Studies have shown men and women have very different experiences when it comes to traditional performance reviews.
A Stanford study from last year found that men are three times as likely to hear feedback based on business outcomes over women, and hear twice as many references to their technical skills. At the same time, women received 2.5 times the amount of feedback as men that pointed out aggressive communication styles, and received twice the amount of references to team accomplishments over individual achievements.
Researchers say this is partly because performance reviews tend to be based on vague metrics, open-ended questions, and only happen once or twice per year.
Jennifer and Landon Shoop believe it's time for that to change. Last fall the couple cofounded Fizz, a startup that specifically addresses these pain points in performance reviews through an HR tech platform that allows for real-time, metrics-oriented feedback between employees and employers. Their goal is to reduce the opportunity for bias, and help companies save time and money by correcting any problems in real-time, rather than at yearly intervals.
The platform asks employees to write "tweet-length" descriptions of any accomplishment they make, and tag it with relevant goals (decided by the employer and employee). Managers have access to the platform, and can respond to any accomplishments with quick praise or suggestions, and a work rating. Managers also have a dashboard that compiles their employees' accomplishments, feedback, and ratings so they can see how their team is doing overall, as well as quickly access an overview of an employee's work for a one-on-one review. They're also working on a Slack integration, which would allow workers to send their accomplishments and feedback through the office messaging app.
“It’s creating a safe digital space...and an expectation that you’re supposed to be sharing these thing on the fly,” said Jennifer.
Gender bias isn't the only issue with performance reviews the duo believes Fizz addresses. Studies show millennial employees prefer frequent feedback, and large companies, such as Deloitte, lost upwards of two million hours on employee evaluations per year. Real time, virtual feedback offers a more transparent and efficient way of tracking performance.
The idea came to the husband and wife team when Landon came home frustrated about the tedious performance review process at Groupon, where he previously worked. Jennifer, who was previously the chief innovation officer financial literacy startup Moneythink and said she spent "80 to 90 percent" of her emotional energy on team dynamics, rather than growth, without an objective way to keep track of how employees were performing.
The startup, who's team also includes a lead developer and several interns, is currently in the business incubator at the Chicago Innovation Exchange. The service costs $6.30 per user per month billed annually, or $7 per user per month billed monthly. They're currently in public beta, and have 60 teams signed up. They've begun making revenue, but Jennifer said they're still in the early stages. Initially they're targeting startups and smaller companies, but eventually hope to expand to large companies looking to overhaul their performance reviews process.
Note: Jennifer Shoop worked as chief innovation officer at Moneythink. The post has been updated to reflect this.
