‘Nudging’ with Sticky Notes to help employees stay on track with continuous performance management

We’re sure you’re all familiar with the concept of a ‘Nudge’ - encouraging people to do the right thing without being overly directive. Imagine if you could stick a sticky note on everyone’s screen that ‘nudges’ your employees to maintain their engagement with ongoing appraisal conversations.

That’s exactly what we’ve done in our cloud-based performance management software called Performance.

The sticky note concept certainly isn’t new but since 3M launched the traditional Post-it Note in the 1970’s, software companies have been seeking to emulate their purpose in work-based applications and HR software is no exception. But why is something as simple as a small coloured sticky note so useful and how does it translate to the online performance management process?

Let’s consider its basic tenets for a moment. Firstly, its colour is often bold or in contrast when set against a background. It is of course designed to stand out visually to attract your attention.

Secondly, another visual cue is its size which is distinct from the thing it is stuck to – in this case a desktop or other device screen being used to capture employee performance.

And thirdly it’s the stickiness factor of the sticky note that we seek to replicate. Having the option to see or not to see a helpful note when working is a really handy way of being reminded about important bits of information.

With many organisations adapting to hybrid team working processes post covid, there is a greater appetite to move more HR processes online than ever before.

We’ve found that the sticky note concept can be super helpful when getting started with a performance management review, particularly if you are moving to an online environment for the first time.

Performance has a helpful Getting Started sticky note feature that can be customised to show quick summary actions to employees as they work through the performance review cycle. These enable organisations to communicate key instructions to help motivate and boost engagement of employees with the performance management process.

To show you just how this looks, take a look at our Getting Started with Performance Management video.

In the video, you’ll be able to see how the sticky note appears on the screen of the employee and how you, as the Administrator of the system, control what appears. The analytics we put at your disposal will tell you if people are actually doing what you ask.

It’s just one example of how our software tools are designed to engage people and encourage a more continuous performance process, rather than simply capture data and fill in forms.

You may like to hear how Munoz has introduced Talent Performance - and when you are ready, do get in touch with us.