Software solutions are popping up everywhere, for almost every process imaginable. While sometimes software can get a bad rep, that it might replace a workers job, there’s a different way to look at it: it helps every worker accomplish more. Most software solutions are designed to aid a worker, not replace them. In the case of Human Resources software, these solutions are designed to handle tasks that are necessary while creating time for the human resources professional and managers to complete tasks that need human interaction and decision-making capabilities.

The next terminology in our tweetable series: Talent Management. We’ll sum this up in 140 characters or less so you can make a mental note and move on. Who has time for long blog posts on one concept?

When organizations first began the process of performance evaluations or appraisals, the feedback typically flows from the top-down and ends there. Supervisors provide feedback to their direct reports, often times individual contributors. This leaves a lot to be desired, not only is the expectation that the supervisor has a thorough grasp on the work that the subordinate does (and remembers it), but the supervisor is also left unchecked for how the working relationship is going from the viewpoint of the subordinate. The aforementioned type of feedback is typically referred to as “downward feedback” because the conversation stems from the top and flows downward.

Talent Management, as defined by Wikipedia, is “the anticipation of required human capital for an organization and the planning to meet those needs.” That sounds a lot like what Human Resources does in an organization. But understanding the nuances between these two functions is imperative to better understanding your employees and meeting their needs on the job.

Businesses create processes and standards by which their employees are measured against to ensure that employees understand their role and job function, are competent in that role, and ultimately are an asset to the organization. This process is typically referred to as performance management. The idea of performance management and a review process is theoretically a good one. The best way to measure an employee’s performance is by asking their managers, peers, and subordinates how exactly the employee is performing in their job, what they can improve upon, and what they have mastered. Performance reviews can sometimes go as far as to determine when someone is up for a promotion or a raise - although tying reviews with compensation can be tricky (more on that in another blog).

Performance Evaluations can be tough to create, especially for the first time. If building off of a process that’s already in place, it’s easy to identify holes and areas of improvement to continue working towards a performance evaluation process that works for your organization’s culture and goals. However, building one from scratch can be significantly harder. Other than the obvious suggestion to remember that this process is iterative and can continue to be improved upon, the closer that you can get to an end result the first time around will help to ensure consistency over the years when evaluating an employee that has been around for that whole time.

In today’s Twitter-world, we don’t have time to read lengthy articles about processes that we should already know about. Unfamiliar with Performance Management? Here are three bite-sized definitions to help you get a little insight into performance management.

We came up with four different options to explain a learning management system in 140 characters or less:

Technology changes so rapidly these days it’s hard to predict what will be next and how it - whatever “it” is - will shape the way that we live. Social media has impacted the way that we communicate with old friends, catch up on news, and even do business, but 10 years ago, social media had a completely different landscape.

Growing up, my dad would always point out advertisements in a silly way. What I mean by this is: when he would see an advertisement for a tanning salon with really fit people, he would say “Wow, if I go in there - I’ll come out looking like that!” And he wasn’t just referring to the shade of the person’s skin. Advertisement is powerful and marketing departments work hard to showcase benefits - tangible or intangible, but sometimes that can set consumers up with high expectations that can’t be met. As much as I wish applying sunless tanner would then give me a six-pack, that’s an expectation that absolutely will come to actualization…. bummer.