How to read the performance report as a supervisor

Using performance reports as a supervisor will save you time and help you manage employees better. It is estimated that supervisors spend at least 10 hours a year, per employee preparing for performance conversations. Using this feature effectively will cut this time in half. The performance report is a valuable tool that provides comprehensive data for performance reviews. This feature collates data from many different areas of the system including Goals, Diary Notes, Forms and Happiness that have been submitted over the course of the period. This is a valuable way for managers to track employee performance, with key metrics identifying trends for opportunities or improvement and creating a culture of continuous feedback, leading to better performance.

The following article will take you through how to read your performance report as a manager, how to understand the performance report and how you can utilise the data. 

Please note that the performance report is highly configurable. Your own performance report may or may not include some or all of the below, highlighted sections.  

This article covers:

• How to Find your Performance Report 
• Performance Report Sections 
• How to Interpret and Read your Performance Report 

How to Find your Employee's Performance Report 

To find the Performance Report 

1. Navigate to your employee's Profile 

2. Click on the Performance Reports tab.  Select the performance report template. 

3. Once open you can read the performance report. 

What's in the Performance Report?

The supervisor's view is different to the employee's view. As a manager, you will have access to more information than the employee can see when viewing their own performance report. Please note that the sections that are visible are dependent on your organisation's settings. As a general rule, you will be able to see the same sections in the performance report that you can see in their profile. For example, if you can see the Goals tab on the employee profile you should also be able to see these in the performance report; as a manager, you also have access to the diary notes tab on the employee profile and as such this is visible in the report for you but the employee will not see the diary notes section on their own report because they cannot view these on their own profile. For more information about what employees see when viewing their own performance reports click here.

By default, the performance report is made up of seven sections that pull through from performance forms, happiness, training, goals, achievements, direct reports and role evaluation ratings based on peer, employee and supervisor reviews and diary and supervisor notes recorded over the time period. 

This information is visible all in one place and can be seen all at once for a comprehensive review and snapshot of employee performance. Performance reviews are strictly confidential. Supervisors can see all sources of data, whereas employees can only see their own ratings. 

Below we will provide insight into what each section means and what resources these sections can provide. 

The example below is based on default settings. 

• Average Overall Performance (Radar Chart) - Display of overall performance rating details.  Uses quantitative (numbers based) data collected from the employee through feedback forms. 
• Performance Over Time - A breakdown of the individual metrics displayed on the radar chart above. Each data point (response relevant to the metric) will be plotted on the chart to show your performance over time against that specific metric.
• Happiness Over Time - Displays the happiness rating scores the employee has provided within the reporting period. Based on the completed responses provided (individual rating and text-based responses) show the 'Happiness Over Time' graphically.
• Training - Captures all training events added during the reporting period and displays the cumulative financial investment on the employee's training over time, along with a summary of hours spent training each month and displays individual training events. This information is pulled directly from the training tab on their profile. 
• Goals - Captures all goals active during the reporting period, including progress status, measurements and achievements. This information is pulled directly from the goals tab on their profile. 
• Achievements - Summarises their responses to the question, "what have you achieved recently that you're proud of"  in check-ins. 
• Performance Improvement Plans (PIP) - Any (under) performance issues managed by performance improvement plans recorded in the Manager's Log on the employee profile will display with a timeline of events to provide a summary of the plan and progress towards it.
• Diary Notes - Captures diary notes recorded over time that can be discussed during a performance review. 
• Supervisor Notes - Captures manager responses to specific questions on feedback forms. 
• Direct Reports - Captures direct reports' (if the employee has any) happiness, training and goal performance. Captures summary of information on each person's profile. 
• Employee Wellness - Displays the wellness ratings provided by the employee if your organisation is requesting this information from them within the reporting period via intelliHR forms.

How to Use the Performance Report to Support Your Employee 

The performance report is full of data that can be can be viewed at any time. The performance report allows you to see your employee's progress and each section of the performance report provides you with insight into a different aspect of how they are going in their role. The performance report provides objective trends rather than a personal view of an employee's performance which can help when having difficult check-ins or performance review conversations with an employee. 

Below we will provide insight into how you can interpret and read the sections on your performance report. 

Average Overall Performance - The radar chart displays and compares performance ratings from different sources. It reflects the average responses given over the course of the time frame by the employee themselves, their peers and their supervisors. This provides a visual overview of how the employee's performance is tracking, any differences in ratings across sources and where improvements can be made or training provided. 

Performance Over Time - This chart that shows individual scores of metrics provided over time. As you, the employee, and their peers complete performance ratings over time, will give you an idea of how their performance is trending. 

Happiness Over Time - A metric chart that pulls through each response to the happiness rating question on check-in forms. It will historically show responses given over time on each chart along with a description of why the rating has been provided if a description has been given. It will show on a chronological timeline. The happiness analytics tool lets you process, break down and analyze all of the responses collected from the continuous feedback forms and quantify the happiness rating over a period of time. The peaks and dips in the charts indicate your staff’s feelings and well-being at certain points in time. The Happiness Over Time chart can correlate to performance, providing context to and from outside influences, for example, things happening outside of the workplace. 

Training - Pulls through any completed training records completed over last year. The section will provide insight into total cost in terms of time, material costs of training courses, and the number of hours completed over the last year with a breakdown of each training record. Training records help HR demonstrate the value employees have in and around the organisation in increasing employee experience through various training programs, continuous improvement initiatives, guidance and support and can directly correlate with the employee's performance. 

Goals - Breakdown of any active goals listed on their profile. The section will show a breakdown of each goal and their measurements, alongside a snapshot of the overall completion rate, number of goals completed on time, number of goals completed after the due date and goals that are currently overdue. Goals can be used as an overview to see how the employee is tracking and what goals they have committed to. Goals can be used to keep them on track to achieve better performance. 

Achievements - Achievements are pulled through the response from the "What have you achieved most recently that you're proud of?" question on the monthly check-in form with responses showing in a chronological timeline over the last year. Achievements can be used as key milestones in performance to keep your employee's on track and engaged as research shows people are more productive, satisfied and fulfilled when they trust that their leaders and organisation are concerned about them as a whole person, not just an employee and sharing achievements is a great way to show you care about their growth. Achievements can also be used to track trends and patterns in the success of achievements. If achievements are consistently not being recorded, this could be an indicator the employee may need help or assistance or just a check-in.

Performance Improvement Plans (PIP) - Any (under) performance issues managed by performance improvement plans recorded in the Manager's Log on the employee profile will display with a timeline of events to provide a summary of the plan and progress towards it.  This provides managers with a quick snapshot of any performance issues that have been present during the reporting period including actions taken to improve performance and potential resolutions.

Diary Notes - Diary notes are a quick and confidential way to record notes on the go. Diary notes can be recorded by supervisors and any other managers with permission access to the employee's Manager's Log. Categories of diary notes can range from compliance and policies, information, productivity, recognition, incident, skills gap or values and behaviours. Recorded diary notes can be both positive or constructive feedback that needs to be discussed during a performance review.

Supervisor Notes - Supervisor notes are pulled through from the leader's check-in form and the key responses that are completed, highlighting and correlating feedback with the employee check-in form. Peer feedback will also be shown under supervisor notes in the performance reports that can be used to highlight the employee's performance within the company. 

Direct Reports - Metrics of Happiness Over Time, Goals Due and Training Hours and Costs are recorded from direct reports of the employee if they have any. This can provide the context to the employee's performance as the performance of direct reports can directly affect the employee and vice versa as this can cause a ripple effect throughout the organisation. This helps manager's in tracking direct report improvements whilst developing tools and processes to help create meaningful conversations for all participants.

Employee Wellness - A chart based on the wellness check question pulled through from form responses provided through thumbs up, thumbs down or okay icons. This metric will present a  historical reference over the past year alongside the reasoning behind these answers if a description is provided. The continuous feedback process helps organisations go beyond feedback by helping them keep an eye on all of their team members’ happiness, compared to normal. Just by using the intelliHR happiness rating in regular check-ins, the system automatically plots a happiness baseline individually for each team member, so that any new check-in is compared to how the team member normally feels, so managers can keep on top of employee wellness.