EchoSpan public site content

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ARTICLE TITLE: EchoSpan AI Features Overview: The Insights Toolkit
SECTION: Product Capabilities
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EchoSpan's AI Insights Toolkit is an optional add-on that brings artificial intelligence into the 360 feedback process. EchoSpan's philosophy is that AI should enhance not replace the human elements of feedback and development. The Insights Toolkit is designed to save time, improve clarity, and help HR managers make better decisions, while keeping the human perspective at the center of the process.

The AI Insights Toolkit includes five core capabilities:

AI-GENERATED SURVEY CREATION
Administrators can generate fully editable, custom 360 feedback surveys by entering a brief description of the role being reviewed or the purpose of the survey. EchoSpan's generative AI builds a complete survey using its proven competency library, tailored to the specifications provided. The resulting survey is fully editable before use.

AI-ENABLED FEEDBACK SUMMARIES
EchoSpan can automatically convert raw 360 ratings and written comments into clear, readable summaries and practical action guides. Instead of wading through pages of data, feedback recipients receive a concise, personalized interpretation of their results. This feature dramatically speeds up the feedback interpretation process and makes reports more accessible to recipients who may not be comfortable with data-heavy formats.
Note: AI-enabled report summaries are part of the optional Insights Toolkit.

AI WRITING ASSISTANT
EchoSpan's Writing Assistant helps 360 feedback respondents write clearer, more specific, and more helpful written comments. Using a dialog-based approach, the assistant asks respondents dynamic follow-up questions about their observations and transforms their answers into structured, specific commentary on behavioral observations. This results in richer written feedback with less effort from the respondent. An automated Legal Scan can also be configured to check written feedback for compliance with guidelines set by the administrator.

INSIGHTSCOUT REAL-TIME FEEDBACK ANALYSIS
InsightScout is EchoSpan's AI-powered feedback query tool. HR managers and administrators can ask InsightScout direct questions about a feedback recipient's results and receive instant, data-driven answers. Instead of manually reviewing reports to answer questions about an employee's strengths, development needs, or readiness for a new role, users simply type their question. Example prompts include: "What are this employee's top strengths?", "What areas should this employee focus on for improvement?", "Create a development plan for this employee", "Prepare me for a feedback debrief with this employee", and "What skill gaps does this employee have for role X?"
Note: InsightScout is available to clients on EchoSpan's AI tier.

INTELLIGENT REPORT GENERATION AND SCHEDULING
EchoSpan's reporting tools can automatically personalize report templates based on the survey's structure, purpose, and length. Intelligent project scheduling tools know when to generate and distribute reports to recipients without requiring manual project manager intervention. Reports can also be instantly translated into more than 100 languages using neural machine learning technology.

AVAILABILITY
The AI Insights Toolkit is an optional add-on. Contact your EchoSpan client manager or support team to add it to your account. Some AI features such as AI-generated surveys and the Writing Assistant may be available on certain plans without the full Insights Toolkit. Ask your client manager for current availability details.

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ARTICLE TITLE: EchoSpan Product Overview: What EchoSpan Can Do
SECTION: Product Capabilities
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EchoSpan is a fully configurable, web-based 360-degree feedback platform. It is designed to be managed by HR teams and administrators without technical expertise, while offering the depth of configuration needed for complex enterprise programs.

SURVEY AND REVIEW CUSTOMIZATION
Every aspect of a 360 feedback review is customizable. Administrators can start with EchoSpan's proven competency library or build reviews entirely from scratch. Rating scales, rater groups, email templates, and review instructions can all be modified. Reviews can be run in more than 100 languages. EchoSpan also supports AI-generated survey creation administrators can enter a description of the role or review purpose and have a complete, editable survey generated automatically.

PARTICIPANT MANAGEMENT
EchoSpan provides visual dashboards with real-time project status. Administrators can manage Targets (feedback recipients) and Raters (feedback providers) individually or in bulk via Excel import. Rater group structures, relationship definitions, and approval workflows are all configurable. The Project Autopilot can automate invitations, reminders, phase transitions, and report distribution on a scheduled basis.

REPORTING
EchoSpan's feedback reports are fully customizable using a library of report components. Administrators can build report templates that combine charts, graphs, written feedback summaries, percentile scores, benchmark comparisons, and more. Reports can be generated on-demand or distributed automatically. Interactive reports with animated graphs and drill-down analytics are available in Professional and Enterprise editions. AI-enabled summaries and action guides are available with the Insights Toolkit add-on. Reports can be output as PDF, viewed online, or exported to Excel.

DEVELOPMENT PLANNING
EchoSpan includes an integrated Development Planning module at no additional cost in Pro and Enterprise editions. Following their 360 review, employees can build and manage development plans online from any device. Plans can be auto-populated from 360 results with one click, or built manually. Plans can be shared with managers and observers, with configurable access levels. Reading suggestions and action guides help employees identify development resources. Automated email reminders keep plans active throughout the year.

AI FEATURES
EchoSpan's optional AI Insights Toolkit adds AI-generated surveys, feedback summaries, an AI Writing Assistant, and InsightScout real-time feedback analysis. See the "EchoSpan AI Features Overview" article for full details.

INTEGRATIONS
EchoSpan integrates with HRIS and performance management systems including Workday, ADP, and SuccessFactors. Data can be exchanged via flat file or API. Single sign-on (SSO) is available on Enterprise subscriptions via the SAML 2.0 standard, compatible with Microsoft ADFS, Microsoft Azure, Okta, OneLogin, Ping Identity, VMware, and others.

SECURITY AND AVAILABILITY
EchoSpan is a cloud-hosted platform with enterprise-grade security, multi-factor authentication for administrators, and GDPR compliance. Data belongs to the client and is accessible for export at any time.

EDITIONS
EchoSpan is available in three editions: a flexible Pay-Per-Review option for single projects or consulting use, and Companywide (Professional and Enterprise) editions for organizations running ongoing feedback programs. Features vary by edition contact EchoSpan support or your client manager for current edition comparison details.

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ARTICLE TITLE: EchoSpan Development Planning Module
SECTION: Product Capabilities
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EchoSpan includes an integrated Development Planning module with all Professional and Enterprise 360-degree feedback subscriptions at no additional cost.

WHAT IT DOES
The Development Planning module allows employees to build, manage, and track professional development plans online following their 360 feedback review. Plans are connected directly to 360 results, ensuring development efforts are focused on areas that matter to the organization and are grounded in actual feedback data.

KEY FEATURES

Auto-populate from 360 results: Employees can generate a development plan with one click based on the results of their most recent 360 review. The system identifies key strengths and development opportunities from the feedback data and populates corresponding goals automatically. Employees can also build plans manually by selecting their own development areas.

Goal management: Each development goal includes fields for an objective, specific action steps, target completion dates, and outcome documentation. The structure follows a five-step framework: identify the behavior or competency to develop, state an objective, create measurements, define action steps with dates, and document the outcome.

Reading suggestions and action guides: For each development area, the system surfaces relevant reading recommendations and dynamic action guides based on EchoSpan's competency library. Custom articles and guides can also be added by the organization.

Observer and coach access: Employees can select observers or coaches for individual development goals. Observers can provide ongoing feedback throughout the year via the online tool. Automatic reminders keep both the employee and their observers on track.

Manager access: Administrators can configure manager access levels view only or view and edit so managers can stay engaged in their direct reports' development plans throughout the year.

Export to PDF or Excel: Development plans can be exported to PDF or Excel with one click for sharing or offline use.

Historical plans: All development plans from previous cycles remain accessible indefinitely, enabling comparison reporting and longitudinal tracking of development progress.

ADMIN TOOLS
Administrators have real-time visibility into which employees have created plans, which development areas are being prioritized across the organization, and which plans are showing developmental improvement. Access rights for each development plan initiative are configurable.

AVAILABILITY
Development Planning is included with all Pro and Enterprise Edition subscriptions. Complimentary training and product guides are available for all administrative users. Contact EchoSpan support for setup guidance.

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ARTICLE TITLE: EchoSpan Single Sign-On (SSO)
SECTION: Product Capabilities
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EchoSpan supports optional Single Sign-On (SSO) for participants and administrators via the SAML 2.0 standard. SSO allows your employees to access EchoSpan using their existing company network credentials, without needing a separate username and password.

WHAT SSO PROVIDES
With SSO enabled, employees log into EchoSpan using the same username and password they use for other company applications. This means: no separate passwords to remember, no password resets, and improved security since EchoSpan does not need to store or manage user passwords independently. SSO applies to 360-degree feedback surveys, engagement surveys, development plans, and other EchoSpan features.

COMPATIBLE IDENTITY PROVIDERS
EchoSpan supports any SAML 2.0-compliant identity provider. This includes but is not limited to: Microsoft ADFS, Microsoft Azure AD, Okta, OneLogin, VMware, Ping Identity PingOne, Ping Federate, and many others.

SETUP PROCESS
EchoSpan handles most of the setup work. The typical configuration can be completed same-day or within 24 hours. To get started, your organization needs: an existing SAML-based SSO platform that can provide EchoSpan an SSO metadata file; a current Enterprise-level EchoSpan subscription; a complete employee roster provided to EchoSpan via flat file or the employee import API; and a review of EchoSpan's SSO readiness requirements (available in the product guides at echospan.com/product-guides/single-sign-on-preparation).

AVAILABILITY AND COST
SSO is a complimentary feature on all Enterprise-level subscriptions. Extra fees apply if using SSO with reseller or consulting accounts. SSO is not available on Pay-Per-Review plans. Contact EchoSpan support or your client manager to initiate SSO setup.

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ARTICLE TITLE: EchoSpan Interactive Reports
SECTION: Product Capabilities
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EchoSpan's Interactive Reports bring 360 feedback results to life with animated charts, drill-down analytics, and built-in AI. They are designed for feedback recipients who want to engage with their results on any device PC, tablet, or mobile.

WHAT INTERACTIVE REPORTS INCLUDE
Interactive reports offer a different experience from static PDF reports. Key features include: real-time report generation, animated graphs and charts, drill-down analytics that let recipients explore data at different levels of detail, automatic integration with the Development Planning module so recipients can move directly from insights to action planning, automatic flagging of highly positive or negative written feedback, percentile and quartile scores (Enterprise edition), norms and benchmarks based on real-time averages, static values, or historical scores, and support for more than 100 languages.

Report content is fully customizable. Administrators can add, remove, or modify report components. Elements such as introductory text, page titles, and graph formatting can be personalized. Anonymous ratings and comments can be grouped or filtered by rater group.

HOW THEY DIFFER FROM PDF REPORTS
PDF reports are static documents suitable for printing or sharing. Interactive reports are web-based and allow recipients to navigate, filter, and explore their feedback data dynamically. Both formats are supported in EchoSpan and can be used together for example, an interactive report for the employee and a PDF for the administrator or manager.

AVAILABILITY
Interactive reports are available in Professional and Enterprise editions. Percentile and quartile scores within interactive reports are included with the Enterprise edition. Contact EchoSpan support or your client manager for setup guidance.

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ARTICLE TITLE: EchoSpan HRIS and System Integrations
SECTION: Product Capabilities
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EchoSpan integrates with a wide range of HR information systems and employee performance management platforms, making it easier to run 360 feedback programs without duplicating data entry or manual roster management.

SUPPORTED INTEGRATIONS
EchoSpan can exchange data with common HRIS and performance management systems including Workday, ADP, SuccessFactors, and others. Integration enables automatic synchronization of employee rosters, reduction of manual data entry, and streamlined launch of feedback projects at scale.

INTEGRATION METHODS
EchoSpan supports data exchange via flat file upload and via API. The employee import API allows organizations to push roster data into EchoSpan programmatically, keeping participant lists current without manual uploads.

WHAT CAN BE INTEGRATED
Common integration use cases include: importing employee rosters and organizational hierarchy data for use in rater assignment, manager access, and development planning; exporting 360 feedback results data for analysis in external systems; and triggering feedback project enrollment based on events in the HRIS such as performance review cycles or onboarding milestones.

SSO INTEGRATION
In addition to data integrations, EchoSpan supports Single Sign-On (SSO) via the SAML 2.0 standard, allowing employees to access EchoSpan using their existing corporate credentials. See the "EchoSpan Single Sign-On" article for details.

GETTING STARTED
Integration requirements and capabilities vary by use case and edition. Contact EchoSpan support or your client manager to discuss your specific integration needs and confirm what is available for your subscription level.