A Way to Make Performance Reviews Fun--Really
Everyone hates annual reviews: those stale processes that are supposed to be educational and motivational but usually turn into stale rituals no one enjoys. It isn't just that they're awkward; in today's world, they are a complete anachronism.
"In no other part of the business," says Daniel Debow, "is there no update for 6 - 12 months. Imagine if you treated Accounts Receivable like that! It's extraordinary that annual reviews persist."
Faster Feedback
But Debow's not a whiner; he's a fixer. When he started looking into the problem, he found that most HR software just automated old, lame practices; it never improved on them. That, he realized was what he wanted to do.
"We started focusing on the needs of managers and employees, instead of HR. We looked at social software and why that was successful. Software like Facebook just takes activities people already enjoy and makes them more efficient - like sending jokes or photographs. So we asked ourselves: what are the behaviors of great managers that could make them more efficient?"
What Debow and his team found wasn't revelatory; everyone wanted more feedback, faster. They wanted to be able to recognize special efforts and achievement - instantly. No one wanted an annual slug of dos and don'ts: they wanted short, frequent bursts of coaching. So Debow built Rypple software to make that easy and fun.
"Say you've just done a big presentation; you can ask for, or get, immediate, anonymous feedback. Or you've just seen someone go the extra mile: you can recognize them publicly. Don't lose the momentum! Don't wait for information to filter up to the boss! We realized if we could gather a lot more micro-feedback, reviews could be easier, more frequent and more reliable."
What Debow's Rypple software generates is a real-time record of achievement and feedback. But that's really just a by-product. It's true impact is to motivate people, by making them feel involved, engaged and visible.
Learning from Each Other
"People learn from people! The idea of all-seeing, all-knowing manager is crazy. It's much more important to get information in context ALL THE TIME."
Debow realized that, to get people to use the software, it needed to be quick, easy and engaging. His team took as their model social media and the online games made by companies like Zyng, using a graphic style that makes enterprise software look and feel like a game. Encouraging participation every day has meant that Rypple draws in data and feedback from all over the company, in essence generating a 360 degree review on the fly. It's also meant that using the tools is fun, that providing feedback is as quick and easy as a Facebook update. And that means, of course, that people use it.
"Your colleague was really helpful today? They get a rock star badge for doing a great job. Instead of using dull dreary HR speak, we use language everyone already uses at work. It's a fun thing."
Meaning and Software Meet
What I find most engaging about Debow's Rypple is that it's a beautiful marriage between a philosophical understanding of motivation through meaning and mastery (Debow's a big Dan Pink fan) and a technological appreciation of what drives social media: the desire for social interaction. Instead of software designed to replace relationships, it's a tool for enhancing them. Instead of a standalone application, it has a larger purpose: not just to create a record but to build a more rewarding, motivated workplace.
What I still can't figure out is why no one thought of it before.
Further Reading: