Dec 30th 2008 SAN FRANCISCO From The Economist print edition
A novel way to satisfy feedback junkies
ONE defining characteristic of the Net Generation is that it thrives on feedback. Just as they are used to checking their progress on leader boards when playing video games, so Net Geners want to keep close tabs on their performance at work, too. This can be a problem for managers who may be badgered weekly—even daily—for appraisal by eager young members of staff.
The creators of a new, web-based service called Rypple claim that it can satisfy Net Geners’ desire for frequent assessments while easing the burden on their supervisors. The service requires employees to establish a network of trusted peers, mentors and managers whose opinions they value. They can then send out short questions, such as “What did you think of my presentation today?”, to which their network’s members can respond online. The responses are kept anonymous so that, at least in theory, employees cannot tell who has made them.
Among other things, Rypple lets users ask members of their networks to measure their performance against a scale, so they can track how they are doing over time. It also lets employers see what “tags”, or overarching themes, are being used most often in questions. If, say, creativity is key to a firm’s success but there are few requests for feedback on employees’ creativity, then bosses can tell they have not done enough to communicate their priorities.
Daniel Debow, one of Rypple’s co-founders, says the system “reverses the onus on the demand for more feedback” by getting employees to build and manage their own coaching networks. Perhaps, but by making it easier for users to solicit assessments, managers could end up spending even more time fielding requests. And to older workers, Rypple may look like a Big
Brotherish way to track what is going on in the workplace.
But firms that have road-tested Rypple claim that such concerns evaporate once it is up and running. (The basic service is free, but a premium version costs $2-5 per user per month.) Tony Chapman, the boss of Capital C, a Canadian marketing agency, says both young and older workers at his company have embraced the system eagerly. He is even using it to solicit feedback from clients.
Rypple may not be perfect, but it is certainly better than antediluvian annual or semi-annual performance reviews. At a time when results are under pressure almost everywhere, anything that helps improve employees’ performance quickly can be a source of useful competitive advantage. Thanks to the rise of the Net Generation, services such as Rypple may well make a splash in the workplace.
