WorkCompass How-to Guide for Managers

Check out this guide for answers to the most common questions from WorkCompass Managers

Table of contents

1. WorkCompass Performance Plan Process
2. How to log in to WorkCompass
3. How to reset your password
4. WorkCompass Dashboard and Support Channel
5. How to create a performance plan
6. How to update progress for milestones
7. How to review a performance plan
8. Leadership Survey
9. Understanding insights and reporting

Intro to the WorkCompass Performance Plan Process

Creating a plan in WorkCompass is a collaborative process between Managers and their direct reports.

The following is a basic overview of the WorkCompass performance review process from start to finish. There are more ways to customize this process, so these are just the basic steps:

1. Create a plan (Draft): The Employee or their Manager creates the plan by clicking the Create Plan button. At this point, the plan is in 'Draft' status, meaning it isn't active yet.
2. Request approval (Draft awaiting approval): If the Employee is the one who created the plan, they can populate it with content but they cannot approve the plan to make it active. Instead, they can ask their Manager to review and approve the plan by clicking the Ask Manager for Input button
3. Approval (Current): Once the Manager approves the plan, the status will shift from 'Draft' to 'Current', meaning the plan is now active. The review functionality (leaving comments & ratings, etc) also becomes available at this point
4. Final review Employee (Current): The Employee completes their self-review and clicks on Complete final review button once finished. This completes their part in the review process, though the employee can still edit comments and adjust their ratings while the plan is still open.
5. Final review Manager (Archived): The Manager completes their review of the Employee and clicks on Complete final review button. This archives the plan, locking in the scores and comments, which can no longer be edited. At this stage, only the Manager or an Admin can reopen the plan if adjustments are needed.

How to login to WorkCompass 

1. Click on the WorkCompass link you’ve received via email to create your password. Make sure to open the link in Google Chrome or Firefox. Internet Explorer and Microsoft Edge browsers do not support WorkCompass. You will be logged in automatically after setting your password. 
   
   
2. The next time you need to log in, click on the link you were sent in your welcome email. 
3. Enter your work email address in the Email field.
4. Enter the password you created in the Password field.
5. Click Sign in. 
6. If your company uses Single Sign On (SSO), like with Azure Active Directory for example, you will see a 'Sign in with Azure' link just beneath the Sign In button

How to reset your password 

1. Click on your WorkCompass login link.
2. Click on Forgot your password (visible in the screenshot above)
3. Enter the email associated with your WorkCompass account.
4. Click Send password reset instructions.
5. You will receive an email from WorkCompass with a link to reset your password. 

The WorkCompass Dashboard & Support channel 

Every time you have to do something in WorkCompass, the system will create a task in your dashboard and it will also send you an email notification. 

If you have any questions or you are not sure how to use the application, you can click the Help tab, and proceed with Submit Support Ticket.

 

In order for you to successfully submit the support ticket, you will need to fill the following information as presented below, and proceed with Submit Support Ticket.

How to create a performance plan 

Note to Managers: While you may create plans for your direct reports, the best practice is for your Employees to create their own performance plans. Research shows that this increases buy in the performance management process and helps Employees to take more ownership over their goals. 

To create a performance plan, please follow the steps bellow:

1. Log in to WorkCompass and click on your name on the right-hand side of the page. 
2. Click on Create a Plan on the right-hand side of the Performance plans section, or open already created plan by clicking on the name of the plan you wish to edit (example Plan 12/31/2022). 
3. Start to type your goals. The AI will help you to create SMART goals (see below screenshot for reference). If you would like to add milestones, adjust the weight, add a note, or attach a document - click on the three dots to the right of the goal. 
   
4. Once you are happy with your goals, click Next to continue. You will notice that the plan quality score in the right-hand corner will go up as you add items to the plan.  
5. Select competencies from the drop-down list. Competencies can be defined as the skills you need to reach your goals. These can be skills that you have already mastered, and need to continuously apply to your role. They can be skills that you already possess, but may need to work on them in order to perform to the best of your ability. The best practice is to select 3-5 competencies. 
   
   
   
   
   
6. When you have selected the competencies, click Next to continue.
7. The next section is for development needs. This is where you can free type your skills' gaps, or what you require in order to be able to reach your goals. The best practice is to enter 3-5 development needs. 
   1. You can also define Development Actions (what the person is going to do in order to develop) and the Success Measures (what the criteria for successfully achieving the development needs looks like)
      
      
      
      

8. When you have completed all sections of the plan,

   • Click on Ask your manager for input at the bottom right of the screen. Your Manager will get an email notification asking them to review your performance plan. 

   or

   • If you are creating a performance plan for one of your staff members, click Ask staff member for input and they will get an email notification. 

Please note: names and numbers of sections (goals, competencies, development needs etc.) may be different from the above depending on your company's configuration.

Plan quality score 

What is the plan quality score and what it's not? 

The plan quality score measures the quality of the plan. It is meant to be a tool/guide only, and the plan can be approved with any quality score percentage. 

The plan quality score is not a performance rating: it doesn’t measure the performance and the application will not stop you from approving a plan.

The score is only visible on the draft version of plans.

Why to have a plan quality score? 

Quality of a plan is a huge issue for a lot of organizations. When plan quality is low, it's very difficult to accurately measure performance and ratings can be heavily biased and inaccurate. A clear plan helps to ensure that staff members are appraised fairly. 

How to improve plan quality score?

You can improve the quality score by having between 3 to 5 SMART goals, 3 to 5 competencies, and 3 to 5 development needs. 

For example, if you have 2 SMART goals and add a third goal, your quality score increases. If you have 5 competencies and you add another one, the score will decrease. 

Why 3 to 5 of each? 

Marc Effron’s book “One Page Talent Management” suggests that if you have less than 3 goals - there is not enough challenge in your plan, while a plan with more than 5 goals is a checklist rather than meaningful plan to achieve. 

What to aim for?

We recommend that users aim for a score between 50-70%, which is already more than 10 times better compared to plans with no artificial intelligence presence while creating their plans. So the idea is not to get to 100%, however, you should be aiming for a higher quality score: 

• 50% and above is good 
• 60% and above is very good 
• 70% and above is great 
• 80% and above is outstanding
• 90% and above is exceptional 

How to approve a performance plan for a staff member 

As a Manager, you are responsible for approving performance plans for your staff members. You will receive an email notification when your direct reports click on Ask your manager for input.

In order to do that, you just need to click on the link in the email which will bring you to their plan, or click on the task on your WorkCompass Home page, then click Approve plan at the bottom of the page. If you feel that their goals and competencies could still be edited a bit more, click on Ask stuff member for input.

How to open the review page 

When the performance plan has been approved, a review page is automatically created in the system. To open the review page: 

• Click the tab on your dashboard with the right plan’s due date.

or

• Click My Account, then Profile.

• On the next page, click your name on the right-hand side of the page and then click on Go to review next to the review you wish to see.

How to edit an approved performance plan

If your performance plan has already been approved, but your priorities have changed or you need to add more information to it, you can edit the plan by following the steps below: 

1. Click on My account then click on Profile. 
2. Click on the name of your Performance Plan
3. On the page make any changes you would like, then click on Ask your manager for input.
4. Once your Manager has approved the changes they will be applied to your review page. 

 

How to update progress for milestones

When your milestone is due, you will receive an email notification with a link to your milestone. You will also see a task on your WorkCompass Home page to update progress against the milestone. To update the progress follow the steps below: 

1. Open the review page, either by clicking the link in the email or the task on your Home page. 
2. Update the progress against the milestone by moving the slider toggle (this is a completion slider from 0 to 100%). 
3. Leave a comment on the progress update and save the comment. 

If your direct reports need to update progress on a milestone, they will get an email notification asking them to do so. Once they have updated progress, you will get an email notification. 

Please note that the system will highlight the milestone in green when it is due to, for a better visibility. 

How to get help from the virtual coaching assistant 

When you add a comment on the progress update, the virtual coaching assistant will pop up. 

Click the pop-up window to start a conversation with the assistant, and to get some help to write a progress update to your Manager, or coaching feedback to your staff member. 

How to complete a check-in (interim review) 

When it’s the right time to perform a check-in (interim review), WorkCompass will send you an email notification and will also create a task in your dashboard. 

In order to complete a check-in please follow the steps below:

1. Click on the link in the email, or from your WorkCompass Home page click on the task to complete a check-in.
2. Review the performance plan, and leave any comments as necessary, remembering to save them once finished. 
3. Click Complete check-in. 
   
   

How to review a performance plan 

When the performance plan has been approved, a review page is automatically generated so the plan is then ready to be reviewed. You will receive an email notification asking you to complete the performance review 28 days before your final review due date. To review a performance plan please follow the steps bellow: 

1. Open the review page. 
2. Update the progress against the milestones if necessary. 
3. Rate the goals using the drop-down menu and add comments. 
   
4. Rate the competencies and add comments. 
5. Add comments to the development needs. 
6. Rate the overall performance and add comments. 
7. Click Complete final review button at the bottom of the page

Your Manager will complete their portion of your review, which will change the status of the plan from Current to Archived. If you need to reopen your plan, you will need to ask your Manager or a WorkCompass account Admin to do this for you. 

Please note that comments need to be saved by clicking the Save button. They are not saved automatically by the application. 

Leadership Survey

Managers can send out leadership surveys to their direct reports by following the steps bellow: 

1. At the top of the page click on Surveys, then click on Create leadership survey.
2. On the next page you can customize the instructions, and then click on Send to send the survey out to your direct reports. 
3. You will be able to see how many responses you have received by clicking on Surveys, and then clicking on Manage leadership survey. You will also see the survey progress on the bottom right-hand side of your Home page.

Please see the survey questions below:

Understanding Insights (Reporting)

Insights help Managers to understand the performance trends and have an overview of how their teams are doing. Insights help answer fundamental questions like: 

Team Performance: Is performance improving? 

(Insights > Progress > Team performance) 

This insight shows the performance trends based on the final review. You can drill down to see who and what is causing the trend. 

(Insights > Progress > Employees on plan) 

You can see the progress of your Employees based on their current plans.

Calibration: are standards being fairly and consistently applied?

This insight shows how you as a Manager rate your team and compares that with a normal distribution of ratings and the organization's overall distribution. This is based on final review ratings. You can also click Draft only to see interim ratings. 

Open actions: who needs to do what? 

This insight shows an overview of the actions that your team members have to perform. You can mouse over action and the system will show who needs to do what. You can also download an Excel spreadsheet with the Employee data, such as email addresses (which is helpful if you need to follow up and remind team members to complete tasks on WorkCompass).  

Performance & Potential: Who is top talent? Who needs development? 

This chart allows you to track your staff’s Performance & Potential as rated by their Managers. Ratings against goals determine the performance position left to right. Rating against competencies determines the potential top to bottom. 

This is based on final reviews as well. You can also click on Export summary (shows overall score) or Export detail (shows scores for each goal and competency) to download an Excel file with even more data. 

Strategy Overview: are we executing our strategy? 

This is a summary of all the goals set in your team. Larger circles represent organizational goals, and the smaller circles within represent divisional and individual goals that have been linked to the organizational goals.

If a circle is green, this means that the strategy is on track, orange means that it is slightly off track and red means badly overdue. Please keep in mind that the color may be affected by incomplete milestones, so once the milestones are updated you may see some changes to the report. 

This chart helps Managers understand where they are in danger of missing important goals, so they can make decisions about resources and priorities.

You can drill down to see if your team members are on track by clicking on individual circles.