Great Performance Management Tool

I was just recently introduced by emPerform while recently entering into a new position, and like many other companies we were using the method of handing a print off to an employee and asking them to complete their own evaluation. Which this method is fine as long as there is open dialect between Manager and employee, but at times we all get busy and lose sight of this process. This was my first experience using and performance management system, and first impression is that I was very impressed. The fact that this system will help initiate the open communication between Manager and employee and to hold all parties involved engaged and accountable for their part in the process. I also love the fact that you will have access to past evaluations to reflect on what you have done in the past and that all the information will be available and accessible at your leisure. I cannot say enough about the level of customer service that was offered from emPerform's staff and level of professionalism, we had an awesome trainer and facilitator by the name of Kris Kyritzopolous. During and after the implementation Kris was always accessible and very responsive, and just executed the level of customer service, that was very refreshing. I would highly recommend this product to any corporation looking to effective promote their performance management process.

Pros

Very user friendly from an employee standpoint

Cons

Nothing really, just learning the system from an administrative standpoint.

Revamped entire Performance Management System

Reduced time spent on a cumbersome, ineffective review system; revamped entire cycle based on the tools available to us in emPerform (ability to record goals and training needs) and address company values.

Pros

emPerform has not only solved our problem of cumbersome performance reviews, but completely challenged our approach to performance management in general. We have been guided through a full re-do of our annual cycle and have received valuable, experienced advice from people who have been in this industry for years. The software is easy to use, easy to setup, fully customizable and aesthetically pleasing. The 'tag' system, and the ability to incorporate these notes into the formal reviews is a favourite feature.

Cons

Although using libraries for tracking responses is really useful, the downside is that you can only have one library within a section. We were hoping to just have one form with all the sections and questions within one page - but in order to track and pull data from responses we need more than one evaluation area for one formal review. We were, however, supported in working around this effectively. During the demos, we thought the view/user-ability of emPerform was less impressive than other software, however the customization of it seems to be superior.

emPerform is a nice tool but a bit clunky

The journaling and tagging features in emPerform support our ongoing performance review process. The improved user interface that was rolled out in January 2016 is a big improvement over the previous version. One of their greatest strengths is their very helpful customer service team and account managers - always responsive and thorough. However, the system is still clunky, particularly on the admin side, and administrators and users alike continue to have difficulty even logging in. The system could use a bit of a technology update as well, incorporating more features and allowing for hyperlinks and more individualization.

Pros

customer service, improved user interface on the individual employee login side, journaling and tagging features

Cons

admin is VERY clunky, logging in is difficult, and features are limited

Automating your paper reviews

Our interactions with all stages of implementation and continuing support have been excellent. The staff are knowledgeable about each product, they are attentive to our needs and provide a very high level of customer service.

Pros

We were able to set up workflows to mimic existing paper workflows which allowed an easier transition from paper to online. Use of tags and journal entries were very helpful to supervisors as well as peer to provide immediate feedback and store performance data when it occurs instead of trying to remember it 6 months to one year later.

Cons

Not easy to set up workflows but CRG implementation specialists are extremely knowledgeable and able to explain how workflows need to be set up based on our needs.

Performance Appraisal and Compensation Modules

Pennichuck Water had always used a paper based performance management process. This paper process was becoming increasingly less efficient so the Company went through an extensive process to review various platforms. At the same time, we have been a company blessed with minimal turnover. However an increasing number of retirements were resulting in a changing demographic in our population and a different set of needs were arising with the incoming staff. The HR team considered 25 to 30 platforms and whittled it down to five which were reviewed by a cross functional steering committee. This committee selected two for final decision by the leadership team. The clear favorite was EmPerform. Our first performance evaluation period occurred in early 2020. EmPerform did not disappoint. The implementation team was able to mirror our current process on the platform. The on-site implementation, guidance from implementation specialists, and online training resources made it easy to navigate the administration of new appraisals and forms. Once you know how to build one element in the system, it was easy to build something else since the platform is so consistent with its features and build-out functionality. The customer service throughout the process was excellent. Although it was not expected, the experience has elicited a renewed interest by members of our management team regarding the process and ways to improve or use the tool in shaping our current and future w

Pros

• Very robust yet intuitive system that is straight-forward to use both as an employee and administrator of the system • The on-site implementation, guidance from implementation specialists, and online training resources make it easy to navigate the administration of new appraisals, forms surveys, etc. Once you know how to build one thing in the system, it is easy to build something else since the platform is so consistent with its features and build-out functionality, • Customer service is excellent – having a designated implementation duo with us from the start helped make the implementation and support fit to our personal needs, making the experience of rolling this out to employees much smoother

Cons

There was nothing noteworthy. As any software, there are always limitations but our implementation team proactively supported us in how we may work through these concerns.