CFGI Moves From Bi-Annual Spreadsheets to Real-Time Feedback

Before implementing PerformYard, CFGI's performance management process was functional but narrow..

“At the time, feedback was being collected on spreadsheets. There was no tool in place to formally gather feedback to assist in both quantitative and qualitative metrics,” Lisa explained.

The spreadsheet-based system tracked quantitative metrics like billable utilization, revenue generation, and sales performance. Each department and office used its own spreadsheet and was responsible for sending it back to the HR team. The company was quickly outgrowing legacy systems due to rapid success.

The process had several limitations:

• No qualitative feedback: The system captured goals and metrics, but not the conversations, growth, or development discussions
• No self-evaluation: Employees didn't have an opportunity to reflect on their own performance
• Limited growth tracking: Feedback and development conversations happened verbally but weren't documented anywhere
• No real-time feedback: Employees only received formal feedback twice a year

"Employees expressed a strong interest in having the opportunity to review the qualitative aspects of their work," Lisa shared.

Additionally, as CFGI grew, the spreadsheet-based approach couldn't scale. The company needed a unified platform that could support hundreds of employees while maintaining consistency and capturing the complete picture of employee performance.

Why PerformYard

CFGI chose PerformYard because it offered a complete solution for both quantitative and qualitative performance tracking. The platform addressed the specific feedback employees had provided in satisfaction surveys while offering the scalability needed for a growing organization.

Key factors in choosing PerformYard included:

• Ease of use: The platform needed to be intuitive enough that consultants working on client projects could quickly access it without extensive training
• Qualitative tracking: The ability to capture ongoing feedback, not just biannual review data
• Centralized system: A single place for all performance-related information
• Flexibility: Support for different employee populations with varying review cycles
• Scalability: Ability to grow with the company as the headcount grew exponentially.

"It's not hard to get into the platform, find someone, and give feedback. And it's not hard for the employee to go in and request that feedback," Lisa noted. "Our employees have expressed that they enjoy the platform and the ease of using it."

PerformYard's ability to integrate multiple aspects of performance management—from ongoing feedback to formal reviews to 1:1 development conversations—made it the clear choice for CFGI.

CFGI's journey with PerformYard has been one of continuous evolution and expansion. While the company initially used the platform for basic review cycles, a big transformation came at the end of 2024.

Building a Feedback Culture

The first major expansion was implementing ongoing and upward feedback capabilities. This allowed employees to give and receive feedback in real-time, particularly important for a project-based consulting environment.

"In 2024, we implemented the ongoing and upward feedback, the 360 feature, to be able to give employees the opportunity to provide that feedback and provide that real-time [feedback]," Lisa explained. "Once someone ended a project, the project manager could say, 'This is a recap of how you did this month.'"

This shift helped employees track their contributions and development throughout the year rather than waiting six months for formal review conversations. It also got team members more comfortable with the platform itself.

"It really helped employees get more comfortable with PerformYard. They got more used to spending five minutes here and there on giving the feedback, requesting that feedback," Lisa shared.

Launching Development Manager Program

The most transformative change came with CFGI's new Development Manager program, which pairs every employee with a dedicated development manager for monthly check-ins. This is where PerformYard's Meetings tool became invaluable.

The PerformYard Meetings tool provides:

• Agenda management: Both parties can add agenda items before meetings
• Action item tracking: Takeaways and next steps are documented and carried forward
• Historical context: Complete meeting history travels with the employee, even through manager changes
• Centralized location: All performance-related information in one accessible place

"The ability to put in agenda items and takeaway items in PerformYard so that we could have visibility into that is fantastic," Lisa said. "Our employees really love it. They love having a centralized place for everything performance-related."

This monthly meeting cadence creates accountability and ensures continuous feedback and development conversations—a significant shift from the twice-yearly check-ins of the Excel era.

Supporting Manager Transitions

One unexpected but valuable benefit emerged when managers would change teams: the complete performance history stayed with the employee and was immediately available to the new manager.

"If there's a change in manager where we have some turnover, we're able to go back and see that feedback and give it to the next manager who might be inheriting them and trying to get a good understanding of where things left off, where they might need support," Lisa explained.

Structured Review Cycles

CFGI runs two distinct review processes to accommodate different employee populations:

Consultants and Directors:

• Mid-year evaluation in the summer
• Year-end evaluation in December
• Project feedback using 360 forms throughout the cycle
• Self-evaluation and manager performance evaluation

Partners and Managing Directors:

• Fall evaluation cycle
• Early spring evaluation cycle
• Different evaluation forms aligned to leadership expectations
• Same twice-yearly cadence but offset timing

This segmentation allows CFGI to tailor the review process to different roles while maintaining consistency in approach and platform usage.

Project-Based Feedback

For the consulting and director population, CFGI leverages PerformYard's 360 functionality to gather project feedback throughout each six-month review period.

"We ask that everyone get project feedback forms for all their projects through that six-month timeframe. So those are used to incorporate into that performance review cycle as well," Lisa noted.

This ensures that formal reviews reflect the complete picture of an employee's contributions across multiple projects and clients.

PerformYard has fundamentally changed how CFGI approaches performance management. The platform now serves as the central hub for all performance-related activities for 95% of the company's workforce.

From Twice-Yearly to Monthly Engagement

The most dramatic shift has been in engagement frequency. Employees who previously interacted with the performance system only twice a year now use PerformYard monthly for development meetings, plus ad-hoc for ongoing feedback.

"It's fantastic to have people in it monthly now instead of just twice a year," Lisa shared.

This consistent engagement has created a culture where performance conversations are ongoing rather than event-driven, and feedback flows naturally throughout the year.

Better Data and Reporting

The reporting capabilities have given CFGI's HR team and leadership unprecedented visibility into employee performance and development.

"The reporting is fantastic. There are a lot of other platforms that I've used and the reporting isn't as customizable as PerformYard's is. I really appreciate that you can look at and slice and dice it in multiple different ways," Lisa said.

The ability to view employee progression over time has been particularly valuable for promotion decisions and succession planning. CFGI has also begun implementing the 9-Box feature for talent assessment, with plans to roll out the reporting capabilities to leadership in 2026.

Seamless Scaling

Perhaps most importantly, PerformYard has scaled effortlessly with CFGI's growth. The company can onboard new employees, track their development through monthly meetings, gather project feedback, and run formal reviews all within a single, unified system.

Employee Satisfaction

Employees have embraced the platform enthusiastically. The ease of use, centralized location, and ability to request and provide feedback have addressed the exact pain points identified in employee satisfaction surveys.