Cloud computing, SaaS, on-demand computing… more and more software is moving off hard drives and onto networks. Even these guys are getting in on the act. You know by now that Sonar6 is SaaS – but what does that mean?

What IS SaaS?

SaaS is software that’s hosted by a vendor and delivered to clients via a network (in Sonar6’s case, delivered via the internet and accessed with a web browser). Unlike ‘traditional’ software, there are no CDs, no DVDs, nothing to install.

Why not do it the usual way?

SaaS has a couple of major advantages over locally installed software: it usually costs less, and it’s far more flexible:

• You pay for the actual software, not for production and distribution costs
• You always have access to the latest versions, updates, upgrades and bug fixes
• You can influence the software’s evolution. Flexible development means SaaS solutions can easily adapt to the ways actual users interact with the software
• You avoid getting locked in to one product or one vendor. SaaS is usually subscription-based so if your needs change it’s relatively painless to switch to something different. It’s a little bit trickier to be that flexible if you’ve spent thousands of dollars on software and the tech to support it!

What do you need to know?

In our 5 Weeks to Really Useful Performance Reviews, we suggest some questions to ask vendors when you’re looking at performance management software. We go into specifics, but the things you need to know are the same regardless of the type of SaaS solution.

As a starting point, we quite like this list of considerations from Xactly Corp (a Sonar6 customer and a leading provider of on-demand sales compensation solutions, so they know whereof they speak!)

Remember Wise Consulting? We profiled them in a case study last year.

The big news is that Wise Consulting is now a Sonar6 service partner (our first on the East Coast) and will be providing consultation and implementation services to clients in the US. We’re excited to have them on board – it’s always gratifying when a client digs Sonar6 so much they want to share the love with others!

Some kind words from Wise Consulting President Jennifer Wise:

“From the first moment I saw Sonar6, I knew this was a great fit for evaluating and aligning our dynamic workforce.  As consultants, we are anxious to bring this success to our clients and Sonar6 customers.  We are proud to be selected by Sonar6 to represent them!”

We’re really looking forward to working closely with the Wise Consulting team to reach more of our US clients.  Exciting times…

Read more: Sonar6 & Wise Consulting Press Release

February seems to be a ‘why do we do performance reviews?’ month, with everyone busy completing their reviews or getting all introspective, pondering why they’re necessary in the first place.

Some very interesting opinion pieces on just this topic have cropped up recently: check out what Jim Holincheck, Bob Sutton and Todd Dewett have to say.

We tend to side with those arguing that the traditional understanding of performance reviews – forms filled out once a year, a perfunctory conversation (if you’re lucky), receiving your number and spot on the bell curve – is probably deserving of all the hate. Useful reviews on the other hand (and we can help you achieve those) have a place in any successful company.

One thing we think it’s important to remember is there’s a difference between performance reviews and ratings. If you don’t actually need to give ratings and rank employees, why bother? If they’re a necessary evil (ie, used when calculating compensation), then ratings and rankings still have to be reached via a robust review process.

Another thing to bear in mind: that normal distribution graph we all love so much doesn’t account for shifts over time (unless your organization really is extremely average and nobody ever gets better or worse. In which case you probably have other worries). Let go of the bell curve and base your decisions on your actual people information – it means something.

Useful reviews aren’t about assigning numbers, they’re about the conversation. Whatever tools you’re using should be gathering the information that will help you discuss performance with your employees, your managers, your exec… If they’re not, they’re not doing their job.

We don’t hate reviews, and we don’t think they’re going anywhere any time soon, but we really do feel for those poor people currently suffering through their ‘traditional’ reviews. There is a better way!

So how do you feel about performance reviews? Take the quiz to see if you’re one of the haters. Nobody’s claiming scientific accuracy, but we’re sure most people will identify with at least a couple of the responses…

Because Sonar6 is so easy to configure to individual organizations, it’s easy to get carried away tweaking the system and making heaps of cool changes. However, we’ve found that keeping it simple pays off in terms of increased engagement (ie, people don’t get bogged down in detail and actually want to use it!)

Our configuration recommendations are the result of several years working with a really diverse range of organizations. Basically, we’ve discovered that customers who introduce too many changes really complicate the process for the administrators who set up Sonar6, for people doing their performance reviews, and for the poor souls who have to analyse all the extra information…

The standard Sonar6 configuration (which is what you can see in the free trial or Quick Start plans) is really the optimal setup in terms of information and complexity: numbers of role types, factors, goals etc. We advise organizations who want to configure Sonar6 to use the standard configuration as a guideline – everyone we’ve helped has seen better results that way.

We are aware that organizations coming to Sonar6 with existing performance management programs might require a little more tweaking to translate their data into Sonar6 form. That’s definitely doable; we have Implementation Consultants who can advise how to best make it happen – while keeping your configuration manageable.

In his recent article on Purpose Built Analytic Applications, Vish Agashe singled out Sonar6 as an example: developed to address a specific business area (performance), delivered via a purpose-built UI, and with holistic data visualisation and analytic capability. He predicts there’ll be more of these types of applications developed as we see increased business need for data visualisation to assist in decision making.

It’s an interesting piece and well worth a read!

Mike recently spoke with Dave Lavinsky over at Growthink about the importance of performance reviews. Even if your company’s tiny and you think you have better things to spend your time on, you should still be reviewing your people (they’ll thank you in the end).

Check it out!

Steve Boese is one of the more prominent HR experts in the socialmediasphere, and recently had some rather lovely things to say about Sonar6 .

“Sonar6 … possesses what is likely the most unique and innovative user interface in the market. The interaction and flexibility of the applications make managing employee performance and developing reviews almost fun.  Sonar6 also has a very refreshing and sort of offbeat approach to marketing and publicity that is a welcome change in what can be a very staid market.”

Lovely.

Now go and read the rest of Steve’s views on developments in HR tech!

Our content manager made cookies for the festive season. How cute are the little Sonar6 gingerbread people?!!

Thanks Karen!

People thrive on recognition and feedback, and this doesn’t change once they step through the office door. This is the age of Facebook and Twitter; of immediate, continuous feedback. We get it from all angles in our everyday life, so why wouldn’t we expect it at work?

Too often, feedback is delayed (annual performance review, anyone?) or negative (even though this does have its place). How often do you give praise or celebrate success? And do you give positive feedback across the board: to your top paid executives as well as the little guys working away in the background?

It doesn’t have to get complicated: employee recognition isn’t just about elaborate rewards or bonuses. While it may seem blindingly obvious, research has shown that just thanking employees results in increased engagement – and an engaged employee is a more productive employee.

Sonar6 has been recognized as one of the fastest-growing technology companies in the Asia Pacific region, thanks to a whopping 704% revenue growth over the past three years.

The Deloitte Fast 500 Program recognizes those technology companies with the fastest rates of annual revenue growth from 2006 to 2008.  At number 40, Sonar6 came in third out of 51 New Zealand companies named in this year’s list. Congratulations to our fellow Kiwi top-50ers: NextWindow, Telesmart and TracMap!

It’s a fantastic result – Sonar6’s phenomenal growth has been both exciting and challenging, so our ongoing success is a great testament to the team’s hard work over the past few years (and proof that our commitment to providing really useful performance reviews is paying off!)

It’s great to be recognized: we’ve added a lot of new clients in 2009, and our 2010 forecast shows excellent opportunities to continue our success in the USA and Australasia.

Can we get a w00t?