Assessments Now Blog

At the moment, there is not place for you to actually see the default observer letter.  I have set up a dummy account but when we move to the new platform in April, you will have access to it more readily. Also, you should be able to modify it for your own default message as you can with the invitation letter.  Observers will still be able to make changes but they usually don’t.

I am hoping that default samples can be found with a button but either way it will be available.  Instead of having you go to the dummy account, here is what the observer letter currently looks like:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dear (Observers Name),

I would appreciate your feedback and assistance. I recently completed an online behavioral style assessment known as The Platinum Rule and was intrigued by what I found out about myself and how I interact with others.

Part of the assessment system includes having others complete an assessment on me, as they see me. So, I thought it would be enlightening to see how you and some of my other friends and colleagues see my behavioral style.

This is an investment on my part and I would very much appreciate it, if you took the 3 to 4 minutes to fill out an observer assessment on me through the link below.

 

Just to let you know, your answers to the individual questions are not revealed to me. I will get a chart that plots the overall perceptions with no names attached. At the end, I will receive a 33-page personalized Behavioral Style Assessment Report based on the collective feedback.

 

Rest assured, your email will not be sold or traded in the future for any reason and you will not be contacted unless you request it.

I respect your opinion and appreciate your responses. So please be as candid and sincere as possible – answer to the best of your ability. I appreciate your time.

Please note that this email is coming from Assessments Now, an authorized user of The Platinum Rule and licensed from Tony Alessandra and Associates. Full disclosure and contact information can be found at: https://assessmentsnow.com/privacy.asp?privacy=platinum

(Your Name)

Complete the observer profile for (Your Name)

If the above link doesn’t function in your email software, copy/paste the following into your browser address box:
www.sample.abc/observe.asp?OBlink=0

View the System Requirements

P.S.– When answering the questions about (Your Name), please answer them as you know (Your Name) in a (Work/Social/Family) setting.

P.P.S.– Please DO NOT FORWARD this email. This link is specific to the person named above. Forwarding it to other users will make the assessment invalid.

P.P.P.S.–Rest assured, that your email address will not be sold, traded, or contacted in the future for any reason unless and until you DIRECTLY request that we do.

Sometimes associates wonder why something is set up the way it is or additions have been made. Sometimes they don’t like the change – sometimes I don’t either. However, occasionally Tony Alessandra gets a request with rationale from one of his customers (a private label site like Assessments Now) and it make sense to him. However, it means changing the code for everyone. Any unique or special requests that he does not think are of interest to the majority of clients can sometimes be added individually for a customer at an additional cost. Sometimes the change in code is too much. To date, I am the only one who had invested extra funds to have multiply languages available. My investment has run into thousands of dollars. Tony is getting more requests for this and is looking into how to better set up the system and coding but he has told me he won’t provide translation. Here are two questions that relate to the master set-up by Tony.

1. One of my students used the second choice for observers. That is, sending a private e-mail. The strange thing is that the system generate the same link to all e-mails you create. Yes you are importing a universal link to use in your Outlook (or other email program) – otherwise if you want individual links, then you have to create them individually through the system as a unique link must be associated with a specific email and name. How can you then track who has answered? You can’t – that is the drawback of using this option but often the benefits outweigh the disadvantages. It forces the sender to explain in his or her words what they are asking of others. This feature was a request from another customer of Tony’s as a result of ways to deal with firewalls without any extra difficulty of having to involve an IT department. It is also a way to get around issues of observers who do not have access to individual email accounts but can get on a terminal. Finally, it really does guarantee confidentiality and privacy which is definitely an issue for some people and some organizations. (See third note.) Associates have no way of knowing who or how many observers have been sent out anyway.

2. The choice “For Follow up only” was shown in the “send invitations” list. Shouldn´t that option be locked when you send out assessments for the first time? In a perfect world yes, but that is not how the system works. The system developed had four categories but only three (to my knowledge) had ever been used by any of Tony’s customers. I too had not used it as I felt it “overloaded” the graph. After giving it some thought, I decided to label this fourth option as something unique to our site. That is why it is marked “For Follow-up only”. So far, it hasn’t seemed to be an issue and I do not plan on investing additional costs to myself. However, if I get any serious complaints from the Associates, I will consider removing permanently. Clients if they are interested in follow-up would then have to purchase a new assessment and manually compare the two graphs.

3.   Associates have a “similar” option as the observers who can use a universal link. It is called the “Invitation Link” and you can create two at any point in time. It is NOT turned on for most of you because if you create it (and it can be easily removed) anyone can use it and take the assessment and use up one of your credits. The better option, if you have quite a few people to send it to, is to import the names and emails via an excel spreadsheet. This feature is also off by default so let me know if you want either of these features turned on. We had thought about using the excel spreadsheet for your members but decided that the universal link had more advantages AND if they really wanted to get someone’s input then typing it in individually so that it could be track was a better approach.

In the past five years since owning and running Assessments Now, there have been two attacks from hackers. In both instances, the situation was quickly resolved by our techie people and new securities put in place. Each night all data bases are backed up and so the system can be restored easily. Of course, hackers continue to try to “beat the system”.

To ease any concerns that you might have:

There no way anyone could EVER gain access to our actual computers. They are hidden behind firewalls and are on a VPN. Your clients data is not and will not be accessible to anyone. They people are not seeing any data they are just attempting to manipulate it via the web.

All of clients should be encourage to generate a report before the 60 days are up.  They can then download the PDF file (the latest eGraph will be added in) and it can be reviewed at ANY time.  Usually extensions are purchased (as outlined in a previous post) if more observers are wanted or if they want to do a “follow-up” group at a later time.  IF they forgot to download the file, YOU, as an associate, do have permanent access to their graph and results.  All Associates can regenerate the report, to be sure it is the latest, AND then download the file and then mail it off the client.

From the moment that your clients complete the assessment, they have 30 more days to invite observers and then another 30 days (60 in total) to access their member site. If after that time they want to extend the time – they can purchase another 30 or 60 days for a minimal fee. The system prompts them if they try to log in or invite observers after the time limit.

When the 60 days are up – clients are given an option of extending the time for an additional $9.95 for 60 days with full observer capability or $5.95 for 30 days to just access the data. Unfortunately, you as an associate CAN NOT extend it or purchase an extension for them – they have to do it.  They will be asked for a credit card to submit  and  the extended time will follow immediately

If the time has passed what messages do clients receive?

Clients receive the following message after 30 days when they click on the link “Invite Observers”:

It is now the end of your 30-day observer assessment period.
You can extend the observer assessment period for another 30 days for $5.95 by

clicking here

Observer assessments are an important part of The AssessmentsNow Assessment process because it gives you a 360-degree perspective on how others see you.

Clients receive the following message after 60 days when they try to log in:

I’m sorry. Accounts are accessible for 60 days after initial activation. Your 60 day period has expired. But don’t panic! If you wish, you can extend your account privileges for an additional 60 days AND extend the observer assessment period for another 30 days, all for only $9.95, if you just click here.