ReviewSNAP Announces New 360 Degree Feedback Module

In a move to offer current and future clients a comprehensive performance management system, ReviewSNAP announces the launch of the new 360 Degree Feedback module, ReviewSNAP360. A division of Applied Training Systems, ReviewSNAP provides a fully automated, Web-based performance review solution.

ReviewSNAP360 is a complete multi-rater 360 degree feedback solution with fully automated functionality. It is designed for ease of use and efficient coordination of the actual 360 degree surveys.

The decision to add a 360 Degree Feedback Survey solution and bundle it together with the existing performance review system was an easy one according to Dave Arringdale, President of Applied Training Systems. “Rather than creating another system that our clients would have to pay for and access separately, we made the decision to incorporate the 360 tool into our existing performance review system. We have bundled them together to create one point of access, allow for sharing of common employee and company information, and to keep the annual subscription cost at an affordable rate.”

ReviewSNAP is a popular on-demand employee performance review system that can be logged into from any location at anytime using a computer that has Internet access. The bundled solutions offer a number of robust and automated features including:

• The ability to personalize the site, create custom rating scales and design review periods to the specific organization

• An automatic notification via email to reviewers and raters of pending reviews/surveys

• An option to use and modify standard templates or create completely customized review and survey forms

• The use of an e-signature feature to accommodate a completely paperless process

• An option to view aggregated statistics at several levels

For more information regarding ReviewSNAP and the new ReviewSNAP360, visit www.reviewsnap.com or call 1-800-516-5849 to talk with a company representative.

About Applied Training Systems

Applied Training Systems, founded in 1995, assists organizations of all sizes and types in learning how to better manage people and resources using seasoned business professionals that train, coach, and consult with clients. As an industry leader, Applied Training Systems has expanded into publishing and Web-based human resources software solutions. The company’s primary goal is to help organizations get better at what they do and become more efficient in the process to contribute to the overall enhancement effort.

ReviewSNAP™ Announces New Features

The Web-based performance management system, ReviewSNAP™, announces the addition of several new modules. These additional features will help organizations make their performance review process even more effective and productive.

One of the new modules is a comments suggestion tool designed to offer competency-specific suggestions to managers as they complete a review. David Arringdale, President of ReviewSNAP™ parent company Applied Training Systems says their research indicates that managers often get hung up on what to write in support of their ratings. “We have learned that a high percentage of managers doing reviews would feel much more comfortable in the process if they had a better idea about what to write to back up their specific ratings. When preparing a review, our system allows the reviewer to pull up a list of supporting comments related to various ratings levels for the competencies in question. They can then choose one or more of the comments to insert into the comments and suggestions area for that competency group. The system will then automatically insert the comments. Of course, they can be modified as desired. The response has been overwhelmingly positive and managers are finding the process of reviewing employees less frustrating and more rewarding.”

Research also indicated that many users of the system wanted a solution that allows its subscribers to go entirely paperless with their performance management process. To that end, the company has added an e-signature feature that provides managers and employees the opportunity to apply an electronic verification or signature to the review. This capability virtually eliminates the need to store paper copies of reviews.

Some other important additions to the ReviewSNAP™ performance review system are:

•The ability to add a logo to make the system appear specific to the organization.
•Allow for the import of competencies that organizations may already have in place.
•The ability to define a probationary review period in addition to other defined review periods.
•An export feature that allows for exporting statistics to an Excel spreadsheet.

A key ReviewSNAP goal is to offer the most robust on-demand performance management solution at an affordable price. Arringdale added, “We are completely in tune with the current economic situation and our pricing levels have always been and will continue to be the lowest available. This will allow even the smallest organization the ability to automate their performance review process and make it far more effective and fruitful for all involved.”

Automating the review process can significantly reduce HR and managerial staff time. Streamlining this process can cut an organization’s expenses, ensure more timely
reviews, and improve morale and productivity which should help enhance the bottom line.

ReviewSNAP Price Increase - Lock In Now

ReviewSNAP™ has recently launched several enhancements and modules to our Web-based performance management system. These include:

•eSignature to help you make your performance review process completely paperless.
•Comment suggestions to help managers/reviewers find just the right verbiage to support ratings.
•Employee import feature that allows you to import your existing employee information to the system.
•Logo upload that lets you personalize the system and review templates to your specific organization.

Also, we will soon be launching our compensation recommendation tool. This enhancement will allow you to create recommended percentage increases for employees’ compensation based on overall ratings. This feature can be turned on or off at your discretion.

As you may know, ReviewSNAP360™, a complete 360 degree feedback module will be bundled with the current performance review solution. It will afford your organization the opportunity to gather important feedback from superiors, peers, and subordinates on employee levels including managers, team leaders, group supervisors, and other staff levels of your choice.

Our goal is to offer the most powerful and flexible system possible at the most affordable prices. Due to the recent enhancements and the imminent release of ReviewSNAP360™, annual subscription rates will be going up.

Since you are currently or have been a free trial member we are offering you the opportunity to subscribe to ReviewSNAP at the current subscription rates until 11/15/2008. If you do subscribe to ReviewSNAP prior to the 15th and don't exceed your initial employee limit, you will be locked in at that price for annual renewals.

Although our prices will be changing they will still remain the most affordable on the market and you will have access to the most powerful version of ReviewSNAP yet.

Low Employee Morale

Employee morale is a fuzzy issue at best. Measuring morale can be difficult and inconclusive since employees will often not reveal their true feelings. But make no mistake about it. Employee morale has a major impact on productivity and ultimately profitability.

Most of the time, we will have a sense about the level of morale within a work unit or company as a whole. It is not hard to see when morale is generally high or when it is generally low. Employee groups that work hard, smile and have a little bounce in their step when they come to work would seem to have a high level of morale. Those that seem unhappy, don't interact much and generally seem disinterested in their work are probably suffering from morale problems.

It is not uncommon for a particular employee to suffer from low morale and this can be attributed to a number of factors including poor job fit, a personality conflict with a co-worker, personal problems or difficulty fitting in. While this is an issue of importance, this Quick Tip will focus on widespread work unit and company morale issues.

When a work unit or the company as a whole is affected by low or insufficient morale, the root cause can very often be traced back to the person in charge. Ultimately the manager of a work unit brings a certain philosophy and style to work that directly impacts his/her employees. Unfortunately there are a number of unenlightened managers and supervisors in the business world who don't understand the impact they have on their employees. As a manager or supervisor, look closely at your style and approach. It is the single most important factor in morale issues. See An Introduction to Team Building and High Employee Turnover for more insight into this issue.

In order to get a better feel for the level of morale in your work unit or organization, pay close attention to your employees' behavior. Do they appear to enjoy their work and those around them? Does there seem to be a problem employee in terms of being "poisonous" to the environment by making life difficult for those around them? How do employees seem to react to you? Do they seem fearful or tentative around you or are they open and willing to discuss issues?

If there is an employee who seems to cause problems for those around them, they must be dealt with. This is when the coaching and counseling skills of a good manager come to bear. That problem employee needs to be coached and counseled to change his/her behavior to better blend with co-workers. If the employee simply can't change, the company is usually better off without that employee. If nothing is done, the message that gets sent to employees is that one problem employee is going to be put ahead of the welfare and morale of all other employees. This is a very damaging message to send.

Morale is something that needs to be managed. Take these steps to better manage the morale of your employees:

-Create an environment that is fun and lively.
-Carefully evaluate your management style. Is it facilitating in nature or is it dictatorial or overly assertive and direct.
-Encourage employees to come forward with problems, suggestions and issues. Listen carefully and acknowledge their concerns. Follow up on them and communicate results of your findings back to them. Don't leave them hanging.
-Address compensation and benefits to make certain that you are competitive with the market.
-Be consistent in how you administer rules and policies.
-Be fair and reasonable.
-Set expectations for all employees about team work and working cooperatively. Let it be known that you expect employees to get along while on the job.
-Be clear in your expectations and follow up when they aren't met. Don't ignore low performers. If they can't become good employees, terminate them. Bad employees affect those around them.
-Don't allow double standards. What's good for one employee is good for all of them.
-Eliminate a punitive mentality. Don't make employees feel that they will be punished if they make mistakes.
-Encourage innovation and creativity.
-Show employees that you care about them.
-Communicate as much as possible to all employees. Keep them well informed about what's going on in the business.
-Look at the work environment. Is it light and airy or is it dark, dreary and counterproductive?

Don't ignore morale issues within your work unit or company. They can be extremely detrimental to your success. Remember that high morale usually equals high productivity.

Creating A Business Plan That Gets Attention

Unfortunately too many people take the development of a business plan lightly and simply do not create a document that will get results. Over the years, we have reviewed and written numerous business plans and have worked closely with funding sources.

Many requests for financing for businesses that have strong potential are rejected daily by funding sources simply because the business plan is poorly written, incomplete or unrealistic. It is absolutely critical to pay close attention to detail and to include all information that the reader will need to have available to make an educated decision.

A sound business plan is not a sketchy overview of the business. In reviewing many business plans over the years, our consultants never cease to be amazed at the number of them that appear to have been written in a haphazard or hurried manner. There are a number of elements that a business plan must include. These range from the executive summary to a complete financial section.

There are roughly a dozen elements that must be included. Leave one or more of these out of the document and it will be difficult to gain the attention of those you most want to impress.

A business plan is a living document. That simply means that the words you put on paper have to mean something and they must be defensible. Too many people who write business plans are careless or simply do not place enough importance on the meaning and impact of the words they put on paper. If you cannot defend what you have written, you will be faced with an uncomfortable situation when it comes time to answer questions. Be clear, be concise and be accurate. Following a prescribed business plan outline will help you gain the required clarity and detail in your plan.

There are a number of common mistakes that are made by people attempting to write a business plan. Some business plans exhibit a failure to fully understand the business concept. Still others leave important pieces of information out of the document. A tendency on the part of many writers of business plans is to be unrealistic in their financial and market share assumptions and projections.

There are other mistakes that are made and it is important that these be avoided. These include, but are not limited to; poor grammar and spelling, a failure to provide supporting documents as needed, lack of clarity, arrogance that is evident in the document, insufficient evidence to support the notion that the business can be successful and a lack of enthusiasm for the concept and the business.

It is important that the business plan not be viewed strictly as words on paper. It must represent what the business will do to be successful. The writer(s) of the plan must have a strong handle on just how this will be accomplished. It will become obvious very quickly to astute readers of your plan if there is a clear understanding and vision of how the business will be managed, how products or services will be produced and marketed, how the business will make money and if there is a sound strategic direction for the business. The business plan document must be well organized and instill confidence in the reader that the business has a good chance of being successful.

Without question, the number one reason for writing a business plan is to seek financing. That means that the document must get attention quickly, it must keep attention and it must convey critical information in an easily understood manner. Those who read business plans on a routine basis expect a well written document that is comprehensive and detailed enough to convey essential information and data.

As a result of numerous requests from both funding sources and clients, we have developed The Business Plan Workbook as a tool for use in ensuring that business plans will be comprehensive, well-organized, accurate and impressive. This step-by-step workbook walks you through the entire process of developing a business plan that will get and keep the attention of the reader. It is a widely used manual that provides a thorough business plan outline that you can use as a template in developing your plan. We are now offering this popular workbook for sale on our sister site, mybusinessbooks.com. Click here for more information and to order your copy.

Or if you would like to read another article on creating a business plan, click here and you will be directed to our Business Briefs website for a discussion about what a business plan should include.

MyBusinessBooks Releases Marketing Plan Manual

MyBusinessBooks has recently launched a Marketing Plan Manual. The Marketing Plan Manual is a complete downloadable e-Book that includes all of the instructions, forms and templates needed to write the kind of plan that will help ensure high levels of success. This manual will help you:

-Differentiate your company and products from your competition.
-Gain a competitive advantage.
-Create effective marketing objectives and strategies that support organizational goals.
-Organize and analyze information and data needed to develop your plan.
-Strategically identify and define your target markets.
-Develop realistic and attainable sales projections.
-Price your products to maximize margins and volume.
-Define an advertising and promotion plan that will help optimize sales and profits.
-Build a distribution channel that maximizes revenues and customer satisfaction.
-Establish your marketing and sales personnel needs.
-Develop a marketing budget that makes sense.
-Incorporate market research into your decision making process.
-Create an action plan that defines each activity or task, who is responsible for ensuring their completion, and when they must be completed.
-Write a complete and comprehensive marketing plan that will get the results you want.
-Your marketing plan should be written in a manner that is straightforward, practical, and realistic. And it should give you the best possible chance of meeting or exceeding sales and gross profit objectives.

This comprehensive 200 page guide walks you through the entire process of writing a marketing plan and will help you gain a competitive and strategic advantage. Written by seasoned business and marketing professionals who understand how to think strategically, develop plans that differentiate a company and its products from the competition, and achieve high levels of success, this manual offers enlightening and insightful direction on just how a winning marketing plan should be prepared. It includes everything you will need to create your plan.

The Marketing Plan Manual is widely used by organizations of all types and sizes ranging from some of the world's largest companies to small start-up businesses. It works equally well in small and large businesses as well as both for-profit and nonprofit organizations.

Included are straightforward templates and worksheets to guide you through the development of your plan. And each element of the marketing plan is discussed and explained in detail. It is easy-to-follow and easy-to-use.

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