Small Improvements

Good Little App

Kommentare: I use Small Improvements to manage the objectives of my software development team. I use the Objectives and Key Results (OKR) method, which works pretty well with Small Improvements. I just list the key results in the description of the objective. The comments can then reference one of the key results. Originally we set the objectives semesterly, and they got lost amid the day-to-day work we do. We then changed to quarterly objectives, and that works much better. I work together with my employees to set the objectives, and they know pretty well what they need to accomplish throughout the quarter. It is important that the tool sends out emails to remind people of their objectives. I can really see how employees are working on the objectives throughout the quarter.

Vorteile:

- Manager and employee can continuously add comments to an objective to document milestones achieved, praises given, or changes in the objectives. At the end of the quarter I just read through them to come of with a rating for the objective - Daily digest to employees shows them when comments are added to objectives, and reminds them to log in to the system and keep a running update on their objectives - Performance reviews are done in writing by both employee and manager. Only after both parties see each others review we meet in person to discuss. This gives both parties the chance to think about the review of the other party, which leads to a fruitful discussion.

Nachteile:

- User interface is sometimes a bit confusing. There are multiple views of the objectives, and you can do different things in each. Since the tool doesn't get used every day I often find myself trying to remember where I can e.g. set the rating on an objective. - The tool offers a number of configurations, but it doesn't really guide you on a best practice of how to set and track objectives. I would love the tool to have a wizard to set up e.g. OKR that explains how to map that to the tool.

An amazing Performance Review Software

Kommentare: It is easy for our team to work with it. Setting goals and tracking them has never been this easy. With it, our performance reviews are faster and enjoyable. The kudos feature is nice for appreciating the team for their great work.

Vorteile:

It is a great software to use in setting goals and tracking them. It is easy to use and customize. Performance cycles can be created for all employees in the organization or just a section of them. It is easy to switch between different cycles to track the performances of different teams or individuals. The ability to generate charts to display the performance reviews makes comparison easy. The 1:1 meeting feature enables one to schedule a meeting and set the objectives for that conversation. It also provides feedback on all previously held meetings and the outcome of those meetings which makes it easy to keep track of progress over time. It allows one to send reminders to the team to prompt them to take a specified action. The employee's self-evaluation is listed side by side against that of the manager which makes it easy for the employee to compare the assessments and opens up room for a conversation regarding what can be improved on.

Nachteile:

Whereas the software is affordable for a small business, it becomes increasingly costly as the firm grows. It does not have a free version, offers a free trial though.

It's been okay.

Vorteile:

The aesthetic is nice, and using/sharing the 9-box grid with people your managing works well for peer reviews.

Nachteile:

It's easy to get disorganized or not easily find reviews you've been in for other people. Could link to reviews you're in the day of for easy access.

Easy to use for small offices with limited HR capacity

Kommentare: This seems like a really nice and innovative company. They provided us with a nonprofit license and it is so greatly appreciated!

Vorteile:

I got our annual review process out to everyone within minutes. It's all online and there's no paperwork to deal with until you print the very final version and put them in the folders. The other neat thing is the "Praise" feature. Although I would like greater participation, I have it synched with Slack so that staff can put in almost no effort to praise their colleagues in such a way that it's recorded to their personnel files. That's awesome.

Nachteile:

Some staff members haven't really adopted this for real use to check in on goals. I don't see it as a major issue with the software, but it might reflect on its usability.

Easy feedback collector for agile improvements cycle

Kommentare: We are able to track weekly highs and lows for our team-members.
Feature that enable and overall comment / result for each 1:1 meeting would be great. Example: cancelled, or cancelled and reason as holidays, etc.

Vorteile:

Customizable templates for 1:1 meetings and cycle reviews processes facilitates each type of meeting and how different managers approaches his team-members. Integration with outlook also helps preventing scheduling pain-points.

Nachteile:

Sometimes it not easy to look / browse for previous meeting notes. I would like to have few more integrations available.

Works well, but unsure if it's truly helpful

Kommentare: Overall, small improvements has been with our company for over 2 years, and it is used widely. It's a key tool in keeping track of our company, departmental, and individual goals. Overall, we have a positive experience with it, but I'm not sure if it's fully worth the cost.

Vorteile:

Small improvements has a really intuitive interface, and is incredibly easy to use. I like that we can see everyone's goals, company wide. Great tool for transparency.

Nachteile:

While it's an interesting tool to use, I'm not sure that it's something that we truly need in our arsenal. If I had to cut our tools budget, SI might not make the cut.

Very user-friendly performance review system

Vorteile:

Small Improvements is an easy-to-use performance review system that allows a collaborative review between the employee and supervisor. I love that you're able to let the employee self evaluate their own performance and compare against the manager's notes. The program allows for open dialogue on improvements for the future. The signing of reviews is an easy process.

Nachteile:

Writing out answers to each section takes a decent amount of time to complete. Probably could provide some additional functionality in ratings outside of essay responses.

Really initiative

Kommentare: I like their customer service. They've always responded in a timely manner. There might be a line, but I've never been able to reach anyone.

Vorteile:

There's lot of different performance review softwares out there but Small Improvement gets the job done. You can do peer 360's, self review, and manager reviews. I really like that you can set a timeline for what works for you and send out notifications as you please.

Nachteile:

I wish that they had an anonymous feedback feature. While it states that they do have this feature, the anonymous feedback gets sent from one person to the other without notifying either managers or the HR admins, which could be problematic in case you want to monitor the feedback, or make sure that it's actionable and not hurtful.

Intuitive interface but a little pricey

Vorteile:

I love how intuitive the interface is. When we bring in a new hire, we don't have to help them get started with Small Improvements. It is easy for managers to note milestones and overall I think it is a very good tool for goal tracking.

Nachteile:

The cost is fine for a tiny company, but it is pricey for a medium sized company.

Good performance review tool

Vorteile:

This software is straightforward and easy for every level of user. It has helped capture performance review data in an easily customizable form.

Nachteile:

Pretty simple software, no cons I can think of.

Great all in all package for manager

Kommentare: I would highly recommend small-improvements as a all in all tool to do people management (1:1 notes, goals, feedbacks, praisals in the company, etc.).

Vorteile:

That it is versatile. I keep my 1:1 notes with direct reports in small improvements (easy to use for both parties), we provide 360 feedback (mid-year & end year) & also set up goals for the year (professional & business goals). All these features are simple to use & look clean & friendly.

Nachteile:

There is actually nothing that I "least" like about the software. It's a great tool for everyone in the company (not just managers).

Small Improvements Makes Annual Reviews a Breeze

Kommentare: Small Improvements makes it so easy for all employees to write and receive reviews. It's actually helped me with my performance by being able to go back and reference my goals and things my managers have highlighted for me.

Vorteile:

I have been using SI for over 2 years and I love it. We use it for 1:1s with our direct managers, mid-year reviews, and our end of the year reviews. I love how they give you prompts and allow you to expand and format your review as you'd like! Being able to add bold, bullet points, and other formatting makes writing your review easier instead of using a big plain text box. I also love that you can see what your manager responded for the same question, side by side!

Nachteile:

I don't like the save as PDF feature. Well, there isn't even this feature. You have to "Print" your review, then save it as a PDF. It runs too many pages because the formatting is off. I wish this were easier because I like to save the reviews for my personal record!

A new Game at Turtle Entertainment!

Vorteile:

The start for our company into Small Improvements Review System couldn’t be easier. The explanations on the website for employees, manager and as well for me as an HR user couldn’t be easier understandable. After set up off all user accounts and introducing the tool to our team, they direct way started to work with it. Some small corrections by awesome quick help of the really kind consultants of Small Improvements, gave us the possibility to complete a review of 2012 for the whole company within two month. All employees embraced the system with a positive feedback. I am brim with enthusiasm for the Tool and look forward to work with it in the upcoming successful years at Turtle Entertainment.

Nachteile:

With its easily understandable user face, quick help of the consultants and permanent changeable manager and user accounts Small Improvements fits perfectly for Turtle Entertainments Review System as well as for setting up our employees Objectives, which we are working currently on.

Great Software For Performance Reviews

Kommentare: I use this software for my semi-annual performance reviews and also to give kudos to the team for the great work they are doing. Very elegant and simple, never had any issues while using this software.

Vorteile:

It's a great cloud-based solution for appreciating our colleague's work, thank them how much it meant for us and also to build a culture of motivation.

Nachteile:

UI Design of the application can be improved better.

Nice options, easy to use.

Kommentare: As an end user, I've only used it a few times, but it seems like a solid product.

Vorteile:

As an end user, Small Improvements is really easy to use. My company only uses it for annual reviews, but it could be used even more regularly to track goals and projects throughout the year. I also like the option to add badges.

Pointless

Kommentare: It was just okay. I don't think my team really loves the site. It feels more like homework than goal setting and tracking.

Vorteile:

I liked the idea of this software. We wanted our team to set goals & be able to track them throughout the year.

Nachteile:

I definitely did not like the review feature of this product. It was clunky & as the admin, I would have to jump through hoops to extended the cycle dates.

Great for small companies

Kommentare: Very positive - ease of use has cut down on time spent administrating performance review activities

Vorteile:

As a small company, this is a great tool to keep us on track without using up too much of any one person's time.

Nachteile:

At times, I need to flail around to figure out settings, but overall it is not an issue and we really think this software is a great addition to keep us on track.

Like the idea - hard to implement

Kommentare: It's one that has helped us in a direction but are ultimately moving away from it.

Vorteile:

The idea of tracking 1:1 conversations and results from 360 degree reviews is good and the sharability is very serviceable.

Nachteile:

Found it a bit cumbersome to navigate and to identify areas where feedback is required. Also the voluntary 'kudos' thing fell a bit flat.

Small Improvements is easy to use

Kommentare: We didn't have a system in place for annual reviews or feedback before Small Improvements, it was very informal. Small Improvements allowed for us to easily implement a process to give constructive feedback through an organized platform.

Vorteile:

I enjoyed that Small Improvements allowed both you and your direct report to leave comments on the same topics that were up for review. It allowed us to both take a look at what we thought were the best performance and what we thought were area for improvement

Nachteile:

We are new to this program so have only had one feedback session. I would like to see feedbacks YOY to see how the individual has grown and implemented the feedback.

Great performance tool!

Vorteile:

I think Small Improvements is extremely easy to implement and roll out to staff. I took me a very short time to get it up and running which is great.

Nachteile:

Sometimes the customer service isn't the best, in the beginning they weren't very responsive but recently they have been great.

Well-organized performance review system

Kommentare: organization and reminders!

Vorteile:

Very cute graphics and helpful reminders about deadlines for nominating reviewers. While I'm not a huge fan of my company's newer, more rigorous performance review cycle, this makes organizing it a lot easier.

Nachteile:

The prompts for reviews seem pretty vagues. I wish there was a way for HR/People Ops to tailor the prompts to be more specific/relevant to our company and our quarter/year half goals

Concise and Easy to Use

Kommentare: Reviewing colleagues and ensuring everyone is on the same page and improving

Vorteile:

I like how easy this software is to use and how you can answer free form. I also like how easy it is to compare what you wrote with what your manager/employee wrote. Very helpful to make sure everyone is on the same page and where you differ.

Nachteile:

I do wish there were some more format options that could be used or, if there are, maybe better tutorials on how to use and implement those.

Easy to use, but not groundbreaking

Vorteile:

It's easy and intuitive to log in, see what the platform is about, and navigate the software. Not much of a training was needed to get started.

Nachteile:

It seems to be limited by how much the team uses the software, and without the entire teams buy-in, it doesn't add much value to the organization.

Our company uses Small Improvements for Employee Reviews and so much more!

Vorteile:

Small Improvements is a fantastic way for our company to recognize employees/co-workers for their great work and achievements. We also use it for our annual employee reviews, allowing all employees to take part in their review process.

Nachteile:

When you've left feedback for an employe/co-worker you're not always notified when someone replies to it.