Hey, managers! Here’s how to improve your interpersonal skills
Published on
February 20, 2021
Which interpersonal skills are most highly valued by workplace employers? You might be surprised to learn that communication and interpersonal skills rank at the top of the list.
2/3 of managers are uncomfortable communicating with employees.
It’s not always easy to know how to approach conflict, communicate change, or provide negative feedback. And you might not think you need to learn how to improve your interpersonal skills so long as the job gets done, but the truth is that at the base of performing teams are solid relationships.
Good news! These interpersonal skills are identifiable and learnable. With a little practice, you can get better at key management skills such as active listening, communicating, building relationships with employees and offering vital feedback.
Why interpersonal skills are essential for modern managers?
Interpersonal skills are the “soft skills” that make it possible to work with and lead others. These are sometimes referred to as social skills, people skills, or even life skills, because they apply to all facets of your life, not just the workplace. They include skills like effective communication, empathy, self-awareness, conflict resolution, and so on. All skills that facilitate better human interactions. If you want to get the best performance out of your team, you need to know how to successfully manage relationships.
What instances do managers need to apply interpersonal skills?
Actively listening to employees during 1-on-1s
When an employee is underperforming and you need to address the issue
When you need to resolve a conflict between two employees.
Giving constructive feedback aimed at helping an employee develop
Nurturing positive team dynamics, relationships, and collaboration
The first step to better interpersonal skills is being aware of the critical or moments in which you need to apply them on the job. Whether it be high-stakes conversations or knowing how to mobilize your team through change. Build the reflex of taking a moment to think before communicating when it comes to moments and interactions that matter most.
Top 6 interpersonal skills for managers to hone in on
Almost 100 years ago, Dale Carnegie advised readers that they could “win friends and influence people” by learning to be a better communicator. While that basic philosophy still remains in place, here are six examples of specific interpersonal skills you need to succeed as a manager.
1. Effective communication skills
Effective interpersonal communication heads the list of valuable interpersonal skills. It consists of both listening and speaking effectively. Being a good listener means that you are able to receive and understand the speaker’s intent. You listen for words, inflection, tone, and even facial expressions to make sure you completely understand. If the intent is not clear, then you ask clarifying questions.
Did you know? 85% of Officevibe users are satisfied with how frequently they communicate with their managers.
The other side of the communication equation is speaking, or the ability to clearly transmit information. As a manager, you need to be clear when sharing expectations or communicating change. Look your listener in the eye, convey your point with clear words, eliminate jargon, and outline actionable items.
💡 Tip To become a better listener, focus attentively on what your employee is saying and not on what you want to say. Be present, study their body language, and then summarize what you heard to demonstrate that you were listening.
2. Conflict-resolution
It can be difficult to communicate effectively and provide clarity when conflict arises or when tempers are flaring. These can be trying situations but mediating conflict and navigating difficult conversations successfully are the cornerstones of growth and development on your team. Without them, teams will only tiptoe around success.
Managers need to model how to approach difficult conversations around conflict so that employees can have them amongst each other as well. Being able to challenge one another and discuss the elephant in the room respectfully are must-haves for better team performance.
This interpersonal skill requires that you be open-minded to alternate perspectives, empathetic, and as mentioned in point one above, able to listen as much as you speak.
Basic tips for having difficult conversations:
Both parties should establish talking points ahead of time.
Focus on specific facts and behaviors rather than perceptions and feelings.
Aim for a common understanding of both sides, not winning an argument.
Be solution-oriented and work together for the benefit of all participants.
This is at the base of strong emotional intelligence. Before you can seek to understand what motivates the people around you, you need to understand yourself.
This clarity over what drives and affects you will allow you to have control over your emotions. It also allows you to self-reflect, and therefore improve. Leaders with self-awareness are able to admit when they are wrong and flag their own blindspots. It is a trait of true leaders. Those with high self-awareness also possess the ability to better understand others, which, as a manager, is an interpersonal skill that drives connection.
💡 Tip:When it comes to your own emotions, you can improve self-awareness by intentionally noting events that trigger certain disruptive emotions. Once you understand, you can learn to regulate your emotional responses and focus on logic-based solutions.
4. Body language
Non-verbal communication is almost as important as verbal communication. You send out positive and negative signals through facial expressions, the way you sit, or how you use your hands. Sometimes, disinterested body language speaks much louder than your voice.
While we need to pay attention to the words we say, we also need to be mindful of how we express ourselves with nonverbal cues in order to ensure that our intended message and our perceived message match.
💡 Tip:In a remote context, pay attention to your posture and eye contact. Nod to demonstrate you have processed information, or smile to show engagement. Notice what you are doing when your employee is talking and ensure it reflects your attention. You may be listening but resting your head in your hand might show boredom, for example.
5. Empathy
Empathy is the ability to put yourself in someone else’s shoes. It doesn’t mean you have to agree with them, but being able to take on another perspective gives you a leg up when building relationships. Imagine seeing through your employees' eyes?
Empathy is a skill that allows you to break from your own perspectives and beliefs, which as a manager is essential when you have a time filled with unique individuals, expertise and points of view.
💡 Tips: If you are communicating with a conflicted employee, before reacting, try to remember when you were on that side of the desk. You might have been inexperienced or afraid, so it’s possible this person feels the same way. Give the team member a chance to express their feelings or ideas, and then provide input, without judgment.
6. Relationship management
Relationship management is one of the most important of your managerial interpersonal skills.
Did you know? 86% of employees using Officevibe trust their direct manager
Building and nurturing solid relationships with both your team and upper management requires that you intentionally build trust. This is done by taking time to get to know your colleagues as people, not just workers.
You’ll find that strong relationships can lead to improved collaboration, smoother conflict resolution, and a happier team overall. But, how can your track relationships? Officevibe offers a suite of tools for managers that help monitor and improve the quality of team relationships.
Use our anonymous feedback feature to learn the state of relationships on your team, and where you need to put efforts to improve them.
Remember that while guiding your team to reach goals is part of your job, the other part is putting your people skills to work to ensure collaboration, connection, and chemistry. As you learn how to improve your interpersonal skills, you’ll be able to use your hard skills to more effectively guide your team to success.
From flawed to flawless: 5 steps to leading distributed teams
Which interpersonal skills are most highly valued by workplace employers? You might be surprised to learn that communication and interpersonal skills rank at the top of the list.
2/3 of managers are uncomfortable communicating with employees.
It’s not always easy to know how to approach conflict, communicate change, or provide negative feedback. And you might not think you need to learn how to improve your interpersonal skills so long as the job gets done, but the truth is that at the base of performing teams are solid relationships.
Good news! These interpersonal skills are identifiable and learnable. With a little practice, you can get better at key management skills such as active listening, communicating, building relationships with employees and offering vital feedback.
Why interpersonal skills are essential for modern managers?
Interpersonal skills are the “soft skills” that make it possible to work with and lead others. These are sometimes referred to as social skills, people skills, or even life skills, because they apply to all facets of your life, not just the workplace. They include skills like effective communication, empathy, self-awareness, conflict resolution, and so on. All skills that facilitate better human interactions. If you want to get the best performance out of your team, you need to know how to successfully manage relationships.
What instances do managers need to apply interpersonal skills?
Actively listening to employees during 1-on-1s
When an employee is underperforming and you need to address the issue
When you need to resolve a conflict between two employees.
Giving constructive feedback aimed at helping an employee develop
Nurturing positive team dynamics, relationships, and collaboration
The first step to better interpersonal skills is being aware of the critical or moments in which you need to apply them on the job. Whether it be high-stakes conversations or knowing how to mobilize your team through change. Build the reflex of taking a moment to think before communicating when it comes to moments and interactions that matter most.
Top 6 interpersonal skills for managers to hone in on
Almost 100 years ago, Dale Carnegie advised readers that they could “win friends and influence people” by learning to be a better communicator. While that basic philosophy still remains in place, here are six examples of specific interpersonal skills you need to succeed as a manager.
1. Effective communication skills
Effective interpersonal communication heads the list of valuable interpersonal skills. It consists of both listening and speaking effectively. Being a good listener means that you are able to receive and understand the speaker’s intent. You listen for words, inflection, tone, and even facial expressions to make sure you completely understand. If the intent is not clear, then you ask clarifying questions.
Did you know? 85% of Officevibe users are satisfied with how frequently they communicate with their managers.
The other side of the communication equation is speaking, or the ability to clearly transmit information. As a manager, you need to be clear when sharing expectations or communicating change. Look your listener in the eye, convey your point with clear words, eliminate jargon, and outline actionable items.
💡 Tip To become a better listener, focus attentively on what your employee is saying and not on what you want to say. Be present, study their body language, and then summarize what you heard to demonstrate that you were listening.
2. Conflict-resolution
It can be difficult to communicate effectively and provide clarity when conflict arises or when tempers are flaring. These can be trying situations but mediating conflict and navigating difficult conversations successfully are the cornerstones of growth and development on your team. Without them, teams will only tiptoe around success.
Managers need to model how to approach difficult conversations around conflict so that employees can have them amongst each other as well. Being able to challenge one another and discuss the elephant in the room respectfully are must-haves for better team performance.
This interpersonal skill requires that you be open-minded to alternate perspectives, empathetic, and as mentioned in point one above, able to listen as much as you speak.
Basic tips for having difficult conversations:
Both parties should establish talking points ahead of time.
Focus on specific facts and behaviors rather than perceptions and feelings.
Aim for a common understanding of both sides, not winning an argument.
Be solution-oriented and work together for the benefit of all participants.
This is at the base of strong emotional intelligence. Before you can seek to understand what motivates the people around you, you need to understand yourself.
This clarity over what drives and affects you will allow you to have control over your emotions. It also allows you to self-reflect, and therefore improve. Leaders with self-awareness are able to admit when they are wrong and flag their own blindspots. It is a trait of true leaders. Those with high self-awareness also possess the ability to better understand others, which, as a manager, is an interpersonal skill that drives connection.
💡 Tip:When it comes to your own emotions, you can improve self-awareness by intentionally noting events that trigger certain disruptive emotions. Once you understand, you can learn to regulate your emotional responses and focus on logic-based solutions.
4. Body language
Non-verbal communication is almost as important as verbal communication. You send out positive and negative signals through facial expressions, the way you sit, or how you use your hands. Sometimes, disinterested body language speaks much louder than your voice.
While we need to pay attention to the words we say, we also need to be mindful of how we express ourselves with nonverbal cues in order to ensure that our intended message and our perceived message match.
💡 Tip:In a remote context, pay attention to your posture and eye contact. Nod to demonstrate you have processed information, or smile to show engagement. Notice what you are doing when your employee is talking and ensure it reflects your attention. You may be listening but resting your head in your hand might show boredom, for example.
5. Empathy
Empathy is the ability to put yourself in someone else’s shoes. It doesn’t mean you have to agree with them, but being able to take on another perspective gives you a leg up when building relationships. Imagine seeing through your employees' eyes?
Empathy is a skill that allows you to break from your own perspectives and beliefs, which as a manager is essential when you have a time filled with unique individuals, expertise and points of view.
💡 Tips: If you are communicating with a conflicted employee, before reacting, try to remember when you were on that side of the desk. You might have been inexperienced or afraid, so it’s possible this person feels the same way. Give the team member a chance to express their feelings or ideas, and then provide input, without judgment.
6. Relationship management
Relationship management is one of the most important of your managerial interpersonal skills.
Did you know? 86% of employees using Officevibe trust their direct manager
Building and nurturing solid relationships with both your team and upper management requires that you intentionally build trust. This is done by taking time to get to know your colleagues as people, not just workers.
You’ll find that strong relationships can lead to improved collaboration, smoother conflict resolution, and a happier team overall. But, how can your track relationships? Officevibe offers a suite of tools for managers that help monitor and improve the quality of team relationships.
Use our anonymous feedback feature to learn the state of relationships on your team, and where you need to put efforts to improve them.
Remember that while guiding your team to reach goals is part of your job, the other part is putting your people skills to work to ensure collaboration, connection, and chemistry. As you learn how to improve your interpersonal skills, you’ll be able to use your hard skills to more effectively guide your team to success.
Equip HR and managers with tools to engage, recognize, and drive performance.
Mastering employee performance reviews: A guide for managers
Save your seat
When you hear "performance review," what comes to mind? As a manager, do you think of it as a once-a-year task that's just part of your checklist? Or perhaps, do you think of it as a laborious process with no clearly useful output?
Rest assured; the performance review process can be utilized strategically and absolutely be done in a way that is structured, effective, and impactful.
In this article, you'll find your ultimate guide to employee performance reviews. We'll walk you through the essential steps involved in conducting effective performance reviews and provide guidance on what a successful review should look like — before, during, and after. When done right, they can contribute to employee growth, development, and higher business performance.
Here is everything you need to conduct successful employee performance reviews
Let's first cover the basics. At its core, a performance review is a structured process that evaluates an individual's job performance and provides constructive feedback. Performance reviews are an essential part of the performance management process and support goal-setting, monitoring, and accountability.
Traditionally, a performance review has been an annual event, but in the modern workplace, with continuous performance management gaining traction, performance reviews have taken different forms — be it regular check-ins or ongoing feedback to foster employee development and improvement. In this new era of performance management, managers become more like coaches who empower their employees to reach their full potential.
Performance reviews don't have to be complicated, just as long as you don't undervalue their power either. They offer numerous benefits for both individuals and organizations at every level. They:
Improve communication
Identify strengths and weaknesses
Facilitate goal setting
Enhance employee engagement
Strengthen employee-manager relationships
By investing in performance reviews, you pave the way for continuous improvement and foster a more positive work culture.
Key elements of an effective performance review
Performance reviews play a crucial role in driving employee growth and development while contributing to higher business performance. To conduct impactful performance reviews, it's essential to incorporate key elements that foster a supportive, collaborative, and ultimately thriving environment.
Here are the key elements of an effective performance review process:
Frequent review cycles
Break away from the anxiety-inducing annual performance review and normalize conversations about performance. Implementing regular review cycles allows for ongoing feedback, ensuring employees stay on track and have the opportunity to grow continuously.
For example, quarterly or monthly check-ins provide timely feedback and help address any performance gaps promptly.
Two-way conversations
Performance reviews shouldn't be one-sided. By involving employees in two-way conversations, you demonstrate that their opinions and insights are valued, fostering a sense of ownership and engagement.
Encourage open dialogue and create a space for employees to share their perspectives, offer suggestions, and actively participate in the review process.
Focused on improvements
Modern performance reviews shift the focus from dwelling on past mistakes to emphasizing growth and development. By adopting a forward-thinking approach, you inspire a growth mindset and create a culture that supports continuous learning and development.
Encourage employees to reflect on their experiences, learn from them, and set goals for improvement.
Transparent and honest
Transparency and honesty are paramount in fostering trust between managers and employees. Establish clear communication channels to ensure employees understand how their performance is being assessed and how feedback will be provided.
Transparency also involves clearly communicating the evaluation criteria and ensuring employees have access to the necessary resources for improvement.
Fair and objective review process
A fair and objective review process is essential for employee morale and engagement. Use standardized evaluation criteria that are consistently applied across the organization. This helps maintain fairness and ensures that employees feel their performance is evaluated on an equal basis.
Objective evaluations foster trust and provide employees with a sense of confidence in the review process.
How to prepare for a performance review
To conduct an effective performance review, managers need to prepare in advance. Here are the key prep steps to get ready:
1. Align on performance evaluation criteria
Performance evaluations require a clear understanding of the criteria and metrics used to assess employee performance. It's essential for managers and employees to have a shared understanding of what constitutes good or poor performance.
For example, you might establish criteria such as meeting project deadlines, demonstrating strong communication skills, or displaying proactive problem-solving abilities. By aligning these criteria, you can ensure fairness and consistency in your evaluations.
2. Gather employee data and examples
To provide meaningful performance feedback, gather relevant qualitative and quantitative data, as well as examples that illustrate an employee's performance.
There are different methods of performance evaluation, all of which can be pooled to build a comprehensive performance picture. Qualitative data can come from employee self-evaluation, peer reviews, or supervisor assessments. Whereas quantitative data can come from sales figures or other productivity metrics.
By collecting a range of data and examples, you'll have a well-rounded view of the employee's performance that considers all factors — not just numbers.
3. Use a performance review template
Templates exist for a reason. They provide a pre-existing structure from which you can build on and customize. They also save you time!
Performance review templates provide a set of targeted questions that guide you through each aspect of the review, ensuring you cover all relevant areas with your employee. Using a template saves prep time and helps maintain consistency across each team member's evaluation. It also ensures that no important topics or questions are overlooked.
Officevibe includes performance review templates designed to make the review process even more streamlined, effective, and data-driven.
Use performance review templates in Officevibe.
4. Prepare a meeting agenda
Before the performance review meeting, create a detailed agenda to guide the discussion. Outline the specific topics you want to cover, such as achievements, areas for improvement, and future goals. Consider including specific examples or projects to discuss during the meeting.
Having a clear agenda helps keep the conversation focused and ensures that all important points are addressed. It also shows employees that you have taken the time to prepare and value their performance.
👀 Check out our one-on-one meeting agendas that cover most manager-employee scenarios, including performance reviews, performance improvement plans, career development, and more!
5. Schedule your performance review meeting
Set a date and time for the performance review that works for both you and the employee. Choose a time when you can give your undivided attention and create a comfortable environment for open and honest conversation.
Avoid scheduling the review during particularly busy or stressful periods to ensure you can devote sufficient time and attention to the discussion. Scheduling the meeting in advance demonstrates your commitment to the employee's growth and development.
By following these steps and adequately preparing for the performance review, you set the stage for a productive and valuable discussion with your employees. Effective preparation ensures that you have the necessary information, structure, and focus to provide meaningful feedback and pave the way for future growth.
[ov_cta id="5122598"]
How to conduct an employee performance review
Now that you're prepared, let's explore how to conduct an effective performance review. This is the time to engage in a productive conversation that supports employee growth and development.
The following guidelines provide the performance review framework you need to promote employee development, foster positive relationships, and drive organizational success:
1. Set a positive and constructive tone during the review
Approach the review with a supportive and coaching mindset. It's critical to create a safe space for open dialogue, which fosters collaboration much better than when employees don't feel like they have input. Remember that the goal is to empower employees in their future performance by emphasizing what they are capable of rather than reinforcing what they may not be doing well enough.
2. Share positive feedback and recognition
Similar to the compliment sandwich approach, balancing positive feedback with areas for improvement can go a long way. Make sure to share your own feedback and words of acknowledgment to strengthen your manager-employee bond. Additionally, pass on any feedback you received from other colleagues or leaders, which could help the employee feel valued and appreciated.
3. Offer constructive feedback
Discuss any performance challenges or areas of underperformance directly and constructively. By framing things in a constructive way and using specific examples to illustrate your points, you provide more actionable solutions for growth. Navigate difficult conversations with empathy and a focus on finding solutions together.
Need the inspiration to find high-quality feedback? Here are 22 constructive feedback examples and tips to help you deliver feedback that gets results.
4. Give specific examples
By providing specific examples, you can ensure clarity and facilitate productive discussions. Make sure to back up your feedback with concrete examples to make it more impactful and actionable. Contextualizing feedback with current and past performance examples, helps employees understand the specific behaviors or situations that need improvement or reinforcement.
5. Address performance challenges
During the review, address any performance challenges or areas of underperformance directly and constructively. There are many ways to approach poor work performance issues, just remember to lead these conversations with empathy and a focus on finding solutions. By addressing challenges head-on, you can work together with the employee to identify strategies for improvement and growth.
Granted, some conversations are a little bit more difficult than others. Hey, managers are only human. Read our difficult conversation tips to ensure the message (and solution) isn't getting lost in translation.
6. Listen actively
During the performance review, practice active listening to show genuine interest in the employee's perspective. Pay attention to their thoughts, concerns, and aspirations. By actively listening, you create an environment where employees feel heard and valued, fostering trust and engagement.
By involving employees in the process of defining the next steps, you empower them to take ownership of their growth and development.
Remember, conducting a performance review is not just a one-time event but part of an ongoing performance management system. Ultimately, ensuring continuous feedback and regular check-ins throughout the year helps set, align, and adjust employee goals when appropriate, which contributes to employee growth and success.
What to do after a performance review
The performance review doesn't end with the meeting. Here's what you can do to ensure continuous improvement and growth.
1. Follow up on the next steps
After the performance review, it's crucial to stay involved and provide ongoing support. Follow up on the next steps that were identified during the review. Schedule frequent one-on-ones and other touchpoints to monitor progress and measure results. This demonstrates your commitment to the employee's growth and helps ensure they are on the right track toward achieving their goals.
🤔 Not sure how often to schedule one-on-ones? Find your best formula for one-on-one frequency.
For example, if one of the next steps identified during the review was for the employee to improve their time management skills, you can schedule a follow-up meeting a month later to discuss their progress. During this meeting, you can ask specific questions about their strategies for improving time management, inquire about any challenges they may have encountered, and provide additional guidance or resources if needed.
By following up on next steps, you show that you are invested in your employees' success and provide an opportunity for course correction or further development.
2. Keep the performance conversation going
Embrace the beauty of continuous performance cycles by conducting regular check-ins and one-on-one meetings. These ongoing conversations provide opportunities to discuss progress, address challenges, and provide timely feedback. By maintaining an open line of communication, you can support employees in their growth journey and ensure that performance remains a priority.
For example, you can schedule bi-weekly or monthly one-on-one meetings with your employees to discuss their ongoing projects, address any obstacles they may be facing, and provide guidance or feedback. These meetings create a space for employees to share their achievements, seek guidance on their work, and discuss any new challenges that may have arisen, to assess at your next employee performance review. By keeping the performance conversation going, you demonstrate your commitment to their development and create an environment where continuous improvement is encouraged.
Officevibe supports continuous performance management. This feature provides tools and resources to facilitate ongoing feedback, goal tracking, and one-on-one meetings!
Effective performance review phrases to use in your next review
Crafting meaningful feedback is key to a successful performance review. Here are some examples of performance review phrases, be them appraisals or constructive, to inspire your next review:
Creativity: "Your innovative thinking has led to impressive solutions, pushing our team to new heights."
Communication: "Your clear and concise communication style has greatly improved team collaboration and project outcomes."
Accountability: "You consistently take ownership of your responsibilities, delivering results with a high level of accountability."
Productivity: "Your exceptional time management skills and efficient work habits have significantly increased productivity within the team."
Collaboration: "Your collaborative approach fosters a positive team environment, encouraging open communication and idea-sharing."
Coaching: "Your dedication to mentoring team members has empowered them to grow and excel in their roles."
Areas of improvement: "To further enhance your performance, focusing on improving your presentation skills will help you engage stakeholders more effectively."
Problem-solving: "Your analytical thinking and resourcefulness have consistently resulted in creative problem-solving and successful outcomes."
Again, following up on any performance feedback with specific examples will make the feedback itself more impactful by giving it context. This will also show the employee you gave the feedback thought. For example, you could pair praise about problem-solving with something along the lines of: "Last month, when we had an issue with project X, you managed to fix this by doing A, B, and C and that ensured we could deliver on time! Thank you."
⭐️ Find more examples of employee feedback that creates an impact, especially relating to more sensitive issues like the need for additional training or failing to meet deadlines, and best practices for delivering them.
Use performance management software
Theoretically, you can master your performance review approach all on your own. Logistically, however, there are ways you can make the entire performance management process infinitely easier for yourself (and your employees).
Performance management software like Officevibe turns the review process into a fun and dynamic aspect of the employee experience. With data-driven features such as goal setting, continuous feedback, and performance tracking, it simplifies, streamlines, and enhances the entire performance review process, making it fair, efficient, and engaging for both managers and employees.
By utilizing performance review software, you can maximize the benefits of performance management, foster employee development, and cultivate a positive work culture.
Elevate growth, engagement, and success with Officevibe
Mastering the art of employee performance reviews is essential for managers looking to drive growth, engagement, and success within their teams. By following the key steps outlined in this guide, you can conduct effective performance reviews that inspire improvement, empower employees, and contribute to overall organizational success.
Remember, performance reviews should be a collaborative and continuous process that prioritizes growth, feedback, and open communication. Embrace the opportunity to support your employees' development and create a culture of excellence!
Inside Workleap
Workleap Fall Launch: Empowering HR Leaders with New Features for Employee Growth and Engagement
Save your seat
MONTRÉAL — Nov. 25, 2024 — Workleap, a leading Canadian software company behind products that empower 20,000 companies in more than 100 countries to build better employee experiences, announces its fall platform release introducing new solutions and integrated features into an all-in-one simple-to-use platform. This release marks a new milestone in Workleap’s ongoing commitment to transform the employee experience by empowering HR leaders to drive organizational performance and achieve business goals.
Workleap’s comprehensive platform helps HR lead organizations to thrive in the modern setting of hybrid, remote, and distributed work environments. The consolidated solution for understanding employee engagement, driving performance, and developing employees is the best add-on to your existing HRIS and HR technology, allowing companies to add simple experiences across the employee lifecycle. Bringing these functions together in one platform, Workleap enables HR professionals to create a more responsive, agile and employee-centric work environment.
What's New
Workleap Performance streamlines performance management reviews and enables HR teams to guide managers to provide meaningful feedback, align teams with business goals, and easily track progress—all in one place.
Workleap Pingboard, an intuitive org-chart, visualization, and company building solution, will be integrated within the Workleap platform before the end of the year.
Integrated tools to help HR: Easily visualize employee engagement data within your org chart, streamline onboarding and learning workflows, accelerate content creation with AI designed for HR, and launch custom surveys across the employee journey.
Unmatched value: Game-changing bundled pricing lowers the barrier for HR teams of any size to enhance the employee experience.
Why It Matters
“Hybrid work has completely reshaped the role of HR. It’s no longer just about managing employees—it’s about building the right frameworks, fostering authentic connections, and leveraging tools that drive meaningful outcomes,” said Simon De Baene, Co-founder and CEO of Workleap. “At Workleap, our mission is clear: make work simpler. The Workleap platform brings together the tools HR teams and leaders need to focus on what matters most—creating workplaces where people feel supported, connected, and empowered to grow. By continuing to invest in our platform, we’re accelerating innovation with solutions like Workleap Performance—designed to be simple, effective, and built to keep HR and leaders ahead as the future of work evolves.”
To learn more about Workleap’s employee experience platform, visit workleap.com.
About Workleap Workleap is the best add-on to your HRIS to build better employee experiences. The all-in-one Workleap platform empowers organizations to make work simpler by unifying onboarding, engagement, performance, and development —in one platform.
Workleap is a Montréal, Canada-based company building the operating system for hybrid work—unifying the experience to streamline talent management and scale productivity tools across 20,000 companies in more than 100 countries.
The future of employee experience: simplified, unified, and much more human
Save your seat
At Workleap, we believe that strong employee experiences stem from three core HR actions:
Understand how your employees feel to make them feel heard.
Help managers to connect their teams and drive them to perform.
Develop your employees, grow their careers, and help them deliver for your business.
HR work should be human work, supplemented by the right tools.
It sounds simple (and appealing, no?), but the reality is, finding a simple software solution to unify and streamline this work is like finding a needle in a haystack.
Refreshingly simple employee experience software
According to HR.com's State of Today's HR Tech Stack and Integrations 2024 report, 37% of respondents are juggling five to eleven (or more) paid HR solutions in their tech stacks. Your job is certainly complex — but the last thing you need is to manage endless tools and increase costs.
Workleap's employee experience platform brings the simplicity you're looking for — one solution to unify and streamline everything you need understand your people, connect teams, drive performance, and develop careers.
Engagement surveys, anonymous feedback, performance management, new employee onboarding, learning management, and career progression — yes, all of this, in one place! It seamlessly integrates with your existing HRIS, adding a layer of simple (and consistently used) experiences.
And with such a breezy setup, you finally have the breathing room to collect the right inputs, take time to analyze and reflect, and plan concrete actions.
Hybrid work has completely reshaped the role of HR. It’s no longer just about managing employees—it’s about building the right frameworks, fostering authentic connections, and leveraging tools that drive meaningful outcomes. At Workleap, our mission is clear: make work simpler. The Workleap platform brings together the tools HR teams and leaders need to focus on what matters most—creating workplaces where people feel supported, connected, and empowered to grow. By continuing to invest in our platform, we’re accelerating innovation with solutions like Workleap Performance—designed to be simple, effective, and built to keep HR and leaders ahead as the future of work evolves. - Simon De Beane, CEO and Founder at Workleap
A main takeaway from the HR.com report is that employee experience is the top priority that businesses want to address with their tech stack. Over half of respondents don't have any capabilities at all!
We know you know it's time to boost your employee experience. And here's how you do it.
Understand your people. Make them feel heard.
Listening is a basic human skill — but in the HR context, it's taken to a whole new level.
Continuous employee listening involves:
Providing a safe space for employees to answer questions and provide feedback
Acknowledging and analyzing employee responses
Actioning on employee feedback and communicating changes
Ensuring your people feel heard is a key element of employee listening. As McKinsey senior partner, Carolyn Dewar, says: “You need to genuinely listen and learn, because the organization will sense if you are asking questions but not interested in the answers.”
While there are many moving parts, continuous listening should be top priority because it goes hand in hand with one of HR's key metrics, employee engagement. In fact, highly engaged employees are three times more likely to say they feel heard at their workplace (92%) than highly disengaged employees (just 30%).
Good news is, there are tools out there that help you collect constant feedback, regardless of location or time zone.
During the webinar, we talked about the how:How can HR leaders hear and analyze the perspectives of hundreds (or thousands) of employees? Their answer? Find yourself a really good survey and feedback tool.
Both tools offer a safe space and an easy user experience to increase employee participation rates, which means greater insights for you! More recently, we updated our pulse survey tool to enable flexible listening. Now, you can deactivate or add custom questions to help you measure what matters to your organization.
My team and I enjoy using Workleap Officevibe because we can instantly view our department's engagement temperature while continuously addressing learning and implementing strategies based on employees' voices. - Sivakumar Muniandy, Head of Singapore Contact Centre Operation, AIA Shared Services
To close the loop, we recommend sharing updates with your people on what you're hearing and doing to address their needs. Open communication is key!
“If you could get all the people in an organization rowing in the same direction, you could dominate any industry, in any market, against any competition, at any time.”
When your people are connected, you’re a force to be reckoned with. Without this, the business goes nowhere. People work inefficiently. Decisions are made more slowly. Alignment ensures everyone works in lockstep. And that can make a big difference on revenue.
What can you do, as an HR leader of a hybrid organization, to connect your teams from the comfort of your home office? Read on.
How Workleap helps you connect and drive performance
When you crack the code for driving alignment, you'll discover endless opportunities. There are many ways to get individuals and teams together and moving in the same direction.
One way is through performance management. Once organizational goals are defined, then all other individual and team goals can feed this North Star.
The reality is, however, that many HR pros are struggling to find a performance management solution that blend theflexibility needed to adapt to changing needs with the simplicity and user-friendliness that fosters widespread adoption and efficiency.
With our new Workleap Performance product, you can finally have a flexible and customizable framework to build performance cycles that fit like a glove. You can easily customize questions and evaluation criteria that align with your organizational goals, mission, and values — while still ensuring a consistent and fair process across managers and teams.
Another way to align people — that's especially valuable for hybrid or remote workforces and incredibly easy to implement — is by helping people connect with the right collaborators across their company. A tool as simple as a dynamic org chart and employee directory can foster faster relationships by showing who you need to speak with to progress your work.
With Workleap Pingboard you can instantly improve alignment by fostering connections between employees, streamlining resource planning, and improving internal communications.
Foster continuous learning and development
Employees care about learning, development, and growth opportunities. This isn't new news.
We've seen the data, too. When an organization provides these opportunities, great talent flocks and they stick around. According to the LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report 2024, organizations with strong learning cultures have a +57% retention rate and +23% internal mobility rate.
Talent development starts from day one and it can be tackled with a strong onboarding process. Fresh training and courses will keep people engaged and growing.
But we know the behind-the-scenes work of an L&D program — planning, managing, and tracking — can be time-consuming, hard to scale, and frustrating to maintain.
How Workleap helps you develop talent at scale
The secret to scaling your learning, development, and growth programs is leveraging AI, tried-and-tested templates, and other tools that remove the heavy lifting, so you can focus on the big picture: building a culture of continuous learning.
Need to create new safety training? Hop into Workleap LMS and leverage AI to create a course outline in minutes with a few simple prompts. Want to integrate this course into your new hire's onboarding plan that you just built in Workleap Onboarding? Easy peasy!
Unifying these product experiences isn’t just great for you — it also helps new hires transition smoothly from onboarding to role-specific training.
When onboarding, training, and career plans are easier to create and manage, you'll see higher engagement — from your HR team, managers, SMEs, and employees.
All you need to build impactful employee experiences
With Workleap's unified platform, you have all you need to tackle the key areas of the employee experience:
Understand how your employees feel to make them feel heard with Workleap Officevibe
Help managers connect their teams and drive them to perform with Workleap Pingboard and Workleap Performance.
Develop employees, grow their careers, and help them deliver for your business with Workleap LMS, Workleap Onboarding, and Workleap Skills
