Navigating performance management with Sonar6
Software-as-a-service (SaaS – or ‘on-demand computing’) is steadily gaining popularity in the online world as providers find innovative ways to help customers around the world by providing them with smart business tools they use over the internet.
When Mike Carden, Mark Hellier and John Holt saw the opportunities of SaaS, they set about finding a niche product which could utilise this delivery model. Sonar6 was the result – an internet-based, performance management tool.
“We specifically decided that software-as-a-service was a good business category to be in for a New Zealand exporting company,’ says Mike Carden, co-founder, director and head of product.
“We started right from day one saying we need to make this a global business and we need to make it relevant for lots of different markets. We now have customers throughout North America, the United Kingdom, Australasia and India,” says Mike.
After examining the marketplace, Mike and his colleagues saw the need for an effective tool to manage people.
It also happened to be an industry where direct competition was weak, says Mike. Many of the market leaders in performance management are software companies selling their product over the internet, as opposed to a true SaaS business like Sonar6 that actually runs on the internet.
“We looked at the area where most people connect with people performance, and it’s around the performance review – setting goals, measuring competencies, building a development plan – and it’s all done only once a year. We found ourselves saying there’s a process that’s ripe for improvement!”
Sonar6 has taken performance management and morphed it into a process which is both simple and rewarding.
Launched in 2006, it uses a graphics-based interface and elements such as goal setting, self rating and development plans.
A catch-phrase of ‘at last – performance reviews that don’t suck’ signals a new approach to the old bugbear of performance management.
Getting the message across – fast!
With a SaaS product, a website is the vital link between the customer and the business. The Sonar6 team has a wealth of knowledge and expertise in-house, for example co-director Sam Morgan of TradeMe fame.
However, as Mike explains, there is one important element to consider before you launch into designing a website: “The most important element in developing a website is not so much building the site, but getting your messaging really tight”.
“Until you have a tight view of what you want to tell people, it’s hard to build a website. I think the thing that people forget is that most visits to a website last three or four seconds – so if you can’t get your message across pretty quickly you’re going to have problems.”
Meeting the needs of customers everywhere
When building a website, Mike says it is important to understand the differences between customers who use your product. The key, he says, is to remain flexible.
“We’re flexible with our content and we recognise that every business is different.
“It’s not just that businesses in the United States are different in the way they manage their staff to businesses in New Zealand. You’ll find that retailers are different to construction companies, and amongst construction companies you’ll have very different cultures.
“You need to be very flexible and non-prescriptive in how you allow people to measure and performance manage their people.”
Providing access to information and knowledge
One way Sonar6 differs from many online businesses is its willingness to disclose product information and knowledge.
The website contains an extensive knowledge base, including product pricing, webinars, case studies, white papers, newsletters and e-learning modules. This works well, says Mike, as it is efficient, cuts costs and involves the customer from an early point in the buying cycle.
“You don’t want to build a business where you’re really dependent on lots of people to get your message across,” says Mike. “I guess the mistake that a lot of businesses make is that they add a lot of salespeople and then make it hard for customers to get any information unless they talk to the salespeople.”
Another example of Sonar’s sensible thinking is the regular webinars. This approach makes the sales force much more efficient, explains Mike.
“When one of our salespeople does a demonstration, instead of demonstrating to one company they demonstrate to fifteen. It just makes sense. It’s also good for customers because they feel like they are part of a community.”
Sonar6 also offer a 30-day free trial period, a feature which provides the company with a good conversion rate to full-paying customers.
“The idea of a free trial is that rather than having a salesperson breathing down the customer’s neck showing them something, you’re better of just letting people have a play with it. The free trial is a real core part of our offerings.”
This system works a lot better than throwing salespeople at the customer, urging them to make a purchase, advises Mike.
“The first rule of marketing is people will do pretty much what they were going to do, pretty much when they were going to do it. You’re better off having an automated way for people to get information, and let them do it at their own pace, rather than trying to push them through the process.”
The social side of marketing
Social media (LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter) is another tool which Sonar6 uses to get information to customers and interested parties. Mike believes that in the future social media will become even more important as a marketing tool.
“We have a pretty active Twitter approach. It’s interesting – we only have about 3000 followers across our Twitter accounts, but if we put a link into those Twitter accounts we get a really high click through. If 10% of people click on a link that means you get 300 people coming towards you quite easily.
“I suspect that during 2010 social media will be important to us because, even though the number of followers is quite low, the quality of the leads we get through social media is quite high.”
Sonar6 is leading the way in the human resources industry, where a new approach to the traditional performance review was long overdue.
“I mean, it’s never going to be that fun, because it’s a performance review, right?” laughs Mike. But Sonar6 is certainly proving that with the right approach, performance management can be educative, engaging and perhaps even a little bit enjoyable.
Sonar6: http://www.sonar6.com
