At Mad Fish Digital, we’re on a transformative journey to redefine the employee experience. In our world of digital marketing, we understand that our team is our greatest asset, which is why we are committed to fostering a positive and enriching environment for all. As a B Corporation, our commitment extends beyond just our business goals; we’re dedicated to putting people and the planet first, making our human resources initiatives a key area for innovation. Several years ago, we collaborated with industry experts, Future Work Design, to develop a stellar performance management ecosystem that’s propelling us into the future.
Our Performance Management Ecosystem
At the heart of Mad Fish Digital’s mission is our dedication to nurturing our team’s professional development, offering pathways that encourage growth and advancement. We’ve built our performance management ecosystem on the solid pillars of our core values:
Innovative. Finding creative ways to tackle and solve our challenges
Accountable. Embracing responsibility for our work and work experience.
Collaborative. Working together to learn, grow, and achieve success.
Genuine. Bringing a thoughtful and personal approach to every interaction
Fun(ish). Having a good time doing it.
Using these values as our guide, we’ve created a performance management system that not only acknowledges the unique talents of each employee but also ensures their efforts are aligned with meaningful objectives. This framework is designed for employees to feel valued and understand how their contributions fit into the larger picture.
The Value of a Strong Performance Management Framework
The value of a consistent and robust performance management system is fundamental to our collective success at Mad Fish Digital. It fosters a collaborative environment where clarity and teamwork are the driving forces.
Our system was created to provide several key functions for the organization.
- It provides managers with a framework to make thoughtful decisions about their team
- It provides employees with the information they need to make career decisions
- It ensures managers and employees are on the same page regarding strengths, areas for improvement, and expectations, minimizing ambiguity.
- It creates a clear roadmap for every employee to see how they can progress, promote up, or shift within the organization.
- It ensures the company maintains equity across departments and roles, by applying uniform performance standards and expectations.
Our Performance Management System Tool Set
For every role at Mad Fish, we offer four primary tools within our performance framework to help guide team members and managers through their careers at the agency.
Company Promise & Values: Guiding Principles
Our promise and company values reflect the fundamental principles and beliefs that shape our culture and inform our decisions, going beyond mere slogans. They represent the core principles and beliefs that steer our culture and decision-making processes. By embracing these values, our team members understand what it takes to go above and beyond their job descriptions. This fosters a sense of belonging and creates a cohesive work environment where employees can thrive while staying true to our guiding principles.
Job Descriptions: Clarity and Alignment
Clear job descriptions are the bedrock of effective performance management. They provide our employees with a comprehensive understanding of their roles and responsibilities, ensuring that their efforts are aligned with our company’s objectives. Job descriptions are used in hiring and onboarding our new team members as well as support discussions around promotions into new roles.
All of our job descriptions include the hard and soft skills needed to succeed in the role and a high-level overview of the work expected while in the role. By setting these clear expectations, we empower both employees and managers to work together collaboratively.
Career Progression & Role Levels: Nurturing Growth
We believe in the potential of our employees, and our role progression framework is designed to help them unlock their full capabilities. With clearly defined competencies and career pathways, our team members can set meaningful goals and identify opportunities for growth and development.
Each role within the organization has a corresponding career progression chart so that employees see the options for their careers ahead and the timelines available to get there. This progression is broken into various role levels or milestones. Role levels identify when employees are working toward, meeting, or exceeding the expectations of the role. Role levels also help highlight individuals who are mastering areas of their craft as well as those who are still in a learning and growth phase. Our compensation philosophy aligns with this framework, ensuring that those who contribute to our success are duly rewarded.
Job Scorecards: Measuring Success
Regular, structured feedback is essential for employee development, and that’s where our job scorecards come into play. They provide a systematic way for managers to evaluate performance, track progress toward career goals, identify areas for improvement, and celebrate achievements. Each scorecard outlines in detail four key components of the role:
- The Mission. What is the high-level goal for this role every single day?
- Outcomes. What must be accomplished by this role and what does success look like when someone is fully living in this role?
- Competencies and Skills. What traits and values are required to succeed in this role?
- Values-Based / Culture Forward Qualities. How do our values specifically need to show up in someone in this role?
By combining the elements of our ecosystem, job scorecards ensure that our employees feel valued, supported, and invested in their growth and the success of Mad Fish Digital.
Join Us on This Exciting Journey
As we move forward into the future of HR and employee satisfaction, Mad Fish Digital invites you to join us on this exciting journey. Together, we’re elevating our workforce, fostering innovation, and embracing the power of genuine actions. We’re committed to transparency, sharing our learnings and growth from this journey. As both our workforce and the clients we serve evolve, our commitment to innovation remains steadfast, ensuring we stay ahead in shaping a future-ready workplace.
As the Employee Experience Manager at Mad Fish Digital, Denisse Guenoun is dedicated to cultivating a workplace that not only thrives on innovation but also values each team member’s journey and well-being. With a focus on developing engaging and supportive environments, she leads initiatives that enhance our team’s professional and personal growth. Her role involves leveraging our unique performance management ecosystem to ensure every employee feels valued, empowered, and connected.