it gathers the feedback from various sources, rather than only one. Generally when surveys are conducted in a company, it is only the managers or seniors which evaluate their employees. However in 360 feedback the evaluation is done by everyone, including the peers, seniors, supervisors and managers, in short everyone who works with that employee. This feedback is generally received in the written form, which includes areas like competency, skills, job performance, behavior and attitude. All this data, which is gathered from the feedback, is complied in the form of a report. It is then used to identify the strengths, abilities and weaknesses of an employee, as mentioned by the people he works with.

A well planned and strategically conducted 360 degree survey can play a crucial role in the overall development of an employee. Through 360 feedback system an employee can come to know about the views and opinions of his colleagues and seniors about his performance and skills. It can help him to discover his strengths along with the weak points. By working on his weaknesses, an employee can develop his skills and enhance his performance and efficiency.

What is 360 degree feedback software?

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Thu, 31 May 2012 04:00:00 GMT

360 degree feedback is an evaluation technique that provides assessment of employee’s behavior and performance. 360 degree evaluation is different from human resource evaluation surveys. This feedback is also called as multi rater or multi source assessment feedback or full circle feedback appraisal. Basically the concept of 360 degree feedback software is getting views from the employees, supervisors and the plan is to get a round picture of the performance and attitude of the staff from different sources in order to build strength and development needs. You will come to know about your inner self as this is a self assessment technique. You will discover qualities about yourself that you never noticed.

You will come to know that people would feel delighted while contributing towards the growth of your company. 360 degree feedback is a simple technique of “depersonalization” which will allow you to assess any apparent criticism in productive manner and stop becoming deflated or upset by the experience. There is special 360 degree feedback software designed by psychological experts that conduct performance evaluations in corporate atmosphere. These surveys are carried out anonymously offering questions to prompt comments and quantitative ratings. The surveys are conducted in the form of questionnaires customized with style and brand to framework your own assessment.

360 degree feedback is not only about evaluating performance but also about current development projects. The manager can allow the employees to develop management and leadership qualities by using online coaching sessions, interactive workbooks and the progress will be measured with the help of tracking tools. The human resource expertise can assist the process with additional tools and coaching support. These evaluations require a lot of business experience as this is a personal process. Feedback software and tools must be well developed and engaging.

Employee evaluations- how it can help both employers and employees

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Thu, 24 May 2012 04:00:00 GMT

Employee evaluations are extremely supportive and motivating, beneficial for employers as much as workers. The means to a successful payoff is to ensure realization of business objectives and carefully charting staff performance and development.

Performance evaluations help to achieve you business goals by optimising workforce performance and become acquainted with the strengths and drawbacks of your organisation. For your staff, 360 degree evaluations can offer support on how to best perform at their workplace and build their career path. Most HR managers feel that best motivator for professionals are not just the funds but feedback. Though conducting such evaluations can be time-consuming and arduous, they are the best way to motivate your employees and assist them to perform better. The process of employee evaluations though vary with business’s requirements, there are certain guidelines to follow.

Firstly you should define expectations and ask yourself what your business objectives are and how you are going to meet them. These expectations can be corresponded through job descriptions which are updated at regular intervals. It is always better to have more detailed job descriptions and get them updated regularly. Sometimes, employees might want to know the nature of their jobs.

Many HR professionals suggest employees to set their goals at the beginning of an evaluation process. It helps the supervisors, department heads, managers, and even the HR representatives to review the expectations and goals and ensure a consistency in the evaluation procedure. Goal setting is really important as when the employees and managers work with it, they have already ensured to show better performance. To confirm integrity and consistency, you should make sure your goals are specific, measurable, relevant and achievable.

There are various ways to conduct employee evaluations , right from ranking them on a level to detailed narratives. Many organisations utilise a combination of both these approaches, however, they might come across several challenges. Though a narrative approach seems to be a detailed assessment of employee performance, words can be misinterpreted. While most employers opt for annual reviews, many professionals suggest more bonding with employees.

Employee evaluation software –things to look for when using such systems

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Tue, 22 May 2012 04:00:00 GMT

Are you searching for 360 feedback software evaluation software which you can use to review your employee performance through online? If yes, you need to invest on a good system that ensures a successful business in the long run. A simple performance evaluation system would serve as an essential tool while taking important decisions such as increments, promotions, taking disciplinary actions and employee exits. You will also find some complicated performance evaluation systems that offer a fully integrated performance evaluation program suited for various other performance management needs. This will allow your company to establish an infrastructure that enables you to collect and analyse employee information to take crucial and strategic decisions to create a strong potential for your business and ensuring its long term success.

With this thought, you need to look for employee evaluation software, which works to help your management team with tactical options that will affect employee efficiency and profitability. An employee performance evaluation program should incorporate job descriptions which allows workforce to have a look at a glance whether they have required skills and experience for their positions. Once it has been identified, supervisors can make a detailed plan to arrange training for employees to improve their skills for their present position and get them prepared for the future.

In addition, the system should provide scope for documenting skills, talents and capabilities of employees that might otherwise get unnoticed or unrecognised. Most of these systems can be used to appraise employee performance, as well as while creating new positions. This approach will increase employee engagement and reduce employee exits, resulting in elevated employee retention rates.

Employee evaluation software can keep the employees highly motivated, knowing that their hard work and achievements are carefully monitored and evaluated on the basis of documentation of their job performance. You need to set your long term goals and compensation levels that help to ensure that employees working on extended projects are rewarded for their achievements. If you are interested in retaining talented and skilled employees, look for a performance evaluation system that align achievable goals, bridge communication gaps, support pay for performance compensation and eliminate the need for manual performance reviews.

360 evaluation is an essential tool to appraise employee participation

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Wed, 16 May 2012 04:00:00 GMT

Employee appraisal is a performance evaluation technique for employees. It is a method of appraising performance and other employee activities, whether calculable or incalculable like employee regulation, target accomplishments, or attendance, by giving a rating. The entire process is quite complicated and time consuming. When you have employee performance evaluation software at hand, it would be quite easy for you to calculate employees in terms of their performance at the workplace. Competition motivates workers to put their best effort and boost their performance. Performance appraisals help to identify the best workers from the lot and distinguish them through their work.

Employee performance evaluation software as a module offers 360 degrees appraisal process , thereby helping appraisal managers to maintain a database with external evaluators and customized templates etc. With help of HRM software, equipped with different functions and having all employee details in a systemized form offers analytics to appraise employee performance. The accurate feedback approach results in managers and team leaders who are engaged with you to build the company. It will also help to gather feedback from those who are ready to exchange their innovative ideas for the improvement of the organization. Moreover, it will encourage workforce and mangers at all levels to work towards achieving common goals.

Employee performance evaluation software offers a comprehensive solution for workers to review their problems. It saves time for HR managers to maintain staff records. They can easily communicate their ideas, and plans and business strategies and generate reckonable targets for the workforce that will meet specific and overall goals of the company. Automated performance appraisal system is a unique tool that enables monitoring every employee’s performance, detecting their weaknesses, and identifying those areas where they lag behind and needs to be trained.

Performance evaluation software automates the task of tracking, evaluating and implementing a complicated assessment process in a systematic and secret way for ensuring best results. Give your management team the tools to measure employee performance so that they can identify and build top performers.

Benefits of 360 feedback system for your organization

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Fri, 11 May 2012 04:00:00 GMT

A 360 degree software suite for employee feedback is a powerful tool which helps an organization to determine the level of its employee’s performance. An organization should evaluate its employees from time to time, in order to ensure that organizational goals are being met and the employees are performing as expected. 360 feedback system can be very beneficial for companies who want to improve the performance of their employees by enhancing their skills.

Generally, feedback about the performance of an individual is taken only from the immediate senior, such as manager or supervisor. In 360 feedback system the feedback is collected from co-workers, clients, managers and whoever is connected to that employee. The data is collected in the written form and covers the areas like skills, abilities, job performance, behavior, competencies etc. This type of feedback can be very helpful for an individual to know about his strength and weaknesses. It gives him a chance to improve his performance by working on the areas in which he lacks. An individual can work on his weaknesses and can learn new skills as well. It also helps an employee to know the views of his subordinates and seniors about his performance and behavior. An organization can come to know about the skills and performance of its employees with the help of surveys. In case the employees are not performing according to the set standards, then the company can make provision for their training accordingly.

There is lesser scope of biases in 360 feedback system as compared to other surveys, as the data is collected from multiple sources, rather than from one person. It can prove very beneficial at the time of appraisals as well. By conducting such surveys a company can make its employees feel valuable. They feel empowered and appreciated by taking part in surveys and feedbacks as they feel that their opinions also matter for the company. If conducted properly and carefully these surveys can become an effective tool for the development of an organization.

Significance of 360 degree feedback in employee evaluation

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Tue, 08 May 2012 04:00:00 GMT

Evaluation is an effective way to assess the work related behavior and performance of an individual. Generally the information of such evaluations is collected from the immediate senior, manager or supervisor, of an employee. Evaluating the performance of an employee, by collecting feedback from all the people around is referred to as 360 degree feedback . The prime objective of conducting this evaluation is to collect information from various sources, to get a clear picture about the performance, intellect, goals, achievements and competency of an employee. The persons from whom the feedback is collected can include seniors, manager, supervisor, peers and customers.

360 degree feedback is used by the companies generally in two ways. One is for development and other is for appraisal. When used for the purpose of development, this type of feedback can prove very effective. It helps an employee to recognize his weak points and gives him a chance to improve his performance. Feedback is given in anonymity thus everybody can share their opinions honestly. Another way of utilizing this feedback is for appraisals. However this feedback alone should not be the only criteria of performance appraisal. It can become hard to determine if the opinions expressed by others are true and sincere. There is a fair chance that their opinions might be based on personal perceptions rather than the work performance of an employee. Subordinates and peers can give their opinion about behavior and competency but it is not possible for them to evaluate the actual skills and capabilities of an employee.

Collecting honest and reliable feedback can help the employees to understand the areas where they can improve their performance. This type of feedback can also be useful for the organizations in differentiating star performers from average employees or the ones which need training. If used effectively and appropriately 360 degree feedback can be a very useful tool for performance evaluation and appraisals.

Perfect Leadership Assessment Tool- 360 Degree Evaluation

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Wed, 02 May 2012 04:00:00 GMT

360 degree evaluation is a program that checks the performances and shortcomings of employees. This test should be conducted by the organization identify rising leaders and motivate them to come out of their shell.

Encourage & Identify Natural Leaders

This evaluation concept is effective at determining employee and company growth. Most of the time, people who have leadership instincts are ignored which leads them to leave the firm. This in itself is a loss to the company.

The Evaluation Process

360 degree evaluations provide the opportunity to receive confidential performance feedback from team leaders, subordinates, customers, clients and of course board members.

Evaluations can be administered online, as the individuals being evaluated simply provides the names and email addresses of the contacts that will provide input. The information with instruction is then emailed to each evaluator. The report generated will be compiled with comments added to it, enabling the leader to compare their own self assessment to the 360 evaluation of the respondents.

Benefits

When these assessments are implemented, team members feel more involved and accountable for each others success. A well organized and communicated process improves and strengthens team interaction and encourages collaboration and ongoing feedback. Feedback received is a road map to help you develop and become a better leader.

360 Degree Feedback Program

Thu, 26 Apr 2012 04:00:00 GMT

360 degree evaluation is a process which deals with the performance evaluation technique. This method detects the overall performance of the employee, their behavior and their area to be worked at. It is also known as the 360 degree feedback program.

Information can be gathered by the manager, peers, clients and colleagues. All the information regarding the person is compiled and an overview is taken out later person is made aware about their shortcomings and positive aspects. This will give them a better view regarding their capabilities.

One fear will linger in mind of the employer that all the employees may receive it in a more personal way and will not easily digest their shortcomings. This fear can be managed by a perfectly trained manager who will make the training of depersonalization which will encourage the capacity of all staff to handle criticism and perform well in their work and relating it with the growth of the company.

This 360 degree evaluation is carried out with the help of a software which has been designed by an psychological expert who conducts all this. Various types of questions are laid out that can be open type or closed type. After all this is done all the results are compiled and report is being formed and the person is being made aware of the areas of improvement.

This 360 degree evaluation is not just mere assessment framework rather is gives overall view of the organization with the performance report of the employee where both make analyses and look at levels where improvement is required. This program me also creates the ability in a person to take criticism in a positive way and rather getting offended by it. Person should learn from it and work on the desired aspects of the working.

See our Overview of our 360 Performance Review Templates from our Software tool.

Employee performance evaluation software

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 04:00:00 GMT

Employee performance evaluation software can be the best tool for helping businesses in different industries to take charge of their employee performance management strategies. When employers integrate new techniques into their managerial approach, they would find unique ways of operating their business.Irrespective of whether they are old or new, these tactics have been executed by various organizations all over the world and they are still available now. They have been implemented time and again as they have proved to be quite effective.

Regardless the type of the business, 360 feedback software would help to improve and enhance employee productivity. This can be the cost effective and useful resource to boost the expertise that employees want to improve upon. Employees’ performance evaluation involves a crucial task that is carried out by HR department of every organization. It involves a lengthy process, right from formatting questionnaires, to arranging personal interviews, to making reports. It is undeniably a tedious task and time consuming.

Thanks to the advanced software, all these tasks can be performed accurately. Working with performance appraisal software, there is least chance of any errors as the whole process is automated. Moreover, there are several other benefits of using automated evaluation software, which includes ability to keep track of third party appraisers, 360 degree evaluation, altering templates and so on. The most advanced employee evaluation software is comprehensive component that can make things simple for HR department.

Employee appraisal software can make it easier to monitor employee performance, identify errors, and track the cause of poor performance. The evaluation system can automate the task of identifying, executing, and assessing the complicated evaluation process discreetly and in a methodological way.The benchmark of appraising employee performance may vary from business to business. Employee performance evaluation software offers flexibility to enabling HR managers to define the parameters of the evaluation process. It has truly become one of the essential instruments for HR departments in every organization.

How Organizations Can Benefit From Employee Evaluations

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 04:00:00 GMT

Employee evaluations can serve two purposes; it acts as a communication tool and evaluative process. However, it is most commonly disliked by the employees and supervisors. Performance management on the contrary offers the benefits that organizations can seek for carrying out employee performance assessment. It also bestows other additional benefits to both managers and employees. The question that may arise is how to encourage staff to participate in performance evaluation. There are several good reasons to advocate the basic idea of a 360 degree performance appraisal .

In almost every organization, they have an overall strategy for business success. The staff performance assessment process, which includes employee recognition, employee performance appraisal, performance feedback, ensures success for the organization. When done precisely and good understanding, it helps the workforce to know how their performance and contributions can boost the success of their organization.

Employee performance is directly related to achieving goals and other benefits. The employee evaluations are communication tools that ensure that the employees and the supervisors are clear about their jobs. Performance appraisal communicates the desired outcomes that are required from each employee.

The objective of employee performance assessment is to ensure overall improvement of the organization. It is essential to help the workforce achieve both interpersonal and organizational goals. The process of defining the goals takes the personnel one step closer to achieving them. As these objectives, goals, and deliverables are discussed in effective performance evaluation, the workforce is committed to accomplishing them.

Employee evaluations offer legal, ethical and proven evidence that workforce were aware of their job responsibilities and performance. In the event employees are unable to deliver their best performance, the documentation can be used to craft a performance improvement plan. It would help the organization to plan more detailed objectives and with more frequent feedback from the workers who are struggling to perform. Employee performance appraisals have one common objective, but the approach might be different, and that can make all the difference how it is perceived and executed by the staff.

Importance of 360 degree feedback software

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 04:00:00 GMT

The 360 degree feedback software is specially designed to find out what others within the organization think about your performance and competency. This system not only includes the co- workers of the chosen employee but also supervisors, assistants, subordinates and even clients as well. Mainly people who are told to give their feedback are the ones acquainted with the selected employee. This 360 degree feedback software is extremely important for the development and growth of the employees.

This system helps in the development of the team of workers. Assessment by co-workers instead of executives and seniors within the company provides a clear picture of how you’re seen and what positive and negative side of yours is affecting the team’s objectives. Comprehending these observations and improving them will augment the performance of team collectively. Previously, it was quite common for organizations to pay attention towards the personal; growth of the employees but for some reasons, companies have dumped that worry and now it’s all up to an individual to take necessary steps for their growth and development on their own. 360 degree feedback software gives exceptional direction in picking those quarters that requires the most improvement.

Many people are of the opinion that the response they obtain from various raters is much more precise than only from a senior. After coming across the reviews provided by the raters, an employee will know what he or she must do to augment their worth in the company they work in and boost their career prospects. In this system, there are various raters so the possibility of race, age and gender is highly reduced. A meticulous assessment of this system response will provide you a comprehensive list of your perceived positive and negative aspects on which you need to work. This way you not only will work towards your growth and development but also towards the success of the organization you are working in.

Why you should conduct 360 degree feedback in your company

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 04:00:00 GMT

Employees are the backbone of a company. The approach and attitude of employees, toward their work, can make or break a company. It is important to have energetic and motivated employees for the progress of your company. An effective way of keeping your employees motivated is by conducting employee evaluations . Your employees are the ones who are involved in every aspect of your business. So it is important to make sure that they perform well and achieve their goals.

There are many ways in which evaluation of the employees can be conducted. It can either take place in the form of one to one interactions or in the written form. The main aim of 360 employee feedback programs are to know whether the employees have achieved their performance goals or not. It helps to keep a track of their performance. It can further help to ascertain that which employees are performing well, so that they can be rewarded or promoted and which employees might require extra training or attention. The main components of the evaluation form are rating of performance, current goals and future expectations.

It could also include previous reviews and how an employee has worked towards improving his negative points. It is important that the feedback given to the employees, after the evaluation, is positive and constructive. The employees are eager to know what you think of your performance and how can they contribute more in the development of the company. The feedback should motivate the employees to perform better rather than decreasing their morale.

Whether your company is big or a small one, the evaluation of your employees will certainly help in increasing the productivity and efficiency of your company. The process of employee evaluations should be carried out time after time rather than doing it once or twice a year. It helps the employees to know their performance and motivates them to improve it.

Features of Employee Performance Evaluation Software

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 04:00:00 GMT

An effective and well managed data base is essential to determining the efficiency and performance of several employees.

360 degree feedback software performs this function effectively for human resource recruits. This information includes employees names, the department in which they work and their job titles.

Feedback Structure & Components

Some employee performance evaluation software has an additional column that includes the names and the job profiles of the appraisers. The information usually has four sections and includes information about the following:

Job performance appraisal - The ratings of the employee’s performance entirely depends upon their performance. The assessment is therefore the most important step. This involves a proper observation and record of the performance of employee. This is mainly done with regard to quantity and quality of work, productivity, problem solving ability and the other important factors are adaptability, effective communication, cooperation, self improvement and attitude. It is very important to determine how efficient the employee is with respect to competence and professionalism.

Observations - Employee performance evaluation software also improves the performance and efficiency of employees. By including a column for interpretations, the software strengths and weaknesses for employees to work to improve their performance. This helps employees to remain focused. Observations also include factors like special courses, management opportunities and new assignments.

Feedback - The feedback section includes employees' approach to management and senior authorities who are evaluating their performance. Here they can also input their queries and can give suggestions or mention problems they face in their work. It also provides opportunity for improvement.

This feedback structure is what makes 360 degree employee evaluation software the most significant assessment to learn about the performance and efficiency of your employees.

Advantages of 360 feedback system

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 05:00:00 GMT

1980s was the time when the technology for reporting multi-source feedback and reporting was developed. The original purpose of this development was to identify the leadership performance. The leaders obtained the quantitative and qualitative information about the strong points and the areas that needed improvement by evaluating a wide-ranging set of skilled areas. Numerous innovative uses for the multi-source feedback have evolved in the recent past decades. The 360 feedback system is known for its conventional use as a global diagnostic of competence and skills. Diagnosis to support changes in the behavior is just one aspect of the 360 feedback system but it goes far beyond it. It is not just enough to improve the work habits but the total identification of the priority areas is also very important. For changing the behavior patterns, it requires the instructions along with months of reinforcement.

When the individuals are trying to do differently, the initial or the first attempts usually feel awkward even if they are done with the best intentions. A lot of frustration and discouragement follows when the individuals do not get the desired results. It is very natural that the individuals fall back to the previous conditions if there is no proper guidance and reinforcement from the direct manager and others in the workplace. The 360 feedback system needs to be religiously followed for several months with proper reinforcement which includes ongoing learning, feedback, training and accountability. To adopt the new behavior pattern, it takes a long time for the cells in the brain to grow and reconnect into a new pathway. The people need training when they are evaluated underdeveloped in certain skill required areas. Extended period of motivation is seriously required for both these interventions. In this way the 360 feedback works in both ways as a diagnostic assessment and to check whether the weak area had developed.

360 degree evaluation for fair employee reviews

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 05:00:00 GMT

When it concerns measuring and reporting employee’s performance, many employers opt to employ a wide array of software tools obtainable from the market. But, in some cases, these programs don’t give them the type of evaluation features that employers are seeking for. This is the reason as to why most of them have moved to carry a 360 degree evaluation for replacing the less than suitable kinds of evaluation sold in software results in the market. Basically, 360 degree evaluation is a method of measurement which involving an employee being anonymously measured by superiors and co-workers in the workplace.

Through such appraisal, employee’s manager or direct supervisor, colleagues on the equal level and subordinates get the chance to provide sincere feedback concerning an individual’s performance. This evaluation’s essence is to present a balanced outlook on an employee because it connects to a series of workplace competencies. Among eight to ten individual are asked to namelessly carry through an online survey. Here, they grade another employee on particular capabilities on a rating level. Also, they are asked to get bigger on their rating preference, citing examples for supporting their mark where feasible. Conversely, the employee who is being rated also gets the chance to measure his own performance and reply the similar questions their subordinates, supervisors and peers are asked for responding to.

What numerous leaders have realized after switching to 360 degree evaluation from other kinds of evaluations is that both the employee and leaders are able of having a clearer perceptive of employee’s weaknesses and strengths. One other factor which makes this evaluation effectual is that it may be used on frequent basis also for helping individuals maintain high quality along with their work. Business leaders don’t have to only use it as a tool for evaluation but as self-help tool also for showing people where they fall off in their daily functions.

Employee Evaluation Software Aspects

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Sun, 26 Feb 2012 05:00:00 GMT

Employee evaluation software makes it achievable for businesses to advance their job along with staff evaluation processes, thus must incorporate many diverse aspects. When you are planning to invest in this software for your organization, you will come across a number of alternatives from different applications of software. Since each sort of employee evaluation software is distinctive, but nonetheless comparable, there are factors which you will have to know about while deciding which organization or type to opt for. One basic element of performance evaluation software involves goal management. Employees have to be capable of accurately determining from their evaluator as to how well they are performing their job.

Software which aligns organizational procedures and objectives with employee behaviors as well as accomplishments helps this kind of understanding to take place. In defined terms, the manager can converse with the worker, any targets which are not being accomplished and how their effectiveness measures up in general to the standard and the current plan presently in place for staff. Employee evaluation software will ideally amass all the vital information, from self-evaluations to diary records as well as reviews from past estimates, so that the surveyor can read and get through it.

Having these details would imply that background perception can be comprehended about employees and constant professional development takes place in a collaborative ambiance between the worker and manager. Generally, managers spend time creating forms and reports during regular reviews. But most of the employee evaluation software applications let you to mechanize this system.

Preferably, the software must provide several appraisal forms as well as pre-configured descriptions which can save time while fixing on what words to apply for employee conduct patterns. Additionally, the software must let you alter them to go well with your present needs if needed, as not all staff profiles match perfectly. The major advantage of utilizing this software for your organization is the verity that the entire evaluation procedure can be documented along the way.

Performing Employee Evaluations

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 05:00:00 GMT

360 feedback employee evaluations are considered as a primal art in administrating any business. Although, presently, even the most urbane agencies are not contended with the approach they practice their processes when it’s about appraising their workers, specifically in improving them. Dynamics of a solo person to judge another actually leads to displeasure and distrust that the entire process is effective and objective. That’s why a need of a good system is there for individual performance assessment to make it serve as developmental in promoting organization’s productivity. You can select a method that your organization would be employing in employee evaluations.

Several systems have been created to appraise workers, however there are very few methodologies which stood out and one of those is through workers appraisal form. Either your organization can frame its own form or find it online also. This is generally a checklist or questionnaire that lets you evaluate your employee’s performance. Another way is through essay that an observer or a manager would provide details in regards to his impressions about employees. This essay comprises weaknesses, strengths, development needs as well as chances to get promotion of an employee.One other common technique presently is the vital incident method for individual performance evaluation. This necessitates good writing skills because managers keep logs on a daily basis of the activity and performance of each employee.

Here, one major advantage is that it’s extremely explicit and tackles employees one at a time. Forced distribution ranking has also been a popular way for employee evaluations. This method is utilized by managers for ranking their workers comparative to one another. It’s a system that overcomes their tendency of being overly critical or lenient. Depending upon the work quality of employees, they would be listed either at the top level or the bottom. A company can choose from either of these methods based on its suitability to evaluate its employees.

Employee evaluations are considered as a primal art in administrating any business. Although, presently, even the most urbane agencies are not contended with the approach they practice their processes when it’s about appraising their workers, specifically in improving them. Dynamics of a solo person to judge another actually leads to displeasure and distrust that the entire process is effective and objective. That’s why a need of a good system is there for individual performance assessment to make it serve as developmental in promoting organization’s productivity. You can select a method that your organization would be employing in employee evaluations.

Several systems have been created to appraise workers, however there are very few methodologies which stood out and one of those is through workers appraisal form.

Either your organization can frame its own form or find it online also. This is generally a checklist or questionnaire that lets you evaluate your employee’s performance. Another way is through essay that an observer or a manager would provide details in regards to his impressions about employees. This essay comprises weaknesses, strengths, development needs as well as chances to get promotion of an employee.

One other common technique presently is the vital incident method for individual performance evaluation. This necessitates good writing skills because managers keep logs on a daily basis of the activity and performance of each employee. Here, one major advantage is that it’s extremely explicit and tackles employees one at a time. Forced distribution ranking has also been a popular way for employee evaluations. This method is utilized by managers for ranking their workers comparative to one another.

It’s a system that overcomes their tendency of being overly critical or lenient. Depending upon the work quality of employees, they would be listed either at the top level or the bottom. A company can choose from either of these methods based on its suitability to evaluate its employees.

Prepare for Employee Performance Evaluation

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 05:00:00 GMT

Employee performance evaluation should not be demanding and getting ready for such kind of performance assessment is the solution to your company’s success. Preparation is vital in a worker performance appraisal and to shun the taxing situations involved in these evaluations you should take care of some important things as discussed below

Before employee performance evaluation draws nearer, create a list explaining what you’ve accomplished over a year that you think is worth mentioning. Point out any objectives that you might have had resulted in achievements, any honors that you got or other triumphs for instance certifications or discussion groups attended. Really perform your greatest to have ammunition to shoot at your manager. Get ready to blow your own trumpet whenever the time approaches. Counting on your remembrance in a demanding circumstance is not a good thought so having lists ready for performance assessment permit you to concentrate on your manager during that defining moment. In addition, you can point out your objectives for the approaching year while preparing for your evaluation. Create notes for lasting objective and interim aspirations. Consider what you desire to achieve in the subsequent year plus be practical about your objective.

When the time of your performance evaluation comes, take into consideration that your manager probably fears such things to the extent you do. It is something that your superior has to carry out every year which stimulates an already frantic timetable. Your groundwork will completely help when you meet up for your assessment and build an embarrassed and distasteful job simple for your manager.

Moreover before meeting for employee 360 performance feedback and evaluation , ease your worry by taking deep breaths. Breathing intensely sometimes aids in making you feel energetic and helps purify your body system once you’re feeling strained. Often when we’re feeling strained we unwittingly breathe more as a response to the strain and because of the stiffness of your body muscles so turn up prepared.

Tips to consider while buying employee performance evaluation software

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 05:00:00 GMT

With employee performance evaluation software , making evaluations become easier and you use your worker’s time more efficiently. Before you purchase any product it’s prudent to contrast characteristics and costs. Though, you should know your needs while weighing employee performance evaluation software to obtain the correct product. Just purchasing a system with bells and screeches or one which requires numerous forms don’t essentially provide you with the finest solution.

Take into account key objectives for your company that you must see advantages in:

• Identifying the departments and particular workers that are not performing well.

• Improving the existing level of worker performance in your organization.

• Improving your past employee withholding rate and comprehending if your workers think your company is a good place to do job.

• Identifying the best performing workers in the organization.

Before you purchase employee performance evaluation software , you need to choose whether you require customizable or net based employee appraisal system.

Web based software:

This software makes the worker performance evaluation available from anyplace through Internet. All data is accumulated on a protected web Server, Access Server record.

Customizable Software:

Customizable permits you to organize the worker evaluation procedure as per your company necessities and particular requirements.

The evaluation procedure can be hard sometimes. Some workers may respond defensively. Sometimes workers do not recognize about the advantages of a constructive evaluation. If your employees think there is irregularity in handling employees so significant amount of disappointment and dissatisfaction arises among employees. You can deal with these difficulties with the following principles:

Give particular instruction

Set and correctly clarify goals for your workers and tell them what they need to do in order to accomplish them. Don’t say that improve quality or work harder. Instead say precisely what you desire from them

Make Deadlines

Set deadlines to notice improvement in worker’s performance. And ensure that the deadline is adequate for that work. Don’t consider unattainable deadlines stress workers to work efficiently rather it discourages them.

About 360 Feedback Systems

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 05:00:00 GMT

With the help of 360 feedback systems, an employee obtains anonymous reviews from those around them. This response is can be presented by peers, executives and from reports as well.

The response is gathered through forms containing queries to be completed by the reviewer; the queries refer to a variety of proficiencies in the workplace. The filled out queries are then measured on rating scale. The recipient of the response also fills in a personal rating survey that might include similar survey questions to those forms completed by others.

Improve HR Management

Organizations use 360 feedback systems to improve their human resources management. The primary application in using the system to help workers identify their weak points and strong points in performance, in order to develop their usefulness.

Anonymous Feedback

The feedback is given anonymously so that the respondents have no uneasiness in presenting critique. It offers coworkers an opportunity to critique each other and aids workers in understanding how they're perceived.

Benefits of 360 Feedback

This 360 feedback system focuses on proficiencies, behaviour, essential job necessities and work performance. 360 feedback should be conducted yearly appraisal with performance assessment.

Enable Professional and Personal Development

It enables an employee to know that how their peers perceive them and what are their positive and negative points. By working on their weaknesses they can emerge as a more efficient employee and a better human being. They can develop more skills related to their job, which can help them in going places in their professional career. By knowing the thoughts of their peers, they can improve their attitude in their personal and professional life.

Remove Discrimination

As the feedback is collected from various sources, the chances of discrimination get reduced immensely. The final evaluation is based on the views of a lot of different people, rather than only one person.

All these benefits and features combined, make 360 feedback systems an ideal choice for organizations who want to motivate and develop the skills of their employees.

Powerful aspects of 360 degree feedback

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 05:00:00 GMT

There is a technical proof that can evaluate the performance of a business to the stage of social aptitude and emotional aptitude of its superior leadership and that is 360 degree feedback . In this you just ask queries to people and distinguish sentiments in them.

Below are some features related to 360 degree feedback.

1. Helps in group development

Evaluation by companions instead of a manager provides a right picture regarding how you’re identified plus what your strong points and flaws are while working towards team objectives. Understanding these insights and taking action on them enhances team performance.

2. Directs individual development

Earlier, it was general for firms to notice the individual development of main workers. For numerous reasons businesses have dumped that concern plus it’s now the individual’s concern to promote his progress. 360 degree feedback gives outstanding assistance in choosing those quarters that require most help.

3. Helps in professional development

Many believe that the response they obtain from numerous raters is more precise than merely an analysis from a manager. Relying on these evaluations, the person can observe what they require to do in vague areas to augment their worth to the business and improve their career prospects.

4. Lessens the peril of discrimination

Since there are numerous and different raters the peril of race, sex or age bias is significantly decreased.

5. Enhanced customer service

With both outside and in-house clients as raters give much transparent depiction of the apparent value of client service. Instead of speculating which quarters require improvements, the clients inform you what’s significant to them.

6. Discover organizational training requirements

A cautious study of all feedback evaluations will recognize what the supposed strengths and flaws are for any entire business. This exercise gives precise information to be utilized to choose what quarters require enhancement and in which area to spend training resources.

So in this way this employee feedback system is extremely significant for any organization

The Essentials to Carry Out Employee Evaluations

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 05:00:00 GMT

Workforce evaluation is certainly one facet that companies cannot work without. To conduct such evaluations is very useful for any company on long term basis. One has to keep in mind that the working personnel of a particular company are of primary concern in the arena. These workers are people who handle every characteristic of trade. From the manufacturing face of the company, to deliverance, there will positively lots of workers who deal with the dealings of a business. Hence, it is crucial to keep a check on employee performance, for which employee evaluations can be conducted recurrently and accordingly.

One big plus is that when you carry out employee evaluations, it actually motivates workers to perform well again. When someone knows that his routine or growth is being supervised, he will definitely do better. Moreover, performance evaluation is really a practical tool when the topic is of pay raises and promotions. Though, extra caution must be exercised to choose competent persons for conducting worker evaluations. The evaluator has to be trained in all aspects, importing that he has to be well-informed on each point that he will have to appraise. After all, high opinion is not generously given, as it has to be earned.

Employees must also be offered a medium to present counteractions, particularly when a bad evaluation is given. What is to be remembered is that there could be lots of causes which make a worker the receiver of bad appraisal here. Maybe the worker is struggling with private issues that have adversely affected his performance at work. A manager has to think about all this while conducting employee evaluations . This way, suitable solutions can be implemented as quickly as any crisis occurs. One can hold fast to a standardized set-up and so that there is no partiality, stray admirations or scrutiny.

Functioning of 360 degree feedback software

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 05:00:00 GMT

If you work for an organization it might be asked to fill a feedback form but there is nothing to worry about. If you love being appreciated for your work then this is the right thing for you and it is useful for the organization as well. There is 360 degree feedback software that helps a company evaluate their employees’ performance. The feedback can be taken by your supervisor, seniors or managers who have a proper training on these software and they can effectively calculate the results. This gives the company a real picture about how the employees feel in the organization and this will help you retain them for a longer period.

Organization might have faced issues of their employees leaving the job frequently and there could be minor reason for it. All these drawbacks can be found with the help of 360 degree feedback software and once these issues are taken care of you can take care of the productivity. Usually employees do not open up to tell the managerial post about the issues they face in any organization but with the help of feedback form or software they open up properly and discuss about the issues faced by them.

The survey is kept confidential and the comments received about the company can be solved by taking proper measures. With the changing time, software has been developed that makes thing easy for the managers. This 360 degree feedback software is proving to be a valuable tool for businesses and it is proving beneficial for both the organization and employees equally. The software can be customized according to the company’s need and one can put up question you would want your employees to answer for you. Make proper use of the software and you can see tremendous change in the employees performance.

Problem identification through Employee performance evaluations

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 05:00:00 GMT

Constructive employee performance evaluations are highly needed to boost the morale of employees. It is quite understood and a tested fact that everyone is keen to know about their performance and want to know whether they are doing well or not. When an employee is told about the areas where they can improve they are ready to do that also, but they need to be shown the proper facts that can make them understand. The significance of doing this evaluation is to appreciate the employees who have been doing well and this can be done by rewarding the best performer. Usually this is conducted annually but just checking the performance once in a while, is that sufficient. It should be done regularly so that employees get a chance to improve and can show their performance at the end of the year and earn a suitable reward.

Employee performance evaluations help in problem identification and for the overall development of the company it should be resolved immediately. Mostly companies and their manager are not interested in conducting regular evaluation because of so much of documentation process involved. But now there is a solution to it as various software have been developed that doesn’t involve any paper work. After evaluating the results the employees should be given an informal feedback about how they can improve on their performance. This can be done individually or even in team as well that helps the whole team to learn from each other’s mistake.

If you think that these kind of employee appraisals are ideal for employees then one needs to understand the cycle, if the employees do well and they are appreciated it is good for the company. Through there evaluations one can easily find the drawbacks and eliminate them as early as possible.

High performance Employee performance evaluation software

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 05:00:00 GMT

Employee performance evaluation software is a cutting edge and innovative approach towards evaluation of employee performance and it can be done online without using so many pens and paper. Time is changing and people are making use of technology to make things easier. Human resource activities and managerial task can be made easy by using this software. Employee performance evaluation software is quite reliable and has dramatically improved the capacity of performance evaluation. It can be used and accessed anywhere in the world and as these data are on the web they are completely secure.

There is no limitation to this software as to how many employees can be evaluated, a company can evaluate n number of staff and here the employee doesn’t have to be physically available, you can evaluate the employee sitting anywhere worldwide and at any distance.

The most important factor of Employee performance evaluation software is that it saves a lot of time and paper work that gets very tedious for the manager. This is the only reason managerial posts try to avoid these procedures as they are tiring and involves brain storming. Software facilitates the entire procedure and reduces the time involved in it. It comes with a secured username and password so that no one can make any change to it and cannot interfere in the evaluation process. This was highly needed because the entire process needs to be secure as the entire performance of an individual can get affected if someone tries to make change in the data and this can be easily done on paper. Being a software management can access it anytime, anywhere and maintaining the record is even easier. It just remains on the server or the hard drive and one can use it any time, anywhere.

360 feedback System for Progress Purpose and Performance Judgment

Wed, 11 Jan 2012 05:00:00 GMT

There have been various debates and discussions of late on whether 360 feedback system should be used for development rationale or performance review. Whilst the subject is not new-fangled in character, it is still a fascinating deliberation.

The character of 360 feedback is to amass insight on a person’s performance and the blow of that conduct from his manager, nonstop reports, and contemporaries. It determines guidance efficiency such as supervisory skills, two-way planning, disagreement management, routine norms, and various other factors. The feedback is utilized for achievement preparation, and to put objectives ahead.

Multi-Angled Assessments

A 360 agenda provides leads for both the person and the association. The large scope and even-handedness of the criticism provides a truthful and well-formed outlook of how other people pick out a person’s efforts.

Acquiring an understandable depiction of routine helps spot weak points that should be enhanced as well as strong points that can be controlled. Identifying the talent that needs enhancement, is the primary step towards crafting a table of expansion on long and short term gains. The 360 feedback system procedure is executed through nameless comments. Secrecy loans itself to more truthful and open criticism from people, and precise criticism is the input to a thriving 360 procedure.

Constructive criticism

When criticism is collected and related to expansion planning, aim setting, and managerial support, it can aid perk up personal performance. Comparing self-evaluation consequences with criticism allows individuals to amalgamate criticism into their personality. A lucid image can facilitate in identifying weak points that can be enhanced, together with strong points that can be influenced.

Organizations that turn to this system of feedbacks should stress patent and recurrent communiqué on the meaning of growth and insinuations for every associate of the association. The more people understand the significance of 360 feedback system , the more they will hold the endeavor.

Looking For the Means to Release Soaring Performance- 360 Degree Feedback Software

Fri, 06 Jan 2012 05:00:00 GMT

There is a procedure or arrangement by which a worker gets comments in job related issues. This arrangement is called 360 degree feedback software system. The 360 metaphorically denotes the degrees of a loop with the worker being at the middle of reactions (loop). The expected criticism is received from other personnel with an employee. The feedback is classified and unsigned. This criticism is given by individuals such as friends, directors, co-workers etc and besides that, it could be acquired from straight reports. The criticism can be amassed through the utility of a questionnaire which has queries to be completed; the queries relate to a variety of competencies in the work place.

The queries to be completed are calculated or evaluated on a ranking level. There is requirement of a rater to provide printed remarks. The recipient of the feedback also fills a self scoring review which might hold similar review queries like those in the questionnaire filled by other workers. Management systems need a 360 degree feedback software system for obtaining info. It is found that it has a lot of import in the sphere of R &D, and human resource truth finding.

This arrangement is used by human resource managers in gathering information for use in management activities. Heads of the management team can use this criticism system to appreciate their weak points and strengths as they shape up some kind of critique genuinely offered in obscurity. The outcome from the 360 degree feedback software is mechanically tabulated in a set-up that is simple to make use of and can straightforwardly help in making a plan for organizational growth. Individual worker replies are put into parallel rater groups to uphold secrecy and help the receiver to realize the general, great weak points or strength.

Employee evaluation software for improving productivity

Thu, 29 Dec 2011 05:00:00 GMT

An efficient, assembled and well handled information base in a big company is significant for observing the performance and efficiency of staff closely. Employee evaluation software performs this operation for specialized and managerial human resource employees. A confidential worker performance assessment has names of workers, their section and their designations.

A number of the employee evaluation software has a non-compulsory section that includes the evaluator’s names and their profiles. The evaluation solution usually is separated into sections like appraisal of work performance where worker’s performance rankings depends on their job performance therefore the assessment area is a vital step. It is about observation plus maintaining record of employees that is responsible for the accomplishment of the business’s objective. The software sketches productivity, trouble solving skill and work quality chiefly. Also features like outlook, support, communication, initiative individual management quality, flexibility are assessed. As already mentioned, it is significant way to decide competence of a worker, job knowledge; administrative ability, and professionalism.

Another section is evaluation based results which are ranked by their individual superior team or an executive. The evaluations by superior experts and managerial individuals can be ranked as exceptional, excellent, satisfactory, and average. Thirdly employee evaluation software works to enhance the competence of the workers. By creating a section for comments aids in marking out the errors and worker should work to perk up their performance. This helps workers to be focused in their work. It comprises extra responsibilities, administration, special courses etc. While assessment it is prudent to give instances of strengths plus weaknesses of the workers. Lastly it is feedback where performance evaluations also contain worker feedback segment. This makes certain that workers have a right approach to seniors developing and evaluating their performances. Employees can send proposals and can state the troubles faced by them in their company. It also offers the date plans for the following evaluation and the quarters for improvement.

Augment performance by using valuable employee evaluations

Tue, 27 Dec 2011 05:00:00 GMT

Companies must provide meaningful response to its workers concerning their job performance. Most organizations make a formal assessment at least yearly while others do this twice yearly. Owners who do regular evaluations naturally enjoy several advantages for their attempts for instance employee evaluations helps to encourage, regulate and expel the workers based on their work performance. It helps workers make out what to anticipate from them. It is mainly helpful with fresh workers. Some companies offer first year workers with extra periodic assessments soon after they hiring them.

Evaluation meetings can be utilized to teach workers who might be having problem in some areas resulting in increase of their work performance. Employee evaluations should be utilized to distinguish and reward all workers if their performance is up to the mark. These must be done in a way to stimulate outstanding workers to perform even better. It must be done on a regular basis to augment employee’s performance. In evaluation meeting, employees require written work explanations that specify their duties as well as responsibilities .Clear principles must be placed like what level of performance is expected. Moreover it must have objective setting scheme in position to aid encourage workers toward enhancing their performance.

Employee evaluations meeting is very significant so make certain that sufficient time is planned to converse about any matter meticulously. Just because employer does not predict any matters does not signify that the worker does not has a number of matters to complain about which you might not still be conscious of. Always allow your worker to be familiar with whether they are doing their job well or not it is a duty that must not merely be conducted through a yearly assessment, but repeatedly, on a regular basis, if feasible. Always keep in mind that optimistic enthusiasm will be beneficial in escalating worker performance rather than negative motivation.

What features you should look for in employee performance evaluation software

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 05:00:00 GMT

Employee performance evaluation software helps companies or organizations to enhance their work as well as staff appraisal methods and consequently should include numerous different aspects. If any company considers of making investment in employee appraisal software then it would be the best decision they could take for their organization. They will come across a range of choices from various software applications. As every form of Employee performance evaluation software is exceptional, but however similar, there are aspects that you require to be acquainted with when choosing which company and type to pick.

One basic feature of employee performance evaluation software is objective management. Employees must be capable to establish from their assessors accurately about their work. Software that lines up business objectives as well as methods with worker performances and achievements helps in building up of understanding between the company and its employees. The executive can converse with the worker about the objectives which have not been achieved plus how their effectiveness evaluates and the continuing plan presently prepared for the workers. Having objective management aspects, the executives or assessors are given apparatus to allot appropriate and attainable objectives to single worker or to numerous workers. In addition, worker appraisal software must be capable of tracking these individual objectives against company goals.

The most important benefit of utilizing employee appraisal software for the corporation is that the entire appraisal procedure can be preserved at the same time. The software must let both the assessor as well as employee of the company to enter information, decide objectives on which prospect staff evaluations are to be built and check the entire performance evaluation process.

Executives spend a lot of time in producing appraisal reports through regular evaluations. Though, most employee evaluation software allows you to computerize this method. The software must give many evaluation reports that can help them save their time while choosing what expressions to utilize for worker behavior samples.

360 Degree Feedback Systems- Indispensable for Your Business

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 05:00:00 GMT

The solitary way to really assess an employee is through appraising him from all sides. A sneak-peek in to the employers mind can be done through a 360 Degree Feedback system . Under this a form will be provided to you along with the facts you could do with, from all facets of the routine of a worker. The workforce, as well as directors, subsidiaries, and associates fill in a questionnaire where many options for judging the chief issues at workplace are given in the form of questions. This questionnaire can be utilized to come to a decision if an employee be supposed to get a promotion or probably more preparation is needed.

The 360 Degree Feedback system questionnaire can be displayed in front of the employees so that they can well again be aware of their work routine and the way it is supposed by others contrasted to their personal thoughts concerning the way the employees perform their duties. The best part is this can all be done online, so when discussing the results with the employee. The person behind the replies is not known, but could be offered in a collective approach so the worker can be trained on how to execute their duties effectively.

In a 360 degree feedback system form, queries include perceiving the job, expertise to operate tools, following regulations, and sharing data with colleagues along a remark box for additional thoughts. The subsequent segment is on efficiency and is answered in the similar checkbox technique with questions relating to passion in work, meeting deadlines, interaction with male and female associates, multi-tasking skills, timely completion of tasks, yet again in a comment box. Cooperation is the topic that follows with a checkbox technique with questions concerning admiration, censure, capability to work as a team, capacity to contribute to resources, and work routine.

Using 360 degree feedback for employee development

Tue, 13 Dec 2011 05:00:00 GMT

Feedbacks are always helpful but only if they are given in a constructive way, it can be beneficial to both the individual and the business too. In an organisation it is quite important to have regular feedback that will give the employee a chance to improve himself and contribute better to the organisation. It gives an employee an idea as to where he has been performing wrong and what can help him improve in future. But an officer needs to understand that there is a huge difference between a feedback and a criticism.

The term that we are discussing here is 360 degree feedback ; this involves a quality feedback to the employee. It is also termed as a multisource assessment where the feedback is given by seniors, subordinates and peers. It also includes self assessment and direct reports where in the external sources like suppliers and customers can also contribute. It is completely different from the traditional feedback which was only based on the direct reports and the manager took their decisions. After the feedback is evaluated, the performance coach evaluates it and plans a targeted improvement chart. This is a great study to have a better understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the employees. 360 degree feedback measures competencies and behaviours and helps you understand that how an employee is perceived by others. The best part of this kind of feedback is that a candidate is evaluated on characteristics like team work, goal setting and leadership qualities that a traditional appraisal plan would definitely miss.

Today 360 degree feedback is one of the most effective development tools as it gives an insight to an employee about hoe he or she is perceived and the best part is that it is an anonymous feedback. It gives them an opportunity to have a behavioural change and also to develop their skills which will be useful in their job.

Software Marketing Operations for Modernizing Business

Fri, 09 Dec 2011 05:00:00 GMT

Software marketing drive support stands for the greatest technically superior methods of preserving an online commerce viable. There is fairly a lot of disparity among conventional marketing policies and web promotion; and the opening outcome from the software functions, sales definitiveness and publicity surroundings. The plan is that when you choose a certain program for web campaigns it is very important to check the features. In a 360 degree feedback software , look for statistics, consignment features, modification fields, contact databanks, scheduling and coverage attributes and numerous others. What is more is that, logistics and generated actions are a huge component of a software selling operation, and it repeatedly gets unnoticed.

Several other rudiments to go after in software advertising drive assistance and among the significant ones is the likelihood to carry out a number of campaigns, concurrently. Multi-channel supervision and mobile ingress can have the identical bearing for flourishing business growth. Software agendas employed for marketing ventures are internet based and permit for online self-services if there is any serviceable difficulty you want to alter. 360 degree feedback software can accomplish the link between the ultimate user and the services or products provided.

Sales and publicity are the chief successes of software advertising operations but the domino effect could be examined in a different way for each company, merchandise or brand. Furthermore, a few campaigns have to aim at an exact market division, whilst others tackle a non-specific souk. The alternative of a campaign policy relies on the manufactured goods and the methods by which you propose to offer it to consumers. Therefore, there is a dual application in the utilization of software advertising operation tools including 360 degree feedback software, and manifold task administration is achievable with extremely complicated programs. Business evolution cannot be anticipated as per all coordinates; so, an adept investor will find means to adjust down the way.

360 degree evaluation to balance employee reviews

Tue, 06 Dec 2011 05:00:00 GMT

These days, a lot of organizations are opting for the 360 degree evaluation procedure replacing the less satisfactory kinds of evaluation software tools sold in the market. This evaluation process is basically a system which includes an employee being anonymously measured by superiors as well as co-workers in the workplace. Through such a type of evaluation, employee’s direct manager or supervisor subordinates as well as the co-workers at the same level. This provides for a chance to give honest opinion about employee’s performance.

The fundamental nature of 360 degree evaluation is to give a balanced point of view to employees because it connects to a series of workplace competencies. About eight to twelve individuals are told to anonymously perform an online survey in which they rank other employees on particular competencies on a rating level. They are also told to increase their rating option, giving examples to sustain their mark where feasible. Conversely, employees who are being rated also get the chance to evaluate their own performance, at the same time answering the same questions which their supervisors, peers and subordinates are asked to react to. Many leaders have observed that after they switch over to 360 performance evaluation, both the employees and they themselves were able to get a much clearer comprehension of employee’s weaknesses and strengths.

Such an evaluation that comes from such a vast cross section helps employees to admit the outcomes and have more desire to function on such areas which need improvement. This method can also be utilized by companies on regular basis to maintain high quality level in the work of their employees. If your organization requires an effective tool to rate its employee’s performance, then there cannot be a better choice than option for 360 degree performance evaluation .

Employee evaluation software to boost employee performance

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 05:00:00 GMT

Most of the businesses that have become successful have always ensured to honor their top performers and encourage poor performers to do their best. The great challenges of following this stratagem are identifying the best performers, providing good compensation to motivate and retain the employees and improve their skills and competencies to ensure the business competitiveness. Employee evaluation software can help you to confront these challenges by improving your employee performance. Such employee appraisal system is all about creating satisfied and productive staff. It streamlines the evaluation process by providing a reliable online based platform to your managers, reviewers, departmental heads, CEO and even your personnel to conduct these appraisals precisely and accurately, quickly and effectively. It also elevates employee satisfaction levels thereby ensuring transparency and objectivity in your evaluation process.

Employee evaluation software comes with configurable templates to connect and involve all the concerned HR managers to provide performance ratings or objective feedback in evaluations thus enabling to have a better assessment of employees’ performance. This reporting and analytic tool helps the management to identify the top performers from the average performers, employee contribution levels and track performance tailbacks. Thus, employee appraisal information becomes a significant contributor while taking very important management decisions.

There are several benefits of having automated employee evaluation survey. You can print the appraisal form and provide to your employee. Moreover, you can quickly import previous appraisal data to the automated appraisal system to get access to archived evaluations that are not conducted through this system. With this system, you can refer to old appraisals at any point of time. You can even export this software to your dedicated and secured servers as on demand hosted applications.

Employee feedback software can be accessed through the intranet or internet. Based on HR principles and practices followed globally, this performance appraisal system is the perfect tool to help employees accomplish their objectives, engage workforce in productive work, manage staff compensations, increments and promotions, and bring transparency and objectivity in employee appraisals.

360 evaluation software - Analyze Employee Performance

Sat, 19 Nov 2011 05:00:00 GMT

Employees’ performance evaluation is a crucial task which is conducted by the human resource department in every organization. This involves different steps, right from preparing questionnaires, conducting personal interviews, preparing reports, database and much more. Undoubtedly, the entire process is quite tedious and time consuming. Thanks to the advanced employee performance evaluation software, this task can be carried out precisely and professionally. This automated tool can help you to keep track of each associated techniques without any headache.

With performance assessment software there is minimal possibility of any error as the entire module is automated. A few of the key benefits include keeping track of relevant function of outside appraisers, managing appraisal database and managers, 360 degree appraisal process, modifying appraisal templates and so on. The latest versions of HR management software come with comprehensive module to make things easier for HR departments across different industries.

Employee performance evaluation software has given the freedom from horrendous paperwork. The adroit software has instituted a powerful insurgency in the HR department by encouraging a transition from an entire manual task to a fully automated process. Employee appraisal software would enable an organization to effortlessly align their business outlooks with that of their workforce. Now your HR manager, equipped with this tool can fill the evaluation forms, make questionnaires through online medium and send them to your personnel and collect them in the same way.

Employee appraisal system is the key to monitor performance of employees, identifying the mistakes, and finding the areas that require changes. This appraisal system automates the tasks of identifying, implementing, and evaluating the complex appraisal process in methodical and confidential way to ensure best outcomes.

The yardstick of evaluating employee performance may vary from one organization to another. Employee performance evaluation software is highly flexible to enable businesses from defining the parameters related with the process. HR management software has truly become an essential tool for HR department across different organizations, and contributed greatly to their success.

How employee performance evaluations can boost output at work

Fri, 18 Nov 2011 05:00:00 GMT

Employee performance evaluations are important tools for any business to evaluate the echelon of employee participation, employee satisfaction, and overall performance at workplace. In today’s highly competitive marketplace, it becomes quite difficult for many businesses to survive. As a business owner, you might not be able to see the world in the eyes of your employees. You may have tried out different means to push the sales figures, while your employees may be concerned about job security and remuneration. However it should be kept in mind that employees are the front line of your business and they are the ones who deal with your clients regularly, and help you to increase profits that you desire.

Employee performance evaluations may be done to know how effectual is the internal communication within the organization, or what drives employee participation, perceptions of leadership, aspects of employee training, relationships between employees and management team, general working conditions and so on.

A new approach to develop good management-employee relations is through employee participation. It can be a good idea to actively interact with employees on regular basis to create an easy working environment and pleasing atmosphere. However, for beginners, implementing an employee evaluations for analyzing what your employees feel about the management is perhaps the best solution.

Some of the specific types of employee evaluations includes, staff recruit and welcome survey, training requirements survey, temperature check surveys, where you will able to analyze the key queries on more regular basis and identity the areas that requires a change.

Employee performance evaluation surveys can be very useful for recognizing workplace problems and impediments to output at work and quality customer service. However, another significant reason to conduct a survey is to measure the present working situation. Most often, surveys are viewed as a tool to detect faults, while others are more useful to make out whether your business is going the right direction. This piece information can be most vital when hiring new employees and retain existing valuable personnel, those you would never want to lose!

360 Feedback System- Great Tool for Performance Evaluation and Personal Development

Thu, 10 Nov 2011 05:00:00 GMT

Are you worried looking for tools to enhance productivity and work efficiency? Well, your search ends here. 360 degree feedback system is the latest technique designed to analyze staff performance, evaluate their abilities and skills. Simple or complicated, this system software is designed to examine competencies of workforce. The 360 degree feedback software includes a technique termed as self assessment. The responses are interpreted based on a echelon and the result is the perception of staffs about the management.

The 360 degree feedback is a latest technique for measuring performance and achievement of employees. In this 360 feedback tool , the superiors are the ones who have the authority to evaluate you. However, this blazon of evaluation involves a great level of subjectivity.

Over the last couple of years, more and more people are interested in using 360 degree feedback system as part of their performance evaluation process. Most of the business organizations opt for 360 feedback appraisal for development to utilizing them for performance appraisals, talent reviews, and progression planning. The ladder to success is the result of how you execute the process in your organization.

It is always better to start using 360 evaluations for development and then migrating towards performance evaluations over time, if evaluation is the way you want to traverse. This would help the organization to adopt the process and clear any doubts that people might have about 360 degree feedbacks. It all depends on the ethics of the organization. If you are having a progressive culture that looks forward for a change, this process can be completed over a short period of time.

However, 360 degree feedback system should not be considered as an alternative to formal evaluation process, but it should serve as an extra source of input. 360 appraisals are great tool for performance evaluations, development planning and talent reviews. So, make sure that you implement the system in the best possible manner that match well with ethics of your organization.

360 Degree Feedback Ensures Professional Improvement

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 05:00:00 GMT

If you are a CEO or management head, you will probably know the importance of a 360 degree feedback. When you receive such feedback report, you will immediately have a look at the lowest scores, and try to make improvements in those areas. You would probably spend lot of time trying to improve on your weaknesses, but it would have small impact on the overall performance.

It is true that low scores need to be addressed, but it should not be a major focal point for development. Instead, you should lay emphasis on your strengths and address those limitations that restrict you from attaining your full potential.

For instance, suppose you are a creative managing director of a company, but you have not been good at managing budgets associated with your marketing plans. You may be successful as you can work with direct reports to create good marketing campaigns, but you struggle as your ideas often exceed the budget in its execution. This weakness would definitely have a negative impact on your ability to succeed, and other’s perception on your overall abilities.

A good solution to such problem might be to focus on correcting this weak point, by attending a budgeting course. However, this option can take time and be expensive. Apart from this, it would not take into account your real strengths, your ability to create incredible marketing campaigns.

Overlooking this strength would be appalling. The solution to this problem could be as simple as requesting a member of your team to check and control expenditures. Focusing on weakness, while overlooking the strength, is surely not the solution.

Many a times, we might perform so well that we tend to forget that we are good. These are what we call strengths, talents and skills. A 360 degree feedback report would help to identify the highest scores as perceived by others. However, the members need to translate what their real strengths are.

They should evaluate the strengths that are evident in the 360 degree feedback. It should be remembered that objective setting and deed planning should first lay emphasis on the strengths and then on weak spots that impede success.

Software Marketing For Renovating Business

Sat, 05 Nov 2011 04:00:00 GMT

For quick and accurate results, computerization is the key in business. Gone are the days when everything was on paper and elaborate documentation was exceedingly time consuming and fatiguing. With changing times, electronic and software records have brought a revolution in business. Ensuring 360 degree feedback software records have been a key to higher productivity and lessened business discrepancy. Automated technology in business has saved millions of dollars of business enterprises, cutting down on promotion and production costs. Software programs were designed to ease the load off human workforce. Companies are easily capturing commercial markets by online marketing of their goods and services.

By securing the right 360 degree feedback software you will able to make requisite modifications on the company’s website by converting web users into customers. By running several marketing and promotional campaigns online you will able to figure out what is working for you and what’s not. Email marketing has been successful for businesses, as most people today are internet savvy and search everything of their interest, online. Software marketing includes several steps like examining, designing, expanding information, testing, Manu scripting, implementing, and assessing of data which later works as a promotional gimmick for the business.

Through search engine optimization (SEO), a business makes itself virtually visible. Marketing consultants and web designers are hired by the company to create a user friendly, customer responsive website which serves as a quintessential platform for the company to show to the public, the goods and services it has to proffer. 360 degree feedback software is a product of hours of coding, research and analysis, unit testing, planning and software development. Employees derive more form software based procedure and online organizational charts. They get more information on what set of skills are required by them to fit into a specific position.

360 Degree Evaluation of Business for Sale in Surfeit Markets

Fri, 04 Nov 2011 04:00:00 GMT

There are one-sided elements in every business appraisal. Professional business evaluators carry 360 degree evaluation and assess these elements and determine the value of business in terms of their personal understanding. Estimated trade figures and proceeds can be used to insert additional value on trade goods and services, for better future prospects. Business evaluation is always reliant on previous information and business potential merged with the probable variety of standards set by specialists. A detailed presentation will help to assuage uncertainties and questions about the demand and supply of goods and services with existing prices.

Business evaluation can be done by making a business model and determining the demand and supply curve in the market. A professional business entrepreneur will help you build the precise business model. If you are looking forward to do a 360 degree evaluation of business opportunities in the current market set-up, and then there are a few factors to be considered. Firstly, cost of business is significant. The expenditure that goes into operating a business implies the credit paying and fiscal competence of a business. The annual business turn over determines whether a business is extensive or just a small business enterprise. The revenue generating capability of a business signifies the scope of that business and the job opportunities it offers to people.

Secondly, the training programs and necessary tools to increase business efficiency and productivity are required. Ask your business guarantor about the training offered by them or if needed visit their back office to ensure. All businesses for sale today conduct wide-ranging training programs for new recruits and old employees for helping them understand the several business nuances. If you plan to start a new business you are sure to do a 360 degree evaluation of the resources available and also your business sponsor.

Use Employee performance evaluation software for quick results

Sat, 29 Oct 2011 04:00:00 GMT

It is possible for businesses to recover their job and employee evaluation processes by using employee performance evaluation software. A number of software with different applications is available on internet and it is your decision to purchase software according to the method you are going to use for evaluation. The software is helpful in reducing the load of work which comes over the HR who has to make files and reports which is a hectic and time consuming process. This software makes it easy to keep records of employee’s performance and achievement of goals. The owner of the business knows the significance of maintaining the work efficiency in offices because sometimes you have the best experienced employees but still you fail to get desired results. The reason behind this may be wrong handling of employees. By assigning a task to the employee according to his skill can improve the work output. This is the main reason of using this software by organizations because it helps in measuring how much time an employee is devoting on particular task. At the time of promotions and performance appraisals these records can help a lot.

Earlier managers spent a lot of time in producing forms and reports during evaluations but now employee performance evaluation software provides readymade appraisal forms which saves time and money. During the evaluation process it is very necessary that the employee should feel comfortable throughout the process so that he may give honest and actual answers. Face to face evaluation is not considered good because the employee may not feel independent to give answers; so for that purpose this software is the best option. Employee performance evaluation software gives freedom and time to employee so that they can give honest answers by taking enough time. It can help you in producing strategic management reports and also in motivating and retaining the best and experienced people in the company.

Why employee evaluations are necessary?

Fri, 28 Oct 2011 04:00:00 GMT

Employee evaluations are done in a company for checking or evaluating the performance of the employees- whether they are fulfilling their goals or not. The main advantage that one can enjoy while conducting the evaluation process is that you are actually inspiring your staff or employees to perform better. When the person is aware of the fact that his performance is being monitored all the time, he will definitely perform better. Through this process the company can decide about the promotion and demotion of employees. This survey gives an idea about how important an employee is for the organization.

It is very necessary to give the employee evaluations duty to that person who is qualified and also has knowledge about every position that he is going to evaluate. This evaluation will be very important for both an employee and an employer. This process will reveal the weaknesses and abilities in the employees and to erase the weaknesses, proper training must be provided to them. This tool of evaluation may become very helpful in knowing the direction of your business. Never damage or hurt your employee’s morale, try to point out both good and bad in their performance.

Mostly the organizations conduct the employee evaluations process annually. Employees should get annual report of their performance so that they can know about their own flaws and can improve by time. This evaluation should be painless. Now-a-days a number of evaluation software is available on the internet and one can purchase it as per their evaluation method. The software is very helpful in conducting this process more speedily and efficiently. It is a better method than the earlier one in which the responsible person has to deal with a lot of paper work and has to waste time in making excel reports. Through the feedback reporting software one can get the final report just after the evaluation process.

How Employee Performance Evaluation Helps in Business Growth?

Thu, 20 Oct 2011 04:00:00 GMT

Performance evaluation of employees is an important way to build a flourishing business and it can be possible only by conducting regular employee assessments. These evaluation programs can cultivate good relationship between the employees and employer. To improve the quality of work, it is necessary to assist your employees.

The main focus of the evaluation should be on improving the employee’s current performance and the future facets too. So for this evaluation, now many software is also available called performance appraisal software which assesses the performance of employees and also very helpful in saving a lot of time. Employee performance evaluations are essential to provide information about performance status.

By conducting this evaluation program, it is easy to make decisions regarding fixation, salary, promotion, transfer and demotion. It also gives feedback about the level of behavior and achievement of employees. It also helps to identify deficiency in employees regarding knowledge, skill and in which area they need training.

This evaluation process aims at maintaining and building the performance level of the workers. One of the main purposes of this appraisal is to help the senior officers to know about their subordinates. In an organization, fair and equal treatment should be given to all the employees and they should be given compensation according to their performances. These employee performance evaluations help in this purpose also.

Many organizations only conduct this evaluation to know about whether the employees are achieving their goals and how much knowledge they have about their field. It is a very critical tool for all the employers. The overall objective of using this tool is to determine the value of an employee for an organization. The evaluation helps supervisors and managers to determine what kind of assistance would be helpful to take their employees performance up to the level.

For all these evaluations the managers are generally recommended to conduct employee performance evaluations in their organization. It could be very helpful in enhancing the production and growth of the business.

Various features of 360 feedback system

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 04:00:00 GMT

Every organization needs a constructive or positive feedback which helps both the company and the individuals. An organization can get the correct and honest feedback by conducting 360 degree feedback. In this process, an employee receives feedback about his performance from other workers working around him. The feedback remains anonymous and confidential and it can be collected by using forms in which the raters are supposed to give answers of some particular questions. The target employee is also required to fill this form. The major advantage of 360 feedback system is that instead of going one way, it involves every employee who works in the evaluation process. This process can provide a positive feedback to the manager and can be used for creating better working environment and to improve employee’s performance.

Traditionally it was the job of manager to provide feedback, but now because of the workload it becomes difficult for him to do this job. That is why 360 feedback system has been considered best for this purpose and its main idea is to broaden the sphere of raters to include peer evaluation, self evaluation and direct reports. This feedback also has numerous benefits: the employees will do better in future after knowing about their behavioral weaknesses. This feedback survey is more accurate for many reasons because multiple ratings are always more accurate than only single person’s review. The ratings from various perspectives (peers, self manager, direct reports) can provide a complete picture of employee’s capabilities. The anonymity also assures peers to give an accurate rating and honest feedback. More open communication about performance is possible because the process involves receiving and giving feedback from almost all directions in the company- sideways, downwards and upwards. The questions in this survey are designed to evaluate performance based on company’s own mission, goals, priorities and values. By 360 feedback system hidden strengths in employees can be identified and employees can also develop new skills and can also strengthen their existing skills.

Quick and Effective evaluation by 360 degree feedback software

Fri, 14 Oct 2011 04:00:00 GMT

Employees are the most essential part of an organization, as any vehicle is nothing without tires like that the company is nothing without employees. Employees are like tires of company, they can take a business to sky level or towards nothing.

So it is very important to assess the performance of every employee from time to time. It will be very helpful for company’s production and to increase employee’s efficiency in work. One can assess the employee’s performance by conducting 360 degree feedback. In this kind of survey, the target employee is evaluated by the other workers around him. 360 degree feedback software is also available on internet which consumes less time and gives accurate feedback.

Confidential Peer Appraisal

360 degree feedback is also known as 360 degree appraisal and peer appraisal. This can boost the employee’s performance and efficiency as it reveals their weaknesses and strengths. Companies are very fortunate to have 360 degree feedback software as it is an easier way to analyze feedback. For every organization time is money; so to get fast results is their main goal.

Well-made 360 degree feedback create opportunities to explore both the thought processes and behavior that control performance outcomes. The 360 review assures confidentiality, and this assists to build the assurance required for people to provide honest responses.

Benefits of regular feedback

The vital point is that the 360 degree feedback software should offer the elasticity to permit easy tailoring of the final report and the questionnaire content. This process of getting feedback can promote great openness and insight into learning new strategies related to Relationship Management.

Another important factor which makes it more effective is that it can be used on regular basis to help employees in maintaining excellence in their work. This survey should not be taken as employee evaluation tool by business head but also as a self help tool to show employees about where they are lacking in their everyday functions.

360 degree feedback can make employee‘s more efficient and productive

Wed, 12 Oct 2011 04:00:00 GMT

It is necessary for every organization to evaluate the performance of their employees in order to know about how efficiently they are working and what kind of training they need. The best way to evaluate an employee is to evaluate him from all sides and this can be possible by 360 degree feedback. This will give you all information about his efficiency and skills. By this the organization can decide about promotion and demotion of an employee. Earlier HR of the department was responsible for conducting this survey but now any member of staff can participate in it. A group of employees who work around target employee notice his method of working and behavior with his colleagues.

All the necessary questions should be included in 360 degree feedback form and a form should have one column where the raters can write comments. After all the evaluation, it is better to handover this form to the target employee so that he can know about other’s perception and he can improve his skills. The organizations should take care of privacy so that the employees who are participating in this survey can write comments with freedom and honesty. It is a very fine method to inform the target employee about his performance and what is the insight of other workers about him.

The main motive of conducting 360 degree feedback is to learn about employee’s performance and his loyalty towards his work. This feedback helps a lot in the production and expansion of an organization as one will start working efficiently after knowing about his performance. It is better to take this survey as an exercise with which the employees can get better in their performances. This feedback can make target employee more committed and attentive to his work. This survey should be functional as employees who are not so skilled and experienced, the organization should arrange for some kind of training for them.

Evaluate employee’s performance by 360 degree survey

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 04:00:00 GMT

If every employee gets positive feedback, they feel energized and excited and if the feedback has been represented in a right way then it would be beneficial for the employee and company as well. It is very important and necessary to provide satisfactory feedback to the employees. Through this, a company may know about its employee’s needs and where they want support to lift up their performance bars. Through 360 degree survey , a company can provide proper feedback to their employees. In this, people receive feedback from the other workers based upon their performance. This review always remains confidential. This term implies a circle of all the raters who provide anonymous feedback by surrounding the target employee. For receiving this feedback, any level of employee can be selected, just to give an idea about employee’s weaknesses and strengths.

The main objective of this survey is to clearly understand other employees’ views about target employee’s performance. At the end of the form an opportunity is given to all to give some comments. Earlier the employee review was performed solely by manager or supervisor of the company but this method is entirely different. 360 degree survey uses all the information from vendors, managers, peers to give complete 360 degree review of target employee. This method has several benefits like it gives an insight of employee’s weaknesses and flaws and allows them to improve for a better future. This survey has to be designed by using attributes which are very important for your company and also relevant to the development of employees.

360 degree survey should be avoided at the time of busy season. The effectiveness of this process increases rapidly when the employees create development plan and from his supervisor he gets regular reports. Always remember that this survey is just a means for change. The factors behind real improvement in performance of employees are coaching, follow up and goal setting.

How beneficial is 360 degree evaluation

Tue, 04 Oct 2011 04:00:00 GMT

For most companies, 360 degree evaluation is the best technique which is designed to improve work efficiency. During this evaluation many complicated and easy tactics are used to examine employee’s performance and skills. It is a highly confidential assessment which an employee receives based upon the information which his superiors and coworkers offer. Self-assessment technique further comes under this evaluation. By conducting this evaluation survey, the companies would get more opportunities to enhance the work ability of employee’s and production of the company. Many companies are using this evaluation survey for various reasons. It is helpful for analyzing the strong and weak points of staff members by which they can try to improve their faults for effective working.

In earlier times, the superiors assessed the performance of workers but now any member from the staff who can assess the target employee’s skills. Proper questionnaire is set for the evaluation. This questionnaire includes questions on whether an employee knows about equipment operation, follows rules, shares knowledge with other staff members etc. 360 degree evaluation is the best way to see how employee’s work on daily basis. This evaluation process gives a chance to coworkers and the supervisor to speak the truth about how efficiently an employee is working and how much profit he is giving to the company. By conducting this survey, a company can decide about promotion and demotion of the employees.

Professional development opportunities should be escorted with 360 degree feedback such as job rotation and training. This will support employees to do better in their jobs and there will be more productivity and efficiency. While conducting this survey the manager and workers should take care of the confidentiality and anonymity. This evaluation is very important for firms and necessary for managers. This method can give a clear picture of employee’s effective working and how these workers are perceived by other colleagues.

Evaluate performance by employee evaluation software

Fri, 30 Sep 2011 04:00:00 GMT

Many organizations check whether employees are working effectively and they are able to achieve their goals or not. This checking can be done by conducting employee evaluation survey. Through this evaluation an organization comes to know about weak employees and they can arrange some kind of training for increasing their efficiency and productivity. In this method of evaluation maximum companies are using employee evaluation software. It’s like a boon for all the organizations as it gives them an idea about all those employees who are not performing efficiently and not giving expected results to the company. This software helps in simple and quick evaluation of the employees.

Usage of this software has reduced time and expenses which were earlier spent on conducting employee’s evaluation. This tool is excellent for improving work quality of all the employees. The main task of this employee evaluation software is to assemble, manage and organize employee’s data who work in a particular organization. With use of this software confusion and errors can be eliminated. With the help of this employees can know about their performance level and their role in the company. This software is very flexible and easy to adapt for any company for evaluation purposes.

There are some people who think that employee evaluation software is meant only for big companies. However, the truth is that any company whether big or small who is facing the same problem can use it. Employee evaluation is usually done by the HR of a company and in the earlier times while conducting this survey he had to deal with lots of paper work. Introduction of this software has reduced tedious and time consuming paper work. These software are available at many websites, one can order for them easily and can procure them at very reasonable prices. All in all it’s an excellent tool for increasing the production in any company and efficiency of employees working.

Employee evaluation is must for company’s progress

Tue, 27 Sep 2011 04:00:00 GMT

To measure performance of employees in an organization employee evaluation method can be used. This helps companies to know about those employees who should be promoted and the ones who are still weak in some areas. An additional training can be arranged for weak performers. It is very important for a company to let all the employees know about their weaknesses and the areas where they are lacking. While conducting this evaluation program there are some points which should be considered. The employees should not feel ashamed or embarrassed during evaluation and proper privacy should be maintained. There should be no favoritism towards any particular individual and this evaluation must not be focused on personal things but on employee’s performance in the company. Some companies don’t take it seriously and that is the only reason that they never succeed to find an apt reason for their business’s downfall. This process can become very helpful in the growth of a business.

These employee evaluation programs have a great aim to motivate employees for working on their mistakes and perform better in future. It’s a very well known fact that when a person is very well aware that somebody is monitoring performance, he will start performing in a better way. Through this there should be improvement in company’s performance. It is also very important to choose qualified staff for conducting this survey as evaluator should have proper knowledge about each position which is to be evaluated. Usually supervisors or managers conduct this survey and it is their responsibility not to be biased in their decisions. Everyone should get same attention and treatment and it should be a complete, fair and accurate evaluation. This survey needs proper paper work which is actually very lengthy process. To facilitate this many software are available in the market which can reduce the workload of officials who are conducting this survey.

So by conducting employee evaluation it’s possible to enhance business output and to make employees more efficient and dedicated towards their job.

Access your team’s performance with employee performance evaluations

Wed, 21 Sep 2011 04:00:00 GMT

Running a business comes with a lot of responsibility. The mail goal of these responsibilities is to observe functions and determine whether the business is actually generating results which you want. One of the aspects of observing the actions is through employee performance evaluations. Also known by many other names such as employee appraisal, performance review and performance appraisal, it’s a very useful tool. Evaluation is carried in relation to many factors like quality and efficiency in work, quantity produced, attendance, cost consciousness etc. generally, these evaluations are carried out by company’s supervisor of manager.

By many companies, employee performance evaluations are only used for determining employee’s conformity with job requirements and competencies. But, apart from this, it is a very decisive tool to employers. Actually, the overall objective of such type of evaluation is to conclude the value of employees to an organization or business. This does not indicate that if an employee is not found matching the requirements of a particular organization would be terminated. Instead, having identified the weak points of an employee, it becomes easier for supervisors or managers to decide on the type of assistance that should be provided to elevate his or her performance.

With some employees, additional training can also be given for particular procedures. Some employees may need training on the developmental factors where abilities like accuracy, efficiency and teamwork are concerned. These are only some of the abilities which are measures, as there are a lot more too which are significant in deciding whether an employee would be aptly fit within the company. Employees must use employee performance evaluations as they are the best way to find out the direction of a business. Remember, it is the employees who can establish the success of a business. If they present qualities of focused and qualified persons, its certain that your business will grow. That’s why these evaluations are important, so that they develop and so does your business.

Importance of 360 degree feedback system

Fri, 16 Sep 2011 04:00:00 GMT

360 degree feedback system has been adopted by many of the organizations and the reason for such popularity is the utmost satisfaction that this process gives you. They are suitable for every kind of survey that you want to conduct within your organization. Just a proper way, maintained with great discipline can give you desired results which you need. Some of the tips given below can help you in much better way.

A very important thing that should be maintained in the 360 degree feedback system is the anonymity of all the intermediate results and reviews. These surveys include reviews and reports from all the bosses, subordinates, peers and every other individual in the organization. So maintaining proper anonymity is required so that there are no personnel conflicts later on between any of the people involved. Anonymity is also an important factor which motivates people to give honest and productive responses for all the questions.

The next important factor is that 360 degree feedback system should be incorporated only for some development and productive purposes. If you use them for any evaluation ratings then some people might rate poorly because of any of their personnel issues or whatever may be. So there is no use of such a survey and you need to use them for some good and solid reasons only so that you get something productive as well.

The whole 360 degree feedback system is organized around the vast data of an organization and before conducting this survey, many of the management employees are asked to collect this for analysis. They work hard and their best to give an accurate data collection to the management. So whosoever analyzes these results should take good care that they make privileged use of them and there are some productive results after the analysis.

Some issues concerning 360 degree feedback

Wed, 14 Sep 2011 04:00:00 GMT

360 degree feedback system is one of the most effective and powerful gateway for solving employee and organization issues which assures you many of the useful results. This survey system makes it easy to gather information about many of the issues and concerns which do not come in notice in the everyday working of an organization. These are among the most credulous feedbacks which actually give an organization and the employees a satisfaction for all their problems and apprehensions. This feedback system can be very effective in discussing all the topics related to marketing, advertising, employee satisfaction, organization issues and all other major concerns but all you need to take care is that the survey is conducted with proper rules and discipline.

There are many organizations which sometimes due to lack of proper reasons to conduct 360 degree feedback loose to get the desired results. This should be taken care that you are well known to the fact for which you are conducting a survey. Amidst so many people and discussions the issues change to some other topic only and getting a desired goal becomes tough. So be clear in your goals and the ways to achieve it.

The next and the foremost issues that often people come across while conducting the 360 degree feedback is the fact that they indulge into their own personal issues and conflicts with the sub employees and organization. Everyone should take care to solve every matter peacefully and patiently. Everyone gets a chance to keep their suggestions and problems in front of the analyzing panel. So make sure that you discuss all your personal issues when you are given a chance to do so.

360 degree feedback systems can prove to be effective if conducted within regulation and patience. They have proven to be excellent for major companies and employees so may be working on them with concern helps you also.

Advantages of 360 degree surveys

Thu, 08 Sep 2011 04:00:00 GMT

There are various kinds of surveys and feedback operations performed by organizations these days to improve the working culture in their organization. These surveys are being adapted by organizations with a great pace to enhance communications between the management and employees so that company can move towards success and goal achievements. Among all these surveys after the introduction of 360 degree surveys there has been a great improvement in the working environment of companies and the effectiveness of such surveys can be seen clearly.

These surveys are becoming so important because of the reason that they involve all the management groups, clerical staff and the entire mediator working staff. They are performed on every person who is a part of the company and the best part about such surveys is that they involve the judgment by the experienced and senior employees who have years of working experience in the industry. 360 degree surveys start by analyzing the top most working cadre of the organization and slowly the questionnaire comes to the lowest working cadre. All the employees being surveyed are asked some predefined set of questions and based in their answers the solutions are looked for.

The 360 degree surveys increases the communication between all the workers and employees and thus are a creative and innovative aid to the company. All the issues that are disturbing for one or the other worker are thought of with great attention and a proper solution is given which further improves the working capability of the employee. These surveys are kept anonymous and thus no one fears to answer the truths. Even employees find these surveys a better way to convey their problems and messages to then management and thus these surveys are a boon for every one working for the organization.

Keeping an eye on every employee through 360 degree evaluation

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 04:00:00 GMT

There is no denial to the fact that good performance of the employees means good performance of the entire organization. Thereby, to increase the effectiveness in the functioning and management, every organization looks for some or the other approach. One such approach which has proved to be highly effective is the 360 degree evaluation . This is a great technique to know more about the employees working in your organization. The success rate of this technique of evaluation is quite high as experienced by both big as well as small companies. It is simple and easy yet very effective.

360 degree evaluation involves the evaluation of an employee with the help of all other employees working in the organization. The approach involves an extremely easy procedure. A questionnaire is given to the co workers, supervisors, managers and other employees of the organization. Through this questionnaire, all these people present their opinion regarding the targeted employee. The views expressed by all these employees remain confidential. This procedure is applied to all the employees of the organization in order to work on their flaws and weaknesses and then finally to get rid of them.

This technique is very highly popular as it provides with useful information about the employees. Further, the manager gets to know their strengths and weaknesses. 360 degree evaluation is then followed by a number of steps to work on the weaknesses of the employees. Thus, it can be said that this approach gives the opportunity of evaluating the performance of the employees and then to work on the areas where there is scope of improvement . Today, almost all big as well as small organizations are following this useful technique and working towards better results and success of their business.

Improvement plans for the employees through 360 degree surveys

Thu, 01 Sep 2011 04:00:00 GMT

An employee is the most imperative element of an organization. Good performances by the employees result in the success of the organization while bad performances can also lead to failure. Thus, it is very important to keep a check on the performance of the employees. All organizations whether big or small are well aware of this fact and hence come up with a number of plans and techniques to check and improve the performance of their employees.

There have been many attempts by the organizations regarding this. One of the very popular approaches is of 360 degree surveys . Such surveys are meant to know the flaws in an employee. This approach has been named as such because an employee is evaluated by all the other employees of the organization. Thus, the targeted employee can be considered as the center of the circle. The other employees that provide their rating includes, supervisors, managers, peers etc. The survey is conducted by providing a questionnaire to the other workers of the organization in which they have to present their opinion regarding the targeted employee.

360 degree surveys have proved their effectiveness in many organizations. Thus, it can be considered a great way to keep a check on the performance of the employees. Further the information provided by the other employees about the targeted employee can be used to identify his weaknesses and strengths. The drawbacks or weaknesses can be trounced by working on them further. Also employees with good evaluation can be rewarded in the form of incentives, bonus etc. In short in can be said that 360 degree surveys are truly an excellent way to capture the overall performance of the employees, to know their strengths, flaws and then finally getting rid of them.

Employee evaluations- An approach of feedback and improvement

Wed, 24 Aug 2011 04:00:00 GMT

For any organization whether big or small, the term ‘employee evaluation’ has great significance. These evaluations reflect performance of employees and a company as well. Thus its importance can be concluded from this fact itself. Employee evaluation is a technique through which the managers can discern about the various aspects related to the performance of the employees.

All employees are different from each other and have their own individual weaknesses and strengths. In order to know where exactly an employee stands, employee evaluations are extremely important. This technique is a feedback process where the employee gets to know about his performance over a particular period of time. This further helps the manager to pass evaluations to the employees based on their performance. An employee may get good or bad evaluations depending upon what they have performed.

Employee evaluations should be taken in an encouraging way by the employees. Employees with a good evaluation must be appreciated for their work by giving them certain rewards in the form of bonus, incentives etc. In this way they can be motivated to perform with the same dedication. However, employees with bad evaluations should not be discouraged. The manager should help the employee in knowing where he is lacking and in what ways he can improve his performance. There are many different ways in which an employee evaluation can be done. Face to face evaluation is one of the popular types which are prevalent in many organizations.

Employee evaluations should be carried out at regular intervals in order to be beneficial for the employees as well as for the organization. The process can be made simple with 360 degree feedback reporting tools . This approach is running in all types of organizations. In short, it is a feedback way and a source of improvement by motivating the employees and pull up their socks for better performance. Thus it is an important part of any organization.

Relax and Adapt Employee Performance Evaluation Software to Get Those Perfect Survey Results

Wed, 17 Aug 2011 04:00:00 GMT

Employee evaluations are becoming a mandatory part for the success and healthy working of any organization. But because these surveys take a good amount of time to be designed and performance so many of the organizations fail to perfume them on regular basis and on good scale thus leading to no change whether conducted or not. To solve these problems we have the employee performance evaluation software these days. Speed and efficiency are the main concerns of theses software’s and thus they are developed in such a ways as to give the appropriate results and that too within some proper time.

Employee performance evaluation software helps the evaluator in processing all the raw facts and figures, how much tangled and messed up these figures would be, or how confusing the answers of the employees may be such software assist to analyze them properly. They are specifically developed for some categories like training purpose, evaluation scales, retention basis etc. The evaluator can use all these features to analyze the employee on the respective basis. The software is very easy to use and will give you the desired results which you can easily trust upon. You can use them for any daily purpose surveys or any monthly or annual surveys.

They are very easy to use and relieve you from taking out special time for conducting such employee surveys. They just require to be allotted to the employee whom you want to survey, it will ask some of the questions and will also observe the pattern with which the employee answers them. Based on all such factors the results will be analyzed and a final display will be given to the surveyor which will help him decide the solutions or whatever is required. So get rid of those lazy survey processes and adapt this employee performance evaluation software.

Why 360 feedback systems

Fri, 12 Aug 2011 04:00:00 GMT

360 degree surveys are widely accepted these days by every organization. The reason being the effective and efficient way these surveys provide to analyze your employees and the efficient system of feedback they can guarantee you. While designing these 360 feedback system you just need to keep in mind few things that can help you very well and will be an aid in making the working environment of your company more friendly and comfortable for every employee.

The feedback system should be such that the results you release out be productive and supportive. There are weak and strong points in every employee which are to be worked upon. Stronger regions if revealed forms a basis for appreciation but weaker points can be a topic of embarrassment for the employee so these feedbacks should be kept confidential and anonymous for every employee.

The surveys should begin with a positive approach and every doubt and uncertain topics are revealed and discussed upon. The emphasis should be made to check out the employees and what problems are they facing out in working which may even lead to their reason of leaving the company. Although there may be reasons and issues which are not acceptable to the organization but for such subjects both should come to a common point of understanding and resolving of the problems. 360 feedback system are a great aid in this process because it involves all the senior and experienced surveyors which can help better in such common problems between employees and the organization.

360 feedback system are designed in such a way that they give better solutions to the relevant person, are developing in nature and are motivating too. They act in a supportive manner and help in improving the skills and qualities of all the employees in an excellent way. They are also a good way of knowing what your employees feel for you and what they expect from you.

Make the working culture of your organization more positive with 360 degree feedbacks

Wed, 10 Aug 2011 04:00:00 GMT

360 degree feedback are the methods to get the feedback about your employees or colleagues when a certain group of people analyze them. These kinds of surveys are becoming an important part of the companies today because of the way they help to improve the working environment and increase the positivity in the working culture of the company. Among all the employee surveys conducted in an organization these surveys can assure you the best results. The most experienced and senior employees are integrated into these surveys and on the basis of their long experience they evaluate the employees. The success of these surveys depends on the number of people actively participating in these surveys and more the number of people more easily will be able to get on the conclusions.

The 360 degree feedback are initialized at higher levels and is slowly cascaded downward to the lower levels of working group. Each and every level of working group is analyzed and the surveys are made on every doubt and confusion. The basic idea behind each of this survey is to measure the observable behavior is being observed in the workplace and what can be done to make it more friendly and positive.

The surveys end up after the giving a feedback to every employee who was being analyzed and this feedback plays a major role in their further performance. Those with positive feedback will maintain their level of performance and will even try to improve it further. But even those which are getting some negative results should not worry; instead the organization should motivate them to work more efficiently and to reach up to those remarkable positions. 360 degree feedback will be great sources of making your organization work more proficiently and effectively. They also enable the employees to open their mind sets to the senior employees and talk freely to them about all their problems and doubts.

Healthy employee evaluations can make employees work even better

Fri, 05 Aug 2011 04:00:00 GMT

Employee evaluations are an important part of all the business firms today. It is an integral part of the companies to know the performance of their employees. These surveys are conducted on regular basis to evaluate an employee on various levels of his performance. These evaluations can also be taken up as a general and healthy conversation with the seniors and managers. The employers evaluate the employees on certain criteria and then the results are given as appraisals on improvements to all the candidates. Based on such performance appraisals, the employees are promoted and the ones who do not qualify the minimum level are even detained at times.

These employee evaluations are helpful to employees to know what the company expects from them. The results of such evaluation are also used by the companies to improve the weaker employees in their fields. The ones who are rewarded for their good performance can take it as a motivating factor for future prospects and the ones who are not apprised well can take it as a challenge to attain it further. To evaluate an employee properly on his performance basis, you should make clear to him first all responsibilities and what level of work do you expect. He should be clear with all this before-hand so that he can stand up to that position.

The employee evaluation surveys are a healthy and innovative means of communication between the employees and the higher authorities. These evaluation surveys should be made more friendly and comfortable, so that, they, apart from motivating the employees do not put a fear in their minds. If conducted in a healthy manner they can prove to be very positive both for the company and employees as well. The working environment can be made more vigorous with these surveys.

Make use of employee evaluation software and get rid of the traditional methods of surveys

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 04:00:00 GMT

Employee performance evaluation software makes it easy for a business to get better employee and staff evaluation results. This software acts as survey software for your business and will take away the load of conducting such employee surveys from your mind. While conducting these surveys for your staff, a huge amount of time and resource management is needed. However, with the help of such software, the process has become much simpler and easy. This software can be designed according to your requirements and needs and you can use it to get the desired output. If you are thinking to invest in such software you need to be concerned about many of the facts and terms. Many of the important elements need you personal attention so that you can get software that you actually desire.

The prime factor for employee evaluation is the management of company’s goals and achievements. The managers need to know very well from these surveys that how are the employees working and how well do they achieve their goals. The employee performance evaluation software has to be designed in such a manner that this entire work load can be left for the software to perform and take care of. The manager can communicate with the developer the aims and objectives on the basis of which they want the software to evaluate their employees so that the software works efficiently.

The software should also integrate a feature with which the manager can get the reviews about a particular employee from the other higher officials of the company. These details will also be given by the manager. Also such employee performance evaluation tools should also contain appraisal forms for those employees who have been ranked well according to the survey software. Such appraisals are always motivating for the employees and encourage them to give a much better performance ahead.

360 degree evaluation

Sat, 30 Jul 2011 04:00:00 GMT

360 degree evaluation is a method used by organizations to get feedback from customers, clients, subordinates, employees etc. These are the surveys used to evaluate the performance level of employees, their feelings towards the company, their working environment, their colleagues and boss.

Advocating for yourself in a big company

Generally, in bigger organizations you are less likely to get into such conversations with your seniors and other colleagues where you can share your experience about the working place, or if you are going through any discomfort in the office. No one is going to come up to you and ask you the difficulties or your expectations.

Even for the higher authorities, they cannot come up to every employee to get feedback about the organization even if they wish to know it to improve their present and future prospects. There are many people who leave the organization if the place is non-motivating or supports any kind of leadership. To get to know these small facts, employee surveys have been introduced.

How 360 degree evaluations work

One of the best tools for getting the honest feedback from employees is a 360 degree evaluation . A 360 degree survey is the best way to analyze your subordinates and employees, the answers are kept truly confidential between you and the surveyor.

Designing the 360 degree evaluation platform can be very easy. You can start by first creating a team which will be performing a survey:

• Select members from multiple departments and levels. Choose the experienced members who have good tenure in the organization so that they can evaluate every aspect very well with their experience.

• Next, start by evaluating a small group of people. Question them on a different basis and evaluate the problems if any or any changes if they desire.

• Last, educate everyone, from every senior to every junior. Motivate them on their every weak area and take their feedback in confidence.

360 Degree Surveys

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 04:00:00 GMT

360 degree surveys are very commonly adopted these days by the employers to analyze their employees on various scales. When it comes to measuring and analyzing employees, many companies adopt various software tools. These software tools have a number of built-in features that allow you to analyze your employees.

What qualities do 360 surveys assess?

This method of evaluation comes under the human resource department of the business and is used to analyze the business capabilities of a person's skills and proficiency.

A 360 survey usually consists of rating of competencies and behaviors, coupled with an opportunity for honest and open-ended feedback.

Confidential, multi-source (360) feedback

360 degree surveys can be very easily implemented to assess challenging issues; even the confidential assessment of an employee can sometimes be evaluated based on the questions raised by his co workers and seniors. With these types of surveys, the subordinate colleagues and other employees get a chance to give a sincere and factual feedback about the performance of the particular individual.

Designing your survey

Programs should be designed by using attributes valuable for your company, and helpful for employee’s development. A good balance of scaled, open-ended and close-ended feedback should be the used while designing the survey. You should also remember that the critical aspect for success is wide participation. Employees should be given adequate opportunity to complete their appraisals.

Benefits

With the help of these surveys, business owners can acquire better feedback and can easily identify the personal development needs. This helps business owners improve the bottom line and customer service.

This survey tool also helps the people to know more about how other employees perceive them and improve communication.

Use employee performance evaluations for assessing your team’s value

Thu, 21 Jul 2011 04:00:00 GMT

Possessing and running a business comes with lots of responsibilities. The main objective of those responsibilities is to observe operations and determine whether the business is in reality producing the results that you want. One facet of examining operations is by reviewing employee’s performance. As such, employee performance evaluations would be an extremely helpful tool.

Employee performance evaluations are known by many other names also such as performance reviews, performance appraisals and employee appraisals. In spite of the name, the purpose is relatively the same which is to evaluate employee’s job performance. This evaluation is done in accordance to the quantity produced, quality of work, attendance, cost consciousness and so many other factors. Usually, such type of evaluation is executed by an employee’s supervisor or immediate manager. Many people only consider this evaluation as a tool of determining whether the employee is attaining compliance with competencies along with job knowledge requirements. However, it is in reality a very vital tool for employers. In fact, the main goal of this type of evaluation is determining the worth of employees in an organization or business. It is actually a tool that evaluates the earnings and costs attributed to a particular employee’s performance.

Of course, this does not imply that employees who are currently not contributing to the organization’s earnings and satisfying the requirements should be terminated. Instead, after identifying an employee’s weaknesses, the valuation also helps supervisors and managers resolve what support can be given to the employees for bringing their performance to a better level. In some cases, it could involve extra training on particular procedures. In other cases, the training on developmental facets and competencies like efficiency, teamwork and accuracy can be given. Certainly, these are just a few competencies that are considered and there are so many others which are important to determine whether employees will ideally fit within the company. It is generally recommended that companies use employee performance evaluations as it is a very helpful tool for determining a business’s direction.

Benefits of using a 360 feedback system

Wed, 20 Jul 2011 04:00:00 GMT

A 360 feedback system is used within an organization or a company. Its function is to provide the participants i.e. the employees with staff and manager feedback. This feedback is anonymously delivered and describes an employee’s weaknesses and strengths. Like so many surveys, the utility of this feedback system depends on its design and implementation. If executed properly, it can offer valuable insights for participants into how they are perceived by those working around him. If implemented poorly, the feedback that is delivered can turn into useless. There are many benefits of exploring a 360 feedback system.

Generally, the number of employees taken into the 360 feedback system is limited. While having very few participants involved in it does not give a clear picture of the competencies of participants, too many can give way to contradictory and often confusing data. A small group comprising of a dozen participants or fewer employees is typically asked out to fill an online survey related to their peer. The employee who will ultimately receive this feedback would be asked to review himself using that same online survey. His responses are incorporated with those of “peer group.” Once the responses are collected, they are tabulated to be delivered to target employees. Ideally, the feedback system is utilized by the target employees to further pursue development in areas where weaknesses have been identified.

The 360 feedback system is helpful for the target employee or the recipient for identifying how his colleagues perceive his abilities. Often, weaknesses of an employee are not apparent to that person. By noting the perception of others, such weaknesses can easily be identified and can be resolved further with training and development. It promotes a level of everlasting improvement. This system allows the employees to deliver constructive and useful feedback confidentially. It gives a valuable opportunity to colleagues to share their perception with others without worrying about any emotional reaction.

Gather and Analyze Information More Easily and Quickly With 360 Degree Feedback Software

Sat, 16 Jul 2011 04:00:00 GMT

Now there is a reasonable, practical, risk free and remarkably easy way to collect and analyze 360 degree feedback , giving the employees a broad and balanced perspective that they need to improve and develop. Whether you use the 360 degree feedback software for leadership growth or simply for collecting a broader and fairer feedback for the employees whose direct work relationship with the manager is less; it is your choice. This includes those who work on projects, who work shifts, those in cross departmental teams or work remotely. The 360 degree feedback software finishes off all the hassles and paperwork that make organizations use this extremely helpful and valuable tool. Employees benefit from personalized, comprehensive and more balanced 360 degree feedback on goals and competencies. This can assist them to better understand their weaknesses and strengths as perceived by colleagues and other managers and even external stakeholders like suppliers and customers and have more productive performance talks with their managers. It can help them in better ownership of their professional development and also personalized training plans. It can also assist them to stay motivated and engaged through highly appropriate performance feedback that inspires them to make the most favourable contribution to the company or organization. HR managers and administrators benefit from a less time consuming and easy to implement 360 degree feedback software to get crucial and in detail performance feedback from the organizations. It helps them to collect feedback that is not so easily captured by any other type of appraisal and gets a large view of employee’s strengths and those areas that require development. They can get a direct snapshot of where do things stand at a given point of time in the assessment process of 360 degree feedback appraisal – including completion percentages. It saves hours of analyzing and compiling performance feedbacks from multiple reviewers and benefits the managers or the team conducting evaluation to get results quickly.

Measuring employee performance evaluation software

Tue, 28 Jun 2011 04:00:00 GMT

Employee performance evaluation software is actually to increase the productivity in the workforce and to make employees happy or satisfied.

It is as astounding software which can create effective surveys with the help of robust platform for managers, HR managers , reviewers, CEOs and HODs. They can easily create and conduct evaluation quickly and more effectively. It plays vital role for employee satisfaction because the evaluation process is completely transparent which simply means the evaluation will be completely accurate.

The configurable template of this software helps the managers and reviewer to get a better insight of employee’s functioning. This is the reason; such type of software must be used in every organization to make it even better.

Why evaluation software is effective

Employee performance evaluation software is integrated with analytic and reporting tools which are extremely advantageous for management so as to recognize to top performers. It is also beneficial in determining the engagement level of employees. It is the main reason that employee performance evaluation is one of the effective tools when it comes to the decisions of management.

During that time, such evaluations play vital role and thus it easily evaluate the right person for recognition.

Advantages

There are numerous advantages of this amazing software and it is essential that every entrepreneur or business owner must understand all these benefits so that they can incorporate such tools within their company.

Very firstly, it supports the multiple reporting. It simply means that multiple reviewers or managers can review, rate or feedback the employees according to their performance.

It also includes ready made templates which make it very vivacious for the employees and they can evaluate the employee performance in the better way.

Also, employee performance evaluation software comprises of customized evaluations along with automatic email reminders. You can easily get all the reports and you will be surprised to use such an easy interface of this software.

Use software for fast results

So, use this amazing software and measure the performance of your employees in a single click.

Tips to make an effective employee performance evaluations

Thu, 23 Jun 2011 04:00:00 GMT

Doing performance appraisals of the employees is an essential and necessary approach for every organization. It is essential to ensure employee performance evaluations are being done in the right manner. There are few tips that would be helpful for the proper evaluation of the employees. A first thing is to plan a meeting earlier. It should be one on one with each employee so as to have good interaction with each of them. The employees should know that these meetings are very important for them as well. Avoid postponing or rescheduling of the meeting unless and until there is an emergency.

Next thing to ensure right employee performance evaluations are to note down the valuable points of discussion and review before next meeting. Inform employees that they also have to begin their own preparation. State the purpose of conducting the meeting again and what are your expectations with the employees. Record these meetings results on a wall planner that is clearly visible to everyone. Make the portfolio of every employee that will include their current performance, progress level and achievements on annual basis. Do not be partial, be less subjective and add practical examples.

Also encourage your employees to make their own portfolio for the success of employee performance evaluations program . A personal portfolio is much useful to let employees know where they excel and where they are lacking. The company professionals can add comments and mails received from workmates and customers about an employee’s behavior. They sometime prove to be extremely useful and come out with some hidden perspectives of an employee. Communication of the results is very necessary that includes what are you doing, why and how it is going to benefit. Further communicate the results describing new changes to be implemented after this appraisal method. These evaluations should be done on a frequent interval of time period to give better insight of employee’s satisfaction and solutions to raise their satisfaction to further level.

Why Organizations Use Employee Performance Evaluation Software?

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 04:00:00 GMT

The evaluation of employee performance is must for the successful regulation of the company‘s routine operations. With the rising competition the need to have loyal and dedicated staff people has come into significance. This is why companies are more engaged into conducting employee performance appraisal. It is necessary that appraisal should be finished in appropriate time without any error.

Companies today make use of the employee performance evaluation software. This performance review software has proven to be very useful in several ways. One is they do the integration of the goals of the organizations with competency management.

The software is used to make strategy for professional as well as career development of each and every employee. You can set e-mail reminders and even can create form for employee evaluation with large number of tools and customizing options.

In addition, employee performance evaluation software makes reports in a very short time. It is user friendly and does not require any special training and technical skills to use it. Thus the efforts that have to be made during the report generation are reduced. It further lessens the cost incurred and time limit. With the help of performance evaluation software it gets easy to track the progress of each staff member.

The feedback method is also streamlined and employees can get their feedback on time so as to start working on their weak points on time. The use of software gives fair results and increases reliability among the employees.

They start taking such surveys seriously and give their honest feedback which is necessary for the success of performance review method. Thus the selection of employee performance evaluation software is an issue of major concern and required to be taken seriously. Its features, requirement of the company, costs and budget structure and training requirements are all some necessary issues to be taken into consideration during its purchase. Once the software purchased is the right one the employees will happily accept such software and new changes implanted after its usage.

Why the need of follow-up 360 degree feedback arises?

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 04:00:00 GMT

360 degree feedback is the feedback received through multiple sources and sources include peers, direct reports, managers and the supervisors. These also include employees, vendors and customers. The 360 feedback was originally developed for using repeated number of times as the need for improvement does not end in an organisation. Everyone is the company wants to know how much they have improved or what is their progress and what is the next target. Follow up evaluation is a tool for the participants looking for the solution. The necessity of doing follow up comes to light because without this, staff would start thinking that the process was just wastage of time.

If a follow up is done it would send a signal to the employees that they are expected to improve their performance. Before the initiation of the 360 degree feedback, make sure to confirm it through decision makers that follow ups are necessary for the company. Inform everyone that at what interval they would be conducted. Follow-up is the way to keep a track of the individual improvement. If the evaluation goals and development plans are focused tightly, then the improvements made would be fast. The interval time must not extend more than a year. These are necessary to keep the process of development active.

An assessment just before the training and a follow up after that is necessary for the benefit of employees and company as well. It can be done after 3-6 months of the training. The evaluations done earlier, lets employees know the work area where they have to develop and put more efforts. A follow up program later on helps to practise new skills during the training program. It, therefore, increases the probability of improvements made and enhances success of the 360 degree feedback process which is the ultimate goal of the company. The follow-up is basically an approach to emphasize new behaviours in the organisation and highlight their need and benefits for the company.

Create right format for questionnaire with 360 degree feedback software

Fri, 10 Jun 2011 04:00:00 GMT

360 degree feedback is the process to rate the performance of an individual or even a group by including a number of employers. To make certain that this process is conducted without much wastage of time and is free of error, companies use 360 degree feedback software these days. There are a number of options and tools provided by software that can be used to create a customised form of questionnaire. There are however few things to keep in mind. Do not address so many behaviours in a single question. Include one in a question only as employees can score differently in different questions.

There are different approaches to design a layout of the survey with 360 degree feedback software. You need to consider few issues whether the survey is focused on particular designation, a department or company. There is no need to be more specific as it will get complicated to collect the data and further assess it. Considering the company as a whole for the study is an accurate choice. However, it should not be too broad that it does not address the management and employees roles and expected behaviours from them. Benchmarking is an important function. Set the standards and targets for the employees that influence them to achieve the targets by in fixed time limit.

The questions formulated with 360 degree feedback tool should be positive. The tone of the questions should never be negative as it is not going to give good results. The most important thing is to keep the survey simple and short. It should not be too lengthy that respondents start losing interest after some time. Add only the relevant questions that need to be prioritised as per the company’s mission, vision and work atmosphere and objectives set for the human resource. All these practices are necessary to retain interest of the respondents in the survey. Once the type of questions included is right and provide the right type of information, it implies that results obtained from the survey are reliable and survey would be fruitful for the company.

Crucial Elements of 360 Degree Evaluations

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 04:00:00 GMT

Organisations are rapidly shifting from the traditional methods to modern approaches for their employee assessment.

However, there are some critical issues that need to be discussed regarding 360 degree evaluation programs. These include strategic implementation, rewards to the employees and recommendation for future appraisal.

Training Your Team - Implementation

The very first step includes developing a strategic plan for the correct implementation of the feedback system. To change the evaluation method, it is essential to get the assistance from the executive leadership and agreement from the supervisors, mangers, and staff.

Mangers, supervisors and employees must know how to properly use the 360 degree evaluation system . An organisation must give them training regarding the benefits of an appraisal system. There can be requirement for additional training for some employees who do not have experience with performance evaluations.

Make sure that employees are totally aware of how feedback is given by the supervisors, peers and managers. They need to understand the difference between the feedback given by those in leadership roles and others. It also helps to understand how much worth should be given to each of their feedback.

Analyzing Feedback

Analyse the feedback obtained by keeping in mind the relationship of the employees with the managers and supervisors. Their interpersonal relationships might have an influence on their feedback.

The results from the evaluation will help to identify top performers and areas where weak performers are lacking behind. Reward those who have been giving efficient performance.

The Bottom Line

360 degree evaluation are necessary to determine positives and negatives of your company's working process and identify what needs to be changed.

How to do employee performance evaluations?

Fri, 03 Jun 2011 04:00:00 GMT

Measuring the employee performance is must for the success of the organisations. However, the toughest part is to do employee performance evaluations effectively and objectively. Measuring the performance ensures that the goals set for the employees and for the whole organisation are being met in the predefined period. They are also measured for the cost incurred during that time and also time taken for the accomplishment of the results. For the effective performance appraisal it is essential to clearly define the action plans of every single employee and also their role and responsibilities. An ideal performance review determines the potential of the employees.

The outcomes of the organisations and the goals of the company should be kept in mind during the time. The focus should be more on the activities rather than results and the accomplishments. Along with that, it is important to make a note of the competencies, skills, knowledge and also behaviour of each and every employee. It will be useful for the company to work towards the achievement of the goals. The employee performance evaluations should always be collected through multiple sources. It can include 360 degree feedback and also the self assessment procedures. Along with these, some additional measures like market share, return on investment, profit generated as a result of performance of the team work are some things to be considered.

Employee performance evaluations or monitoring is an essential step. It is because it allows providing feedback on frequent intervals for the employees according to their performance on the basis of predefined goals and standards set already. It is therefore essential that the goals to be accomplished must be come into knowledge at the right time. The employee evaluation done only on one or some limited factors will not give true result and thus will affect the brand image of the company. Thus, it is necessary to set some measures or goals for the success of the evaluation program. This way these approaches will lead to the success of the evaluation program.

Benefits of 360 feedback system for the whole organisation

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Tue, 31 May 2011 04:00:00 GMT

A 360 degree feedback or review is the process to create a feedback of an employee by professionals working at multiple levels. This is why it is also known as multi-rater feedback. It is therefore an easy, practical and affordable medium that provides employees with the broad perspective that is essential for their growth and development. 360 feedback system has multiple benefits for different levels such as employees, managers and HR administrators. Employees get a comprehensive and balanced feedback. It gives them a clear view about their goals and skills which will be helpful for their progress.

The 360 feedback system gives employees a clear view of their strength and weakness in perspective of managers and colleagues and even customers. A reliable feedback motivates employees to make significant contribution in the high productivity of organisation. They keenly take part in the programs started for their career development and training programs for their performance. Further, the multi-rate feedback program is also useful for the mangers. They receive a detailed feedback of the entire organisation. The software helps to gather the responses easily and also get a broader view of every single employee’s strong and weak areas.

360 feedback system software gives a quick picture of the progress of assessment process. The compiling and further analysis of the process is done by the software that saves a great deal of time for the managers. The results can be kept confidential which is very important to win confidence of everyone involved in the feedback for its reliability. The managers at C-level also regard this system as a useful tool. It is because it supports in making better decisions such as in strategic planning and management of workforce. It helps to identify the top performers for the sake of development of leaders and programs for successive planning. Thus, it provides complete satisfaction to the employees and management.

Increase the productivity of organization with employee performance evaluations

Tue, 31 May 2011 04:00:00 GMT

Life at work place is never easy and for employer sometimes it become really hard to manage so many things. To decimate the burden from the heads of managers and employers, some professionals have created a program which is called employee performance evaluations. It cannot be conducted easily but it is one of the effective processes not only for an employer but for employee as well. The main motive of employee evaluation is to find out all the weak points in an employee and to create a proper plan to increase the productivity within an organization. There are so many professionals available which help the employers in conducting such employee evaluations.

Let’s have a look at some essential facts while giving evaluation. Make sure to give job description to all the employees so that they can understand what their role in the industry is. Also, in this way a candidate can understand what are the most essential things required to complete the job. After that, performance ratings can be done which is one of the crucial aspects of employee evaluations. While giving employee performance evaluations, it is very essential to give in privacy but make sure to inform employee to come at a particular place. It is very important to conduct these evaluations in private so that employees can provide anonymous feedback.

Make sure to give some time for conducting evaluations. Very firstly, you need to outline all the goals in order to improve the performance of employees. Also, it is essential to reward good performers as it helps in boosting the morale of employees. You also need to establish performance expectations and to receive feedback so as to achieve goals. You should also ask different kinds of questions to the employee so that the problem can be sorted out. All the employees must be given a chance to tell what they feel and what they want to do. So, it can be said that employee performance evaluations can enhance the productivity amazingly and in the most effective manner.

Know about the different types of employee evaluations

Fri, 27 May 2011 04:00:00 GMT

An employee evaluation is a tool that is used by most of the organizations today for employee performance appraisal. One thing to keep in mind is that the kind of employee evaluation to be used should be decided by the role of an employee in the company.

Feedback from supervisors

The appraisal methods used in organizations are of different types. One is top-down, which is prepared by a direct supervisor. The review given as a result of this approach is very effective.

Managers can answer or ask any question to the employee. They can suggest what steps an employee should take for improvement in their performance. There is also a person from human resource present at the time of review.

Matrix employee evaluations

The next is the matrix employee evaluations where all managers are included at the time of review. All the managers rate every single employee by allocating scores. It is best for firms where large number of managers manage a team.

360 degree feedback

The most popular method is 360 degree feedback , which involves employee appraisal not only by managers but human resources as well. These include colleagues, subordinates, supervisors, and mentors. The results are kept confidential. Customers and suppliers can also be included in the review.

Peer Review

Peer-to-peer evaluation is done by the workers of same level. An advantage of this method is that sometimes an employee's complaint is that a manager cannot understand the difficulties they have to face. On the other hand there is also one negative side that peers do not give fair ratings because of competition or proximity.

Self-assessment

Last are self assessment employee evaluations. Staff do their own appraisal and then a comparison is made between the review given by evaluator and the worker. Moreover, employees also come to know about the areas of improvement where they need training. It is not that easy to do self assessment as it seems.

No doubt, all of these assessment methods give true results but 360 degree feedback assessment is the most effective.

See our Overview of our 360 Performance Review Templates from our Software tool.

Key Performance Indicator Dashboard: A Kind of Employee Evaluation Software

Tue, 24 May 2011 04:00:00 GMT

A major asset of every company is its employees. If the employees are top performers who bring huge profit, the business becomes liable to such employees.

Things were however not that simple in the traditional business model.

It was not an easy task to recognize the key performers. Thus there was a need of some application and employee performance assessment.

Nowadays, companies use employee evaluation software and one among them is KPI dashboard. It is a just like a dashboard which shows the status of different parameters of performance.

An example can be employee performance, business operations, efficiency of the market and also performance of sales department and many others.

The key performance indicators are the goals obtained by the combined performance of people from different departments in a company. These indicators used in the employee evaluation software include four steps to apply them.

First one is- the company explains the vision of their business as measurable goals to the staff people.

These goals are then linked to individual performance that is further assessed on daily basis.

The internal procedures are made to either match or exceed the goals and also the customer’s expectations. The indicators are analyzed for evaluation. They further suggest for the improvements to be made in the company’s strategies for growth in the future.

The employee evaluation software saves time of the human resource management as compared to the manual process of management of records. As the results are clearly visible, the management can communicate the results to each individual and also new plans and implementations.

New targets are set supporting the overall and specific objectives of the company. Regular feedbacks, same goals, resources deployment and monetary benefits for performance are the ways to enhance the productivity of the employees and the firm. The company should use similar tools so that it would easier for the management to make a true and reliable performance measurement.

Call us at the number at the top right of this page to book a demo where we can guide you through our software tool and answer any questions you may have.

Why is the use of 360 degree feedback software always recommended?

Fri, 20 May 2011 04:00:00 GMT

From time to time many of the companies need to know about the opinion and performance of each and every employee. 360 degree feedback is one of the most effective methods. It is a constructive approach that is used by a number of organizations in the modern era. To further enhance the accuracy of the results obtained, many companies have started using 360 degree feedback software. The software allows making an assessment exactly the way you want and at the right time. The use of the software allows customizing the feedback as per the perspective of the organizations.

There are a number of features that you will find are very unique and highly useful. You are provided with the choice to select one from the list of standard statements. Some of the 360 degree feedback software also provides a readymade list of questions for those who find the listed questions perfect for the feedback. The feedback can be created in different languages that make the software multilingual. Make sure to ask the vendor about the languages it can support. There are a large number of tools which further make the designing of feedback very simple and quick.

The software is very user friendly and one does not need to be technically expert for using it. Some of the 360 degree feedback software provides the facility to inform employees about feedback through mails and also keep a track on how many participated. It also allows reminding the rest who have forgotten to participate. The software is capable enough to generate a detailed analysis of the reports. You can also make different charts to know the result in detail. The use of software allows to get rid of the traditional paper based procedures. It is a useful technique for many of the companies that are dedicated towards the eco-friendly approaches. It is due to ample amount of benefits that every organization today makes use of feedback software.

Prepare your employees in advance for the success of 360 degree feedback

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Thu, 19 May 2011 04:00:00 GMT

Employee retention is one of the major objectives of the organizations. To achieve this objective companies follow many new and advanced strategies. 360 degree feedback is one such approach that has proved to be highly successful till now. For all those who are going to use this method for the very first time need to ensure that all employees completely understand this process. For that, the company should clearly communicate the objective of conducting the 360 feedback. Whether it is for performance appraisal or for development every staff member must know the real aim.

The staff people should also know the procedure. Let them know what would be the expected results. Tell them about administration details, how survey will be taken and other details. You should state who will be analyzing the results. It is essential to communicate that all of the responses would be kept confidential so that they will give candid and honest feedback. Mostly the results of 360 degree feedback are viewed by the employee who is being rated. There are some companies where results are given to the supervisors. Make sure to communicate all these details at the right time.

The surveys would not be of any use if the company does not take a desirable action for the required improvement. The employees are also liable to bring improvement in them. For that let participants know that you expect them to show progress. The participants can create plans for the development on the basis of results. To further ensure the progress make sure to again conduct 360 degree feedback within one year. It will be useful to know how successful these development plans have been for the employees and for the whole firm. By following all these steps you will be able to let the staff understand about the significance of using these methods for their personal growth and the company as well.

Surprised why employee performance evaluations are not providing expected results?

Fri, 13 May 2011 04:00:00 GMT

What would be your first reaction on hearing employee performance evaluations? The supervisors feel little annoyed on the thought of writing a report on the other hand employees get excited and feel nervousness about their annual review. It is yet a useful method for workers performance evaluation so as to ensure that each of them is working in the proper way. Have you ever given thought that in spite of making so many efforts why the evaluation process fails most of the times?

It is due to some of the most common practices that the management tends to ignore about performance appraisal of the human resource. Since an employee wants a good review and supervisors wish to get their job done then the best method to satisfy both of them is doing frequent appraisals. The mentors will use the results to provide guidance to the staff. It would help to remove the blockages and increase the success rate. Goal setting is another important aspect for the success of employee performance evaluations. Make a contract with the staff members to conduct a daily meeting for the whole year. Do quarterly preview and make sure that meeting is held at least once in week if not on routine basis.

During these reviews evaluations should be done in pencil. It is because if no changes are implemented then both employees and supervisors can remain fully acquainted with the rules of the review. It is a way to prepare both the parties for any kind of situation so that they won’t feel deceived and discussion as a mere wastage of their time. The reviews done on quarterly basis helps to determine how cordial the relationship between both parties is. Not only this, through the employee performance appraisals even staff people can analyze their performance on their own. This way it gets clear to them where they are lacking and eventually show effective improvement. Reward those who perform well and provide mentoring to those who are lacking somewhere. By following these practices staff members will really appreciate your concern for them. The company would reap high benefits from this.

How Employee Performance Evaluation Software Has Proven to Be an Asset for the Business?

Thu, 12 May 2011 04:00:00 GMT

There is race among different companies as to who would win and capture highest market share. To win the race every company uses unique and innovative strategies to attract more and more customers. As customer and employee satisfaction are co-related, employee satisfaction further affects their performance. For accurate performance evaluation most of the well-known corporations use employee performance evaluation software. The software saves much of the time that would otherwise be required to complete lengthy and manual procedures. With use of software it is easy to find out the most efficient performers so as to reward them. Similarly it also makes the process to identify bottom line performers simple and figures out where these employees are lacking.

They can be mentored to improve their performance. It has also been regarded as a critical method to determine the flaws in the company, if any. With the help of employee performance evaluation software a manager examines targets and goals achieved by every employee in the previous year and also set goals and objectives for the next. Software assists the management to make a comparison of the performance of the top performer and the lowest one. Once weak performers and their areas of improvement are identified it gets easy to eliminate shortcomings. The management can openly discuss the causes of hindrances that are restricting the workers to move further and also ways to remove it.

By working together towards an issue and inculcating a problem solving attitude improves the relations of employee with company. There may be so many reason for which employee leaves the organization. With implementation of 360 employee performance review software and then celebrating the desired results increases the motivation of working staff. If an organization ignores it or forgets, then employees think that their opinion does not have any value for the company and process is a mere wastage of time. In such instances, they do not take such methods seriously for the next time. Successful implementation would ultimately generate high profits. All this is only possible if a company uses the software for true results.

Let’s take a look at some useful features of 360 feedback system

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Fri, 06 May 2011 04:00:00 GMT

A high level shared intelligence especially after becoming the part of leadership style and an organizational culture does not only result in the bigger margins of profit but also significant improvement of some of the other critical functions of a business such as branding, community relationships, cash flow as well as creation of new values via innovation. The ability of recognizing the emotions of other people and using it as knowledge to persuade them is what social intelligence is. For this purpose a system of 360 feedback system is designed to determine and understand the thoughts of people working in an organization.

It is just like peer review but this comprises of subordinate colleagues, supervisors as well as customers also. This system is very beneficial because of large number of significant features. First is the assessment by the peers in lieu of supervisor provides a clear picture as how you are professed and what your weaknesses and strengths are for the contribution towards the goals of a team. It is must to consider these observations and work on them efficiently for the enhancement of the performance of team. There are number of people who think that the feedback given by the multiple participants by use of 360 feedback system is more accurate than just by a supervisor.

So, by looking at those reviews a person can judge what is required to be done in a specific area by which his or her value is amplified in the organization and also may lead to the enhancement of their career prospects. As we know very well that there are number of diverse participants, this reduces the risk of gender, age or race discrimination greatly. It is one of the major benefits of using 360 feedback system . Including both internal as well as external customers, the raters can provide clearer image of a supposed value of the customer service. The customers themselves tell you important things so an organization does not need to guess the areas that require improvements.

360 degree feedback is necessary navigation system for your career and personal development

Thu, 05 May 2011 04:00:00 GMT

Today the navigation system has become so advanced that nobody can get lost in this world. The system of 360 degree feedback from the satellites is used for providing the accurate and most amazing detail about their destination. But unfortunately, no such system of navigation is available for people who are seeking advancement in their career and business. But the same principles of the system of satellite navigation’s can be used to recognize your position in the current career or company and how to reach the place where you always wanted to be.

It is very much like navigation systems that obtain data from the moving satellites for providing directions, a person can also come across people that are surrounding a work place plotting a course to success. The feedback of this type is called 360 degree feedback. 360 feedbacks is a bare contrast to which most of the people are accustomed to in the workforce. Generally, the reviews of the employees are formed solely and composed by the supervisor. But this review of 360 degree is entirely different.

In lieu of relying on the opinion or the data of the employee’s supervisor, the survey of 360 degree uses the information from the managers, vendors, peers as well as the people that are outside business contacts to give a business or an individual with the entire 360 degree evaluation of their presentation. The open assessment of an individual is reviewed and the end answer is more absolute since there are several people who give their feedback about that particular individual. The end conclusion is a set of identified strengths and particular area of development for each individual that are clearly defined.

The conclusion of the 360 degree feedback survey gives a very clear idea to the individual that how he or she is being professed inside the company and also the unbiased lists of competencies, weakness and strengths that are to be used for the further improvement for the career development and the personal development also.

Why it is recommended to use task management software with employee evaluation software?

Thu, 07 Apr 2011 04:00:00 GMT

Employees play a key role in the success of every company. These days, almost every organization goes for evaluation of the employees. By evaluation they come to know about most potential staff, weak links and modifications that need to be made in current rules. Companies then provide many improvement programs for the weak employees. Organizations today are making use of employee evaluation software . The software however provides great results when used in combination with task management software. The employee evaluation programs are not very affordable for the small businesses. Under such circumstances you can implement many cost effective tools of task management software for the evaluation of employee.

From a variety of tools, one is use of forms and templates. For the planning of process of employee evaluation software one can use templates and forms that contain rules and requirements for the making of evaluation program. The task management software will make it easy to create forms and templates and share all the related documents among staff people. Conduct interviews as it is the simplest method of face-to-face interaction for the evaluation of employees for their skills and capabilities. The usage of the task manager helps to create a list of pending activities and schedules for the planning of interview.

You can use questionnaires if you do not like the concept of face-to-face communication. The software makes it easy to manage the task for planning of projects and questionnaires. The last method is use of reports and scorecards for employee evaluation. The software allows the assessment of employee skills for their further improvement. The role of task management software in this is to create a detailed report on the procedures and activities for employee evaluation program. So, task manager allows the usage of worksheet templates, create reports, schedules and to-do lists and also management of activities and projects. Thus the task manager is a very important tool to be used along with employee evaluation software.

What are the key points to be considered for Employee Evaluations?

Tue, 05 Apr 2011 04:00:00 GMT

In most companies, it is the latest trend to give employee evaluations by supervisors or managers. It is quite hard to give evaluations to each and everyone individually. The main motive of employee evaluation is to determine the productivity levels. There are different things which must be covered in order to make evaluations effective. Let’s have a look at all these things closely to make evaluations more effective and efficient.

During employee evaluation, attendance issues must be the first factors which affect the performance and productivity of employees. Leave from work, tardiness issues and other relevant issues must be discussed seriously. When it comes to customer interaction issue, it is essential to discuss this issue seriously. The person who is dealing in public interaction must be extremely intellectual so that people’s queries can be handled easily. The employee evaluations are one of the major factors which are required to perform better. Tell the employees about the pay hike systems and promotion criteria as it will certainly boost their confidence and enhance their morale.

The employee must be rewarded timely so that he/she can be retained for long. It is very essential to choose highly qualified and smart people for evaluations. The employee evaluation can also determine the weaknesses and strengths of employees. It is very essential for the customers because it helps in improving efficiency of employees. By conducting employee evaluation, it not only builds the morale of employees but it makes the job much easier. Make sure to give lots of praises to the employees as it motivates the employees amazingly.

It is very important to conduct personal meetings with the employees as it creates a new relation with an employer or employees. You need to ask the employees about the ways through which work environment can be improved. So, make sure to present the employee evaluations in such a way that employees can take extreme benefits from it. You can make conducting employee evaluations easier and faster with 360 feedback tools.

Few essential tips to avoid any future problem for the usage of 360 feedback system

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 04:00:00 GMT

Mostly companies today prefer use of 360 degree approach so as to determine the performance and satisfaction level of the employees. However, there are 360 feedback systems that need to be used with much care to derive higher benefits and prevent any problem. First of all, one needs to possess a detailed knowledge about the technology before investing in this. Moreover, further many more innovative ideas incorporated in the 360 degree feedback system have also made it more flexible, affordable and easily accessible and versatile. It is guaranteed that by having knowledge about this system in advance, you will definitely have the best of all systems.

It is also necessary to ensure that it is the right time for the organization to start making preparations for the usage of 360 feedback system. These preparations include incorporation of stability, trust, awareness about the system and its acceptance and also computers availability. Further the 360 degree survey would be highly effective only if the items included under this survey are effective. Do good research and then design the survey carefully that is valid enough. Its confidentiality is the most important issue. The answers given by all respondents must be kept confidential and should be communicated individually to everyone. Only then they will feel free and open to give true answers.

Ratings should be kept anonymous and the summary should be given to the supervisor. Such process should be led by those who are experienced and know the tactic to manage such issues efficiently. They should know the process of sorting, accepting, and then understanding and best utilization of the information. It is not wise to become fully dependent upon 360 feedback system for the improved performance of employees. It is the company that has to make a plan, provide guidance and implement those results for an individual’s development. The system helps to judge the interpersonal skills of employees but only when it has been put to best use. It is possible by following above guidelines.

Take the Help of 360 Degree Feedback to Have the Most Reliable Employee Reviews

Wed, 23 Mar 2011 04:00:00 GMT

In most of the cases employers use a variety of software to measure employee satisfaction level. An outcome of these approaches is that these programs fail to provide the desired result that an employer wishes to have. At this time 360 degree feedback is most efficient and an effective method to measure the performance level of employees. Under such feedback an individual’s performance is reviewed by multiple systems. These can be manager or direct supervisors, colleagues, peer groups and subordinates and even family to give true feedback about the performance of the concerned person.

It includes eight to twelve respondents in which one employee rates other employee through online surveys. Various competencies are included so as to offer a balanced view to the survey. They are even expected to give examples to support their responses. 360 degree feedback also provides the choice to the staff people rated under this method to determine their performance level themselves. They can also give answer to those questions that are asked to the peers and mentors. This way this feedback system has proven itself as most effective system to showcase the right perspective of each and every staff person in the company.

It has been quoted by many business owners that they have experienced positive results after shifting from other software to 360 degree feedback tools. Due to this system the employers or the company and even the employees get a clear overview about their strong points and shortfalls. Once the result is obtained it gets easier to implement these and start working on those weak points where improvement is required. Further company can also use this tool as a regular tool rather than just using for the evaluation purpose. It will commune to every staff member the area where they are lacking. Thus, if an organization really wants to grow then keeping an account of employee performance would be highly useful. So, 360 degree appraisal method is the most effective tool to generate healthy results.

Is 360 degree feedback software advantageous to business?

Fri, 18 Mar 2011 04:00:00 GMT

Do you want to create a difference in your business? It is possible by implementing a unique software. Also known by the name of multi rather, 360 degree feedback software is used by many organizations. With this feedback software you can easily get feedback of your employees. By attaining results and feedbacks, you can plan the development and training for your employees which they require. Through it, you can easily make a decision regarding increase in the income or promotions of your employees if they require. You can also hire consultants externally to perform these activities for you. By hiring such people from external sources chances of errors are significantly reduced.

The best part of this software is that it uses less time & the results will be highly accurate. This software is designed by experts with accuracy and thus output will be statistical, cent percent accurate and graphical. Most significant of all is, it is highly flexible & can be considered based on the needs of client. Mainly it is your job to provide the feedback but with the increase in workload, it will be limited. With this feedback software , the circle of feedback sources will include direct reports, peer evaluation & self evaluation.

The main design of this tool is that your employees have to evaluate their own observation of their job with their close colleagues. There are so many positive aspects with 360 degree feedback software. First and foremost feature is that your employees will gain concern related to their behavior weaknesses which will provide them skill to manage their careers in an effective way. How can this tool be effectively implemented in your organization? It depends on the level of endeavor you are ready to put in to the procedure. It has the potential to be awfully powerful in producing feedback &consequently to make transformation in your organization.

Get instant results with employee evaluations

Tue, 15 Mar 2011 04:00:00 GMT

The employee evaluations are not advantageous for boosting the morale of workers but it is vital for the overall growth and development of the company. The evaluations are really effective in producing efficient results and help in incorporating effective changes at the work place. It is always better for employees to assess their performance first before you give them a session. It helps them to learn new things and thus they can also learn how to deal with new things in daily life. The employees can also learn the method to deal with work related troubles and it is really great for them. The main motive of evaluating is to provide a clear insight to employees about their main responsibilities in the organization. If they are not clear about their responsibilities, it is completely pointless to conduct evaluations. The employer needs to make a perfect balance between negative and positive comments. You cannot point all the wrong things during evaluation but try to point all the good things and habits of employees. It really helps in the motivation and you can realize the effect of employee evaluations.

You can mix encouraging and positive thoughts while giving evaluation which is one of the best ways to create a keen desire to incorporate necessary changes. Make sure that you should give complete chance to all employees to defend any wrong evaluation. There are several chances that are responsible for their failure and you have to put more stress on understanding those issues. Try to know if employees need any necessary material or tools for the completion of job. If yes, go ahead and try to provide everything that they need. It is very essential to end the evaluation with positive note and also offer all the employees to give their feedback. So, when employees recognize the fact that their feedback counts, it increases employee satisfaction and then you will experience the positive results from employee evaluations.

Pros of Using Employee Performance Evaluation Software for the Companies

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 05:00:00 GMT

The top management of the company makes strategies to increase market share and enhance customer satisfaction. However, it is an ironical fact that mission set by the higher level does not include employee’s satisfaction. This affects the company’s growth and plans set by the organization fetch no result. This is the reason many companies do employee performance appraisal these days. Nowadays companies prefer using employee performance evaluation software . Several benefits of using the software are as follows-

With the help of software the time taken for evaluation will reduce to much extent. It will also decrease the cost of conducting such appraisals consequently. It sets the employee’s objectives and their activities of development as priority for the management.

It is capable to manage the whole appraisal method from just the HR control center. By the use of employee performance evaluation software employees, managers, information technology and human resource can spend their valuable time on other activities.

The evaluation process and forms are same as that of the company. It can create infinite number of appraisal forms and also methods that company needs without using suppliers and use of information technology.

It has been viewed to increase the engagement of employees, retention rate and hence overall performance.

The companies using this software yield good results and benefit in other fields also. They are Market leadership, Huge customer support and satisfaction, Secure transaction that is fully reliable and Recognized implementation procedure that has high success guarantee.

This way the 360 feedback reporting software has proved to be highly successful for the good income statement of the company. It can easily track the employees with high potential and identifies the weak link. With the help of training and development programs the weak bond is strengthened and firms achieve higher success. Thus, use of such software will be highly beneficial for the companies in the coming time.

Boost the efficiency within an organization with employee performance evaluations

Fri, 04 Mar 2011 05:00:00 GMT

You must agree with it that supervisors or managers do not have enough time to keep close eye on entire team. Here comes the role of employee performance evaluations. It is very important that essential work issues should be discussed with supervisors or managers. In this way, employees can eliminate the weaknesses and thus they can increase the productivity. Such types of evaluations offer great opportunities to the employees to get focused on the work and thus to increase efficiency. There are numerous benefits of such evaluations but only if done in a right manner. Very firstly, it motivates and shall surely lead in the increase of employee satisfaction rate which is more important in an organization. It helps the employees to recognize the results and productivity acquired by employees from their overall work efforts. According to maste rs of behavioral science, human beings always prefer negative or little recognition comparatively than no recognition. Therefore, this factor should not be ignored and must be utilized for enhancing the work efficiency of an organization. You will be amazed to know that employee performance evaluations are beneficial in providing developmental and training needs. These evaluations can be considered to pick the weaknesses of employees and thus it provides a clear picture which is essential to identify the career future aspirations. The data gathered from the evaluations can be utilized for induction and recruitment purposes. This data can also be used to keep an eye on all the effectiveness incorporated in the system. It is one of the advantageous factors which you can utilize to recognize the improvement in your workforce. It will provide you a clear picture that whether the quality of your workforce is staying steady, declining or improving. These days, business owners are more aware of such employee performance evaluations . In fact, there are so many professional sources available online and offline providing such evaluations for small and large businesses. So, it can be said that organizations can utilize this wonderful tool in order to increase the efficiency within an organization. Learn about the pros and cons of 360 feedback to simplify conducting employee evaluations.

Gather valuable information by incorporating 360 feedback system

Tue, 01 Mar 2011 05:00:00 GMT

360 feedback system is an effective system in the corporate world which is often used in order to evaluate the development needs and employee’s performance. The system is incorporated so as to provide valuable information to the employees, peers and supervisors regarding their weaknesses and strengths. In such a system, feedback can be gathered from employees, co-workers, customers and managers to know the skills, to unfold competencies and to increase productivity at workplace. As the results gained from this type of feedback are from multiple sources, therefore it really helps in achieving good results. The main motive of the feedback is to acquire authentic results which can be acquired by conducting such feedback program anonymously. It helps the employees to understand the significance of self awareness and thus make them more protective when it comes to professionalism. It is also beneficial in enhancing the effectiveness of management which is indispensable. The feedback can be obtained from any functional area within an organization and from all levels of employees. In such a modern culture, web based 360 feedback system is more effective and less time consuming. This is the reason; most employers are using such programs in order to increase the effectiveness of their organization.

Preparing and creating manual questionnaire takes heaps of time and it also increases the responsibilities of human resource department. By incorporating such feedback system within an organization the additional stress from the HR department can be eliminated. It is true that there are numerous agencies or companies available which help the organizations to conduct such feedback systems. In fact, these days 360 feedback system software is available as well which is more effective in saving the valuable time of an organization in conducting such feedback programs. Therefore, make sure to conduct such feedback programs anonymously to gather valuable information for the welfare of employees and organization as well. So, gain the recognition from customers and clients by using such highly effective feedback systems.

A complete guide to 360 degree feedback software

Wed, 23 Feb 2011 05:00:00 GMT

360 degree feedback is generally an unbiased feedback that is taken from the people with whom one works on routine basis. It is currently most efficient and effective form of feedback as compared to that collected from one source. In the earlier times, the feedback was used to be collected by simply asking people with whom employees interacted on daily basis. These individuals were asked to fill feedback form. It was, however, a lengthy process. Thanks to the modern technology that invented this magnificent tool of 360 degree feedback software. It has been designed to offer information as per 360 degree view of each and every employee.

It helps to achieve certain objectives that are already set by organization during installation of this software. It is targeted to get comprehensive assessments. It gets easy to recognize the weak areas that need to improve. The software provides anonymous feedback which elevates the chances of honest feedback. It is far much better than traditional method. It is because of the fact that it makes easy the compilation of the feedbacks. In the 360 degree feedback software there are already installed templates for professional layouts. Hence, one does not need to either pay for samples or purchase them online.

One can easily analyze the result with the help of this software. Moreover, it saves much time by generating fast results. In the employee’s survey or 360 degree feedback time is the main concern. Fast result and further fast implementation improves the employees and overall performance of the company. One gets a clear cut meaningful assessment in a very short span of time by the use of this software. The 360 degree feedback software is available in different price ranges from the inexpensive to premium one. Purchase the one that suits the budget structure. The main thing is how to get most out of this software and utilizing it efficiently for increasing productivity of the company.

Things to look in during incorporating 360 degree evaluation

Thu, 17 Feb 2011 05:00:00 GMT

Management of human resources is one of the most critical issues in every organization. 360 degree evaluation is highly effective tool for human resource management. Employee is usually evaluated by a single source that can be immediate supervisor or manager. However this approach relies on multiple sources with whom an employee interacts. They include subordinates, customers, seniors, managers, vendors and many others. The success rate of this method help to avoid some of the common mistakes incurred during the implementation of these surveys, let’s have a look!

The very first factor to consider is the support from seniors in an organization. It is true that trainees or one can say new employees can do nothing without the support of their seniors. It is very essential to consider this factor seriously. The implementation of 360 degree evaluation can determine whether the seniors are providing their complete support or not. The lack of communication is another factor which must be considered by an employer. It is the duty of an employer to communicate with both employees, managers, peers and other leaders to create an effective bonding with each other.

Are your employees lacking trust from the organization? It is one of the serious factors and must be treated very seriously. Create effective surveys in order to analyze this problem. The 360 degree evaluation can also scrutinize the poor planning by the leaders or other employees. Therefore, by implementing such surveys this problem can be tackled effectively. Are your leaders creating an effective development plan? The main motive of 360 degree evaluations is to construct an effective development plan so that respondents and participants can get benefited from it. The developmental goals are very essential to construct and it should be achievable as well. So, it is important to create SMART goals which are specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely delivered.

Convey your message effectively with employee performance evaluations twice

Thu, 10 Feb 2011 05:00:00 GMT

The performance evaluations are always stressful for the management or the department which handles this task. It is true that supervisors are often afraid of creating an annual report but they have to make it. When it comes to employees, they always desire to get good review. There is only one way out through which the employees, supervisors and managers can get satisfied. That amazing method is called employee performance evaluations. When both parties incorporate their efforts in achieving goals, the expectations are likely to grow on front end and thus it helps the employees to achieve organizational goals easily. Performance evaluations are always a tedious task for both management and employees. The performance evaluations always comprise of interesting conversations and high quality debates but it is essential to understand the real meaning of performance evaluations. If the managers or supervisors are not giving any productivity, it simply means that something is going wrong. Here comes the role of performance evaluations, to scrutinize the system to achieve goals. To identify the areas where much heed is important, to point out those instances where employees fell short of manager’s expectations. Therefore, in this way management can make the most from employee performance evaluations.

The main motive of performance evaluations is to create precise and clear plan in order to achieve success. However, it is more important to conduct evaluations at least once in a year. In fact, some organizations conduct such evaluations twice in a year. Giving evaluations twice in a year is a good idea as frequent evaluations make the employees to be aware of their own weaknesses and strengths. The real evaluations simply means to make employees get engaged in the conversation. In this way, you can provide employee performance evaluations in the most effective and interesting manner. There are number of websites of companies operating worldwide which provide the services to conduct performance evaluations. Therefore, you can make the most from such professional services in order to acquire effective evaluations.

Things to Know During Purchasing of Employees Performance Evaluation Software

Thu, 10 Feb 2011 05:00:00 GMT

Evaluation of employee performance is the most important approach that is used by every organization today. It is basically a computation method that evaluates the activities performed by workers and provides ratings. During purchasing of the employee performance evaluation software there are certain things that every business needs to know. One thing is comparison of the features and prices with others available in the market. One must understand the needs of the business at the time of its purchasing. The key objectives of the business lie in the satisfaction of the employees, customers and clients. High retention rate and good brand image of the company should be the main objective of the organization.

While purchasing employee performance evaluation software few things that one will need to understand is whether the company has to buy web-based system or customizable one. In the web based software it is easy to do performance appraisal form anywhere through the internet. Whole of the information is stored at a single server or a database. While in the customizable solution software you can organize the process of staff evaluation according to the particular requirements of company and specific business needs. With the help of this software a company can monitor the task of every employee on a routine basis and also determine the solution.

It has been observed that after using 360 feedback surveys , the relations between workforce and company improves to a large extent. Each employee feels motivated and start giving hundred percent to the organization. The overall objective of investing in this software is to enhance the communication level in the company, maintain good relations and remove the pitfalls in the organization. Companies also use other ways like salary raise and promotions of the employees. Members of staff learn to set goals and working with already fixed action plan. It has been viewed to be the most successful approach as per perspective of employees and company.

Employee performance evaluations software- An eye on organization

Fri, 04 Feb 2011 05:00:00 GMT

While running a business, one of the most important thing one wants to know that is how employees are carrying out their job. Previously, a large number of units were allowed to take the control or check the status of the workers but now in modern ages it is done by simply making use of employee performance evaluations software . It is software that will help in empowering one to govern employees with computerized and simple to use solution. Using this solution one can make his work force to move around strategic objectives which will help in increasing the productivity, increase competition which will ultimately lead to boost in bottom line of the business.

Employee performance evaluations software has completely eliminated the lot of paper work and derived much better business results. It also helps one to remove the unnecessary stress and saves lot of time in checking the current review and also helps in providing deep insight in the workforce. This software can also be used for checking or measuring the performance of individual employee more clearly, accurately and objectively. With less effort one can administer one big organization and can make several decisions accordingly which will help in achieving real success.

This software offers different kinds of functionality. This software can automatically track and route forms and offers employees with instant online access which means that it helps in boosting the review process. It also improves the quality of the review by providing built in writing and coaching assistants can help one with providing more meaningful and professional employee appraisals. It also helps in transforming the standard appraisal process into dynamic three sixty feedback loop among managers, peers and subordinates. Employee performance evaluations software also helps in the reducing the legal revelation with built in scan function. Further, audit trial helps in ensuring that the employees follow specific regulations. Thus, this software with wide ranging functionality helps in providing the real success.

Some smart tips for carrying out employee performance evaluations

Wed, 02 Feb 2011 05:00:00 GMT

Every employer invests lot of money, energy and time as well in order to create an organization. It is very essential to have a great team with productive employees in order to acquire desired results. All the employees should progress steadily and they should feel appreciated. Therefore, you need to conduct employee performance evaluations at least one or two times a year. Such kind of surveys are advantageous not only for business owners but for employees as well. There are some all time great tips which help in conducting performance evaluations effectively. Very firstly, it is always better to conduct surveys in a secretive manner to acquire anonymous feedback. Make sure to acclaim all the positive points or one can say strengths of employees. It helps the employees to achieve confidence. The confrontational issues may dip the employee’s morale and thus it is always advised that employers need to eliminate main problem not employee. The gripe sessions can produce sour results and must be prevented. The evaluations should be provided in an easy language rather than complicated or intricate language. It is important to conduct employee performance evaluations to improve the work performance of employees.

Address to employees what is important for them and about their attitude. Creating a balance between work and personal life is very essential for every employee. A business owner can make the most from this opportunity to discuss the concerns if any. You can provide any expert solutions to the employees to help them in achieving professional constraints. You can also provide a clear insight about employees related to the future opportunities as it really works in increasing the employee morale amazingly. In order to achieve success in employee performance evaluations, make sure listen to all the problems of employees seriously and carefully. Therefore, in this way you can provide good solutions related to their problems. So, review regularly and create an interesting or professional environment within an organization with the help of these evaluations. Use a 360 degree feedback form to help make these evaluations go smoothly.

Some amazing features of 360 feedback system

Fri, 28 Jan 2011 05:00:00 GMT

The emotional and social intelligence of leaders always impacts the employees in an organization and obviously their performance as well. It is very essential for the employers to increase the productivity in the company. The 360 degree feedback system is actually given to the employees in a secretive manner describing about how other employees or peers perceive them. The feedback acquired is based on the survey which is taken from the employees, peers, managers and other people in the organization. The feedback forms include number of questions and an employee has to answer honestly. The leaders and managers often use this system to identify the weaknesses and strengths of employees. With the help of these feedbacks that come in front of leaders or managers can be used for further development of company. The main advantage of 360 degree feedback is that an employer can understand the major areas where there is a great need of improvement. It can prove to be advantageous for a company and for the management as well. There is no need to waste time in creating plans or strategies. The 360 degree feedback system is also recognized as a development tool for the organizations.

With the help of 360 degree feedback, the employees can have an amazing opportunity to provide valuable feedback. Also, it is very important that one should provide the feedback in a secretive manner so that employees can easily provide accurate and honest feedback. In this way, an employer can also improve the behavior of employees in the organization. Also, with this amazing feedback system, it becomes quite easy to develop skills so as to excel at work place. It is a best tool to measure the performance of employees. Therefore, it is clear that 360 degree feedback survey mainly focuses on improving the behavior, job requirements, competencies and job performance of employees. So, there are some companies or websites available which provide same services to the interested customers.

What is 360 degree feedback all about?

Thu, 27 Jan 2011 05:00:00 GMT

A 360 degree feedback is an approach used by organization to get the employees feedback from a variety of sources. It is generally a method in which each of the employees receives feedback from the mentor, peer group comprising of four to eight people, staff members, colleagues and even customers. Thus it helps employees to have an idea of their performance that how it is viewed by others in the organization. A general procedure of 360 degree feedback followed by most of the organizations is very simple. A questionnaire is prepared which contains the use of five pointer scale to determine the satisfaction level and many other aspects. It usually contains fifty to hundred questions. It is ensured that feedback is confidential. All feedback ratings are combined to hide the identity of any of the worker or manager related to any comment. Written answers and comments are summarized. Training is provided to make everyone aware about why is the feedback being taken and what it is all about. Samples of questionnaires and answers are provided to make everyone further clear. It can be either done online for easy access. Instructions are a must to be given along with the questionnaire. Data analysis is done. There are being done several types of analysis such as performance level, individual ratings, highest ratings group ranking and organizational ranking and recommendations. Results are distributed to the employees. It is must for the employees to show their results to their supervisor. Comparison is made between the ratings of employees and with supervisors. The feedback helps everyone in the company to get an insight about the mission and vision of the organization. They come to know the expertise and working level desired. This feedback defines how listening, goal-setting, team work and leadership is crucial. The main purpose of the 360 degree feedback survey is to make everyone in the organization clear with their positive and weak points. This helps in the employee’s development and ultimately overall development of the organization.

Some benefits of 360 degree feedback software

Mon, 24 Jan 2011 05:00:00 GMT

The 360 degree feedback is usually taken within an organization or company. The main objective of this kind of feedback is to acquire managers and peer’s feedback. The feedback obtained is very beneficial in acquiring a clear insight about the weaknesses and strengths of employees. When it comes to executing, there are numerous companies or websites available which help the people in executing the process. One can also switch to 360 degree feedback software which is an amazing way to get a 360 degree feedback. It is must for every organization to conduct such kinds of surveys to yield good results. There are numerous benefits of using this software for an organization. The main advantage is that employees can identify how other employees or peers perceive them. It is a great option to identify one’s strengths and weaknesses. By identifying the weaknesses, it can be easily resolved by further development and training. When a doctor diagnoses a patient, it helps identify a disease and same is in the case of 360 degree feedback software. It can identify the troubled areas and thus an employer has to make a powerful strategy to improve those areas.

In order to acquire great results, it is essential to conduct 360 degree feedback regularly. The ongoing feedback really helps an organization to acquire great results. It is a great way to motivate employees. The motivated employees can play vital role in providing effectual results. There are so many companies or websites available which help the organizations in conducting 360 degree feedback. This kind of feedback is also used for enhancing the leadership qualities. There are numerous advantages of 360 degree feedback software and interestingly it is very easy to use even for a novice person. The user interface is very easy to use which reduces the stress from the management in creating business strategies. So, it can be said that 360 degree feedback is very useful in increasing the productivity in the company.

How to make most from 360 degree evaluation

Mon, 24 Jan 2011 05:00:00 GMT

The term social intelligence actually means the ability of an individual to influence people by using that intelligence. In an organization, it is quite hard to understand the feelings of employees and other people. However, it can be achieved by utilizing 360 degree feedback in the company which can really help in motivating employees. The evaluation system is mainly incorporated to know how other employees or peers view you. This type of evaluation is not only for creating productive environment in the company but it is used for creating a healthy environment in the company as well.

The 360 degree evaluation is not only for employees but it is for all peers, managers, subordinates and even customers. There are numerous benefits of implementing such system. The very first benefit is that it assists hugely in developing a productive team. The evaluation by the peers always provides a clear insight about how other employees perceive them. It not only enhances the strengths but it helps in achieving the organizational goals as well. It is essential that one should have good understanding of all the perceptions and thus by acting on them really helps in enhancing team performance. Implementing this system helps in the career development. It is true that feedback from several members is always accurate and thus it automatically enhances career opportunities.

It can prove to be highly beneficial in eliminating the risk of prejudice. Implementing this factor really help in reducing the age and gender discrimination. It can also help in improving the customer service. It is very essential to improve the customer service as they are the only one who inform the organization what they want. The 360 feedback also identifies the training needs of an organization. It needs a careful analysis and thus provides complete information about the areas where there is a great need of improvement. So, one can also find online companies which provide the services of evaluation for the small or large business organizations.

How to make the most from employee evaluations?

Fri, 14 Jan 2011 05:00:00 GMT

The employee evaluations are basically implemented to weigh up the performance of employees and to analyze other feelings or suggestions. The evaluations are actually assessed on the basis of weaknesses, strengths, accomplishments and professional abilities. It is very essential that evaluations must be conducted at least twice in a year. It not only helps in increasing the effectiveness of organization but it also increases the employee morale. There are numerous benefits of worker evaluations as the surveys help in creating goals and standards. The effectiveness of an employee can be measured according to goals and standards. The evaluations can help in tracking the performance of employees. However, apart from conducting evaluations, it is also essential that one should write down accurate and thorough evaluation. If all the notes available to the supervisor, the analyzing performance can become very easy and so is tracking progress. Very firstly, it is essential that employee should be clear about the job description and other responsibilities. Make sure that the evaluations should be conducted in secretive manner. It is the only way to acquire accurate and honest evaluations . The outlining of company goals is very essential while conducting employee evaluations.

The employee evaluations are also conducted in order to access the feedback of employees about colleagues and organization’s departments. When it comes to giving evaluations there are some points which must be considered by an employer. One can give evaluations either by mail or one can meet an employee personally. While writing evaluations, make sure to write all the weaknesses and strengths of company. Make sure to browse all the aspects while providing evaluations. There are several companies that use numeric rankings in order to compare performance of an employee with other employees. The employee evaluations are highly beneficial in determining goals and objectives of company and a right way to achieve organizational success. So, do good research and find out reliable company which deals in employee evaluation to perform it professionally.

Using employee performance evaluation software during new hiring

Wed, 12 Jan 2011 05:00:00 GMT

It is a time for stress at work during the time of employee performance evaluation in the organization. Most evaluations are stressful and need lot of things to be prepared. It is the main reason the professionals in the industry have introduced an amazing way to cope with this situation. It is by using employee performance evaluation software. This incredible software is really responsible for eliminating stress time during evaluations. There are some vital things to do in order to achieve success in employee performance evaluations. Very firstly, it is essential to do the performance planning in advance. It can be done easily by using this software. It really helps in performance plan and thus an employer can list the areas on which the employee will work upon. It is a great way to achieve desired results. It also helps in conducting periodic reviews in performance. It is better to do at least one evaluation before final evaluation. It can also help an employer to do necessary changes about the way of work done by an employee. The employee performance evaluation software is highly beneficial in writing an effective evaluation.

Writing employee performance evaluation manually can be a tedious task but by using this software it becomes extremely easy to write performance review. It is also essential to make some notes with ratings as well. The software performs all the necessary actions to apply all the changes. It can be less argumentative and less stressful as compared to writing evaluation manually. While using employee performance evaluation software , the manager or supervisors can easily implement on all changes which are essential to achieve easy and effective evaluations. There are numerous advantages of this software as an employer can free up managers, IT staff and HR staff to spend valuable time at different kinds of strategic activities. So, there are several websites or companies available online from where one can purchase this amazing software at reasonable rates.

Implement employee performance evaluations strategically

Fri, 07 Jan 2011 05:00:00 GMT

The performance evaluations are always carried out by an organization in which all the reports related to employee performance and productivity is provided. It is very essential that employee performance evaluations should not include lot of paper work. It is a fast paced modern era and thus business owners can also use eEvaluations which are more fast and easy to conduct. It really helps in reducing the money and time as well. The evaluations must contain the name of appraisers along with their own job titles. The evaluation sheets mainly consist of topics like comments, ratings and performance area. There are different factors including job knowledge, managerial ability and professional competence. There are several other factors such as cooperation, attitude, adaptability, self improvement and personal leadership must be considered while evaluation. Therefore, the employee performance evaluations are based upon the ratings provided from appraisals. There is another section of comments which is basically incorporated there for the further improvements. The performance evaluations always reflect the overall efficiency of employees. It is also considered as a pillar for maintaining professional growth of an organization. It is always advised that an employer should set examples in front of employees in order to motivate them.

There are numerous survey companies available which provide an amazing facility to conduct employee performance evaluation. It not only reduces the money spent but also decimates time as well. It is one of the best ways to improve completion rates and quality of employee evaluations. The implementation of employee evaluations can eliminate the stress from IT or HR department to think about strategic activities. Thus, by using such survey services one can customize the evaluations in the way they want. It is also the best way to improve employee retention and engagement. There are so many survey companies available but make sure to choose a reputed and reliable one. So, employee performance evaluations can create a competitive environment within an organization. Surely, it can greatly boost the overall effectiveness of company.

Analyze feedback comfortably with 360 degree feedback software

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Wed, 29 Dec 2010 05:00:00 GMT

If you are taking 360 degree feedback from the employees then it is important that you must have 360 degree feedback software . In fact, there are very few companies which do not believe in 360 degree feedback. It is one of the vital aspect and must be conducted monthly or yearly depending upon the organization’s environment. The feedback given to the employees can make them balanced and have broad perspective. By using this feedback employees can easily improve the leadership skills. The main advantage of this tool is that it eliminates all the paper work which is necessary to speed up the work. The main motive of this software is to provide fairer feedback which is not only motivational but employees can improve several things from it. The employees can acquire new information which is necessary for their development. It is one of the effective tools which help in achieving organizational success in very short time. There are numerous websites which provide 360 degree feedback software. One can approach such websites or companies but make sure to approach reputed websites only. If a website has good experience in providing such services, it is better to stick with such company.

Let’s have a look at some advantages of using this incredible software. Well, it helps in providing good understanding of weakness and strengths of co-workers. Therefore, one can improve the weak issues in the company to acquire fruitful performances of employees. It also helps in creating training plans which is more effective for the company. In most companies, HR managers find it very easy to use 360 degree feedback software . In this way, employers can easily gather useful information which is required to improve the weak points. There is no need to waste hours in analyzing or compiling the performance feedback. So, try to use this software to acquire a competitive advantage over others in the market.

Create a Secure Organization Environment With 360 Degree Surveys

Fri, 24 Dec 2010 05:00:00 GMT

The 360 degree surveys are the best practice for a company to rate effectiveness of an organization. Such kinds of surveys are designed especially to take input from peers, employees, supervisors and subordinates. It is one of the effective ways to increase the productivity within an organization. These days, numerous companies are using such surveys to enhance the efficiency of organization. No doubt, it is the need of this modern era to implement such surveys in the company. It is must for fulfilling the development needs. The main motive of 360 surveys is to acquire accurate feedback so that feedback can be used for further development of organization. Internet is a great resource for finding a survey company. Such professional companies are very beneficial to approach for conducting 360 surveys. They can provide professional interface and are well experienced in acquiring an accurate feedback. In short it can be said that frank evaluations can be obtained easily by using 360 surveys. There are numerous benefits of 360 degree surveys not only to individuals but to all the managers as well.

With the help of 360 surveys employees can get a clear insight about how other employees perceive them. The main advantage of these surveys is that the needs of personal development can be revealed which is really advantageous for organization’s development. The feedback obtained can open several prospects for improvement in company and employees as well. Therefore, individuals can easily manage their performance and careers effectively. It is also beneficial in increasing communication between teammates. When it comes to company, there are bright chances of improvement in terms of customer service. It is one of the aspects which are essential for every company to increase revenue and achieve goals. The 360 degree surveys are also used for training purposes with the help of which effective training can be provided. So, one can approach a reputed survey company to create a professional looking survey to acquire accurate feedback.

Employee Evaluations for Creating Positive Results in an Organization

Fri, 17 Dec 2010 05:00:00 GMT

These days, employees are more career conscious and they need regular up gradation to make their career graph a much better image. In order to do this, most companies have provided a great way which is known as employee evaluations. It is actually a procedure conducted by an employer to know the progress of an employee. If the evaluation is positive, an employee not only earns recognition but there are several chances in future to get promoted. However, acquiring positive results in the evaluations is not as simple. These days, employers conduct the evaluations by considering number of parameters and with the help of any professional company. A company or organization which has good experience in conducting evaluations is provided to complete this task. It is mainly conducted in order to enhance the productivity and to motivate employees. A particular time must be provided for this task and also it is very important to conduct this task in complete privacy. An employee can provide an accurate feedback only in privacy and therefore an employer can get a bright chance to pick some weaknesses and strengths of organization. The employee evaluations are often conducted annually or bi-annually basis.

It is very important for an employer to mention the main objective or one can say an outlining of company’s goals and objectives. In this way, an employee can have a complete insight about the main objectives of company. It not only motivates an employee but it really puts great effect on the improvement of an employee. There are several professional companies available which conduct such kinds of evaluations on the behalf of companies. It is a great way for companies to conduct these evaluations in the complete professional manner. The 360 feedback forms must be done in order to know the interest and progress of an employee. So, it can be said that employee evaluation can play crucial role in boosting employee performance.

Take Note of Company’s Competence Level With Employee Evaluation Software

Thu, 16 Dec 2010 05:00:00 GMT

Do you know the benefit of using employee evaluation software ? If you have 10 employees or may be 10,000 this amazing software helps an employer to achieve accurate feedback. Yes, in this highly competitive world, accurate feedback is very important. It is the only way to stay ahead in the competition. Gathering feedback from employees can also help in exploring the communication constraints which is also necessary. You just need to choose a group of employees on whom you want to perform employee evaluation but make sure that it should be conducted privately. In case if it is conducted publicly, there are chances that employees will not provide right feedback. This is the reason it is always advised to perform this evaluation privately. There are several professional companies available which provide services to conduct these evaluations for the comfort of employers. However, the introduction of employee evaluation software is mainly done for the comfort of employers or business owners. The software is very easy to use and anyone can create questionnaire without facing any hassles. This software has eliminated the hassles to create surveys for both small and large sized companies.

Creating employee evaluation has become so easy with the help of this software. In fact, with the help of this amazing software the task to manage surveys is conducted by HR department. After creating surveys, a link to do those surveys is sent to the employees or a particular group. They have to complete the survey in a given time. The specialty of this smart software is that it creates surveys in very short time. After creating surveys it can be distributed to each and every employee privately. Thereafter, feedback can be collected in the same way. It is the best way to note down the progress of employees. So, employee evaluation software is a great way to use if the employee appraisal time is coming.

Enhance Performance Levels With Employee Performance Evaluations

Fri, 10 Dec 2010 05:00:00 GMT

Most business owners always look in search of innovative ideas to enhance the performance of their employees. Well, good news for them as the same can do – employee performance evaluations . Every company needs a loyal, hard worker and honest worker but most important of all is the employee performance. It is essential to conduct monthly or yearly reviews in order to decimate the loop holes originating in the company. Do you know what exactly performance evaluations do for the business owners? Well, the biggest advantage of conducting performance evaluations is that it helps in elevating the performance of employees by setting appropriate objectives and goals. Every employer must communicate to the employees about their monthly targets and goals. If both parties are well aware of their goals and targets it becomes quite easy to achieve the organizational goals. Everyone should have a clear understanding about what their targets and goals are and what will be the strategy to achieve those goals. The employee performance evaluations play crucial role in defining goals and it is one of the biggest motivational factors to enhance performance.

The feedback plays vital role in achieving company’s goals and targets. The feedback is very essential and must be given to every employer in order to reduce troubles. The performance evaluations must be given confidentially. Also, the main motive of performance evaluations is to create a positive environment in the company. It is the only way to enhance productivity without facing any hassles. The reviews are also important as it provide a clear insight to the employer about the weakness and strengths of employees. The employee performance evaluations provide a clear picture to the employer about how to enhance performance. Therefore, the overall efficiency can be measured easily by using these evaluations. So, it can be said that these surveys are very beneficial for enhancing the performance of employees.

Value of 360 Feedback System

Fri, 03 Dec 2010 05:00:00 GMT

It is true that gaining perfectionism is quite difficult, no matter whoever you are? At every stage, you need a strange and special strategy to cope up with those difficult times. 360 feedback system is the name of strategy which is gaining popularity among various businessmen. The program is based on the concept that improvement can never be challenged. At every step, everyone needs improvement. It is actually an art which should be understandable to learn in order to correct organizational troubles. If you cannot understand about how to correct the errors it becomes very difficult in future to manage an organization. You have to pick out the minute problems of an organization in order to stay in competition always. The 360 degree feedback program is based on the concept which helps in creating stronger and better environment in the organization every time you use it. The mistakes are the crucial part of every organization and you cannot stop it. However, by implementing 360 feedback system, you can learn the art of correcting those mistakes. If you learn the art to correct all those little problems, very soon you will be at the top. It is also true that everyone needs a platform in order to achieve destination. There are so many websites which provide the 360 degree feedback surveys which can prove to be very beneficial for every business owner. These services are completely professional and thus can provide great result in very short time. You just need to register yourself with any reputed company, that’s it! The rest of the task is performed by these company owners. From creating surveys to taking feedback is conducted by such services. You can also opt for 360 feedback system software but you need to be computer savvy in order to use the program perfectly. So, it can be said that this amazing system can work wonder for all those business owners and can create a strong or better working environment.

Value of 360 Degree Feedback

Wed, 01 Dec 2010 05:00:00 GMT

The 360 degree feedback is a great way for managers to gather valuable information on the performance of employees in an organization. It is true that the fellow teammates are not aware of the performances of each other apart from manager or supervisor. The main motive of this kind of feedback is to make the employees aware of their weaknesses and strengths. It is the best way to create a professional environment within an organization. Apart from all, the employee can easily get a broad perspective about how they are perceived in the organization. Such kinds of feedbacks are basically given to employees in order to provide more knowledge. The employees who are working outside the ethics of company can take greater advantage with these feedbacks. There are several companies available which provide the feedback surveys. The employers can approach these professional companies to gain advantage over the competitors. Also, it is very important that the feedback given must be confidential in order to make the most from it. It is the right way to acquire accurate and precise feedback. Therefore, much emphasis is given on 360 degree feedback to enhance the productivity in an organization.

It is true that the leaders often do not get accurate feedbacks. Politics is a vital part of corporate world but if someone wants an accurate feedback, use of 360 degree feedback is important. The managers need to understand using these surveys to achieve favorable results. It not only helps in motivating the employees but also helps in their development. Some take it as one of the best research tools so as to provide more information to the employees. Also, the accurate feedback can be achieved hastily which every manager wants from the employees. So, it can be said that 360 degree feedback is very essential for an organization to stay in the competition always.

Achieve Business Goals With 360 Degree Feedback Software

Fri, 26 Nov 2010 05:00:00 GMT

In order to get the peak performance along with best results, there is a great need for robust feedback. There is no use of feedback until it is not an authentic and accurate. In simple words, a company or business needs 360 degree feedback software to enhance the productivity and performance of company. Such kind of feedback program must be conducted at least once a year. It is essential not only to enhance the productivity but also to get a clear insight about the abilities of employees. Every employer wants the best performance from the employees. There are numerous sources from where one can get an accurate and authentic feedback. It is a great way to realize true potential of employees and therefore it works very well in providing right feedback. Let’s have a look at some of the main advantages of this amazing system and what it can do for a company or business owner. The very first benefit of 360 degree feedback software is that it provides a holistic view which comprises of comprehensive assessments from each and every source.

A business owner can get a detailed analysis in which employer can identify the major areas where there is a great need of improvement. Also, it is a great way to identify all the areas where development is necessary. In this way, one can easily identify all the weaknesses and strengths of employees and it is more important. An employer can also save time by correcting the behaviors which is necessary. After acquiring feedback, the job is not over yet as one has to create a meaningful assessment. This assessment is very essential for reviewing the text carefully. Also, the software is very easy to use and it has very simple interface. So, just download this 360 degree feedback software and create surveys depending upon your requirement.

Stay Ahead With Employee Performance Evaluation Software

Fri, 19 Nov 2010 05:00:00 GMT

It is true that employee performance evaluation software is essential for any organization or employer so as to evaluate the performance of all. However, in reality it is quite difficult to evaluate the performance of employees due to speedy environment of office. However, in such a busy environment, the evaluation software is the only way to save lot of time and to get great assistance. It is important that employee satisfaction can result in achieving great results but how an employer can determine whether his employees are satisfied or not? For this the employer must take a 360 degree feedback from the managers or peers to measure the effectiveness and that can really result in achieving great results. The evaluation software comprises of questionnaires in which there are different kinds of questions arranged for the employees. These questions are mainly designed to enhance the organizational success and to increase the effectiveness of system. The main advantage of employee performance evaluation software is that it is very easy to use and anyone can design it without any hassles. Also, it is completely customizable but very simple to customize.

There are several organizations or companies that use such kind of software throughout the world. Such kind of software is used by both small and large organizations but it is very essential to arrange the survey questions in the most effective manner. The main thing which must be look in before opting for the company is the customer support. It must be responsive so that customers can contact these companies anytime and anywhere. There are several companies which provide the services of evaluation software to the organizations and it is better to take advantage of such companies. However, make sure to choose a reputed company in order to achieve great results. So, do good research and find out the best reputed website that can provide the services of employee performance evaluation software services.

Employee Evaluations to Measure Effectiveness

Wed, 17 Nov 2010 05:00:00 GMT

If you are reviewing your employees daily, then it is essential that you should do employee evaluations for better results. It is the only way to enhance the effectiveness of employees. The praise, feedback and to provide their performance evaluations is important. It is a right way to motivate employees in the most effective manner. With the help of evaluations, the employer can reward and recognize the key employees which are very important for the organization. It is also true that such kind of evaluations can remove lots of employment problems in an organization. One just needs to document all the troubles in office. It is a right way to measure the problems and to improve them. It is important that you should create standard goals which must be completed by implementing effective planning. The performance standards are for each and every employee which in result can boost their productivity. The right definition of performance standard is that employees must finish what you ask them to finish in a given time. For instance, if any sales person is asked to complete 500 sales in a month, make sure that all the standards must be achievable. There are several websites which offer the organizations to conduct employee evaluations and you have an option to choose from. Keeping track of employee performance can help the workers to complete all their tasks on time. If any employee has done a great job or if he has done a very bad job, give the feedback immediately. Give an instant notice to the employee and appreciate of good performance. It provides an insight to the employee that employer is concerned about their effort and it really motivates them to do better work in future. The employee evaluations must be given at least once or twice a year. So, in this way it becomes easy for employer to measure the performance and effectiveness of staff.

Employee Performance Evaluations – Must Be Performed Once a Year

Fri, 12 Nov 2010 05:00:00 GMT

The employee performance evaluations are considered to be a great tool which is organized by HR department in order to determine whether the employees are working effectively or not. It is true that such kind of evaluations are mainly implemented in order to enhance the productivity and activities in the organization. It is a great tool to reward the potential employees who work according to these standards. The evaluation by employee performance also ensures the minimum cost at the recruitment which is very essential for every company. Such kinds of evaluations are very important to enhance the productivity and to minimize the cost issues. It is very beneficial in spotting the high performing candidates which in result helps in deciding the leader. The managers are all responsible for the success of employee performance evaluations. The managers need to do all the talking with employees in which they must share the experience. The input of employees plays crucial role in spotting the weak and strong points. Also, the evaluations must be done at least once a year so that weaknesses can be spotted regularly. In this it becomes easy for the managers and employer to introduce a training program in order to fix the problem.

The informal and regular feedback to the employees is essential. It keeps them motivating and thus an employer can keep a close eye on the people in an organization. The evaluations must be handled by HR department. In such a case, managing employees can become easy and half the role can be performed by HR department. In these kinds of evaluations all issues related to pay, working environment and peer relations must be discussed. It really helps in spotting weak issues which further can be fixed by introducing an effective strategy. So, it can be said that employee performance evaluations are not only beneficial for boosting the productivity but also help in maintaining good relations within employees.

Evaluating Individual Performance With 360 Feedback System

Wed, 10 Nov 2010 05:00:00 GMT

Do you know what is the purpose of 360 degree feedback and what are the most effective ways to use this system? The main objective of 360 degree feedback system is to diagnose the performance of leaders. Also, it helps in evaluating the weaknesses and strengths of an employee which is very important from the employer’s point of view. However, the change in behavior is very essential in the company and it exactly provides this. It is also important to evaluate the performance of employees so that they can stay updated in the organization. This kind of feedback actually helps in enhancing the performance of employees. In fact this amazing program running in an organization picks up all the weak and strong aspects of employees. This program is very beneficial during the recruitment of new employees. With the help of this program, the time spent on hiring new employees can be saved. For companies, time is money and therefore it is essential to implement such kind of programs in the companies so as to enhance the productivity of company. The major benefit of 360 degree feedback system is that it keeps the employees motivated and thus can enhance their overall effectiveness.

This amazing program encourages an employer to introduce a curriculum especially for the leadership development. One of the major benefits of this program is that most employees are often uncomfortable in providing their exact feedback to the employer. This behavior of employees is not at all good to take full benefit from this program. By introducing this system in the company, the employees can easily provide their accurate and authentic feedback without any hassles. The 360 degree feedback system is confidential so that the employees can provide their honest feedback without any kind of emotional reaction. So, it can be said that the introduction of this valuable system not only helps in motivating the employees but also helps in achieving the company’s goals in the most effective manner.

Remove Unfair Accusations With 360 Degree Feedback

bassem@greenlotus.ca (Bassem Ghali) — Sat, 06 Nov 2010 04:00:00 GMT

The 360 degree feedback is very important for every organization in order to make a positive environment there. The regular feedback make employees concerned about the meetings and all the important work that they need to complete. The right meaning of 360 degree feedback is to inspect all areas of an organization so that the productivity can be enhanced in the effective manner. In such kind of feedback, the employee has to get a feedback not only from a employer but from all the peers and colleagues. With the help of this feedback, the employee can know what their peers and colleagues think of themselves. It really helps in reducing unfair accusations which are the common practices in the organization. If such kind of practices can get reduced in the company, the productivity can automatically boost at the top level. It is also true that hearing negative feedback from the employer can give a negative outlook which is not at all good for the employee. In these kinds of feedbacks, the opinions of supervisors always matters the most. One most important thing which must be considered is that the feedbacks should be conducted in a very secret manner so as to acquire positive and accurate feedback.

The 360 degree feedback can also help in creating less hostile environment in the organization which is a need of every company. In this kind of feedback, there is a minimum pressure on the supervisor which simply means, he can easily exhibit their terms and conditions in front of employer. The 360 degree feedback is not only beneficial for the customer but it is very advantageous for the employees as well. In this way, the employees can help to sharpen their skills and they can easily help in improving their weak points. So, in this way, these kinds of feedbacks can change the entire outlook of company in completely positive aspect.

Get Effective Management With 360 Degree Evaluation

Thu, 28 Oct 2010 04:00:00 GMT

The 360 degree evaluation is an amazing program which helps in providing feedback to the individuals about their performance. This kind of evaluation is mainly given by the HR management about the performance of manager. This evaluation program also includes different kinds of sources which may include suggestions from employees, peers and subordinates. It is in fact a comprehensive feedback of the overall style of management. It is true that such kind of surveys are more effective and basically these surveys are conducted by HR department. There are lots of companies available which utilize the feedback survey in order to implement the effective system in the organization. Also, 360 degree surveys are not meant for determining the efficiency of employees but in fact these are especially designed to assess the leadership skills. These surveys are actually based on the major functions of job but there are several broader competencies like leadership skills, communicative effectiveness and corporate competencies. The main society of HR implement the best practices by collecting 360 degree feedback so as to protect identity of feedback given by that individual. There are different types of websites which arrange the 360 degree evaluation software for the business owners so that they can conduct such kind of practices easily and comfortably.

There is a great need to implement 360 degree evaluation in the company in order to acquire effective management. It not only helps in enhancing the efficiency of organization but also encourage the employees to work in a smarter way. Also, it is very beneficial for succession and career planning. Such kind of evaluations helps in improving the attitude, behavior development and staff motivation. In short, it can be said that 360 degree evaluation is vital for the overall development of an organization. So, it is essential to motivate the management team in order to get the best evaluation.

Get Complete Control Over an Organization With Employee Evaluation Software

Thu, 21 Oct 2010 04:00:00 GMT

The employee’s performance always reflects the performance of an organization and thus it is essential to take some initiatives in order to increase their performances. For this, employee evaluation software is available which is designed especially for the business owners or large companies so that they can keep a close eye on the performance of their employees. It is an amazing tool through which a business owner can boost and encourage the employees to work in the most effectual manner. Actually, with the help of this tool the business owners can easily create a questionnaire or survey questions to measure the productiveness and efficiency of employees. There are several organizations which are already using this software and have succeeded in obtaining good results for the company. If you have a control over any organization, it is a must have tool for you. Identify the key employees in the organization and recognize all weak areas or points. In this way it becomes quite easy to implement necessary changes in the organization but make sure to do it in a tactful manner. The main advantage of employee evaluation software is that it provides instant results and takes very less time for the preparation of survey questions.

The evaluation of employees is very important, so bring your workforce at the next level by implementing this software in the organization. The feedback that you get from this tool is valuable for implementing necessary changes in the company. It also helps in recruiting new employees and you can easily measure their performance levels. Gain a 360 degree clear insight about what is going on in an organization. It is better to send the survey questions secretly to all employees so that they can answer all questions comfortably and without hassles. So, it is highly recommended to take complete advantage of employee evaluation software and manage the company in the most effectual manner.