The concept of the Fresh-Eye report is not new, but it has recently made a comeback on social media. The idea is simple yet effective: ask new employees what they think about the company. Claudia Lépine, Director of Talent and Culture at Nexus Innovations and founder of the Douceur RH platform, implemented this approach when she joined her company in 2019. She shares her insights on this strategic HR intelligence tool.
Companies know that the first three months are critical for integrating a new employee. That’s why it’s important to conduct an evaluation after 90 days on the job. This provides both the employer and the employee with an opportunity to realign their expectations.
A variation of this exercise is called the Fresh-Eye report. What makes it unique is that it focuses on the employee’s perspective, placing them in the role of evaluator.
“The idea to introduce the Fresh-Eye report report at Nexus came after studying HR practices in certain European companies, where this approach is widely used to foster open dialogue and quick adjustments,” explains Claudia Lépine.
Since 2019, every new employee at Nexus Innovation receives a questionnaire after 90 days of work. This questionnaire asks what positively surprised them, what disappointed or unsettled them, and whether they see areas for improvement across seven aspects of workplace life: company personality, employee culture, management culture, benefits, job tasks and responsibilities, work environment, and internal communication.
“It’s a valuable tool for us because it goes beyond a simple survey,” says Claudia Lépine. “We give new hires the role of an observer, as they still have an external, critical perspective. For us, it’s an opportunity to surface new ideas, highlight our strengths and areas for improvement, and identify where to focus our efforts to grow.”
Owning One’s Opinions
While this exercise might seem delicate—essentially inviting employees to critique their new employer—Claudia sees it as “an opportunity to practice expressing opinions,” a skill that will be expected of employees throughout their journey at Nexus. With hindsight, she recognizes the positive impact of this approach:
“The Fresh-Eye report report is a source of pride for us. For example, our company values often emerge as truly lived and reflected in daily actions. It confirms the alignment between our intentions and our reality.”
But that’s not all. Criticism, when given, is not ignored. Over the years, certain responses have led the company to question itself.
“For example, our initial management model was inspired by holacracy, but it created areas of ambiguity that were frequently mentioned in Fresh-Eye report reports. While we expected positive reactions to the absence of traditional managers, we discovered that this model could be unsettling or create misunderstandings. This led us to reassess our structure and implement major changes for greater clarity and stability.”
