Five Reasons To Put Performance Management First

YourHRGuy.com writes: "Even your satisfied and engaged HR guy dislikes certain aspects of human resources. I know, hard to believe.

One of those things are annual performance appraisals... Like many things in life though, some of the most difficult tasks in life are also the most important and talent management is not an exception... So why do you need great performance management system that includes periodic reviews?"

The article then elaborates on five key points. Here's a quick summary:

1. Regularly Scheduled Performance Communication
2. Setting Your Bar High
3. Using The Same Measuring Stick
4. Getting The Full Picture
5. It Works

Insightful stuff. Read the full article here.

Coworkers.com Announces Improved Review Management Features

Coworkers.com has improved its review management capabilities by allowing users to more easily dispute and exclude unwanted reviews.



“One of the strengths of our review platform is that it allows for the creation of detailed, and optionally anonymous, reviews. While this offers our users the ability to give and receive unbiased feedback, it is also open to occasional misuse. Seeking to better address this, and in listening to feedback from our users, we have simplified the process for excluding such unwanted reviews from a users profile.” explains CEO Jonathan Clay. “Should a user receive a review that does not seem legitimate – for example an anonymous review that seems like ‘spam’, they can simply login and “dispute” the review with a single click. After the user enters a reason (for example, ‘erroneous’ or ‘excessive’), the review will be excluded from their profile, and its rating will no longer count toward their aggregate score. In addition, a user can report a disputed review to Coworkers.com if it appears to violate our TOS.”

Clay goes on to say “since our ‘soft launch’ (beta release) last year, we have been listening closely to our early adopters, as well as knowledgeable business advisors, trying to find the right balance between information freedom and protection against derogatory information in the delicate area of work reputation management. We believe that we now have a solution that is fair and effective for all parties concerned. By restricting disputed reviews to premium (paying) members, we are acknowledging the fact that abuse can occur and minimizing its impact, without sacrificing the principle that honest information about people’s work histories should be accessible.” Professional reviews are just one of the many workplace performance tools offered at Coworkers.com. Review a colleague, or request feedback today.

Take Those Numeric Ratings and - Make Them Motivational

about.com: "Do numeric ratings make a contribution in the workplace? Done well, I believe numeric ratings can motivate excellent work performance; done poorly, numeric ratings undermine your positive work environment... these six recommendations set the stage for what makes an appraisal rating system, for employees or non-employees, sound, and potentially - motivational...

1. should be objective rather than subjective;
2. should be job-related or based on job analysis;
3. should be based on behaviors rather than traits;
4. should be within the control of the ratee;
5. should relate to specific functions, not global assessments,
6. should be communicated to the employee."

As the article states "Numeric ratings can have a positive impact on your company". Read the entire article to see other guidelines, as well as common things to avoid.

Already hip to this? Create a Coworkers.com review now

Inc.com: "Are You a Bad Boss?"

From inc.com: "Seven signs that your employees detest you. (By you, of course, we mean some other boss.)"



"There's a reason Dilbert, The Office, and their ilk are so popular. Satire gets old fast, but the appeal of realism endures. And the real world, sadly, is full of lousy bosses. Someone ought to do a study on where these louts come from. Were they abused by their own bosses? Did they toss overboard the ballast of human kindness to hasten the ascent of their career balloons? Or is this an example of absolute power corrupting absolutely? Such research might also demonstrate how ubiquitous miserable managers are. The proliferation of boss-bashing screeds with titles like When You Work for a Bully, Nasty Bosses, and How To Work for an Idiot suggests a plague..."

The article outlines "seven signs that you are a bad boss". Here's our favorite excerpt:

"Sign # 4: Your 360-degree evaluations come back short and full of generically positive comments, with one very mild criticism ("Sometimes she works too damn hard for her own good") thrown in for credibility's sake..."

This is exactly why Coworkers.com Reviews are a more effective solution to providing and receiving unbiased feedback!

Feature Update: Site Stats & Data Page

Our new Site Stats & Data Page is live! Think of it as a dashboard that tracks the cool stuff happening across the Coworkers.com network of users. From this page you can check out:

• Fun facts like: Average review ratings; averages by gender; averages by signed or anonymous rating; highest and lowest rated profiles; and more
• Top keyword searches on the site
• Top companies represented on the site
• Most sent Zingers
• Most viewed Forum threads

We'll also be highlighting a power-user profile as "Coworker of the month". Site Stats & Data is a great addition to the site. It allows our users to get a quick overview of what's hot, and how they can get more out of the aggregate data on the site.

TechCrunch France highlights Coworkers.com

TechCrunch France recently published an article about Online Reputation services. Coworkers.com is highlighted in the section covering rating tools.

• Read the original article (in French)
• English translation via Google Translate

Feature Update: Improved 'Review Averages' Display

When viewing a person's profile page, the rating summary in the upper left hand corner now offers more detail regarding how the rating has been calculated. The layout now does a better job at displaying the three types of reviews one can receive, and how they influence an average rating:

1. "Signed": a review submitted by, and identified with, a registered user of Coworkers.com
2. "Anonymous": a review by a registered user of Coworkers.com, who has chosen not to be identified
3. "Unverified": a review that was created by an unknown person, not logged in as a user of Coworkers.com

Mashable! highlights new Coworkers.com feature

Mashable is the world's largest blog focused exclusively on social networks.

The site is a great place to follow social networking business news. They were kind enough to share the news about our new badges feature.

KillerStartups.com reviews Coworkers

KillerStartups.com: "As is has been previously stated above, Coworkers.com is considerably more reliable than other business social networking sites because it provides anonymity. This being said, perhaps the individual would prefer a site where only good reviews could be written according to social acceptability, but on the other hand this is a more reliable source for employers who desire an honest reflection of abilities on the part of current and former colleagues. Everyone knows that resumes and written testimonials themselves rarely act as an unbiased source of information, and this website provides more than an excellent solution..."

Read the full review...
- and feel free to give it a "+" vote ;-)

Playing e-Detective

"Checking out applicants online can save you trouble - and get you into it."

This is an older article, but still pertinent.