Cycle Completion & 9-Box Reports

ClearCompany offers two other Performance Reports: Cycle Completion & 9-Box. In this article, we cover the two reports in depth.

In this article:
Navigating to Reports
Cycle Completion
9-Box
Additional Resources

Navigating to Reports

1. These reports can be found on the Performance dashboard. From the main dashboard, click on Tools, then Performance.
2. From the performance dashboard, you will see the two reports at the top.

Please note:

If you have Performance Data Walls turned on, you will not see the 9-Box report.

Cycle Completion

The Cycle Completion report displays the percentage completion rate for a particular review cycle across offices and departments.

Example

Pro-Tip: Your performance workflow will send out reminders when a due date is approaching or past due, but you can also use this report to create a mailing list of users who are past due in completing a review. To do this, you can click Export to Excel. You can then filter the Past Due column for the value "True" and then retrieve the email addresses to create a mailing list.

Scoring Suggestions/Tips

Suggestion	Tip
Accuracy of Data	Ensure that the data used for calculating the completion rate is accurate and up-to-date. Inaccurate data can lead to misleading completion rates.
Clear Definition of Completion	Clearly define what constitutes completion for a review cycle. This definition should be consistent across offices and departments to ensure uniformity in scoring.
Trend Analysis	Include a historical trend analysis to show how completion rates have changed over time. This can help in identifying patterns and predicting future performance.
Actionable Insights	Accompany the completion rates with actionable insights and recommendations. This adds value to the report by providing guidance on how to improve completion rates.

Common Pitfalls

Suggestion	Tip
Incomplete Data	Using incomplete or inconsistent data can lead to inaccurate completion rates and undermine the credibility of the report.
Ignoring External Factors	Failing to account for external factors that may influence completion rates. Things like organizational changes or external market conditions can result in misinterpretation.
Static Analysis	Only presenting current completion rates without analyzing trends or changes over time may limit the depth of understanding and miss opportunities for improvement.
Lack of Standardization	If there is a lack of standardization in defining completion across offices and departments, the comparison becomes challenging and may not reflect the true picture.

Strengths

Suggestion	Tip
Comprehensive Overview	The report provides a comprehensive overview of completion rates, offering insights into the overall performance of review cycles across offices and departments.
Actionable Data	By including actionable insights and recommendations, the report becomes a valuable tool for decision-makers to enhance the efficiency of review cycles.
Granular Analysis	The ability to break down completion rates by offices and departments allows for a granular analysis, enabling targeted interventions where needed.
Historical Context	Including historical data allows for a contextual understanding of completion rates, facilitating better-informed decision-making and strategic planning.

Limitations

1. Data Quality and Accuracy: The accuracy of the completion rates is highly dependent on the quality of the underlying data. Inaccuracies or inconsistencies in the data sources can lead to distorted conclusions.
2. Limited Contextual Information: The report may lack detailed contextual information about specific circumstances or challenges faced by offices and departments during the review cycles. This absence of context can limit the depth of understanding.
3. Lack of Employee Feedback: The report might not incorporate qualitative feedback from employees involved in the review cycles. Employee sentiments, satisfaction, or concerns can provide valuable context to completion rates.
4. Risk of Gaming the System: Depending on how completion is measured, there is a risk that teams or individuals may focus on meeting completion targets rather than the actual quality or effectiveness of the review process.

9-Box

The 9-Box report is designed to display potential versus performance across the two axes of its table graph. You can select any two data points in a review cycle to compare on a horizontal and vertical axis.

Description

The 9-box grid is a predictive evaluation tool used to identify your company’s talent on potential and past performance. The vertical axis indicates leadership potential and the horizontal axis indicates performance. The higher the vertical box, the more potential for growth. The further horizontally, the higher the past performance results.

Employees in the bottom left grid are the lowest performers with the least growth potential. Conversely, those who land in the top right grid, are the highest performers with the most potential.

Using the ClearCompany 9-Box

Users with the Performance Admin and Performance Management permissions can access the tool by navigating to Tools > Performance > 9 Box.

1. Cycle(s): The review cycles you want to include in your 9-box grid report
2. Horizontal Axis: Select the Section you want to use gauge Performance.
3. Vertical Axis: Select the Section you want to use to gauge Potential.
4. Departments/Offices/Supervisors: Criteria able to be filtered
5. Group by: Groupings that were pre-built for changing the perspective of the 9-box grid. The options are Department, Fiscal Quarter, Month, Office, review Cycle, Role, and Supervisor.

Scoring Suggestions/Tips

Suggestion	Tip
Performance	A three-point scale makes it easy to put someone in one of three performance categories. A four or five-point scale forces the reviewers to make a more accurate choice (Either above or below average). When creating your scales, think about your main criteria:  Low performance does not meet the requirements of their job and fails their individual targets. Moderate performance partially meets the requirements of their job and their individual targets. High performance fully meets the requirements of their job and their individual targets. To learn more about Performance Scales check out this article.
Potential	A similar or equal scoring method is suggested for Potential. ClearCompany advises using the same scale for your potential review sections. If needed, edit and re-contextualize the scale for that new section. When creating your scales, think about your main criteria:  Low potential means the employee is working at full potential and is not expected to improve, either because they are at maximum capacity or because of a lack of motivation. Moderate potential means the employee has the potential to further develop within their current role. This can be in terms of performance, also in terms of expertise. High potential means the employee is eligible for promotion, either immediately or within the near future.

Common Pitfalls

Tips	Descriptions
It is not transparent	Probably the most serious pitfall is the lack of transparency the 9-Box grid provides. This information can be sensitive to certain individuals.
It is subjective	Your reviews are based on performance evaluations. Defining potential may vary from person to person. Internal training or communication is recommended to align on this detail.
It does not evaluate aptitude	Just because an employee is a high performer with moderate to high potential doesn’t mean they can manage employees. Defining how your organization views and reviews career progression will be a helpful long-term strategy.
It does not offer “grey” areas	Not every employee in every situation falls neatly into one of nine boxes. Additional discussions must be had before promoting or terminating an employee. Be cautious when making business decisions based on this information. While certainly helpful, it is a best practice to gather as much information as possible before making decisions that affect individuals within the business.

Strengths

Strength	Description
It is fast	The simple scoring system and uncomplicated format make the 9-Box grid easy to teach, easy to implement, and quick to read, cutting down on valuable time triaging employee performance.
It is forward-focused	The 9-Box grid helps evaluators focus on the employee’s future as much as on their current performance, broadening the depth of the results.
Provide Leadership	It allows managers in different areas to provide leadership with a more accurate understanding of employee performance in less concrete performance situations.
It can be straightforward	The 9-Box grid can save the time and effort leadership would spend learning about the role and the individual before making a decision.

Best Practices: The 9-Box

Limitations

1. It can be imprecise. How do each of your managers define performance and potential? Is an employee performing at peak performance a high performer or at capacity for work? When these answers don’t line up, it leads to incorrect assumptions and incorrect decisions.
2. It is still vulnerable to bias. There are many examples of a 9-Box, and the specific wording picked can set labels for people unintentionally. It is advised to align what the word choice means to your organization and who is viewing the information.
3. It is a simple measurement. Performance management should not end here; this should be a starting point for more conversations about an individual’s performance. Think of this as one data point in the bigger picture of employee growth and development.

Additional Resources

Standard Performance Reports
Introduction to Performance