More and more companies are turning away from the single annual employee review and moving toward providing real-time feedback for managing performance throughout the year. While requiring greater involvement, this shift is good for both the company and its workforce. Annual and quarterly reviews are simply insufficient when it comes to fostering employee growth and keeping a pulse on productivity. With more regular communication, leaders can reward and address behavior sooner, enhancing engagement and operations.

What Is Real-Time Feedback?

Real-time feedback is a reactive performance management method that keeps team members and management up-to-date on productivity. Rather than wait to assess how an employee is performing, managers provide guidance on a daily basis that will help workers thrive. This is a win-win, as the workforce is more engaged and productive leading to a better bottom line for the organization, and employees know what leadership thinks of their performance. 

Real-time feedback is not an evaluation, but rather a collaboration focused on continuous improvement. Managers capture behavior in the moment and coach based on those observations, and employees seek clarification and course correct on key priorities. It is a constant communication cycle that allows both managers and employees to engage in timely and relevant conversation and avoid details and timing that are often lost with quarterly or yearly performance discussions.

The Benefits of Real-Time Feedback

Because it takes place on an ongoing basis as things happen, real-time feedback helps management recognize if employees are on task, whether any clarification or support is required, and if changes need to be made. It also enables employees to understand if they are on track and what areas they need to improve on. In essence, real-time feedback is snapshots of obstacles and progress, setting the whole team up for success. Here are some of the pros of this performance management process.

Better Performance

Because you are more focused on day-to-day or project-to-project performance, you can address mistakes, course correct, and provide guidance in a more timely manner. Both sides get regular insights that can better shape culture, growth, and the employee experience.

Happier Employees

By having a chance to seek clarification or advice, correct issues, learn from mistakes, and receive praise sooner, employees are less anxious and/or angry and more connected to their work. Through real-time feedback, leadership signals that it is supporting employees every step of the way. Workers believe leaders are invested in their development, which leads to higher morale.

Enhanced Ability to Learn and Improve

Because you are not focusing on something that was done 10 months ago with a fuzzy memory, but rather in the present, there is greater opportunity to learn from mistakes, pivot, and grow – on both the part of employees and leadership.

Improved Relationships

Consistent, one-on-one attention can do wonders for building respect, transparency, and trust among teams, as well as between management and workers. After time, in the moment feedback also feels like a natural way of communicating, bringing easy efficiency to your working relationships.

Whether or not your own company is moving in this direction, as a manager, you can take it upon yourself to provide more frequent feedback to your direct reports. It’s time to stop focusing on only annual performance reviews and embrace the more open communication and coaching strategy that real-time employee feedback affords.

Do you love your job and give it your all every day, but don’t have a grasp on a clear path for taking your career to the next step? You’re not alone. Many workers aspire for higher positions, but just don’t know what actions to take to achieve them. If you want to secure a future at your company, you need to take an active role in charting out your path forward. And the best way to develop an effective strategy is having a conversation about your career development with management. This signals to leadership that you are interested in advancing your career with the company and provides you with valuable advice on what you need to do so.

We know such a conversation can be daunting, but it’s so integral in developing an effective plan of action. Management has the inside scoop on the types of skills and traits needed for the next level position and can help you map out how to break down your overarching goals into the smaller steps, as well as introduce you to the right connections that can get you there. So while having this vulnerable “where is my career going” talk may be scary, we strongly urge that you embrace the doors that it can open for you. 

Here Are a Few Tips to Help You Prepare for that Career Conversation

When preparing for a career development conversation, it can be easy to compare yourself to others in the company. You may look at someone who was recently promoted and see that you have longer tenure, or perhaps a stronger skillset. Or maybe your colleague who was promoted appears to have the same exact qualifications as you, and you’ve been wondering, “Why wasn’t I promoted?” I encourage you to keep comparison out of this conversation and focus on yourself. To make the most of your meeting, consider the following:

Know Your Options for Advancement

Assess your company’s organizational structure and review the open positions. Determine which positions might be the next logical step for you. Make a list of the qualifications for those positions and how they align with your current abilities and skills. Note areas where you may need some additional training.

Highlight What Sets You Apart

Prepare an elevator pitch on why you are a good candidate for the positions you identified. Highlight your unique selling points, i.e., skills, abilities, knowledge, and accomplishments. Point out any solutions you provided, positive outcomes you have contributed to, and concrete metrics of the value you bring to the company. Prepare for this conversation as if you were preparing for a job interview – after all, these conversations are not much different!

Create a List of Questions

This conversation is not just to promote your qualifications, but to gain insight on how to climb the corporate ladder. So prepare a list of questions that will give you information on how to proceed. Inquire as to how the organization’s promotion process works, i.e., the time you must put in before being promoted to the next position. You can also gain insight into where the company is going and how you might fit in. Pick your manager’s brain for the type of actions you should take to take your career to the next level.

Ask You Manager for a Meeting

Once you have all the above ducks in a row, ask your manager for a meeting to discuss your career development and advancement. Be smart with the timing. For example, if your team is in the middle of a huge project with an upcoming deadline, now might not be the best time to have the conversation.

Share What You Are Thinking

At the meeting, lead the conversation. Let your manager know you have been thinking about your career path, both your short term and long term career goals and where you see yourself in one, three, and five years. Share with them why you think you are ready for advancement, pointing out your skills, traits, and accomplishments, and acknowledging any areas where you could benefit from some development. Ask for their feedback on your qualifications for the next level position along with advice on how to position yourself for advancement.

Clarify Next Steps

Ask your manager what the next steps in the process will be. Thank them for their time and interest. Follow through on any advice they have provided. 

Again, it is important to keep this conversation focused on you and no one else. Keep an open mind and take any suggestions from management to heart. Hopefully, these strategies will help alleviate any anxiousness you may be feeling about embarking on a career development conversation with management.

By Kimberly Kafafian

I can tell you first hand that the dyslexic mind works differently. I am disorganized and I misplace things. I am 5 minutes late to almost every meeting. I lose my train of thought while speaking sometimes. And I often rush to get my thoughts out because I’m worried about forgetting my point. I can see why many would think a dyslexia CEO would be a strike against Monarch’s success. However, I truly believe the way my mind functions gives me superpowers. For starters, I am an amazing problem solver. I seem to have an innate ability to cut through the clutter and identify important details, see past the details to get a more creative view of a problem, and communicate clearly. This definitely helps me to not only effectively manage my own team, but also to define and address the HR needs of my clients. It also enhances my empathy for others because I know what it’s like to struggle in the workplace. 

These dyslexia strengths, however, also come with challenges. For example, while I’m good at reading people, I can sometimes struggle reading text-heavy documents or spelling a word correctly. Over the course of my career, I have found tools that can help overcome these challenges so that I can thrive. As a strong proponent for hiring talent with dyslexia because I know first hand the benefits that person can bring to a business, I also stress to my clients how it is so important to support those with dyslexia in the workplace so that they can flourish, which helps the organization as a whole to succeed.

Tools that Can Help Dyslexic Employees Boost Performance

Here are some of the tools employers can employ to aid their dyslexic workforce in reaching their full potential.

Mind Mapping Software

This type of software provides the employee with a framework for organizing information. It helps in brainstorming thoughts without having to worry about order or structure. The mind map can transform a lot of textual information into an easy to read and comprehend colorful diagram.

Special Fonts

Installing a commonly used dyslexic-friendly font – such as Helvetica, Courier, Arial and Verdana – can enhance readability of text. The Dyslexie font though is even better. This special typeface is specially designed to enhance the ease of reading and comprehension for dyslexics. 

Screen Readers

Text to speech software can help dyslexics comprehend written material, such as presentations, reports, and even email.

Instant Spell Checkers

This tool can enable workers to focus on communicating their thoughts instead of worrying if everything is spelled correctly.

Speech Recognition Software

With this tech, the employee can dictate what they want to say and have it instantly converted into text to aid with spelling and writing.

Color

A bright white background can make reading and comprehension difficult for dyslexics. The glare can inhibit the assimilation of information. A small shift in paper or whiteboard color to cream or off-white can make a huge difference.

Good leaders recognize the amazing strengths this neurodiverse talent can offer an organization AND understand the tools that will help dyslexics thrive in the workplace.

By Kimberly Kafafian

If you’re struggling to attract the right workers, you may likely be overlooking a significant talent pool: those with dyslexia. If you are, let me be the first to tell you that your business has a poor understanding of the dyslexic skill set. Unfortunately, this neurodiverse genetic difference tends to be seen as an impediment, when in reality, dyslexic talent can actually enhance your workplace. Most people associate dyslexia with an inability to spell and read. But dyslexia also comes with some incredible strengths that are often ignored and unrecognized.

A study by the non-profit Made By Dyslexia and Talent Solutions explored just how misunderstood dyslexia is, and the findings are a wake up call to employers. You likely don’t realize it, but the skills you’re looking for in today’s workers tend to be found in those with dyslexic thinking. If you don’t understand the skill sets dyslexic workers bring to the workplace you aren’t alone. The research revealed that less than one in five dyslexics feel their employer understands the strengths of dyslexic thinking, and 47% of employers said they don’t consider dyslexia when recruiting and don’t believe it’s relevant. If employers took the time to understand how the dyslexic mind works and actively pursued hires with dyslexia, they could take their organizations to unimaginable heights.

The Importance of a Strength-Based Recruiting Approach

When HR teams take a competency approach over a strength-based one, the company is missing out on some incredible talent. In our transformational world, machines are doing more and more of the work. In fact, it is estimated that by 2025, humans and machines will split the labor 50-50! Dyslexics have the soft-skills that companies need now and because of their importance, they should be highlighted during the recruitment phase and maximized during the worker’s career with the company.

The Strengths that Those with Dyslexia Can Offer

There are so many reasons why dyslexics are smart hires. Overall, they just think differently. And that is something all businesses can benefit from.

Big Picture Analysis

Dyslexics use a top-down processing approach. They are global thinkers, seeing past the details to get a more strategic view of a subject or problem. 

Pattern Spotting

Finding patterns that others just don’t see is a top dyslexic skill set. Dyslexics excel at reasoning and making connections.

Problem Solving 

Thinking outside of the box is a common dyslexic trait. Rather than thinking sequentially, dyslexics think simultaneously connecting ideas via different routes. This enables them to be terrific problem solvers.

Simplifying of Complex Ideas

The dyslexic mind more easily breaks down complex information into key parts that others may see as overwhelming.

Imagination

If you want innovation, you want a dyslexic person on your team. Dyslexics are creative, able to devise new concepts and give old ideas a new spin.

Curiosity

Dyslexic workers tend to explore concepts in fresh, energetic ways helping to drive innovation and transformation.

Empathy

Those with dyslexia have an innate ability to see themselves and connect with others. That makes them very empathetic teammates and leaders. 

Communication Skills

From storytelling to explanations, dyslexics have the ability to craft and convey clear and engaging messaging.

As entrepreneur, business disruptor, and dyslexic Richard Branson aptly notes, “It’s time we all understand dyslexia properly as a different way of thinking, not a disadvantage.”

Employers need to create a workplace environment where those with dyslexia are recognized for their strengths rather than penalized for their challenges.

If you’re a recruiter, hiring manager or business owner, you know that time is a challenge when it comes to reviewing the resumes and job applications you’ve received. The sheer volume can be overwhelming. Whether you’re doing an initial quick scan of a resume or taking a deeper dive, it helps to know just exactly what you should be looking for to not only save you time, but to ensure the applicant has the skills, qualifications and personality you are seeking.

We can’t even begin to figure out how many resumes we’ve reviewed, but we can tell you that we know what we want to see on a prospective employee’s resume, and we’ve become quite skilled at reading, analyzing and quickly scanning for pertinent information. With a checklist of items in hand, we can instantly make a decision if we want to even take a deeper look at the candidate’s credentials, and if we do, we know what we want to learn more about.

Resume Review Checklist

Before we start culling through the resumes we’ve received, we like to make a list of the bare minimum we need to see from a job applicant in terms of:

• Skills
• Experience
• Education 

This helps us quickly separate the resumes into yes, no and maybe piles – the first filter. Once that phase is complete, we can take a closer look at those we gave a yes and maybe to.

Below are the things we explore when reviewing a resume more deeply.

Work Experience

We tend to look at experience with a broader lens. Of course, we want to see if the experience matches the level needed for the position, but we don’t get too bogged down in the candidate’s level. A “too senior” candidate might be the perfect fit, just as a “too junior” one may demonstrate requisite initiative to grow into the role. The same principle applies for job titles since titles do not always accurately describe the job responsibilities or level. We also avoid simply focusing on industry related experience. The skills gained from other positions outside the industry may be relevant and beneficial.

Skills and Competencies

It can be difficult to know whether the candidate actually has the skills you want to see in your new team member. Look for the terms the candidate included in their resume and see if they match the skills for the position. If you identify any gaps, you can question them further during an interview. If you like everything else on the resume, you can always train them if need be.

 Education

This may be more important for those new to the workforce where you are placing more emphasis on degree, major and specific classes over experience. It’s also relevant where a position demands a specific certification.

Employment Gaps

Long gaps between positions could be a red flag, but don’t immediately write the candidate off. There could be a good explanation for the time in between positions, such as a medical issue or a sick relative they needed to care for. Give them the opportunity to explain the gap during the interview phase.

Excessive Job Hopping

This can also be a red flag, but not necessarily a resume breaker. While such hopping may indicate a non-committed worker, it can also be a sign of ambition or speak to an issue in a specific industry. As with employment gaps, this can be questioned during the interview.

Promotions and Awards

You want workers who are looking to grow with the company and build its bottom line. Promotions and awards demonstrate aspiring workers whose efforts are making a difference in their careers and organization. When reviewing a resume, these are the candidates you want to note, rather than those with stagnant careers.

Evidence of Being a Team Player

As the saying goes, “Teamwork makes the dream work.” Look for job descriptions and achievements that demonstrate the candidate is working well with, and achieving, with teams.

Mistakes

If a candidate doesn’t pay attention to the details on their resume, chances are they won’t do so as an employee. So be sure to note if a resume is difficult to read, poorly organized, and has typos and misspellings.

Generic Language

Candidates truly interested in the position should have taken the time to customize the resume to the position and company. Look to see if the resume was written with the specific job position and organization in mind.

Wording Used 

Hone in on word choices. Flag passive verbs, like participated in, and look for action verbs like achieved, created, etc. Scan for mentions of accomplishments, along with overuse of keywords and buzzwords.

Personality

This one is a bit more abstract. You may be able to glimpse a candidate’s personality through the hobbies and interests listed. Team work can show ability to collaborate, while achievements demonstrate drive. Challenges and tasks that generated results may indicate accountability. Think outside the box when it comes to uncovering personality traits.

Hopefully this list will help you narrow in on what review and analyze the volume of resumes you receive.