Geosoft Inc. – The Company
For more than 25 years, Geosoft has been focused on exploration and the earth sciences – delivering services and technology solutions across desktop, server and Internet platforms. With offices across five continents, and a network of international business partners, Geosoft serves thousands of organisations, including government geological surveys and agencies; educational institutions teaching the earth sciences; and the most successful oil and mineral explorers in the world.
Overview
Ranked as a Top 150 Technology Company, and one of the Top Ten Best Workplaces in Canada, Geosoft Inc. has always been focused on properly developing and engaging their highly-skilled global workforce. By implementing emPerform’s online employee performance management software, Geosoft was able to provide one consistent and practical platform to all global locations and employees. The new solution automated manual assessment processes, allowing them to transition smoothly to a job-specific competency assessment model, increasing the accuracy and fairness in employee reviews, and resulting in unprecedented performance reporting and status tracking.
The Situation
In 2011, Geosoft decided that in order to better assess and develop their workforce, they would have to move from using broad level-based competency assessments to a more accurate job-specific functional competency model. The new performance management model would increase the accuracy of reviews and ensure that employees were evaluated on expectations geared to their unique roles. Using Word-based appraisal forms, Geosoft was limited with the number of unique forms that could be created and maintained. In order to implement their new competency-assessment model, they would have had to create and maintain over 80 unique forms, which would not have been realistic or feasible. They were also faced with many challenges relying on paper-based appraisal forms:
- Both managers and employees found the forms cumbersome and time-consuming to complete.
- Frequently changes were lost when the form was not saved correctly, and had to be redone.
- Due to the work involved in creating and maintaining forms, they were only able to tailor the form to three employee groups – Executive team members, managers and employees.
- Uploading the form to their HRIS was difficult for certain global offices with broadband issues.
- There was no way for HR to track the progress of a performance evaluation until it was submitted. Geosoft decided the time was right to find a solution that could support their talent management vision and provide their workforce with a modern, easy to use performance management platform.
The Selection Process
Geosoft began its search for a performance management vendor online and at the Annual HRPA Conference & Expo in Toronto, ON.
“Our requirements were simple but definitive. We needed a provider with a cloud-based tool that would be simple to set up, easy for our people to understand and use, and would allow us to implement role-based competency appraisal forms and workflows and copy them forward from year to year,” said Angela Finlay, Director HR for Geosoft.
Geosoft narrowed its search to four vendors. “After a closer look at software providers, emPerform was clearly the only provider who met all of our needs. We also really liked the fact that emPerform is a fellow Canadian company with a heavy focus on providing highly personalized service and support. The last thing we wanted was a large vendor who wasn’t responsive.”
The Impact of emPerform at Geosoft Inc.
Geosoft implemented emPerform in 2012 and since then has noticed several measurable benefits.
“Making things easier for employees was key. Reactions to emPerform at Geosoft have been extremely positive across the board.”
Karie Richards, HR Specialist, Geosoft Inc.
