Coworkers.com Blog

CNN Radio Interviews Coworkers.com CEO

2009-11-06T13:12:00.000-08:00

Take a listen to CNN Radio. Our CEO, Jonathan Clay, was interviewed today on the topic of the newly announced unemployment figures (10.2%) and what people can do to manage their careers in this environment. http://www.cnnradio.com

EmploymentDigest.net features Jonathan Clay – Founder Coworkers.com

2009-10-23T07:07:00.000-07:00

Jonathan Clay, President and founder of Coworkers.com, recently had the pleasure of speaking with Bill Vick at EmploymentDigest.

Read the in-depth article and see the video interview on the EmploymentDigest.net website. We've also included just the video below:

Read the full article here

New York Post - Jobs column highlights Coworkers.com

2009-10-02T12:06:00.000-07:00

New York Post Jobs column "The site stuff" has listed Coworkers.com among their "picks for what’s new, notable and work-related on the Web"

Here are some highlights from the article:

"By now we all know Monster.com and LinkedIn, but practically every day new Web sites launch that aim to help you find jobs, stay on top of your industry, improve your career prospects or otherwise help you along in your work life. We sifted through the latest offerings and compiled the following list of sites that are worth a click..."

"CoWorkers: This brand-new site follows the model of Ed Koch, who as mayor famously queried constituents with “How’m I doin’?” The concept is to aim that question at work colleagues, requesting feedback by forwarding various review forms for them to fill out. In addition to general reviews of your job performance, you can request feedback on your interpersonal skills or “core values,” as well as on a specific achievement such as a report or a presentation.

The site — which calls itself a “career development and reputation management” tool — offers a dizzying number of options. Feedback can be made anonymously or not, it can be requested or offered unprompted. Results can be kept private or made public for bosses and recruiters to see, and can be viewed in various formats, such as graphs and pie charts. So it takes some navigating, but it may be worth it to see how you stack up in your colleagues’ eyes."

We're excited to be included in this list of up and coming career-related websites.

Read the full column at New York Post

NY1's Employment reporter Asa Aarons features Coworkers.com

2009-09-30T11:59:00.000-07:00

We recently had the opportunity to speak with Asa Aarons of NY1, New York City's 24-Hour News Channel...

New Websites Provide Inside Look Into Jobs

"The Internet is where practically all of the good employment information is showing up these days. Two new companies are promising ways to help job seekers land their dream job...

...Staying with the idea that feedback is a good thing in the career world, check out Coworkers.com, which is based partly on the idea that successful people thrive on honest feedback...

"Coworkers.com is all about the question 'How's my work?'" says James Young of Coworkers.com. "We provide tools that let you get feedback so that you can figure out what your strengths are and promote them, and also figure out where your weaknesses are so you can improve them and advance your career."

Watch a video of the full segment on NY1.com

Self-Reviews can help you improve work performance and boost salary

2009-09-27T10:32:00.000-07:00

Coworkers.com has offered self-review tools since it's inception. A recent article on Cube Rules discusses the real world benefits of self-reviews in the workplace:

"Your performance review facts become your performance review ratings. And what you can’t tell your coworkers is this: you will write an accurate self-review while most of your coworkers will not. If they write a self-review at all...

As a manager, I looked at hundreds of self-reviews given by the people that worked for me. I can count on one hand how many people provided a complete self-review. Those that did had one of two influences on my rating: they justified my thinking on the rating by providing facts and figures. Or they showed me accomplishments that I had forgotten about and needed to include in my thinking about the rating...

You understand that only the employees, focused on their career, did this accurate self-review, right? And when I say they justified my thinking on the rating by providing facts and figures, you realize that the justification was for a higher rating, right? More pay and a larger bonus..."

Honest, accurate, and frequent self-reviews not only help you focus on improving your skills, they can have a concrete impact on your career and compensation. The article quoted above makes this point quite clear.

RiseSmart: "Coworker feedback: transparent versus confidential"

2009-09-19T12:58:00.000-07:00

We have been featured on The RiseSmart Blog

Here are some highlights: "...Transparency is great… for recommendations, which are meant to seen by strangers, and need to be trustworthy and verifiable. But for improving your current work habits, without switching jobs or involving a recruiter, isn’t confidential feedback more valuable and timely?

That is where Coworkers.com comes in. They launched about a year and a half ago, and the purpose of the site is to let you accumulate frank and private evaluations from past and current colleagues. You are evaluated in terms of your core values, your interpersonal skills, your general competence, and your productivity, and given analytical tools to help you interpret and improve your skills..."

"With this broader focus, the site is mixing private and public feedback. The site also has a paid section that is targeted at Human Resources, and aims to assist in researching candidates and managing employees...

...But I just haven’t seen anything with the scope and ambition of Coworkers, particularly with this recent drive to be used by entire teams and supplant enterprise software with a website. Very interesting, indeed."

Click here to read the full article

Image credit: Risemart.com

"Get To Work: Take this job and love it?" Coworkers.com featured on SF Gate

2009-09-16T12:06:00.000-07:00

We've been featured in today's SF Gate,
San Francisco Chronicle, blog:

Tom Abate: "Okay, so you're in the roughly 88 percent of the California workforce that does have a job. At this time of skyrocketing unemployment, what can you do to preserve and protect it?

One possibility is to tap into a new genre of Web sites, like Coworkers.com, that let you get frank and confidential assessments of your work performance from current and former associates.

"You no longer have to wait for your boss to tell you how you're doing, or what you need to do to address any issues," Coworkers founder Jonathan Clay says in a promo.

It's a new site and a new concept, so if anyone has experience to share, it would be helpful to know if there is a payback for inviting criticism -- and whether it is constructive or destructive..."

Read on at SFGate.com

Performance Review Software For the Rest of Us

2009-09-04T09:27:00.000-07:00

Are you still emailing around Office documents, or (gasp!) using paper forms, to facilitate periodic performance reviews?

If you have been wary of moving to a costly or cumbersome enterprise-level performance management software solution, you'll be pleased to see how Coworkers.com can make review management flexible and affordable.

Use our template builder to easily create & save web-based versions of your existing internal review and feedback forms
Leverage our growing library of existing review templates - use them as-is, or modify to suit you needs
Your entire company or distributed work-group can choose to adopt Coworkers.com as your platform for ongoing reviews and feedback - at the fraction of cost of traditional enterprise packages
Our privacy controls allow users to request and respond to reviews within a closed loop, or share with others if desired
Our service is web-based and secure, so you can be up and running quickly

Take advantage of Coworkers.com templates and other features today...

Data-Driven Feedback: Analytics For The Work You Do

2009-09-01T10:40:00.000-07:00

With our unique analytical capabilities, you can get immediate, quantifiable and chart-able feedback on a report, presentation, campaign, or other work event or milestone, gaining an assessment of your effectiveness while building a comprehensive dossier of career accomplishments and marketable skills.

As you accumulate feedback (both private, and shared), you will be able to quickly visualize and identify aspects of your work that need improvement.

Our basic account has 8 distinctive chart types:

Breakdown By Feedback Type
Breakdown By Attribution
Visibility (private vs. public)
Score Distribution
Overall Performance Over Time
Category Performance Over Time (work performance, document, event, etc.)
Breakdown By Subject Type, Visibility
Breakdown By Group (grouped by respondents the user categorizes)

Gain greater insight into your career.
Get started with Coworkers.com Analytics today...

Coworkers.Com Launches Career-Managing Site For Competitive Times

2009-08-26T05:35:00.000-07:00

We're out of beta and officially launching!

Flexibility, Honest Feedback And Performance Analytics Put Pro-Active Tools In Users’ Hands

"New York, NY, August 26, 2009 – A new web-based career development and reputation management solution, Coworkers.com (http://www.coworkers.com/), launches today with fresh, innovative features that enable users to build a powerful, authentic professional profile grounded in honest feedback, performance analytics, and focused networking. The analytical approach is a more practical and reliable career enhancement tool than periodic reviews or sporadic feedback.

Coworkers.com gives professionals at any level, those in transition, consultants, and small businesses, the tools to instantly create a personal dashboard to manage their work, analyze their performance, gain feedback on overall performance and get reaction to specific deliverables, events, and job milestones. Companies can use the site to monitor and analyze employee performance, and recruiters can gain access to detailed candidate profiles. Businesses with virtual teams or multiple offices will find a complete suite of tools to communicate, share feedback, and monitor workgroup performance without costly enterprise software..." Full press release below.
Coworkers Com PR 2009-08-26

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE COWORKERS.COM LAUNCHES CAREER-MANAGING SITE FOR COMPETITIVE TIMES: FLEXIBILITY, HONEST FEEDBACK AND PERFORMANCE ANALYTICS PUT PRO-ACTIVE TOOLS IN USERS’ HANDS New York, NY, August 26, 2009 – A new web-based career development and reputation management solution, Coworkers.com (http://www.coworkers.com/), launches today with fresh, innovative features that enable users to build a powerful, authentic professional profile grounded in honest feedback, performance analytics, and focused networking. The analytical approach is a more practical and reliable career enhancement tool than periodic reviews or sporadic feedback. Coworkers.com gives professionals at any level, those in transition, consultants, and small businesses, the tools to instantly create a personal dashboard to manage their work, analyze their performance, gain feedback on overall performance and get reaction to specific deliverables, events, and job milestones. Companies can use the site to monitor and analyze employee performance, and recruiters can gain access to detailed candidate profiles. Businesses with virtual teams or multiple offices will find a complete suite of tools to communicate, share feedback, and monitor workgroup performance without costly enterprise software. “The current environment demands a more robust and authentic solution to career and reputation management,” said founder Jonathan Clay. “Coworkers.com puts career advancement into the user’s hands. You no longer have to wait for your boss to tell you how you’re doing, or what you need to do to address any issues. With Coworkers.com you can find out quickly and painlessly, straight from the people who know you best – the colleagues that you interact with every day.” The easy-to-navigate, intuitive home page features four built-in tools including Get Feedback, where users can tailor a survey to get honest, anonymous feedback from colleagues and coworkers (requests can be sent via email or links embedded in social networks, blogs, etc.); Give Feedback, which lets users give fellow employees or colleagues public kudos or private viewpoints on their work; and Improve and Share, which analyzes feedback data, and offers unique, and powerful graphics tools to generate analytic charts and graphs that visually map and measure performance. “For a generation of professionals that has learned to build careers using social networking tools like LinkedIn®, Coworkers.com opens an important channel of communication between coworkers and potential employers,” noted Jason Whaley, COO of Fitzgerald Analytics, an IT/strategy consulting firm. “Coworkers could become an indispensable tool for managing the 21st century career.” During its Beta period, Coworkers.com responded to market demand by evolving from a simple performance rating system to a customizable assessment and feedback tool that helps individuals take greater control of their career development. “We’ve made the site truly flexible and adaptable to individual needs,” said Clay. “Both public and private data can be managed throughout a person’s career. Social networking can be as much or little as you want. The depth of feedback can be quick and top-line, or in-depth depending on the project. Do you want a quick assessment of your presentation, or a comprehensive take on your at-work image? The site was designed to meet your work needs regardless of the matter at hand or the stage you’re in.” About Coworkers.com Founded in 2008, Coworkers.com Inc. is a privately funded company based in New York City focused on creating on-line solutions that apply web 2.0 and social technologies to facilitate career development and enhancement. # # # Contact: Suzanne Mannion Newsmaker Group Office 201-445-8451 Mobile 201-725-0471 smannion@newsmakergroup.com

Visit our Coworkers.com Press Kit Page for additional media information.

Private or Public Feedback?Using both to learn and share.

2009-08-25T05:27:00.001-07:00

With Coworkers.com, you can proactively send work evaluation (aka Feedback) requests to colleagues on an ad hoc basis. A key feature of our feedback tool, is that it allows you to manage both Private and Public feedback. Managing everything from critical input on your work, to praise from your peers - in one central place - allows you to gain greater insight into your work.

Here's an explanation of each type, and why/when you might choose one over the other.

Private Feedback

Private feedback is ideal for situations where you are looking to get an extra edge in the workplace by learning where your strengths and weaknesses lie, and monitoring your performance with actionable metrics.

The recipients of your feedback request will know that your request is private, and you can also choose to have it be anonymous as well. These assurances, that the feedback is just between you and the respondent, will generally lead to more honest input.

Users typically send out private feedback request for things like:

Overall work performance on a periodic basis
Feedback on a recent meeting or presentation
Iterative or final input on a proposal or other document

Create a request for Private Feedback

Public Feedback

Public feedback is ideal for those looking to promote themselves by validating their skills and sharing recommendations.

The recipients of your feedback request will know that you wish to share their responses publicly. This will generally lead to testimonials, from your colleagues, that are appropriate for use in promoting yourself.

Users typically send out public feedback request for things like:

Recommendation for internal promotion, or job search
Validation of a job well done on an event or milestone
Praise for a document or other work product

Create a request for Public Feedback

See Who's Using Coworkers.com

2009-08-24T10:24:00.000-07:00

Coworkers.com gives professionals at any level, those in transition, consultants, and small businesses, the tools to instantly create a personal dashboard to manage their work, analyze their performance, gain feedback on overall performance and get reaction to specific deliverables, events, and job milestones.

Motivated Individuals:
Job Seekers, Movers and Shakers, Learn more...

Smart Workgroups:
Consultants, SMB's, Virtual Teams, Learn more...

Innovative Enterprises:
Managers Who Think Outside the Box, Learn more...

Modern Talent Management:
Recruiters & Human Resources, Learn more...

Busy Bees at Coworkers.com

2009-08-19T12:59:00.000-07:00

August has been great so far. We're working on a bunch of site refinements, so we haven't had a chance to post to our blog. However, we come up for air long enough to update our Twitter account more frequently. Keep an eye on both our blog and twitter as the month winds down. We'll have a batch of interesting stuff to buzz about.

Image credit: kathryn_rotondo

Here’s the deal: you tell us your story, we give you a t-shirt

2009-07-24T05:11:00.000-07:00

We are performing some market research, and want to know how people are using our site. We know you are busy, so we want to sweeten the deal: tell us how you are using Coworkers.com, or why you are considering using it, and we will send you one of our cool new Coworkers.com t-shirts!*

To claim yours, just go to our contact page and send us a short message letting us know how and why you use, or intend to use, the site. Be sure to include your name and mailing address. If you would like to speak with us directly, please include your phone number and/or email. We will not use your personal information for any other purpose than this offer.

* Hurry up, because the t-shirts are first come first served, and supplies are limited. Sizes and styles may vary - please indicate your gender and size preference.

UPDATE: Thanks to those who responded. Please keep your eye on our blog for future promotions.

Coworkers.com is #5 on list of Top 105 Beautiful Job Search Company Logos

2009-06-26T05:09:00.000-07:00

JobMob: "Top 105 Beautiful Job Search Company Logos That Will Wow You"

See the full list here...

How to "Tweet" (or otherwise link to) Your Requests for Feedback

2009-06-18T04:08:00.000-07:00

Have you ever wanted an easier, more organized way to gather feedback from your online & social networking contacts?

We've recently made improvements to our Feedback wizard so that you can quickly share your requests via shortened link on: Twitter, Facebook, or any other online source such as a website, blog, email newsletter, etc.

Simply step through our "Get Feedback" Wizard and choose the option that gives you a custom shortened URL for sharing online. After you make this choice, you will see the options shown above, including a handy link that will populate your Twitter status with one click.

The screen cap above illustrates a request for input on a speech. You can choose to get feedback on a wide variety of topics among our three high level categories of: Work Performance, Event or Milestone, and Document or Deliverable. Use a pre-designed template or craft your own questionnaire. Now, go Tweet your way to better work!

Tools to Manage Your Reviews & Feedback for Greater Insight

2009-05-27T05:19:00.000-07:00

As part of our ongoing efforts to ease and improve the management of reviews and feedback that you send and receive via Coworkers.com, we've recently made some enhancements to the "My Reviews & Feedback" tools.

The icons in the first column make it easier to quickly see the attributes of a given review...

In addition to these helpful cues, the ratings column is now colored to reinforce the overall rating (green = 10-7, yellow = 6-4, red = 3-1).

Login to see your Reviews & Feedback, or Signup for free to get started. Keep your eyes out for additional management and analytics features coming soon!

New Demo Video: Getting Feedback with Coworkers.com

2009-05-14T15:13:00.000-07:00

In this short demo, we illustrate a scenario in which the goal is to request feedback, from colleagues, about a recent meeting with an important client. Give it a look-see!

Looking for Feedback on _?Yeah, There's a Review Template for That...

2009-05-07T09:50:00.000-07:00

Whether you are looking to receive or send feedback, we offer an ever-expanding set of templates (some that we've developed, as well as ones created by our user community). If you can't find the perfect questionnaire, you can either modify an existing template or create your own feedback form using our easy template builder.

Templates are broken into three main categories, as seen below:

How's you work?

Three Big Assumptions Leaders Should Question

2009-04-09T06:33:00.000-07:00

HarvardBusiness.org - "Corporate success rests on good leadership.

Or so we all believed. For at least a generation, we have praised corporate executives as examples of good management. To me, one of the most disturbing aspects of the current recession — aside from financial insecurity — is the failure of leadership, especially corporate leadership. So the question arises, what were senior executives thinking? How did they allow this to happen? And why were they so late to respond?..."

Summary: "Here are three assumptions about how leaders manage that are coming under challenge."

It is important for organizations to set firm goals.
Quick wins are essential to managers in transition.
Senior leaders believe in their CEOs.

Read the full article...

Photo credit: Bludgeoner86

It's 11:45 on Tuesday, leave me alone!

2009-04-08T09:02:00.000-07:00

Tuesday at 11:45 is most stressful time of the week, survey suggests

Researchers found that nearly half of British workers identified mid-morning on their second working day of the week as the moment when they were most under pressure.

Most workers coast through Monday getting their brain in gear and catching up with gossip from the weekend through social networking sites.

But on Tuesday reality sets in and staff spend the first part of the day going through emails they ignored on Monday before planning the week ahead.

And 11.45am is the point when everything comes to a head...

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/5113653/Tuesday-at-1145-is-most-stressful-time-of-the-week-survey-suggests.html

5 Work at Home Scams to Avoid

2009-04-08T08:22:00.001-07:00

So, you've recently been laid off, and you're "working at home"? Well beware, there are lots of predators out there looking to make a quick buck off people when they are at their most vulnerable.

http://www.smartmoney.com/Spending/Rip-offs/5-Work-at-Home-Scams-to-Avoid/

OK, this may be taking it a BIT too far :)

2009-04-08T08:18:00.000-07:00

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – A new reality show from the Dutch-based creator of the hit TV series 'Big Brother' will allow staff at companies struggling in the global recession to choose which colleague should be fired.

In each episode of 'Someone's Gotta Go', developed by production company Endemol, workers at a struggling business will choose who should get a salary cut or raise and who should be fired based on information about pay and past performance.

The secret war against American workers

2009-03-30T11:28:00.000-07:00

Salon.com: "The deepening recession is giving some businesses the excuse to fire people they'd have had to keep on in better conditions...

The mainstream media has generally sketched a picture of a labor market in which, under the pressure of an economic meltdown, workers succumb to two types of downsizing. In one, a fierce recession forces businesses, desperate to cut costs in terrible times, to lay off workers. They, in turn, face grim prospects for gainful employment elsewhere. In a kinder, gentler version of the same, employers, desperate to cut costs in terrible times, offer -- or sometimes force workers to take -- "furloughs," salary cuts, union givebacks, four-day work weeks, or unpaid holidays rather than axing large numbers of them...

When employees police their own behavior for fear of the ax, bad times have an upside for management."

In an environment of uneasiness, or unfortunately even fear, you could think of it as "policing" your own behavior. However, it may be healthier to frame the issue as an opportunity to focus on your own professional development. Stay sharp, and get frequent feedback from your colleagues on your weekly / monthly output.

You can't always control your job security, but you can control the work you do.

So, how's your work?

Read the full article or leave us a comment with your take.

Photo credit: Salon.com

Feature Update: Your Feeback Dashboard

2009-03-25T10:57:00.000-07:00

We're happy to announce a new feature. Coworkers.com users can now access a revamped personalized homepage when they login.

This is your central point for tracking:

Quick links to account settings
Public profile summary
Feedback alerts
Other recent activity
Suggested next steps
Other useful tools & shortcuts