Insights

Comments: If you are looking for a paperless, clear, simple and transparent solution to employee engagement and evaluation process woes, look no further!

Pros: Kids' Country has struggled with the formal evaluation process for many years. Lack of time, an employee base that does not access technology regularly, and the disconnect between frontline staff and organizational initiatives are just some of the challenges we faced. Once we completed our strategic planning process and determined that employee engagement, recruitment and retention were key opportunities for us, we began to look for an alternative to the formal process. OpaConnect has been a dream come true. The system has taken what used to be a scary, complicated and laborious process, and created what is now something our staff look forward to. The system clearly makes the connection between front line staff's goals to our key strategic initiatives. It also allows for more consistent and casual conversations regarding staff performance versus the dreaded annual meeting. Employees are empowered to keep notes and tasks documented within Opa to talk about with their supervisors. "Shoutouts" allow for anyone to celebrate colleagues for any reason. The behind, on track or ahead rating is simple and easy to understand. The transparency regarding goals and initiatives across all levels has also created a new found trust at Kids' Country. The customer service support has been phenomenal. I've provided quite a bit of feedback in the form of features that would be helpful and all of it has been heard, considered and much of it was implemented! I cannot speak highly enough of OpaConnect!

Cons: The reporting function is slightly behind where I'd like it to be but I know that they are working on solutions for that.

Pros: #1 favorite component is the "meet" functionality. The pre-meet or "prep" is a great tool for both employees and managers. #2 Fav: Employees can easily align their goals to company strategies creating the elusive line of sight and the tool allows everyone to see how the collective organization is trending toward those strategies. #3 Fav: Core Behaviors (aka values) are included in the review or "meet" process. It keeps them front and center and creates a space to discuss how they are lived (or not) by the individual.

Cons: My only con is the back end. Set up is easy but reporting is challenging. The support team is SO open to customer feedback and share their roadmap so I know this is one area that will see improvement in the near term. From an end user perspective it's pretty easy, clean experience.

Overall: Overall I feel that OpaConnect has brought a level of transparency to what we are focused on as an organization and how we all align to the strategic objectives. The tool has also decreased the administrative time of the "review" process as the meet and prep processes are simple and straightforward, which encourages and sustains better conversations between managers and employees.

Pros: I love OpaConnect because it allows me to communicate regularly with a team of consultants who all work remotely. I can easily see what projects they are working on, it helps guide our conversations so they stay on track, and is an easy way to tie individual goals and responsibilities into the bigger picture. OpaConnect allows me to set deliverables and expectations that are clear and provides a structure for more regular, meaningful conversations.

Cons: I would like to see OpaConnect more integrated with my Outlook calendar. While it does place the meeting on my calendar, I don't have insight into open timeframes for both parties when setting up a new meeting.

Overall: OpaConnect has given me a great framework for documenting conversations. This ensures that all parties are on the same page and provides employees with very clear expectations and outcomes.

Pros: It allows me to work with my team that works remotely

Cons: I would like this to be able to work with Outlook.

Overall: Awesome!

Pros: I had to be thoughtful and clear about my role and ensure that my manager was in agreement.I continue to have the conversations I need with my staff and my manager. The way the system is laid out, pushes me to have productive conversations, I may not otherwise have.

Cons: nothing about the system was a problem for me.

Overall: Love it!!