Bizzomate

Bizzomate uses innovative methods and tools to help organisations modernise their systems, automate their processes and help improve their contact with customers. At the start of this year, Bizzomate initiated a transition towards a new way of rewarding and appraisal for its employees. Personal growth and development has a more prominent position within this new appraisal system. To cater to its employees, Bizzomate chose to invest in TruQu, an easy and insightful way to manage your own development and to help your colleagues develop along the way.

Prior to using TruQu, Bizzomate conducted appraisal conversations twice a year. During these conversations some new development goals were set. They were mostly snapshots, jotted down in a word document, which were eventually uploaded in an online tool. Anne van der Heide, Happiness Officer at Bizzomate: “I missed the option to give or receive feedback within this tool. The option to help each other and stimulate growth over time was missing but seemed of great value. Besides, what we really missed was a centralised environment that showed employees an overview of their development and the ways in which they had grown. Because we as an organisation wanted to keep responsibility for personal development for the individual, we started searching for a tool that would facilitate all these different aspects.”

Within the TruQu environment, a development cycle was set which entailed a ‘sprint switch conversation’ every quarter. To elaborate on the concept of a ‘sprint switch conversation’ an analogy with agile working was made. “The development of employees can be seen as an application that is being built. In this case, a sprint takes three months. During this time you refine your goals, also known as your running sprint. The closer in time you get to a new sprint, or to the end of the quarter, the more specific your goals become and the more important it becomes to collect feedback.”

Prior to these ‘sprint switch conversations’ employees prepare a reflection report. In this report employees look back on the past quarter and ahead to the upcoming sprint. TruQu connects these reports to the goals that were set in the tool. Due to these reflection reports, employees are forced to ponder upon their personal growth and development regularly. 

Giving feedback has become normalised and easy to do due to the TruQu-tool. The system nudges users constantly to be involved with their development. It directs attention to development, which leads to employees learning new skills, which in turn enhances the quality of their work. The tool is also used to ask for feedback externally and consults clients about working with Bizzomate employees. After all, it can generate a lot of information and important learning to reflect together after a project.

Anne van der Heide: “TruQu can and will never replace face-to-face conversations, but it is a very valuable addition to conversing face-to-face. We see a lot of people giving feedback via the tool and meeting up afterwards to explain their feedback and discuss together. The tool functions as a framework for these conversations and makes it easy to document development. ”

Anne van der Heide: “All in all we are very happy about our collaboration with TruQu. Not only is TruQu a very fun and easy company to work with, TruQu helps our employees grow and makes their development insightful. This results in a greater sense of control for our employees and gives them the opportunity to take their own responsibilities in regard to their personal development. Together we have set up a plan for the next couple of years that describes how we want to keep on further developing the way we conduct appraisals. Implementing and using TruQu has been the perfect way to support our transition.”