Skillrater Case: Feedback & Performance Tool Helps BD - Skillrater
Skillrater Case Study

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Skillrater helps your enterprise achieve and measure a new level of performance and leadership.

bd_logo Download the full BD Case Study Here... Skillrater’s versatile, user-friendly capabilities were recently discovered by Becton Dickinson, a medical technology manufacturer with 30,000+ associates in more than 50 countries and more than $8 billion in annual revenue. BD recently gave Skillrater a spin with some of its high potential leaders, and BD execs are delighted with the results detailed in this skillrater case example. In 2010, BD introduced its Early Career Experience program to develop its high-potential leaders around the globe. After two groups of emerging leaders had worked through the two-year ECE program, BD wanted to follow-up to measure the progress of its developing leaders. Skillrater was the perfect tool for that purpose.

  • Skillrater is built on a familiar social platform that employees worldwide can start using without lengthy training.
  • Skillrater’s assessment parameters are customizable. BD was able to tailor Skillrater to measure participants’ progress in the five goals of the ECE program (strategic thinking, cross-cultural effectiveness, global diversity, leadership, networking).
  • Skillrater collects measurable feedback in the form of simple one-to-five ratings. That enables companies the ability to measure team members’ progress over time, which was exactly what BD wanted to do to assess the success of its ECE.
  • Skillrater’s unique design promotes appreciation and advice. Most of BD’s young leaders had a very positive experience in the ECE. BD didn’t want to ruin the afterglow; it wanted to make sure its follow-up assessment kept things positive, while reinforcing lessons learned.

Ed Franzone, BD Director of Worldwide Learning and Development, said, “Skillrater is an excellent tool that has helped measure the impact of our initiative, while supporting a culture of openness. Our experience with Skillrater at BD is proof that the product works and is outstanding.” Are you ready to get a demo of Skillrater? Request a demo and find out how top performing companies are empowering their teams.

What’s so great about Skillrater?

Here are eight benefits Skillrater can bring to your company’s performance appraisal and leadership development.
 
1. Easy to roll-out and to use. Skillrater is a refreshing alternative to the much-dreaded traditional 360 review. It is built on a social platform that is familiar and comfortable to first-time users. It takes only a few minutes to give feedback using Skillrater. • Franzone: “Skillrater is a great alternative to other, more traditional 360-degree processes, which are long and create a great deal of rater fatigue.” Dan Herman, procurement manager, Instruments Manufacturing, BD Diagnostic Systems: “Many tools try to do too much and become too complex and inefficient, especially when you’re asking people to take time out of their day to give you their feedback. A good feedback tool needs to be easy to use. That’s what I enjoy the most about Skillrater.”
 
2. Customizable feedback. Most 360s and other performance appraisal tools are based on prepackaged parameters. Skillrater is uniquely de- signed so that any skill or quality can be plugged in and rated. Skillrater feedback always zooms on a specific recent event or activity. Joseph Biehler, Engineering Manager for Operations, Advanced Diabetes Care Platform, BD Diabetes Care Busi- ness Unit: “In my prior experience with a 360 review, the specific skills being assessed were pre-determined and the questions were very standard. With Skillrater, we are able to tailor the question to our company and the skills we are looking for.”
 
3. Specific feedback. One thing people hate about many performance appraisals are the long, boring reports that are generated (and which often go unread). Skillrater feedback takes the form of short, meaningful responses to specific events and activities. • Herman: “Skillrater feedback gets straight to the point. The feedback was very specific and easy to interpret, not as lengthy or convoluted as the feedback generated by other review tools.”
 
4. Timely feedback. Almost all performance and assessment tools work on an annual or quarterly basis, generating feedback that is in- stantly out of date. Skillrater gathers right-now responses that create immediate value. • Herman: “I sent a Skillrater rating request to five people, and I got feedback immediately from a manager, a peer and a direct report. It was really helpful.” • Franzone: “Using Skillrater has been an effective way for our associates to reach out quickly to stakeholders and get feedback.”
 
5. Measurable feedback. Skillrater’s simple one-to-five rating system produces metrics that can be used to evaluate team members, measure change over time, and match workers to assignments. • Franzone: “Skillrater provides leaders access to big data around the star performers and leaders whom we may need to position for specific project assignments in the future.”
 
6. Creating a culture of “always on” continuous feedback.
  • Franzone: “Skillrater is a great vehicle for our employees to begin the act of consistently asking for feedback from key stakeholders and customers.”
  • Herman: “Skillrater reminds workers to take some time to solicit feedback. That is easy to forget or can easily fall to the bottom of the priority list.”
  • Herman: “Many times people have input to give you, but do not necessarily have a forum to offer it. Skillrater has been good at enabling that.”
 
7. Continuous feedback leads to continuous improvement.
  • Biehler: “I’ve been out of BD’s ECE program for 18 months or so. Using Skillrater to generate feedback about the ECE program was a really good refresher. It caused me to focus on the concepts I have worked on and get evaluations from others on the progress I have made.”
  • Herman: “Skillrater helps me to continue to reflect on what I learned and what I’ve tried to implement coming out of BD’s ECE program.”
 
8. Positive feedback that emphasizes appreciation and advice. Studies have repeatedly shown that negative feedback is counterproductive. The best kind of feedback reinforces the positive, recognizes improvement, and provides forward-focused advice. Another great benefit of Skillrater is that it causes employees to see and appreciate the strengths and skills of their co-workers. That builds the team and increases the value of the network. Tired of performance management tools that aren’t working and that everyone hates? Contact us today for more information. Let’s talk about how Skillrater can change the culture and brighten the future at your enterprise. Your team members will love Skillrater and your stakeholders will love the results.