As an HR Coordinator, one of the reasons I left my old company to join Grasshopper was the whisper of quarterly performance reviews and incentive rewards each quarter. After having two reviews in 4.5 years and a bonus that worked like clockwork each and every quarter, I was excited to gain the type of feedback that could actually provide real time changes in how I performed. Imagine actually being rewarded for having a better performance. Talk about a shift in philosophy!

We are just now wrapping up our first year of quarterly reviews and as I started looking at the numbers, for the first time in my HR career, I can actually see growth and who stands out in each department. Believe me– it is rare that HR people can say that!

But that isn’t the only benefit for me in HR. A company as young as we are (team members’ ages not age of the company- but we are just five years old as a company) and founded by Gen Y’ers, we have found a way to ensure that the pay for performance model not only encourages all of our staff but also fits with many of our team members desires as Gen Y’ers.

We can now to “cater” to the needs of how we like to be managed and thus we are more willing to work hard and excel both for us and the company (Win-win for Grasshopper).

Experts agree that the best way to work successfully and keep us engaged in organizations is many of the actions we take for granted here at Grasshopper:

• Establishing a regular time and place for one-on-one meetings: We have weekly or bi-monthly one on ones with managers to review progress on goals and create that human connection
• Provide frequent and robust performance reviews: Quarterly reviews using one of the best software packages on the market: SuccessFactors.
• Keep track of performance, not just from your manager: We as team members complete a self-review each quarter. Team members are also able to write notes to their managers, themselves, or anyone in the company about what they have accomplished or to recognize the work of someone else.
• Have direct line of slight of company goals: We as a company meet once a quarter to celebrate past success and share the company goals which then are cascaded from SuccessFactors to each team member.
• Empower us to decide how and when to get the work done:No one will micromanage you here and tell you what to work on to achieve each goal which is meaningful to the bottom line.

So I am getting paid to perform in a system that manages me and my fellow Y’ers in a way that makes sense?? Talk about a win-win!

Even with the hemming and hawing (alright fine, from time to time I used outdates expressions, sue me!) from our managers about the time it takes up each quarter from goal planning to meeting to check in to writing the reviews, the pay for performance ideals fit both with how we at Grasshopper operate and our culture.