Since starting Altitude back in 2007, we have always been proud of the focus and attention that everyone puts in to making, and keeping, this a great place to work. Unlike a lot a of professional services firms at the time, we conducted regular performance reviews, followed best practices when it came to self-reflection and mentor feedback, and even had the semblance of a bonus system to reward those who consistently performed above expectations.

As the business continued to grow however, managing this process and maintaining records of those review meetings using complex spreadsheets & printed transcripts became cumbersome and inefficient. This had the undesired effect of turning something which everyone should have been looking forward to – an opportunity for two-way feedback with their direct manager – into an onerous admin task which seemed to come around all too quickly.

When we went looking for a system to address these issues in early 2015, we were surprised to find that no solution existed for the three key requirements we had identified:

• streamlining the process of conducting regular performance reviews,
• maintaining a historical record of all reviews for each individual,
• and providing a way of calculating and recording bonuses paid to individuals.

Never ones to admit defeat, and with an Innovations Team in possession of advanced programming skills, we decided that if we couldn’t find what we needed on the shelf, we would just have to be the company to create it!

And so, in the latter half of 2015, over 5 years ago now, the very first version of Balanced Scoreboard was released internally, meeting the initial requirements outlined: to conduct and record the Reviews for the September 2015 Quarter for the entire Altitude Team in an easy to use, Online Platform.

Since then, the Innovations Team have continued to develop the platform, consistently adding requested new features, as well as building interest within the existing Altitude Client base by having selected professional services firms use the system to run it through its paces.

And now, with the current trend of more team members continuing to work from home, we felt it was time to share our 5 year labour of love with other businesses who are also wanting to make their review process streamlined, electronic, and readily accessible no matter where they or their Team Members may spend their day.

In the coming months, you will hear more about some of the benefits Balanced Scoreboard can provide to any business who wants to differentiate themselves from other employers by investing in their people. For now though, if you’d like to hear more about the history of how Balanced Scoreboard came to be, you can check out the below podcast with one of our Directors, Adam Hurwood, speaking with Alisdair Barr from Striver

Once you are ready to see how far it has come and what the Balanced Scoreboard looks like today, I encourage you to check out its new website – www.balancedscoreboard.com.au – for a complete rundown of what it can do for your business. And if all this talk of ‘Do it Yourself’ Software Development has gotten you thinking that you’re tired of conforming your revolutionary business processes to suit the systems that are available to you, and instead you’d prefer a system that is as unique as you are, then get in touch with the Innovations Team to discuss how they are putting custom software development within reach of the average business.