 |
|
|
|
 |
Customer Case Studies — Market Sector: Accounting
By the numbers-Performance Pro becomes valued asset to Indiana accounting firm
Customization and consistency in evaluation criteria cornerstone of success.
For the 48 member staff of the Indiana based public accounting firm BGBC Partners, PC, selecting an employee performance management program that met all their criteria came down to what else-yes, the numbers.
BGBC has been in business for 15 years operating out of two offices serving the Indianapolis community. BGBC prides itself on providing complete accounting and business consulting services to their clientele.
Responsible for BGBC's employee performance management program is Firm Administrator, Lori Oler. When asked about the specific needs of BGBC in selecting a performance management tool she replied, "The majority of the staff are CPA's. What makes our environment unique is that CPA's work with many clients under the direction of several partners. Nobody has a single boss. It's not a normal reporting hierarchy. Therefore, we needed a tool that is consistent in evaluation criteria, easy to use, allows input from multiple appraisers, and combines all the input into a collective performance rating."
Why Performance Pro?
Prior to selecting a new system, appraisals were done with pencil and paper using six page 'fill in the blank' pre-printed forms. Each employee had three assigned appraisers filling out a separate set of forms. The result was an overwhelming amount of paper, little consistency, and no formality.
The requirements BGBC identified in a new performance management program pushed the limits of available technology in 2001. Performance Pro by HRN Management Group was selected from a short list of programs under consideration. Performance Pro was able to meet all of the following client requirements and more:
Automated and accessible online-eliminate paper
Ease of use-user friendly
Customizable to meet specific needs
Goal driven performance measurement scale
Affordable
Priced Right
A factor in selecting Performance Pro was price. Since Performance Pro's final cost is based upon the number of employees, BGBC received full benefit of all the powerful features the large companies enjoy, at a price relative to their moderate size.
Ms. Oler recalls, "Cost was a factor, but not our top criteria. We focused first on function and reasoned that we could always negotiate a fair price. But when we attended a demo and saw all the features of Performance Pro, and then learned how reasonably it was priced-the deal was done."
Successful Implementation
Ms. Oler's first implementation task was to customize the positions and performance factors built into Performance Pro to meet the needs of BGBC. She admits that while it did take a bit of time to customize, the system was set up just the way they wanted. Once that was complete, the implementation was easier than expected. Now administering and managing the evaluation process takes less time each year.
Beta Testing Multi-Appraiser
When BGBC first acquired Performance Pro v.1 early in 2002 they were aware that the optional multi-appraiser feature was not yet available but under development.
HRN Director of Product and Client Support, Michele Lindsay recalls, "We were working on developing an "add-on" multi-appraiser function in our v2 release. BGBC was interested in this function for their environment so we worked closely with them in developing and testing the function. They agreed to be a beta test site for v2 and it was a success all the way around. BGBC was able to utilize and better understand all the features of v2 sooner and we were able to experience real-world usage issues and obtain feedback to make the product better and more robust."
Timing is everything
BGBC's annual performance appraisal cycle takes place right after the busy tax filing season. All appraisals must be completed by the end of June. The challenge is that everybody is so tired by April 15 that they plan vacations in May and June. Schedules are difficult to coordinate; especially with multiple reviewers for each appraisal. So from the beginning, BGBC's staff embraced the automated features, ease of use, and anytime, anywhere online access. But most of all, like any true accounting office, they really liked that Performance Pro justified overall performance with an appraisal score.*
Consistent Benefits
The most significant benefits Performance Pro has brought to BGBC, in addition to ease of use and time savings, has been consistency in evaluation criteria and a documented employee performance history. Ms. Oler explains, "Everyone at the same level is being evaluated on the same things. You know where you stand. By running performance history reports in Performance Pro we can evaluate 'same position' rankings based on overall rating numbers and incorporate this data into salary adjustments. It's interesting to see top performers in regard to compensation matched against ratings in Performance Pro-they support each other."
Exceptional Customer Support
Further bolstering the overall Performance Pro value proposition is expert and knowledgeable customer support at no additional cost. Ms. Oler concludes, "HRN's support staff has been exceedingly helpful. During the beta test period we were talking daily. They are always proactive and if unable to provide an answer right away or an issue involves running a process, they set a time they will get back to me and always respond sooner than expected. HRN cares about customer satisfaction and is a great company to do business with!"
Performance Pro Customer Benefit Summary
| Customer Requirement | Performance Pro Capability | Result | Customer Benefit |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|