Customers » Case Studies » Xactly - aligning employee performance with company values
Case Study
Results:
Working with Sonar6
The Sonar6 team has been great to work with, from the top down. Elaine in particular has been really helpful; she met with us and really took the time to understand Xactly and our specific needs.
Changing preconceptions of performance management
There was some trepidation from staff when we first announced we’d be using Sonar6. We needed people to understand that this wasn’t about culling the bottom 10%, but about helping people achieve so the company could achieve.
Achieving alignment
Our aim is to be using Sonar6 at every level, every day. We’ll be creating measurable activities that align with our vision and values program and giving staff continuous feedback based on the information we collect in the quarterly reviews.
Xactly - aligning employee performance with company values
Xactly Corporation operates in San Francisco’s Silicon Valley, employing over 130 staff and offering online sales performance management software to companies around the world. An employee-centered company, Xactly has a small HR department that is heavily involved in day-to-day operations.
Environmental Factors
Xactly’s existing performance review system had been in place since the company was founded, and hadn’t changed greatly despite the company growing nearly 10 times in size over the years. So while the forms-based reviews were successful for some groups within the company, Xactly had outgrown it, needing better information (and more of it) to fuel further growth.
Says Choe, “Our reviews were being held on individuals’ anniversary dates instead of having a standard review period for the entire company. This caused some challenges for us. We were not reviewing employees consistently and on time. Not only this, but our managers were having a difficult time measuring employees to their yearly team goals.
Xactly’s management team also identified a need for more consistent and regular feedback, a formal employee development process, and a way to identify and track talent. Clearly, the existing review system needed to evolve - or be exchanged for a system that offered the Xactly team what they were looking for.
“We wanted to create a robust process around performance management; to get a more consistent practice. We were open to introducing a tool to help us achieve this, but it had to be easy to use and really cost effective.”
Additionally, Xactly was in the process of rolling out company-wide vision, mission and core values programs, and the chosen solution needed to be able to show how employee performance aligned with the company’s values.
Requirements
The requirements list for Xactly’s new system was short and sweet. The ideal solution would:
- Allow them to review performance quickly and painlessly
- Be simple and straightforward to use
- Not require too much in the way of training
- Provide the means to tie together company and individual goals
- Be cost-effective
Xactly’s team considered a number of systems in their search for the perfect performance management solution – including offerings from Successfactors, Workday and Silkroad. However, as they explain, they weren’t looking for an exhaustive feature list.
“We were looking for something managers and employees could easily use for reviews, and that would get people used to the idea of regular, consistent feedback on performance. We were really open to considering smaller talent management solutions.”
The initial selection process fell to HR and the CFO, involving vendor discussions, demos and system evaluations before a recommendation was made to the executive team.
Due to resource constraints, we didn’t spend too much time on the selection process: going in we were familiar with some of the vendors, but Sonar6 stood out for its interface and ease of use.”
Sonar6 Solution
Xactly is currently using a very slightly modified version of Sonar6 v3: beyond relabeling grid axes, the team hasn’t required much in the way of configuration. And while some basic user training has been completed with Sonar6 Implementation Consultant Elaine Gallagher-Dekker, the Xactly team doesn’t have big plans for a complicated rollout.
“We plan to run a pilot program with the management team using live and recorded webinars. But we don’t see a need for much in the way of training as Sonar6 is so intuitive.”
The system will be rolled out for all employees at the beginning of next year, and will mark the transition for Xactly from anniversary-date reviews to regular quarterly reviews throughout the company.
Summary
For Xactly, the success of Sonar6 will be measured by both the adoption rate and the usefulness of information the system delivers in support of the company’s goals.
“There’s nothing bigger for us than our VMCC and CARE programs. If in 6 months or a year from now, people are excited about those programs and the quality performance conversations are happening, then Sonar6 will have been a success for us.”
And while there are no firm plans for the future of performance management at Xactly, they do expect to see Sonar6 play its part.
“We haven’t mapped anything out, but the more we use the system, the more we’ll get out of it. Sonar6 will eventually give us insight into how well our people are living our vision and mission – so we’ll get really strategic information out of the system going forward.”