Reviews, appraisals and instructor-led assessments are harder to run than they should be. Everyone agrees that reflecting on performance is valuable; few find the time to do it well. For small and medium-sized businesses with limited resources, it can feel impossible.
Leaders often complain about retention without asking themselves: do we seek out employee feedback? Do we act on it? When people leave, do we just hand their work to someone else?
"Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom." (Aristotle)
The goal is to make it quick to understand capabilities, expectations and frustrations; where processes could be simpler; and wellbeing, skill gaps, motivation and pay.
How do you set up a review in Skills Velocity?
Step 1: Build or edit a review form
Build, deploy and report on reviews, appraisals and one-to-ones from one place.
- Custom rating scales. Standardise outcomes as numbers, text ratings or no ratings at all.
- Competencies. The items to discuss and rate. They turn managers into coaches by giving every conversation structure.
- Notes. Both people can see the agreed outcome, actions, objectives and timelines.
One sales manager built a 20-topic appraisal in under 15 minutes and now uses it regularly. In that company, a salesperson rated Excellent on all 20 topics joins the "Platinum Achievers Club", with five extra days of holiday and a bonus.
Step 2: Add the form to a course
Add the review in the course builder as an assessment. Self-paced learning can come before the review or instructor-led assessment. Then add a survey (single choice, multiple choice or free text) to run on completion or later, such as a checkpoint 30 days after the review. Graphical reports share anonymised findings.
Step 3: Assign it
Assign the review as part of a course or directly to a learner. It appears in their learner panel, and the manager or coach receives an email with a direct link. Best practice is an informal one-to-one to go through each topic and agree ratings together. A compliance dashboard keeps oversight simple.
Why it matters
- fast and effective for everyone involved
- makes compliance easier
- captures learning and feedback through reviews and surveys
- helps you see past a poor or unfair manager
Nelson Mandela compared a good leader to a shepherd who stays behind the flock, letting the most nimble go ahead while the others follow.
How do I get started?
Existing clients: this feature is free. Contact your account manager. Everyone else: book a discovery call and tell us your use case. See also six observation checklists.
