Trakstar Blog

As we introduce our brand new module, Trakstar Engagement, we wanted to take a moment to talk about how we protect the anonymity of survey respondents. Your employees will feel compelled to honestly respond to your engagement surveys if they know their identity is protected. And accurate feedback is how your organization learns what it’s […]

A lot of organizations talk about culture. The CEO raves about it when they stand in front of the staff. HR strives to build an inclusive and open culture. Recruiters try to hire people who fit the culture. But too many companies have an indistinct culture. One might exist in some form but it’s often […]

The following is a guest interview, written and contributed by Janine Nicole Truitt, Chief Innovations Officer for Talent Think Innovations, LLC Succession Planning is an important component of the health of a business. In order to be a sustainable enterprise you not only need to have a tried and true method for attracting and hiring […]

The following is a guest blog post, written and contributed by Tim Sackett, SPHR, SCP It goes against every HR bone in your body, doesn’t it!? What do you mean “stop trying to increase employee engagement!?” We have to increase employee engagement, it’s really our only job in HR! Let’s say you’re a 91 out […]

While employee performance reviews are an important activity for any organization, there can be a negative sentiment among the people who participate in them. It goes without saying the average employee is apprehensive about having their performance put under a microscope. But many managers are also put off by a typical assessment process. The time […]

Your organization finished its latest round of performance reviews. Congratulations! Your employees were likely happy to learn how they’re doing and are now looking forward to getting back to their usual routine. But if you oversee the review process, there is still work to be done. You uncovered a lot of interesting insights by conducting […]

Organizations are successful when the entire staff performs to their full potential. Every employee needs to put their best foot forward each and every day. However, effectively evaluating employee performance is easier said than done. Human resources and organizational leadership invest a lot of time and effort overseeing the employee evaluation process. Unfortunately, these assessments […]

We’ve all heard quiet people say they’re introverted and outgoing people say they’re extroverted. But life experience tells us there are more than two types of people in this world. If you’re familiar with the Myers–Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) test, you’re likely aware of the 16 distinct personalities equally divided between the introversion and extroversion […]

These days it seems like everyone self-identifies as either an introvert or extrovert. However, introversion and extraversion are simply the two overarching categories for the 16 distinct personality types covered by the Myers–Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) test. There are actually eight types of both introverts and extroverts, each one different from the others. One of […]

The Trakstar team and I are excited to announce a brand new offering — Trakstar Engagement. Now you can get valuable insights into employee engagement with frequent check ins, surveys, and polls; all within your performance management tool. We believe people do their best work when they’re happy and motivated. Trakstar Engagement gives you the […]

What is the 360-Degree Performance Appraisal Process?   The performance appraisal process is similar to building blocks, you can pick and choose what you would like to include to make up your final product. From competencies to setting goals, even open-ended questions, the options for your performance appraisals process sure aren’t lacking, but one building […]

A Dog-Friendly Workplace Trakstar is home to great employees and their dogs. The pets in our office bring joy and companionship and add to our culture. We enjoy their playfulness and the connections we make with the dogs and with each other through them. A few things made the inclusion of dogs in our workplace […]

Rater bias is, by definition, an inaccurate distortion of a measurement.  Everyone has biases, and we bring our biases to the table when appraising ourselves or others.  Our biases can inflate or deflate an employee’s ratings, but we want to be fair. How can an organization flatten Rater Bias?  Here are three easy steps. Create […]

Employee performance is tricky to measure, but one strategy used by millions of domestic and international companies is performance rating. What better way to determine employee abilities than to ask their supervisors, subordinates, and peers who work with them every day? Unfortunately, we are all affected by a wide variety of rater biases that impact […]

If you own a business or organization, you may have many goals for the business. However, many business owners keep these goals to themselves, thinking that their employees either do not care about the goals or should not be privy to the goals of the owner. Withholding all of the goals from your employees can […]

What is a 90-day Review? A 90-day review is used when hiring new employees or transferring employees to new positions. After the first 90 days, a manager reviews employee performance, goal progress, and discusses future onboarding and training plans. It’s important to come prepared to the 90-day review with an agenda and questions to ask. […]

Most organizations have some sort of performance appraisal system in place to evaluate decisions related to promotions, salary hikes and transfers for employees. To execute that, a set of expectations is established against which employees’ performance is measured. That’s where the importance of writing SMART performance evaluation goals comes in.   What are SMART Goals? […]

The annual review is a staple in many organizations. Human resources is tasked with ensuring managers assess all their team members’ performance and make time to discuss the results with each person. For a week or two every year, much of the focus shifts to the employee evaluation process. However, limiting employee reviews to only […]

Everyone has stories about people who are difficult to work with. These experiences are often what makes an otherwise good job a dreadful experience. Often times, the saving grace for these people is they’re good at what they do. Otherwise, there would be no reason for the company to tolerate their bad attitude. If you […]

Every company strives to grow. It means customers are happy, employees are working hard, and the business is achieving its goals, maybe even faster than anticipated. However, with success comes new hurdles to overcome. Challenges related to growth are good problems to have but they’re still problems nonetheless. They need to be confronted head-on if […]

Here at Trakstar we wanted to celebrate Pride Month by sharing what Pride means to some of our employees. Kicking off with our CEO Julie Rieken, read below to see how Pride positively impacts our employees and company. Happy Pride from all of us at Trakstar!   What does Pride mean to you? To me, […]