Performance Management Archives | TechnologyAdvice

How to Fire an Employee (and Stay Out of Trouble)

Jessica Dennis — Mon, 30 Jan 2023 22:45:42 +0000

Unlike many European nations, private employers in all states of the U.S. (outside of Montana) are considered “at will.” Employers in an at-will state can terminate an employee for any reason, with or without cause, at any time during their employment. Likewise, an employee can leave the job anytime, with or without reason or notice. Employment contracts or union collective bargaining agreements are the only ways to modify an employer’s at-will status.

Even though employment in the U.S. is predominantly “at will,” this does not mean an employer can (or should) fire an employee for no reason. For example, employers cannot fire employees for illegal reasons, such as discrimination or whistleblowing. Also, firing an employee without notice or cause gives the employee an opportunity to construe an unlawful reason for their discharge, potentially resulting in hours of labor mounting a defense for an unemployment or EEOC claim later. Moreover, releases without rhyme or reason can negatively affect remaining employees’ morale, leading to reduced productivity, increased requests for time off, or fear of decreased job security.

While it may be easier to deliver an employee the “pink slip,” following the best practices for firing an employee below can ensure a smooth exit while mitigating the chances of falling into legal hot water or reduced productivity from remaining employees.

Also read: Making Hard Personnel Decisions

What are the steps for at-will termination?

By familiarizing themselves with the steps below, employers can reduce the dread associated with employee terminations and streamline the process for managers across the organization.

1. Put a legal termination policy in place

Companies should have a termination checklist, or other termination procedures, in place before moving forward with an employee discharge. Additionally, such systems should outline who is responsible for handling the employee termination, such as a direct manager, a member of HR, or both.

Although at-will employers do not need policies that outline termination procedures like employee handbooks, they are not excused from adhering to applicable federal, state, and local laws. Termination policies are great ways to demonstrate that companies are trying to follow these laws. Moreover, they serve as a guidebook for current and incoming employees about company expectations and appropriate conduct in the workplace.

A good termination procedure is a combination of several different policies, including:

Employee codes of conduct
Work rules
Lists of fireable offenses
Progressive discipline steps
Incident investigation procedures
Exit interviews
Benefit termination steps

While these policies are essential employee handbook inclusions, employers should also examine if any precedents were set during previous terminations and add them as needed. For example, suppose a restaurant had granted prior employees at least one week following their last day of employment to turn in their company uniform. In that case, HR teams should include this rule somewhere in their termination procedures. Doing so creates consistency for future employee terminations and minimizes the risk of treating employees differently.

HR, executives, and managers should align on the termination procedures before distributing and implementing them in the workplace. Smaller organizations without a dedicated HR team should take advantage of their Employment Practices Liability Insurance (EPLI) hotline (if they have one) or an employment law attorney to review that their termination procedure is legally sound.

2. Communicate with the employee beforehand

Employers should be in constant communication with employees about their performance. Unless an employee commits a serious or inexcusable offense that warrants immediate dismissal, such as sexual harassment, violence, or other illegal activity, employees should not be surprised their jobs are in jeopardy. However, remaining silent and hoping the employee will magically improve is not the answer — until the employee is put “on notice,” they may be unaware their performance is suffering and take no measures to change.

Communication with employees can take many different forms depending on the employer’s policies, including:

Informal conversations
Performance reviews
Performance improvement plans (PIPs)
Disciplinary warnings
Suspensions
Last chance agreements

What’s important is sitting down with poor performers and providing ample performance-based metrics and other documentation exhibiting where improvement is needed. Moreover, managers should document these conversations and have employees sign off on the documentation. In some cases, this documentation could be the evidence to prove employers did not fire an employee for an illegal reason in wrongful termination suits.

Some employers like Ford have taken unconventional measures, such as offering severance agreements to underperformers in place of rigorous performance enhancement plans that may lead to traditional discharges. This gives underperforming employees a chance to leave their employer with a monetary incentive instead of risking future financial loss if their performance does not improve. Whatever an employer decides, communication with employees about their performance and documenting those conversations should come before the termination conversation as often as possible.

Also read: Creating Consistent Talent Management Standards

3. Prepare before the termination meeting

Employers should start preparing for the discharge conversation if there is no improvement in an employee’s performance or behavior after a set number of conversations, performance reviews, and written warnings. Organizations should start gathering the following offboarding documentation for the meeting:

Documentation of past conversations
Disciplinary warnings
Termination form
Termination of benefits information (COBRA)
Last paycheck (if applicable)

While at-will employers are not required to have written warnings or other documentation before firing an employee, it can help organize the termination conversation and serve as evidence in the event of a lawsuit.

Direct managers should recruit a reliable witness, such as someone from HR or another higher-up, and prepare a script outlining the important aspects of the termination conversation ahead of time. A witness serves as a way to substantiate the events of the termination conversation in case of a lawsuit. Meanwhile, writing a script allows employers to make sure the termination decision aligns with company policies and that management followed progressive discipline steps appropriately.

Planning the date and time when the conversation will occur is just as critical. For example, some employers have termination meetings on Fridays, so employees have the weekend to recover; others choose Mondays or Tuesdays, so employees have the week to find new positions. The best solution balances the employee’s particular circumstance with the schedule of the manager hosting the termination meeting.

In contrast, employers should hold the termination conversation as an impromptu meeting at the end of the day. A neutral, discreet area increases the chances of privacy for the employee to be emotional. It also mitigates the chances that an employee can take any adverse action against the company, such as stealing clients or causing property damage.

4. Make sure risk management protocols are in place

Employers should plan to secure company property and information following an employee’s termination. Allow the employee to turn in company property, such as IDs, keys, uniforms, or computers, within a timeframe outlined by company policies. Administrators or IT should immediately remove the employee’s access to e-mails, applications, or other company programs. If the employee works remotely, employers should consider providing pre-paid shipping labels and extra time for them to return their company items.

If the employee does not return company property, there is little an employer can do to retrieve them. It is illegal for companies to withhold final paychecks from employees until they return the company property. However, deducting the cost of company property from the employee’s final pay is permissible in some states if the employee is non-exempt from overtime.

In most cases, employers need a company property deduction authorization agreement from the employee before withholding any money from their last check. The deduction should not bring the employee’s last paycheck below minimum wage. Because of conflicting laws in each state, employers may want to include in their severance agreements a clause stating that an employee’s severance pay will be deducted for any unreturned company equipment.

Finally, employers should have someone escort the employee to their workstation to retrieve any personal items. An escort can ensure an employee only takes personal items, not company property or proprietary information. They also act as a monitor to make sure that the employee does not make a scene.

In some circumstances, having the employee retrieve their items may be dangerous after the termination conversation. If safety is a concern, employers should notify the employee that they will ship their items to their home and a timeframe within which to expect them. In addition, employers should make a good-faith effort to return the items to the employee to avoid legal issues later. Finally, if safety is indeed a concern when returning an employee’s items, employers may consider reaching out to their local police department for assistance.

5. Be brief and don’t make it personal

The termination conversation is often stressful for the employee, manager, and witness. However, employers can reduce stress and minimize risk by following these best practices in the termination meeting:

Prepare a termination script.
Provide evidence that supports the case for termination, such as policy violations, poor performance history, or attendance records.
Allow the employee to ask questions and be brief in responses.
Have the manager, witness, and employee sign a termination form acknowledging the reason for termination.

During the conversation, employers may feel bad for the employee, especially if they become distressed and plead for their job. Employers should not take this personally. While empathy is important, remain professional, courteous, and unwavering in the decision to terminate. Employers should check their feelings at the door and look to their evidence to remember why they are holding the termination conversation in the first place.

In the same vein, employers should avoid insulting or demeaning the employee. Instead, aim to be polite and professional in the termination conversation. In doing so, managers will set a standard to treat all employees respectfully, even during difficult times.

Also read: How to Transition to a Results-Only Work Environment

6. Provide information on any necessary benefits

During the employee’s termination conversation, managers should set aside some time to discuss how their company benefits (if any) are affected and the options they have available following termination. The main benefits include:

Last paycheck

Depending on the state, employers may be required to provide the employee’s last paycheck immediately, within 24 hours to a few days, or by the next regularly scheduled payday. Failing to follow the appropriate laws could result in severe fines. In California, for example, penalties accrue for every day an employee’s last paycheck is withheld.

COBRA

Most employers who offer medical insurance benefits qualify for COBRA and must provide the necessary COBRA paperwork within 30 days of the termination to the employee. Considering COBRA includes information on extending employee benefits, employers should consider preparing this paperwork to present to the employee during the termination conversation.

Severance agreements

If the employer offers a severance agreement to the employee, carefully outline the details. For example, employees should know how much, when, and for how long their severance pay will last. Employees must also understand what kinds of future claims they are releasing from the employer’s responsibility.

Unemployment insurance

Employees are entitled to apply for unemployment insurance benefits following termination, regardless of whether or not they are eligible. In most cases, states require employers to provide information on how to apply for unemployment benefits during the employee’s exit, along with the employer’s FEIN, unemployment account number, and business name and address.

Outside of severance agreements, employers must provide information on these benefits to employees upon termination. Refraining from doing so places the employer at risk for fines or future lawsuits.

7. Effectively communicate the employee’s exit with the rest of the staff

Employers cannot prevent news of an employee’s separation from spreading to the rest of the staff. However, employers can be tactful in how they present the information.

Similar to the termination conversation, brevity is key. Don’t elaborate to the staff on the reason for the employee’s termination since there may be legal consequences (for example, being sued for slander). Instead, focus on recruitment plans to replace the employee or how managers will distribute the work. Additionally, if the discharged employee managed others, make sure to provide any affected employees with information on who to report to and changes in processes in the interim.

Employers should consider the reason for the employee’s termination before sharing the news with the staff. For instance, firing someone for sexual harassment requires a different approach than firing someone for poor performance. In these cases, before sharing, it’s wise to consult outside counsel to avoid any legal missteps, such as privacy violations or adverse effects on remaining employees’ morale.

Similarly, managers should share news of the employee’s exit in a method befitting their previous role. For example, if the employee was relatively low-level on the company organizational chart, private conversations with their immediate coworkers may be prudent. On the other hand, an email to the company may suffice for executive dismissals.

According to Zeeshan Arif, CEO and founder of the software development company Whizpool, “Terminations can lead to feelings of abandonment or betrayal if the terminated employee has been with the company for a long time.” Moreover, they could cause remaining employees to feel their jobs are also in jeopardy.

Therefore, employers should remain impartial and professional when sharing the news of an employee’s termination and focus on the company’s future. Doing so will allay any fears among remaining staff that their jobs are in jeopardy and increase feelings of trust in a company’s transparency.

Why are terminations important to the health of the company?

Firing an employee is always hard, but it is a natural part of the employee lifecycle. Avoiding a discharge because it is uncomfortable or burdensome could put the company and employees at risk in the long run.

Instead, a strategically planned and conducted termination promotes an efficient workplace and builds respect for the company during an age of quiet quitting. In the end, terminations are a necessary part of maintaining a healthy and successful business as they ensure company productivity and efficiency while protecting the overall well-being of the workforce.

Putting a termination procedure together and sticking with it can be difficult, but software solutions can help. Check out our comprehensive HRIS Software and Performance Management Software guides to find a solution that includes helpful features like termination policy templates and employee performance tracking.

The post How to Fire an Employee (and Stay Out of Trouble) appeared first on TechnologyAdvice.

What Managers Should Know About Quiet Quitting

Lauren Hansen — Thu, 20 Oct 2022 13:49:01 +0000

The topic of “quiet quitting” has sparked debates about the relationship that employees have with their work and what motivates them to perform at their jobs. The conversation has also put a spotlight on managers’ expectations and how employee performance is measured.

Quiet quitting is essentially a new name for a longstanding problem in an evolving work landscape.

What Is Quiet Quitting?

Quiet quitting has nothing to do with actually quitting. Rather, it describes when an employee does exactly what their job description states without taking on extra tasks. Some of these above-and-beyond actions might include:

Joining a task force or committee
Covering someone else’s assignments while that person is on leave
Pitching a new idea and leading its implementation

Quiet quitting can be an employee’s way of responding to a concurrent phenomenon dubbed “quiet firing.” Quiet firing describes when an employee is continuously and unfairly passed up for an earned promotion or raise that would be commensurate with their contribution to the company.

How Managers Can Address Quiet Quitting

Quiet quitting may be the most prominent HR discussion right now, but the phenomenon holds lasting, relevant implications for manager-employee relationships. Quiet quitting invites managers to examine the company culture, have honest conversations with their employees about job expectations, respect employee boundaries, and provide room for employee growth.

1. Examine company culture

Company culture is a north star for employees’ attitude toward work. In fact, 60% of surveyed HR professionals who indicated that their organizations are experiencing quiet quitting trace it back to company culture. Company leadership should examine a number of areas in the company that affect employee morale, including company values, rewards and recognition, and management styles.

Company leadership should be clear and consistent with how they articulate company values and make those values apparent at every stage of recruiting, onboarding, and talent management.

Executives, managers, and HR should also assess the ways they recognize, promote, and evaluate employees for their employees to ensure a more equitable workplace. It’s unfair to assume let alone expect that an employee will go above and beyond their job responsibilities. Managers should celebrate employees who do exactly what their job asks of them and do it well consistently.

Employee engagement tools, such as Assembly, include ways to give employees praise for what they do.

2. Respect employee boundaries

Employees also value work-life balance now more than ever. So, it’s no wonder that employees — whether they are burnt out, enforcing their boundaries, or both — are sticking to the tasks in their job description to stay happy and healthy.

Despite this, the current hiring crisis in certain sectors has meant that staff is often stretched thin. Employees are frequently asked to do more with fewer resources or perform work-related activities outside of normal work hours.

As a result, employees are experiencing burnout at a higher rate than pre-pandemic times. In fact, a McKinsey Health Institute report states that 28% of U.S. employees are experiencing burnout.

Analytics can reveal inequities among team members in terms of workload and time and help prevent employee burnout. Project management software tools, for instance, indicate which tasks are assigned to whom and how much time each task takes to complete.

In addition, most software and apps include notification and timezone visibility settings to ensure employees don’t receive messages outside of regular business hours. Even with these settings, it never hurts to remind employees to respect each other’s time by refraining from sending emails or messages late at night.

3 . Have honest conversations about job expectations

A solid understanding of job expectations — on both the employee’s and the manager’s end — goes a long way in assessing how an employee is performing, be it over, under, or at the expected level.

A manager should have an open conversation with an employee who consistently underperforms against their job requirements. Furthermore, the goal of this conversation should be a better understanding of what resources or support the employee needs in order to succeed at their job.

Forms of support might include extended leave, flexible work hours, training, or a role switch within the company. Analytics dashboards in performance management software can tip off managers to an employee that may need some assistance.

In the opposite scenario, if the employee consistently does more than what is asked of them, and they do it well, there are a number of things the manager could do besides praising them for their hustle:

Adjust the employee’s title and pay to fit the range of duties they perform
Delegate the over-and-above tasks to the appropriate staff
Outsource those tasks to freelancers or contract workers

Employee engagement software helps facilitate honest conversations between managers and their employees.

4. Provide room for employee growth

Regardless of how an employee is performing, managers should prioritize short-term performance discussions in addition to regular check-ins with their employees. These meetings are a chance to discuss employees’ goals and identify opportunities for growth.

In fact, growth opportunity factors into employee satisfaction and can help reduce turnover. A 2021 report reveals that 45% of employees are more likely to stay with employers that offer professional development opportunities.

Charting out career pathways for employees can make the promotion process more transparent and equitable. Career pathways should contain specific goals an employee can work toward if they want to move up in the company.

Performance management software such as Workday’s talent and performance management product helps managers and employees establish baseline metrics for performance and removes a lot of bias from promotion and raise decisions.

Replace Fear and Assumptions with Trust and Transparency

As many employees continue to work remotely in a distributed workforce, it’s easy to wonder what employees are really up to during the workday. Quiet quitting, which is a scary way of saying someone is setting firm boundaries with their work, has become the new scapegoat for managers who already grapple with remote and hybrid work structures.

However, it’s important for managers to shape a company culture that prevents quiet quitting from becoming an issue to begin with — one that respects employee boundaries, promotes honesty, and provides room for equitable growth.

Managers should utilize a variety of HR software that help support a healthy, engaging company culture. These include employee engagement software, performance management software, and project management software.

The post What Managers Should Know About Quiet Quitting appeared first on TechnologyAdvice.

Lattice Alternatives & Competitors

Lauren Hansen — Fri, 30 Sep 2022 19:57:00 +0000

Managing human resources (HR) operations involves a ton of moving parts, and having performance management software you can rely on is critical. Engaged and productive employees drive business results, and performance management software makes it easier for companies to:

Track employee expectations
Evaluate performance
Review compensation

Lattice is one of the leading performance management solutions. However, it may not be the best choice for all businesses. Consider your business’s unique needs as you review our list of the top Lattice alternatives and competitors.

What Lattice Performance Management Offers

Lattice is a popular performance management solution that managers, HR teams, and employees use for:

Personalized 1:1 agendas and tracking
Employee praise and recognition
Status updates
Real-time feedback
Change management
Tracking employee productivity, engagement, and development
Goal setting
Customized performance reviews
Viewing performance analytics

Lattice offers additional functions through integration with popular HRIS and collaboration platforms.

HR leaders and managers use Lattice to inform compensation and promotion decisions. Employees can also use Lattice to track their goals and provide context for raise or promotion requests.

Also read: Bonus Time: Using Performance Metrics for Payouts

By engaging employees, managers, and HR leaders, Lattice offers a comprehensive way to track and reward employee performance all year long, not just during yearly performance reviews. However, not all businesses need all the features that Lattice includes in its service.

Why Lattice May Not Be the Best Fit For Your Company

With a minimum commitment of $4,000 a year, small and medium-sized businesses may find that Lattice isn’t the best financial fit for their needs. Plus, many of the valuable insights and capabilities are only available with the more expensive plans.

Aside from cost, users cite the following drawbacks of Lattice:

Difficult user interface
Steep learning curve
Lack of collaboration tools for instant communication
Lack of visual tools to track progress towards a goal over time
Goals, even achieved ones, remain visible until deleted
Lack of review history when managers change
Lack of templates for reviews, surveys, and other routine forms of communication
Difficult navigation to actionable insights within the analytics tool

Top 5 Lattice Alternatives

While Lattice is a powerful performance management tool, its minimum commitment and the wide array of features may not suit your business needs. Here are some top alternatives that provide excellent performance management capabilities.

BambooHR

In BambooHR, managers get at-a-glance information on the company and their employees. Credit: BambooHR

As an all-in-one HRIS, BambooHR is a common favorite among HR professionals. As with Lattice, the performance appraisal system is an optional add-on to your BambooHR plan. However, you’ll find that Lattice offers more features for performance management than BambooHR. So if you only need goal setting, self/manager assessment, peer feedback, and reports without extra frills, Bamboo is a better option.

BambooHR streamlines the process of acquiring employee feedback and gauging their satisfaction. It sends automated assessment reminders on a regular basis. While Lattice users with more niche needs enjoy its sophisticated level of automation, Bamboo HR provides enough automation without getting too complex for small business needs.

Peer assessment, self-assessment, and managerial assessment capabilities provide well-rounded feedback to evaluate employee performance against goals. Plus, detailed analytics and robust reporting capabilities make it easy for business leaders and managers to leverage data for strategic decision-making. Lattice users, on the other hand, have reported that it’s difficult to find actionable insights based on data the platform collects.

Top reasons to check out BambooHR as a viable Lattice alternative:

Sufficient automation for small business needs
Easy-to-find, insightful reports

Also read: BambooHR Pricing, Features, and Customer Dedication

Leapsome

In Leapsome, managers can easily monitor employees’ progress towards goals with data visualization. Credit: Leapsome

Leapsome is an all-in-one performance management and employee engagement platform that enables companies to close the loop between employee engagement, performance, and learning. Leapsome’s offerings are quite comparable to Lattice’s, as it includes tools for:

Goals and OKRs management
Performance reviews
Employee engagement surveys
Feedback
Praise and recognition
1:1 meetings

Yet, Leapsome differentiates itself from Lattice in its scope of data analytics tools. Leapsome helps managers interpret data related to the performance of those who report to them. Managers can use data from past performance reviews to track performance changes over time. Lattice users, on the other hand, mention an inability to track data from past performance reviews. Armed with this rich, longitudinal data, Leapsome helps managers identify top performers and facilitate succession planning.

Leapsome also assists organizations with setting up a review process in its platform by providing best-practices templates and frameworks. Teams can create and reuse review templates and timelines cycle after cycle. Once the templates and timelines are set, administrators can set up automated notifications and reminders to employees and managers when a new review period begins.

Why small companies may choose Leapsome instead of Lattice:

Historical data for performance reviews
Templates
At-a-glance dashboards for easy data visualization

Culture Amp

Culture Amp facilitates meaningful one-on-one conversations between managers and their employees. Credit: Culture Amp

Culture Amp offers performance management and employee engagement solutions that maintain fairness and equitability in performance reviews across your organization. Culture Amp reduces bias in the performance review process by providing templated review questions. This ensures that each employee gets the same performance-based questions.

Their unique Calibrations tool generates a report that provides an overview of employee performance and how it compares across teams and the entire enterprise. This feature ensures fairness because it compares apples to apples and gives managers a holistic picture of an employee’s performance to avoid recency bias.

For instance, if an employee has been performing sub-par in the last month but has otherwise excelled in their previous two years of employment, the sub-par performance period needs to be contextualized within the broader picture.

Culture Amp also facilitates regular check-in surveys that are connected with employee 1:1s. This helps your HR team assess employee sentiment and maintain a powerful culture of openness.

Creating a culture of continuous improvement and multi-source feedback empowers everyone within the organization to meet and exceed their OKRs. Plus, since Culture Amp regularly updates its solution based on the latest research about how people think, feel, and behave in the workplace, your company can stay up to date on performance management best practices.

Plans are available for companies with as few as 25 employees, making it a great solution for growing organizations. Plus, while Lattice’s solution is more comprehensive, Culture Amp provides a standalone performance management solution. Employee engagement capabilities can be easily added later if needed.

Reasons to choose Culture Amp over Lattice:

User-friendly design backed by research on how people think, feel, behave, and learn
Modularity to accommodate changing business needs
Cost effectiveness

IntelliHR

IntelliHR provides high-level data visualization to easily monitor employees’ performance. Credit: IntelliHR

Actionable performance insight is the name of the game with IntelliHR. Regular performance reviews offer tons of data that can help leaders make critical strategic decisions across the enterprise, and IntelliHR helps organizations leverage that information to drive productivity and high performance. So, IntelliHR is a great Lattice alternative because it visualizes data and makes it easy to find data-driven insights.

Many companies don’t need all the bells and whistles that come with popular performance appraisal software. IntelliHR focuses on making the performance review process as quick and easy as possible. Simple evaluation forms and a streamlined dashboard set IntelliHR apart.

Automated check-ins help managers consistently collect feedback from their employees. Then, the platform helps managers interpret that data against cascadable goals and foster more effective 1:1 meetings from a coaching perspective, placing development at the forefront. Plus, one-click performance summaries grant immediate insight into employee and team performance, so HR teams and managers can get a bird’s eye view of how employees are succeeding and where they can improve.

IntelliHR is a powerful Lattice substitute for companies that aren’t looking for an overly complex option. It’s a great option to strengthen and integrate with your existing HRIS system, providing better analytics and easy-to-use performance management capabilities. However, it’s important to note that performance management tools aren’t available for the base plan.

Reasons to choose intelliHR over Lattice:

Cost effectiveness
Data visualization tools
Easily accessible, data-driven insights

Also read: Improving Company Culture During Periods of High Turnover

Zoho People

Zoho People empowers employees to set and track their performance goals. Managers can easily track their longitudinal progress. Credit: Zoho People

Zoho People is a user-friendly cloud-based HR software that includes performance management features to nurture employees. Such features include:

Performance appraisals
Self-appraisals
Multi-rater reviews
Employee data and reports
Goal setting

Zoho People sets up a place for managers to routinely check in with their employees regarding employee performance. That way, there are no surprises when monthly, quarterly, or annual reviews begin.

Zoho People’s self-appraisals and their timelines are customizable to the company’s needs. Employees, for example, rate themselves based on pre-set criteria. They and their managers can both see how the ratings change over time, whether monthly or quarterly. Tracking longitudinal progress on an aspect of one’s work is a differentiating feature that Zoho People possesses compared to Lattice.

Data recorded from these appraisals is stored in Zoho People. Both managers and their employees can refer back to Zoho People’s reports when prepping for annual reviews. These reports benefit managers by helping them visualize employee data and identify their strengths. Zoho People even presents an employee’s data in a 9-box matrix to analyze performance and potential.

Potential customers should know that performance management tools are only available in the Premium, Enterprise, and People Plus price tiers.

Reasons to choose Zoho People instead of Lattice:

Customizable appraisal processes and timelines
Modularity to accommodate changing business needs
Reporting and analytics tools

Choosing the Right Alternative to Lattice Performance Management

The right performance management platform can make or break your company’s culture. Regular employee feedback is essential to help your teams grow and excel. While Lattice is a powerful platform with tools that empower performance management, that doesn’t mean it’s the right software for every enterprise.

Finding the right solution starts with looking at your company’s specific needs. Pose the following questions for starters:

What are your biggest priorities in terms of performance management?
What features would simplify performance reviews and reporting for your organization?

If Lattice misses the mark on your priorities and features, consider alternative solutions like those above that offer different or more advanced features.

For example, if your HR team needs actionable, easy-to-understand analytical tools, check out IntelliHR, Leapsome, and Zoho People.

If you need a more user-friendly solution, look into Culture Amp.

If automation capabilities can help streamline performance management tasks, check out Bamboo HR.

These five Lattice competitors are a great place to start when evaluating what your team needs. But, they’re far from the only alternatives available. TechnologyAdvice can help you narrow down the best options based on your unique HR and business needs.

Call our unbiased experts who will help you find the right performance management solution today!

Top Human Resources Software Recommendations

The post Lattice Alternatives & Competitors appeared first on TechnologyAdvice.

Bare Bones HR: What Every Startup Needs

Guest Contributor — Thu, 07 Apr 2022 20:00:43 +0000

Everything seems to be coming together for your startup: your bootstrapped team is working seamlessly, investors are happy, and marketing efforts are bringing in even more business.

Now though, you have another issue to tackle. There are a lot of factors to pay attention to as the startup begins to grow, but one of the most critical is Human Resource Management. From developing a strategy to attracting and retaining the right talent, to ensuring all HR regulations are adhered to, HR management can become complicated.

Your HR department will determine:

What pay is fair for new employees
What communication strategies you can establish to ensure everyone is on the same page
How to terminate employees who might not be working out

These are all decisions startup entrepreneurs should deal with sooner rather than later. While you may not need to hire a full HR team right away, read on for six things every startup needs to handle HR successfully.

Also read: Knowledge Management for SMB: How to Retain Expertise During Turnover

HR & Payroll Experts

A company in the early stages of development and operation might not need to hire a full-scale HR team. However, the best HR practices for startups require at least someone on the team to be knowledgeable in two primary areas: creating a healthy company culture and HR regulation and policy.

Hiring a part-time HR professional, or even looking at affordable consultants, can help with this. This individual can set the foundation for developing a cohesive culture and good, sound policy. They can also handle payroll, taking a time-consuming task off of your plate and handling all the intricacies that come along with it.

Best Payroll Software for Startups

Payroll software is probably one of the first tools you’ll need to purchase as a startup. Employees don’t tend to stick around long if they’re not getting paid. You’ll want to choose payroll software with strong automation features to limit the amount of time you have to spend on payroll and reduce the chances of errors.

Many software tools either include or integrate with time clocks, allowing the software to pull employees’ hours directly and pay them according to the time they worked. Payroll software can not only save you time, but it can also keep you from making expensive payroll law violations.

Some of the top payroll tools include:

Also read: Gusto vs Quickbooks

A Recruitment Strategy

Recruitment can be one of the major HR challenges in startup companies. It’s hard to compete for top talent with established companies because you don’t have the same level of resources. While your salaries may not be as competitive, you can offset that by offering more flexibility and moving forward with candidates faster.

This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t still pay a fair salary; it just means you don’t have to be at the top of the range.

As a startup, it’s probably best to target recent college graduates as they’ll be looking to build experience. You can likely even start them early as paid interns and then bring them on board as full employees when they graduate. This way, you get employees who already know the business and they’ll be able to gain useful experience before graduating.

Also read: How to Hire For the Future of Work

Best Recruiting Software for Startups

Recruiting software streamlines your hiring process by pushing job postings out to top job sites, so you only have to make them once. As a startup, your IT resources are probably limited, so you’ll need to choose cloud-based software.

You’ll also want recruiting software with artificial intelligence and automation features to reduce the amount of time you have to spend poring over resumes. With these tools, the system can parse resumes for you and automatically eliminate unqualified candidates. You also might want to look for tools that offer mobile accessibility, so you can review candidates on the go.

Here are some of the top recruiting platforms:

Also read: Best Practices for Writing the Perfect Job Descriptions

An Employee Handbook

This is another policy-driven element startups need to ensure everyone starts on the same page. Creating an employee handbook also causes management to think through questions hires will have about procedures and their place in the company.

Start by answering these questions:

How much notice do employees need to give before asking for time off?
How is overtime calculated and allocated?
Is there a dress code?
How will the company handle issues of harassment and discrimination?

All of this should be discussed in the employee handbook with the expectation that new hires will read through it and ask any questions they may have. Train managers on the correct answers to these questions.

Track Time and Duties Assigned

Startup entrepreneurs may not have the money to purchase an all-in-one HR management system to track time and compensation. That’s entirely okay in the beginning; there are a lot of free options for having employees track their time and duties completed.

Programs like Trello, Hubstaff, or even Google Sheets can be used to monitor time and tasks, and there are some well-priced employee engagement and performance management software options to help employees stay on track toward goals.

Look for cloud-based applications that allow others to view and edit content as needed. Project management tools are a great way to know if everyone is staying on task and track information to use with performance reviews. Understanding how employees are performing is key to any basic HR management strategy.

Best Time Tracking Software for Startups

Time tracking software is a must for startups that employ contractors to get work done. With these tools, you can ensure you’re only paying for the time the contractor spends actually working. It’s also a good idea to use this software for any employees you’re paying hourly.

With time clock software, employees can track their time online. This time is stored in a database, and the timesheets can then be exported into your payroll system, which is much simpler than making employees physically punch time cards and then trying to organize these come payday.

Startups should consider the following time tracking software:

Create a Strategy for Learning and Development

It may not be the primary priority in the beginning, but learning and development will be critical to any long-term growth and success for a startup. The more training workers receive and the more knowledge they gain, the better they can help the company move forward and promote their own development.

Leaders should work alongside HR professionals to develop a training and development program. This step can look like a monthly workshop where an expert is brought in to train workers on software or processes, purchasing stand-alone or subscription learning management software, or paying for workers to attend training or classes.

Continued education not only benefits the company, but it lets workers know from the beginning that leaders care about their professional development and career goals.

Best Learning Management Systems for Startups

A learning management system (LMS) makes it easier for you to train new employees and ensure they understand your business. You can create custom curricula and quizzes, host video and audio files, and use gamification to keep learners engaged, improving retention.

Even the most qualified candidates will need some training on your processes, and using an LMS ensures all new hires get the same training upfront. An LMS reduces the amount of time you have to spend training your employees hands-on and allows them to learn at their own pace. Some programs even offer a free tier for small teams.

Here are some of the best LMS solutions for startups:

Also read: The Influence and Effectiveness of Gamification in eLearning

Protocol for Performance Reviews

Workers can only improve with feedback. Someone has to tell them what they are doing right and what they may need to work on. It may be hard to believe, but many companies do not engage in regular performance reviews. This impedes progress, so owners should make sure their startup does not follow in the same footsteps.

Get ahead of the game by working with the HR team (or employee) to develop standards for performance reviews. Plan to answer these questions:

How often should they occur?
What should managers be on the lookout for?
Should it be 360, pulse surveys, quarterly reviews, or does another format work for the team?

The goal is to have a starting point for team leaders to begin to assess how their team is performing. Setting relevant benchmarks and goals is another crucial part, and leaders need to make it a priority. Also, it is critical for team leaders and managers to encourage workers to give feedback concerning the company and the performance of leadership.

Best Performance Management Software for Startups

Performance management software allows you to set goals and expectations for your team and make sure they’re on the same page. Provide transparent evaluations and ensure you’re keeping the right employees.

Performance management software also helps you work with employees to map out their career trajectory, so they can see their growth opportunities within your company. As a startup, this will be helpful for you because you can plan how you want your business to grow.

Performance management tools also allow you to give bonuses based on performance rather than educated guesses, improving employee motivation.

Top performance management tools include:

Do Startups Need HR?

In the hustle and bustle of keeping a startup afloat, owners cannot forget to support their most precious resource: the employees.

Sales cannot happen if customer service is lacking, partnerships are less likely if employees are not ready to facilitate them, and the company will not move forward if workers are not equipped to be innovative and creative.

A company’s forward motion is facilitated by a stellar HR team with an in-depth understanding of sound policy and regulations. HR policy not only helps employees manage their day-to-day administrative needs, but it can also expose them to sensitivity and harassment training and help them understand relevant laws.

Startup leaders cannot leave HR by the wayside as they strategically put the company in a position to grow. HR management gives startup owners the tools to take care of the company’s most vital resources.

Chanell Alexander is a writer for TechnologyAdvice. She is a freelance writer and digital marketing strategist. She has over seven years of experience in the nonprofit field, and enjoys blending innovative technology solutions with communications. When she is not writing, Chanell enjoys traveling, contributing to video game blogs, and embracing her inner foodie. See what else Chanell has been up to on her LinkedIn profile and Twitter page.

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Using Performance Management Software to Combat Burnout

Jenn Fulmer — Thu, 09 Dec 2021 19:12:39 +0000

Approximately 52 percent of employees in the US are currently experiencing burnout, up about 9 percent from pre-COVID levels. As the pandemic carries on and even after, burnout will continue to be a major problem for employers. But once it’s taken hold of an employee, it’s very difficult to combat. With the right performance management software, you can catch the early signs of burnout and help your employees work through it before it’s too late.

Early signs of burnout in employees

Not all signs of burnout will be apparent to anyone but the person experiencing them, but co-workers and managers should be on the lookout for these symptoms.

Decrease in productivity or performance

If an employee suddenly begins to miss deadlines, forget assignments altogether, or drops the quality of their work significantly, they’re likely starting to feel burnt out. As they become increasingly stressed out, they have difficulty dealing with new stressors, and all that tension just compounds until they can’t handle it anymore. Excess stress also has negative impacts on the medial prefrontal cortex, which controls memory function, attention, and habit formation.

Negative attitude

You also might be able to spot burnout in a normally cheerful employee who is suddenly showing a lot of negativity. Maybe they’re distancing themselves from their coworkers or making snide remarks about complications in projects. If employees feel undervalued at work, they’re more likely to experience burnout and start dreading their job.

Irritability or frequent changes in mood

Another outward sign of burnout is an employee suddenly becoming irritable or experiencing severe mood swings. Of course, everybody has bad days and deals with stressors outside of work, but if this goes on for a prolonged period, burnout may be at the heart of the issue. Burnout can cause your amygdala to increase in size, which has connections to higher aggression.

How can performance management software fight burnout?

Performance management software provides a great baseline for employee performance and productivity, which can make it easy to spot burnout earlier. Don’t use the decline in performance to punish your employees, but talk to them about what’s going on and see how you can help. Maybe they have too much on their plate or don’t have the tools they need to be effective in their role. You may have to start the conversation, though. Let your employees know that you’re not upset with them for feeling overwhelmed, but you do want to help them find a solution before it takes a larger toll on them.

When you base raises and bonuses on performance metrics, you can also keep employees from feeling undervalued. When they can draw a direct line from their performance to a reward, they know they’re being seen and appreciated. However, many businesses use arbitrary metrics for giving raises and bonuses, or they give everyone the same amount. This can frustrate your best employees because they’ll feel like their hard work doesn’t matter and may stop putting in as much effort.

When employees can draw a direct line from their performance to a reward, they know they’re being seen and appreciated.

Your performance management software should also include career pathing that shows the steps employees need to take to reach the goals that you set for them and they set for themselves. Then, during your regular check-ins (important for making employees feel valued!), you can go over the milestones they’ve recently hit and what they should aim for next. For example, if an individual contributor wants to one day get promoted to your executive team, you might create opportunities for them to lead projects or take leadership training courses.

Also Read: What is Employee Performance Management?

Key burnout-combatting features to look for in performance management tools

If you don’t yet have a performance management tool in place, you need to look for the following features in order to fight burnout in your employees.

Goal setting

Your performance management software should include space for employees to track both their short and long-term goals and the steps they are taking to achieve them. Employees will get alerts to update their goal progress, and managers will get notifications when they need to provide feedback. Employees can also assign deadlines to their goals to help keep themselves on track.

Employee recognition

Recognition doesn’t just have to come from higher-ups. With employee recognition features in your performance management software, co-workers can also give their team members shoutouts and appreciation. If your performance management system doesn’t include this feature, you can choose standalone employee recognition tools, like Assembly, Kudos, or 15Five.

Also Read: 5 Inspired Digital Rewards & Recognitions for Remote Workers

Feedback management

Employees have to get regular feedback in order to improve in their roles. If they don’t know what they’re doing wrong, they won’t know that there’s anything they need to fix. A feedback management feature not only provides a platform for giving feedback but also stores it for employees to refer back to later. Additionally, it provides a record of the conversation if there needs to be disciplinary action later on.

Also Read: Need To Increase Employee Retention? Train Managers As Career Coaches

Performance analytics

Performance analytics show how employees are faring against their key performance indicators (KPIs). Employees who consistently meet or exceed their KPIs should be considered for raises, bonuses, and promotions. This shows that you’re valuing their work and sets an example for other employees. These KPIs can also help you identify when employees are struggling and ensure they get the help they need to succeed.

Best performance management software for stopping burnout

If you need to fight burnout, choose performance management software that includes measurable metrics, opportunities to praise employees, and chances to help them grow in their careers.

Namely

Namely is cloud-based HR software that provides a variety of human resources components, including performance management, benefits administration, and payroll. The performance management features include customizable reviews where managers and employees answer the same questions about employee performance and then discuss the results to keep everyone on the same page. Employers can log and track KPIs, and co-workers can give shoutouts and recognition on the Namely feed.

Engagedly

Engagedly is performance review software that encourages continuous performance management, rather than once-per-year reviews. It includes templates for performance reviews and competency assessments to help employers measure the right metrics while providing a space for real-time feedback. The recognition feature allows employees to reward each other with points, badges, and rewards to foster a healthier culture at work and show their co-workers their appreciation.

Zoho People

Zoho People is a full human resources management system (HRMS) that includes a performance management module. It includes a continuous feedback system, and the performance appraisals are customizable, so each team can track the KPIs that are most important to them. Employees can add self-reviews, and managers can request feedback from an employee’s coworkers to create a more comprehensive picture of the employee’s performance.

Other business practices that contribute to burnout

Performance management software, unfortunately, can’t fix all of the problems that lead to burnout. Other factors include:

The business or department being chronically understaffed
Asking employees to wear too many hats for long periods of time
Fake empathy from management or executives
Empty promises regarding raises or growth opportunities
Intruding on your employees’ time outside of work

Your employees aren’t machines. They need regular breaks and time off to operate at peak performance. If you struggle with employees continually complaining about burnout or suffer from a high turnover rate, you probably need to evaluate your business and determine if staffing issues or restrictive policies could be causing the problem.

To find the best performance management software for your business, use our Performance Management Product Selection Tool. After answering a short survey, you’ll get a customized list of product recommendations.

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Building a Strong Executive Team: Characteristics Every Leader Needs

Jenn Fulmer — Tue, 26 Oct 2021 18:14:13 +0000

This is part eight of our Building a Strong Executive Team series. To start at the beginning, click here.

Joseph Stalin and Abraham Lincoln look like vastly different leaders on the surface, but if you look closer, you’ll see some similar characteristics. They both had a vision for what the future looked like, they both had passion for their work, and they were committed to their goals. These and several other characteristics are crucial for being a good leader. If you’re already a leader, would one day like to be, or are coaching a future leader, here are the characteristics you need to work on cultivating.

Passion for your work

To be a successful leader, you have to have passion for the work you’re doing. Without it, your direct reports will pick up on your apathy and either adopt the same attitude or leave the organization. You don’t have to love your job every minute of every day (that’s not feasible), but you at least shouldn’t hate it the whole time either.

Additionally, passion is important for your job because it means you’ll care enough to innovate and improve your role. In his book, What Every Leader Needs, Dr. Adam Bandelli says, “Passion breeds commitment. It breeds disciplined effort and the burning desire to do all that is necessary to win.” Passion provides a level of motivation that can’t be matched with extrinsic rewards.

Commitment to your organization and its people

Your people are your most valuable asset, and to be a good leader, you need to be committed to them and their development. By working to develop the people already in your organization, you’re more likely to keep them engaged and motivated, meaning you’ll lose less institutional knowledge because they’ll be less likely to leave.

“Leaders often run into problems when they try to do too much, when they try to be all things to all people.”
Dr. Adam Bandelli

To do this effectively, you need to invest in performance management software, so you can keep records of meetings and track your employees’ development over time. You’ll also need to conduct regular performance reviews, meaning more than once a year, and keep open dialogues with your team about their goals, performance, and growth.

Commitment to your organization is also part of being a good leader. You need to complete your work when you say you will and provide a good example for the employees that answer to you. Delegation is a key part of leadership; you can’t expect to handle everything yourself and manage a team on top of that. Bandelli says, “Leaders often run into problems when they try to do too much, when they try to be all things to all people.”

Consistency in your work ethic

Employees need to know what to expect from their leaders, making consistency important for managers and executives alike. Bandelli uses Kobe Bryant, famous NBA player, as an example, showing how consistency can lead to greatness. While most people know of his greatness on the court, they don’t always know of the work he put in behind the scenes to get there.

“Kobe was consistently the first one in the gym at 5:00 a.m. He would work on his shot over and over again, sometimes shooting until he would hit fifty to sixty shots in a row. He did this from all over the court. Next, he would work on his dribbling and ball-handling skills. After that, he would be in the weight room for two hours. This was all before any of his teammates would even show up at the practice facility! He led by example in practice, pushed his teammates during games, and constantly strived to make everyone better.”

While being a company executive might not quite have the same requirements as leading a team to multiple NBA championships, they do have some similarities. For one, not everyone is going to see all the work you’ve put in to get where you are. And you can’t just expect to “step onto the court” and be great; you have to work hard every day in order to succeed.

Also read: Building a Strong Executive Team: Creating Consistent Talent Management Standards

Vision for your future

It’s really difficult to improve in any skill without goals and a plan. Bandelli says, “With clarity comes commitment to a purpose, commitment to a mission.” Once you know what your goals are, you can ensure that everything you do moves you closer to achieving them. Project management software can help with both short and long-term goals, breaking them down into manageable chunks. It also enables delegation to your team, giving you time to work on your role and the organization instead of in it.

“With clarity comes commitment to a purpose, commitment to a mission.”
Dr. Adam Bandelli

Part of your vision should also include surrounding yourself with the right people. You can’t be great at everything, so you need to add people to your team that fill in some of the gaps in your strength. For example, if you’re a great visionary, but you struggle to make solid processes, you need someone on your team who can handle that. Organizational chart software can help you identify gaps on your team and fill them more quickly.

Compassion for your team

Compassionate leaders know how to build good relationships and impact their team using healthy communication and social awareness. They place trust in their employees to get the work done, and they show appreciation for those who go above and beyond. Leaders with compassion learn about their team on both a personal and professional level to deepen those relationships.

When leaders have compassion for their team, their employees are more likely to buy into the vision and work hard to help their leader achieve it. And part of this compassion includes skillfully navigating social justice issues, including protests; diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) topics; and public trials and hearings. Understand how these events will affect your team and be understanding if they need time to work through them.

How to cultivate these characteristics

You likely already possess some of these characteristics, but for the ones you don’t, you’ll need to find a coach or mentor to help you develop them. These can include executives in your company, experts in your field, or even professors if you’re still in college or just graduated.

When we spoke, Dr. Bandelli said, “My advice to anyone who is an individual contributor, or their early career professionals, find a good mentor. The second piece is to find a good coach. This could be a life coach, this could be a therapist, this could be an executive coach, like I do, but get someone who is not in your organization, who’s a thought partner that can give you an outside perspective, and sit down with them and try to focus on your goals and your dreams and your vision for the future. They’ll give you kind of unbiased feedback that can help you along the way.”

Leadership is difficult, but the right skills and characteristics can help you navigate tough situations, achieve your goals, and build strong, lasting relationships. If you’re looking for a role where you can grow your leadership skills and build solid relationships with executives and high-level managers, check out the open positions at TechnologyAdvice.

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Building a Strong Executive Team: Creating Consistent Talent Management Standards

Jenn Fulmer — Tue, 29 Jun 2021 12:47:29 +0000

This is part four of our Building a Strong Executive Team series. To start at the beginning, click here.

We’ve all heard the horror stories associated with bad performance reviews: vague critiques from unnamed coworkers, constantly shifting expectations, and thinly-veiled discriminatory comments. Not only do these bad performance reviews prevent companies from moving forward, but they can also severely damage the business by driving away good employees. However, determining the best way to review employees’ work can be difficult. Consistent talent management is key to building a strong executive team in your organization and making the business successful overall.

When all employees are measured against good talent management standards, it’s easier to chart their growth and help them plot a path to further their careers. By charting growth, employees and managers work together to identify their strengths and determine what employees need to one day reach the executive level in the company.

To find the perfect talent management platform for your business, use our Performance Management Software Product Selection Tool. After answering a few short questions, you’ll get a customized list of software to meet your needs.

Creating consistent talent management practices

What to consider when choosing KPIs
Effectively communicate expectations
Keep detailed records of meetings and performance
Use talent management software to improve the review process
Better talent management standards lead to better executives

What to consider when choosing KPIs

Key performance indicators (KPIs) are specific data points that measure performance and success for both individuals and companies as a whole. They often include things like revenue generated, the number of deals closed, or net promoter scores. The KPIs that you choose for your team should be quantifiable, not based on feelings.

“A KPI is only as useful as the action or employee behaviour it prompts, and those actions and behaviours need to be evaluated within the context of an individual business,” says Trevor Larson, CEO of Nectar. “KPIs should be selected based on how well they measure the employee’s execution of their particular role in a workflow.”

Here are a few examples of good and bad KPIs:

Good KPIs	Bad KPIs
Number of products/services sold per month	How do you feel about your workload?
Client retention rate	Rate company culture on a scale of 1 to 10
Dollar value of sales per month	Number of calls made per month

As you can see, the good KPIs have numbers assigned to them and work towards specific goals, like increasing revenue or keeping clients longer. The first two examples of bad KPIs aren’t measurable and rely solely on subjective ideas. They may be important questions to ask, but they aren’t indicative of performance. The third is measurable, but it may not help you work towards your goal. An employee could easily make a large number of low-quality phone calls that don’t lead to anything; instead, measure their close rate.

David Bercovich, COO of Oomnitza, reminds organizations not to forget about their new hires when formulating KPIs. “For every job description for a new hire, we also map out the prospective position’s KPIs for their first 3 months of employment. We find that requiring a manager to think in detail about how a new employee will onboard and how they can contribute in their early days helps us build clarity around the position and sets the new hire up for success.”

Also read: Bonus Time: Using Performance Metrics for Payouts

Effectively communicate expectations

Creating solid KPIs is just the start; you have to effectively communicate them to your team once they’re in place. And this starts from day one. Your job descriptions should clearly outline what you expect from your employees, and these expectations should be reinforced throughout their training. Managers and their direct reports should also review progress towards KPIs regularly to allow for any necessary adjustments.

Companies should also avoid holding their in-person and remote employees to the same standards. Reuben Yontan, CEO at GetVOIP, explains, “One thing to keep in mind for talent management is the gap between remote and in-house employees, as well as the difficulty in assessing standards with hybrid workers. With offices going increasingly virtual there’s a huge risk that companies will stick with the same KPIs as usual and thereby bias performance assessment and promotions.”

To keep everyone on the same page with their KPIs, individual contributors should have regular check-ins with their managers, either in person or via telephone or web conferencing app. This makes it easier to measure data points and ensure you can effectively compare the current period (week, month, etc.) against the current one.

Keep detailed records of meetings and performance

Any time managers and their direct reports meet, someone should be keeping detailed notes about what they discussed, any progress towards KPIs, and action items moving forward. Ideally, both parties would also have an agenda before the meeting to help them stay on track and come prepared. With detailed notes, it’s easy to revisit previous conversations and measure performance progression.

While pen and paper are great in the moment, you should be storing the notes digitally, so the necessary parties can access them as needed. This will keep the notes organized and prevent them from getting lost.

Also read: Templates and Best Practices for Employee Performance Reviews

Use performance management software to improve the review process

Performance management software allows you to keep track of goals and progress, take meeting notes, and complete agendas for upcoming meetings. These tools help teams plot out both long and short-term goals and encourage open communication between individual contributors and their managers. They can also provide space for managers to praise their direct reports, which can go a long way towards improving employee morale.

Using these tools, both in-person and remote employees are more likely to remain engaged with the review cycle and make actual progress towards their goals. They help managers organize and standardize the performance management process while learning how to better coach their teams. By creating consistent talent management standards, you can better your company as a whole.

Best performance management tools

If you don’t currently have a talent management system in place or your current one isn’t cutting it, consider one of the following platforms.

BambooHR

BambooHR helps employers improve their review cycle using short questionnaires that limit subjective interpretation and encourage action. The software helps companies address issues quickly, so they can make adjustments then and there, rather than waiting for the yearly review. They can also measure their team’s overall satisfaction through anonymous surveys and detailed reports.

Namely

Namely offers customizable performance review templates to make the talent management process easier across the board. Employers can automate the review cycle, making it easier to collect answers from managers and individual contributors. Employees can add their own goals, learn how they align with the company goals as a whole, and track their progress towards achieving them.

Workday

Workday optimizes the review cycle using skill-based evaluations to ensure a company’s employees are meeting its needs. Using machine learning, the platform can identify the skills your team already possesses and any talent gaps you may be facing. Additionally, managers help their direct reports map out career paths within the organization and acknowledge the steps they need to take to advance.

Better talent management standards lead to better executives

Your executives have to start somewhere, and wouldn’t it be great if they were already a part of your company? By improving your talent management standards and creating a consistent review cycle, you can help your current employees advance their careers and eventually become great executives. Engaged employees become engaged leaders, and you can achieve that through better performance reviews.

Need help finding the right performance management software? Use our Employee Performance Product Selection Tool to get a short, unbiased list of tools that will meet your company’s needs.

Next in series: Building a Strong Executive Team: What It Means To Be an Executive

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5 Innovative Ways Companies are Using eLearning

Guest Contributor — Tue, 08 Dec 2020 17:15:32 +0000

eLearning is one way companies are getting more competitive in the marketplace. The workforce is a key part of the success equation. Employees who are experts at their jobs will produce better results and feel more satisfied with their careers. Below are a few innovative ways organizations are increasing the benefits of eLearning.

To find the right learning management software for your business, check out our LMS Product Selection Tool. After answering a few questions, you’ll get an unbiased list of software tailored to your company’s needs.

Which HR software is right for you?

find out now

Connecting employees through an LMS
Making training effective with microlearning
Using gamification to create a clear path
Adapting with skills assessments
Empowering aging workers with flexibility
eLearning opens new doors for everyone

1. Connecting employees through an LMS

The buddy system can be very effective when it comes to training and reaching professional goals. This is particularly true when you pair up a newbie with a more experienced worker.

That’s the theory Peter Trebek, CEO of GoTranscript, had when he started matching new sales reps with more experienced ones during onboarding.

“Chances are, the veteran has already asked the same questions that the new employee has and can answer them quickly with real-life experience,” said Trebek.

This system carries over into the digital world with learning management systems (LMS) that feature mentoring, coaching, and communication features. Many companies group employees together by training class, team, or department, creating an unhindered flow of communication. New hires feel confident that they can get the help they need while tapping into the knowledge and experience of established coworkers.

ALSO READ: 8 Important LMS Features for Your E-Learning Program

3 Cooperative Learning Management Systems

360Learning

360Learning is a collaborative LMS where users can share feedback, ask questions, and collaborate on their assignments. You can create custom content on the system or import modules from other sources. With built-in feedback and analytics, you can identify which courses are providing the most value and which need improvement.

Orblogic

Orblogic is an enterprise LMS that lets you build courses in the platform using a variety of content, including videos, PDFs, and PowerPoint presentations. It also includes a compliance option to train your employees on all of your regulatory requirements. The system also tracks course completion, so you’ll know which employees have completed which modules.

Docebo

Docebo is a cloud LMS that gives you full customization of your eLearning experience. The platform is also available on mobile, so your employees can learn wherever they are. There are gamification techniques you can integrate into the system for better employee engagement and retention.

2. Making training effective with microlearning

In his book Brain Science: The Forgetting Curve, writer, professor, and consultant Art Kohn outlined a scenario experienced by many employees. After going through all the required training and doing exceptionally well, a worker will return to their office or worksite and notice that they begin to forget most of what they learned.

Kohn reported that within one hour of a training, participants forget around 50 percent of the information. That increases to 70 percent after 24 hours and 90 percent after a week.

Effective methods and regular reinforcement through microlearning, smaller modules completed over several minutes, is the cure to keeping these neural networks firing. Jim Duckett of DHx Software, an eFrontPro reseller, may have said it best: “The information is easier to digest and increases overall knowledge retention.”

3. Using gamification to create a clear path

If someone gave you the choice of playing a game or going to work, you would probably choose the game. Games are fun, and gamification has added a new level of engagement to LMS platforms that has proven to be beneficial in a professional environment.

In 2014, Cisco invested in a social media training program for contractors and employees. The program included more than 46 courses, which was overwhelming for participants. Most were not sure where to begin, so the company chose to gamify by adding levels of certification. They created three main levels, Specialist, Strategist, and Master, and four sub-levels.

Team challenges encouraged friendly competition. This provided motivation and gave participants a clear set of steps to take to finish the program. Since implementing gamification, more than 650 Cisco employees have completed over 13,000 courses and received certification.

Gamification programs that improve retention

Bunchball

Bunchball is a gamification program that can be integrated into almost any third-party LMS to improve learners’ retention and understanding. Using rewards systems, teamwork, and positive feedback, the software motivates employees and keeps them engaged.

WorkStride

WorkStride also integrates with LMS platforms to provide gamification and keep employees motivated. Along with training, the program also promotes recognition, incentives, wellness, and safety with different gamification programs.

4. Adapting with skills assessments

LMS platforms have made it possible to record, store, and sort skills to ensure that employees are utilized to their fullest potential. Adobe discussed the benefits of using an LMS to improve its workforce at the 2017 Pluralsight Live End User Conference. Their eLearning system allowed them to retrain 25 percent of their technical staff to provide support for a new project.

Companies need to be able to adapt when new opportunities appear, especially those in fast-paced industries like technology. An LMS allows businesses to remain adaptable and dynamic. They can quickly review a list of employees who have the skills they need or find areas that are lacking and provide training to fill the gap. These processes would take far longer and be much more expensive without the help of eLearning.

5. Empowering aging workers with flexibility

A 2018 AARP study found that of the 170 million people expected to be in the workforce by 2026, 42 million will be 55 and older. eLearning has created a unique situation for these older workers, as it enables them to work remotely when necessary. It allows older people to remain comfortably employed without the demands of a full-time job.

Many organizations are putting older workers in training roles that they can manage online from home. This also allows experienced workers to share their expertise and help maintain a skilled workforce.

eLearning has other benefits for older people as well. Education is proven to fight off depression thanks to social interactions they may not otherwise get. This can have profound socio-economic benefits for older generations. It’s one of the many ways companies are using eLearning to improve their business and the lives of their employees.

eLearning opens new doors for everyone

The advent of eLearning has opened new doors in education and business training. The tools available today can be tailored to all ages. They improve the way we teach and learn and can create job opportunities for people who otherwise may not have any. It’s a powerful testament to how our lives can improve through technology. As more organizations get on board, new innovations will push eLearning further into the spotlight. It will be exciting to see where we take it.

Interested in seeing which eLearning tools would work for your company? Check out our Learning Management Product Selection Tool to find the right eLearning software solution for your business.

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Templates & Best Practices for Employee Performance Reviews

Tamara Scott — Tue, 28 Jul 2020 14:00:16 +0000

A couple of jobs ago, I was working for a small startup in the design and printing industry. They knew a lot about design, a lot about manufacturing their product, but not a whole lot about building and managing a business, especially anything concerned with HR.

To give you some examples, this nine-year-old company had no employee performance review system, nor did it have a marketing budget. I put my own meetings on my manager’s schedule to talk about my performance goals. Worst of all, because there was no performance review system, quarterly bonuses were calculated with an undisclosed mixture of revenue growth, total sales, gut feeling, crystal divination, and how the founder felt about you that day. It definitely didn’t inspire confidence that everyone got what they earned.

According to recent research, roughly 28 percent of U.S. employees do not receive enough regular feedback about their performance to help them improve accordingly. If you don’t already have some sort of performance review in place, you’ve come to the right place. If you already have a review system, there’s always room for improvement.

Also Read: Using Performance Metrics for Payouts

There are plenty of resources out there to help you build an employee performance review process, but like all business processes, you should update and personalize these templates to match your team’s job roles and business objectives. If you’re searching for tools to help improve your team’s overall performance management, use our Employee Performance Management Product Selection Tool for a list of five software recommendations.

Types of Performance Reviews

Many companies either overcommit or undercommit to employee performance reviews, using tedious, daily check-ins to atone for past communication problems, or slapping on a band-aid yearly review. The key is to balance the frequency and depth of the review process. Make sure everyone feels they give and receive sufficient feedback, but still have time to focus on business objectives.

Here are some of the most popular options:

360-review: Save this for the annual review. The 360-review lets all other employees provide feedback on how the individual is doing their job. Keep this one short and sweet, and only involve those who have a direct working relationship with the person. This keeps the review focused on business objectives and personal goals. Otherwise, you’ll end up with a lot of “I don’t know how well she does her job, but I see her playing a lot of ping-pong” or “I think he’s great. He really carried the after-hours trivia team this year!” Not exactly helpful for the employee or the company.
Pulse surveys: These surveys are a great way to keep your finger on the pulse of employee satisfaction, but since your employees fill them out every week, they should remain short and sweet, focused on a few specific metrics. Managers also should not spend a lot of time reviewing, but use these to monitor general trends.
Monthly check-ins: If you feel like your managers and employees would benefit from a form for feedback here, build a template that gives flexible feedback on goals and metrics, but again doesn’t spend too much time. This is a good opportunity to bring up trends from your pulse surveys. If the employee or manager is new, or if there’s a problem, check in every month to verify progress toward personal and departmental goals.
Quarterly reviews: Align these meetings with your quarterly business goals, and check the individual’s movement toward personal and departmental goals. If you don’t choose any of the other options on this list, make time for quarterly reviews. Think about having employees provide feedback on their own progress, and compare this with their manager’s feedback. You can also check in on quarterly KPIs, bonuses, raises, and commission stats to make sure your teams are on track and reward high performers.

ALSO READ: The Importance of Performance Management

Set Goals and Objectives Before You Begin

Begin with the end in mind. We hear it all the time because it’s true; unless you know where you’re going, it’s pretty hard to get there. Before you can properly review your employees, you have to know against what to benchmark them.

When your team starts to build out KPIs for departments and the individuals, align these with:

Company values
Business objectives
Company goals
Department goals
Individual goals and objectives based on job role

Employee performance reviews can be time-consuming, so focus on assessing the effectiveness of each team member without eating up too much time. Emory University suggests building goals prior to any review process. Allow plenty of time for employees and supervisors to build SMART goals that include an action, a measurable result, and a time frame. Then use these goals to define team objectives and personal KPIs.

Make Reviews Reciprocal

Don’t review your employees without allowing them to review themselves or review you. A one-way review process can feel belittling and actually delay progress toward goals rather than supporting employees in their growth.

Use Templates to Get Started

There’s nothing new under the sun, so don’t try to make a great employee performance review process from scratch when other people have already done the work for you. Here are a few templates to start from and customize to meet the needs of your organization.

This template from Typeform provides a customizable employee survey form that you can use for monthly and quarterly reviews.
QuestionPro has a free template you can use for a general employee satisfaction survey. Although most of the questions are basic, there are places at the end where employees can directly address problems they’ve noticed and ways that the organization can improve.
SHRM provides a comprehensive performance review template that focuses on benefits and compensation, diversity, communication, and company culture. Use this type of review template to poll your employees on the effectiveness of their company in these four major areas.

If you already use HR software for talent management and administration, you might scour that product for any preloaded templates or help documents. You can also use a specific performance management tool to track employee sentiment and run performance reviews.

Top Human Resources Software Recommendations

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Rethinking The Performance Appraisal: 4 Ideas For Improving Consistency Across Your Company

Forrest Brown — Thu, 28 Mar 2019 14:00:40 +0000

Ah, the dreaded performance appraisal.

They don’t always go by the same name, but whether your company calls them performance appraisals, performance reviews, goal setting discussion meetings, or another variation, these meetings are sure to strike fear into the heart of any employee, no matter how seasoned.

There are many reasons why these meetings make people anxious, but a big factor is uncertainty. People are scared of what they don’t know. You can understand, then, why performance appraisal meetings make employees nervous.

But an anxiety-inducing performance appraisal is a good indicator that you’re doing something wrong as a manager. An employee won’t know what you’re going to tell them during one of these meetings, but they should have a general awareness of how the discussion will go.

To see more consistent performance appraisals across the board, you’ll need to get to the root of this anxiety.

Please, please, please, don’t rely solely on annual performance appraisals.

In recent years there’s been a huge push to nix the traditional yearly performance appraisal, but some organizations still conduct these meetings only once a year. You may have heard this before, but I’m going to say it again in case you haven’t: do not conduct performance appraisals only once a year.

There are many reasons why conducting performance appraisals annually is a bad idea. Waiting this long

deprives employees of actionable, relevant feedback ‚Ä®
makes employees feel anxious and frustrated‚Ä®
comes off as more of a scolding than an opportunity to show employees ways they can improve. ‚Ä®

If you were unsure, the annual review is the reason why performance appraisals have a negative connotation.

Instead, it’s a good idea to meet with your employees in more informal weekly one-on-one sessions for continuous communication. Meet monthly or quarterly for more comprehensive evaluations.

When you do meet for comprehensive performance appraisals, use a clearly defined rubric.

The last time you saw a rubric may have been in school, but there’s a reason why teachers and professors use these devices. Rubrics promote fairness and transparency by telling people exactly how you’ll be evaluating their performance based on a number of different measurable criteria.

Even with a rubric, performance appraisals can feel subjective or one-sided, so not using one at all sets you up for misunderstandings and violated feelings. Even if you don’t provide any feedback or constructive criticism to an employee, a performance appraisal without a measure of their performance can lead them to stagnate at work, which could lead to avoidable negative performance in the future.

Rubrics promote fairness and transparency by telling people exactly how you’ll be evaluating their performance based on a number of different measurable criteria.

To counter this, try to start performance appraisal meetings by asking employees to score themselves with a blank copy of your rubric. Once they’ve finished, compare their score for themselves with your score for them. The idea here isn’t to shame anyone or inflate your ego, but to help align expectations around employees’ performance.

ALSO READ: Perfectionists Rejoice! Relieving Anxieties Through Clear Workplace Expectations

Discouraging employees by being too harsh and not helping them grow by being too nice are hard lines to walk, but the added objectivity and two-way communication of a rubric and self-scoring exercise helps to alleviate these pain points.

Words mean things, and careless word choices can say more than you intend to say.

You will have a section in your appraisal for manager comments, even if you use a rubric. Comments are necessary, as you can’t only base evaluations off quantitative data. But comments can work against you if you aren’t careful.

Considerate word choice is important when writing performance comments. For example, read this study conducted by Doctors David G. Smith, Judith E. Rosenstein, and Margaret C. Nikolov. The researchers analyzed a military dataset of over 81,000 performance evaluations to see if there was a difference in the words used to describe leadership traits of men versus women.

The researchers’ findings show that — while leaders used positive and negative words to describe both men and women — positive words about men tended to be more task-oriented while positive words about women tended to be more relationship-oriented. The example they give is a leader describing a man as “analytical” as opposed to a leader describing a woman as “compassionate.”

In an organizational context, which one of these characterizations seems more valuable?

“These are not just words — they can have real-life implications for employees and organizations,” say Smith, Rosenstein, and Nikolov. “Language in performance evaluations can tell us what is valued and what is not in an organization.”

You may not have sinister motivations for such phrasing, but we’re all human, and unintended consequences are very real. Take an extra couple of seconds to think about word choice before jotting down the first word that comes to mind.

Before entering performance appraisal meetings, managers should review each other’s employee performance evaluations.

As long as you’re not only employing robots, bias and clouded decision making will play a role in how you measure employee performance. Using standardized rubrics and avoiding vague wording in feedback can reduce how much bias is at play, but you can never take too many precautions.

One way bias creeps into performance appraisals and makes for inconsistent performance is a matter of personal differences between managers. According to Saba, having a peer or second-level manager look over your review before a performance appraisal meeting can help you identify your blind spots.

For example, you may be an easy “grader” compared to other managers at your company. Conversely, you might be making unrealistic goals for employees, setting them up for failure.

Requesting a second pair of eyes on your review before sharing it with an employee will help the employee score higher on future appraisals and will help you be a better manager.

Use better practices, but supplement your performance appraisals with the right performance management software.

Knowing how to adjust your practices to produce more consistent performance appraisals is valuable in its own right, but pairing this knowledge with a performance management software is a win-win.

For a free, five-minute consultation, give us a call at 877.702.2082 or email us at info@technologyadvice.com. Our Technology Advisors will provide you with a shortlist of the best performance management solutions for your company’s needs to get you started on the right foot. If researching on your own is more of your thing, visit our Performance Management Software Product Selection Tool to browse and compare over 40 different solutions.

Top Human Resources Software Recommendations

The post Rethinking The Performance Appraisal: 4 Ideas For Improving Consistency Across Your Company appeared first on TechnologyAdvice.

Performance Management Archives | TechnologyAdvice

How to Fire an Employee (and Stay Out of Trouble)

What are the steps for at-will termination?

1. Put a legal termination policy in place

2. Communicate with the employee beforehand

3. Prepare before the termination meeting

4. Make sure risk management protocols are in place

5. Be brief and don’t make it personal

6. Provide information on any necessary benefits

Last paycheck

COBRA

Severance agreements

Unemployment insurance

7. Effectively communicate the employee’s exit with the rest of the staff

Why are terminations important to the health of the company?

What Managers Should Know About Quiet Quitting

What Is Quiet Quitting?

How Managers Can Address Quiet Quitting

1. Examine company culture

2. Respect employee boundaries

3 . Have honest conversations about job expectations

4. Provide room for employee growth

Replace Fear and Assumptions with Trust and Transparency

Lattice Alternatives & Competitors

What Lattice Performance Management Offers

Why Lattice May Not Be the Best Fit For Your Company

Top 5 Lattice Alternatives

BambooHR

Leapsome

Culture Amp

IntelliHR

Zoho People

Choosing the Right Alternative to Lattice Performance Management

Top Human Resources Software Recommendations

Bare Bones HR: What Every Startup Needs

HR & Payroll Experts

Best Payroll Software for Startups

A Recruitment Strategy

Best Recruiting Software for Startups

An Employee Handbook

Track Time and Duties Assigned

Best Time Tracking Software for Startups

Create a Strategy for Learning and Development

Best Learning Management Systems for Startups

Protocol for Performance Reviews

Best Performance Management Software for Startups

Do Startups Need HR?

Top Human Resources Software Recommendations

Using Performance Management Software to Combat Burnout

Jump to:

Early signs of burnout in employees

Decrease in productivity or performance

Negative attitude

Irritability or frequent changes in mood

How can performance management software fight burnout?

Key burnout-combatting features to look for in performance management tools

Goal setting

Employee recognition

Feedback management

Performance analytics

Best performance management software for stopping burnout

Namely

Engagedly

Zoho People

Other business practices that contribute to burnout

Top Human Resources Software Recommendations

Building a Strong Executive Team: Characteristics Every Leader Needs

What leaders need:

Passion for your work

Commitment to your organization and its people

Consistency in your work ethic

Vision for your future

Compassion for your team

How to cultivate these characteristics

Top Human Resources Software Recommendations

Building a Strong Executive Team: Creating Consistent Talent Management Standards

Creating consistent talent management practices

What to consider when choosing KPIs

Effectively communicate expectations

Keep detailed records of meetings and performance