Performance management & feedback process design: A case study with finleap

We often wonder how other successful companies solve problems we currently face and whether there's a way to find inspiration or take a page out of their book.

In this article, we aim to do just that.

We'll show that improving processes and continuously learning from our peers is the bedrock to becoming a successful and thriving organization. We'll learn from Europe's leading fintech ecosystem, finleap, and see how they've designed performance management and feedback processes within their organization. finleap shared their successful and uniquely structured feedback setup in a webinar hosted by Personio and Leapsome.
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Our performance management software has helped hundreds of companies build holistic feedback processes. We at Leapsome understand that each organization is unique and has a distinct culture, company goals, and challenges. The diversity among different organizations makes it essential to build and design performance management and feedback processes that uniquely address each company's needs.

Let’s see how finleap does it.
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A quick overview of finleap's feedback process

“You cannot work enough on the feedback culture. There's always room for improvement.” Kathrin Pawelke, VP People & Organization at finleap

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finleap's HR team developed core competencies for their recruiting process in 2017. Those eventually rolled out to the entire organization.

Ultimately, the goal was to create a fair, transparent, regular, and automated performance management process that supports a feedback culture. finleap emphasized the value of regular feedback among all employees, starting in their first week and continuing throughout their tenure.
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“Our clear goal was to establish a talent and performance management process that, on the one hand, meets finleap's demands in terms of speed and growth, but also ensures that we have a fair and transparent process.”

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Feedback process during the probation period

As shown above, the feedback process at finleap begins from the first week of the probation period.

An expectation meeting takes place in the first week. The new employee and their manager/supervisor communicate what they expect from each other moving forward.

A check-in meeting is held roughly four weeks after the first meeting to ensure that everyone is on the same page and there are no significant concerns.

The first structured feedback happens three months into the probation period. It includes a self-assessment and an assessment by the manager.

Five months into the job, a probation review meeting is held to discuss the performance thus far and give feedback on the outlook of passing the probation period. Part of the meeting focuses on the mutual expectations set during the first week. The journey after the end of the probation period is also addressed.

After six months, the probation period is over.

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Feedback process after the probation period

A recurring feedback cycle starts after the end of the probation period. This cycle includes Quarterly Feedback Sessions and Employee Development Talks (EDTs); these happen one after the other, in a cyclical fashion, every three months.

Employee Development Talks (EDTs)

Twice a year (usually in January and July), each employee at finleap goes through Employee Development Talks (EDTs).

In preparation for the EDT, employees submit self-assessments, while their managers submit an evaluation. The cycle includes peer feedback.

All of these assessments are conducted and saved within the Leapsome platform.

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“We try, as much as possible, to make the feedback transparent because only then can you actually make a positive change.” Erica Ancobia, Head of People Operations at finleap

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After completing assessments and EDTs, HR personnel and managers meet to examine an employee's potential, performance, and opportunities for development. The intent is to go beyond just associating performance with bonuses and salary increases and to instead focus on employee development.

This is followed by a thorough discussion between the employee and their manager to address relevant aspects of the entire evaluation process.
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💡 Take manual effort out of performance review cycles

Leapsome can run automated review cycles for every employee and you can rely on our best-practice templates to enable fair assessment.

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Quarterly Feedback Sessions

In addition to EDTs, finleap implemented quarterly feedback sessions within the Leapsome platform. Although not mandatory, these sessions are highly recommended, especially during the probation period.

Quarterly feedback sessions include a self-assessment and an assessment by the employee's manager, followed by a discussion between both parties.

These sessions aim to connect every employee with their manager. This allows managers to check up on their direct reports and see if additional support is required to improve performance. Similarly, it empowers employees to voice concerns and deliver feedback to managers.

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What rating scale does finleap use for feedback?

finleap uses a 5-point scale to evaluate each question asked in the EDTs and quarterly feedback sessions (based on the competency model).

The scale begins at 1 (= substantial improvement necessary) and goes up to 5 (= outstanding; >150%).

Note: on this scale, a 3 out of 5 is classified as “meets expectations” and may be contrary to generally known grades.

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Conclusion

Given their unique needs, organizations require tailored performance and feedback management systems to meet their demands.

Feedback is the fundamental building block of any people management system. Designing processes that foster a feedback culture ensures that the right person delivers the right input at the right time.

In this article, we learned how finleap created a process that makes regular feedback part of its culture.

We hope you find inspiration from this case study to fine-tune and enhance performance management and feedback systems at your company.
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🎯 Ready to get started yourself?

Leapsome helps you design performance management processes exactly how you need them.

👉 Talk to one of our product specialists.