Best Performance Management Software Of 2024

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Why We Picked 15Five

Navigating the sea of performance management software can feel overwhelming, but 15Five emerges as a compelling option with a range of features designed to streamline the employee evaluation process. Let's dive into how users over the past year have weighed in on 15Five's strengths, weaknesses, and unique offerings.

15Five receives consistent praise for its user-friendly interface, making it accessible for both managers and employees. The platform's versatility shines through its ability to adapt to various organizational needs, whether it's setting goals, tracking OKRs, or facilitating regular check-ins. Users appreciate the seamless integration with popular HRIS tools like ADP and Workday, as well as productivity apps such as Slack and Microsoft Teams. Affordability is another advantage, with pricing plans that cater to businesses of all sizes. However, some users note that the initial setup can be time-consuming, and mastering all the features may require a learning curve.

In comparison to competitors like Lattice and BambooHR, 15Five stands out with its emphasis on continuous feedback and employee engagement. Features like "High Fives" for peer recognition and pulse surveys for gauging sentiment contribute to a culture of open communication and appreciation. The platform's focus on objectives and key results (OKRs) aligns individual goals with broader company objectives, fostering a sense of purpose and direction. 15Five is particularly well-suited for organizations that prioritize regular feedback, goal alignment, and employee engagement. Its intuitive design and comprehensive features make it a valuable tool for businesses seeking to cultivate a thriving and high-performing workforce.

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Pros & Cons

Promotes Regular Feedback: The platform encourages consistent communication between managers and their team members through features like weekly check-ins and pulse surveys, which helps to identify and address issues promptly.
Streamlines Performance Reviews: 15Five simplifies the performance review process by providing tools for goal setting, progress tracking, and feedback delivery, making it more efficient and less time-consuming for both managers and employees.
Enhances Employee Engagement: The platform's focus on continuous feedback and recognition helps employees feel valued and connected to their work, leading to increased engagement and motivation.
Provides Valuable Insights: 15Five offers reporting and analytics features that give managers insights into team performance, engagement levels, and potential areas for improvement.
Supports Goal Alignment: The platform allows for clear goal setting and tracking, ensuring that individual and team goals are aligned with overall company objectives.

Limited Customization: The platform's rigid structure might not accommodate the diverse needs of all organizations, especially those with unique performance review processes or industry-specific requirements.
Learning Curve: Users accustomed to traditional performance management systems might find 15Five's approach and interface to be unfamiliar, requiring additional time and effort to adapt.
Integrations: The platform's compatibility with existing HR and payroll systems could be a concern for organizations seeking seamless data integration and workflow automation.

Key Features

Engagement Surveys: Measure employee growth, productivity and satisfaction with accurate quantitative surveys. Choose from 30 templates with more than 100 question options to craft a survey that fits any company or employee group.
Science-Backed Performance Growth: Uncover insightful data-driven strategies with the platform’s Full Potential Index, a measurement of a maximized employee, group and company. Extrapolate trends and employee insights to create strategies for quantifiable growth on the Full Potential Index.
Supportive Engagement: Offer feedback and celebration with digital High Fives. Establish a public or private recognition strategy for remote and on-site employees, or send an external High Five beyond company scope.
- Feedback Opportunities: Increase communication with check-ins and allow employees to raise concerns as well as celebrate successes.
Improved Assessments: Bypass traditional self- and- manager assessments with the Best-Self Review. Focus on strengths and growth areas with quarterly or semi-annually distributed Competency Assessments.
Feedback Initiation: Allow employees to send digital requests to administrators. Specify the type and timing of actionable feedback with positive, constructive and mixed prompts.
Weekly Check-Ins: Schedule two-step, 15-minute check-ins to be completed weekly by employees. Take action with in-app follow-ups, performance reviews, future agendas and at-risk tracking.
Individual Focus: Organize guided 1-on-1s between employees and administrators with templates, talking points and action items to be covered together. Record notes and create OKR action items as managers facilitate discussions.

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Best for 1-on-1s

Best for AI-based Capabilities

Best for Mobile Capabilities

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Best for Review and Feedback Management

Engagedly

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^$9

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Why We Picked Engagedly

Navigating the landscape of performance management software can feel overwhelming, but Engagedly emerges as a beacon of user satisfaction. Feedback from the past year paints a picture of a platform that prioritizes ease of use and comprehensive features, directly addressing pain points often associated with similar products. Users consistently highlight Engagedly's intuitive interface and robust functionality as key differentiators, enabling organizations to streamline performance management processes and foster employee engagement.

The ability to seamlessly set goals, provide feedback, and facilitate coaching has resonated with users, leading to improved employee productivity and a more positive work environment. Engagedly's impact extends beyond mere task management; it empowers organizations to cultivate a culture of continuous improvement and development. The platform's emphasis on goal setting and tracking, coupled with its feedback mechanisms, equips employees with the tools they need to excel in their roles. This focus on employee growth and development is a recurring theme in user reviews, solidifying Engagedly's position as a valuable asset for organizations seeking to invest in their workforce.

Engagedly is particularly well-suited for organizations that prioritize employee engagement and performance management. Its user-friendly interface and comprehensive features make it an ideal choice for businesses of all sizes, from small startups to large enterprises. Whether an organization is looking to streamline its performance review process, enhance employee development initiatives, or simply create a more engaged and productive workforce, Engagedly offers a compelling solution. The platform's adaptability and scalability ensure that it can grow alongside an organization, evolving to meet its changing needs.

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Pros & Cons

Customer Support: The solution has a responsive and friendly customer support team, according to 100% of users.
Goal Management: According to 100% of users who reviewed this pro, it enables to track individual, team and business goals by timeline and allows users to monitor goals in one place.
Feedback/Reviews: About 100% of users who mentioned this pro said it provides a significant amount of flexibility when giving or receiving feedback.
User-friendly: Regarding this feature, approximately 88% of users said that the solution is easy and straightforward to use.

Customization: The solution doesn’t have advanced customization options, according to 50% of users.
Reporting: According to 67% of users who reviewed this con, it lacks advanced reporting capabilities.

Key Features

360 Multi-Rater Feedback: A simple and powerful feedback mechanism to impart feedback to employees from managers, co-workers and clients. It can make the feedback process anonymous and nominate other users to provide feedback.
Goal Setting: Layout objectives and key results with customizable check-ins and progress indicators to help employees measure their progress against organizational objectives.
Advanced Customization: Allow administrators to customize according to the business needs. It includes the ability to create custom objects, fields, rules, calculations and views.
Online Learning: An organization-wide knowledge base enables knowledge sharing with employees in the form of courses, vidoes, quizzes and educational PDFs to promote learning and development. It encourages individual and collaborative learning through gamification tools in the form of badges for completing a particular course.
Advanced Analytics and Reporting: Provides comprehensive, centralized and interactive dashboards that users can access based on their user role. Dashboards display key metrics to identify influencers and leaders within the organization and help managers plan development and retention strategies.
Competency Model: A comprehensive competency model is aligned with specific job roles. The reviews from co-workers, managers and clients are accumulated on a dashboard to assess employees’ core competencies.
Integrations: Provides integration to other solutions such as BambooHR, Google SSO, Okta, Slack, ADP Marketplace and much more.

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Best for 1-on-1s

Best for Employee Check-ins Management

Best for Goal Management

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Best for Review and Feedback Management

Lattice

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^$11

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Why We Picked Lattice

Lattice has carved out a unique space for itself in the performance management software market. Users frequently highlight its user-friendly interface and intuitive design as standout features, making it easy for both employees and managers to navigate the platform and complete tasks efficiently. The platform's emphasis on continuous feedback and goal alignment resonates with many users, fostering a culture of open communication and development within organizations. Lattice's strengths lie in its ability to streamline performance reviews, facilitate regular check-ins, and track goals effectively, promoting transparency and alignment between employees and managers.

However, some users note that Lattice's customization options can be limited, particularly for larger organizations with complex performance management needs. Integrating Lattice with existing HR systems can also present challenges for some users. Despite these limitations, Lattice is often seen as a strong competitor to BambooHR and Namely, offering a more comprehensive performance management solution with a focus on employee development and engagement. Lattice's emphasis on continuous feedback and goal-oriented performance management makes it particularly well-suited for organizations that prioritize employee growth and development, fostering a culture of feedback and improvement.

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Pros & Cons

Goal Alignment: Lattice helps ensure individual employee goals are aligned with broader company objectives, promoting a sense of shared purpose and direction.
Feedback: Lattice facilitates regular feedback exchanges, enabling employees to receive timely input on their performance and make necessary adjustments.
Growth & Development: Lattice supports employee growth by providing tools for setting development goals, tracking progress, and identifying areas for improvement.
Performance Reviews: Lattice streamlines the performance review process, making it more efficient and less time-consuming for both managers and employees.
Recognition & Rewards: Lattice enables managers and peers to recognize and reward employees for their contributions, boosting morale and motivation.

Limited Customization: Lattice's pre-built templates and workflows might not be suitable for organizations with unique performance management processes or industry-specific requirements, potentially leading to a mismatch between the platform's capabilities and the company's needs.
Learning Curve: Some users have reported that Lattice has a steep learning curve, particularly for administrators and managers who need to configure the platform, create performance reviews, and navigate the various features. This can lead to frustration and a slower adoption rate within the organization.
Integrations: While Lattice offers integrations with popular HR and productivity tools, the depth and functionality of these integrations may vary. Users might encounter limitations or challenges when trying to connect Lattice with their existing HR ecosystem, potentially hindering data flow and process automation.

Key Features

Performance Reviews: Whether you prefer a quarterly or annual review cycle, Lattice can adapt to your processes. The system offers 360 feedback and self, manager and direct report feedback. It offers project-based reviews and automated reviews. Users can choose to customize their reviews or use expert templates.
1:1 Meetings: With Lattice 1:1 meetings, employees and managers have weekly meetings that can be set at a custom cadence and changed whenever needed. The meetings follow a predetermined agenda that the managers and employees put together beforehand. During the meeting Lattice asks users to take notes on the key points and next steps which they’ll follow up on afterwards. Managers have access to a Team Dashboard which displays their upcoming meetings.
Employee Recognition: Lattice emphasizes the importance of praise and recognition in employee development with this feature. The public praise wall allows users to celebrate accomplishments across the entire company. The system prompts the user to ask which company values the employee displayed. A praise Slack channel brings feedback into the flow of work.
Goals and OKRs: Goals are integrated into workflows so they’re always visible, helping users to keep goals at the front of their mind. The analytics and reporting capabilities help goals become actionable insights.
Feedback: Integratable with Slack, Lattice Mobile and your email provider, the system makes feedback capabilities easily accessible. In addition, feedback is kept in one central location so users can review historical feedback.
Updates: The updates feature sends employees a weekly questionnaire which checks in with their work progress, how they’re feeling and what they may need help with. The questionnaires can be customized and scheduled to come out whenever you so choose. Public updates are intended for a company-wide check-in while private updates are for checking in with how your team is doing.

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Leapsome

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^$8

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Why We Picked Leapsome

Leapsome has made quite a splash in the world of performance management software, leaving many users impressed with its comprehensive features and user-friendly interface. Reviewers frequently highlight its ease of use as a major advantage, allowing companies to quickly implement and integrate the platform into their existing workflows. The intuitive design and straightforward navigation make it accessible to employees at all levels, encouraging adoption and engagement across the organization.

Leapsome distinguishes itself from competitors by offering a holistic approach to people management. It goes beyond basic performance reviews and goal setting by incorporating features for employee engagement, learning and development, and compensation management. This comprehensive suite of tools allows companies to address various aspects of the employee experience, fostering a more positive and productive work environment. Users particularly appreciate the platform's flexibility and customization options, enabling them to tailor the software to their specific needs and processes. For instance, companies can create custom review templates, define competency frameworks, and establish unique goals and objectives that align with their overall business strategy.

Leapsome appears to be an ideal solution for companies of all sizes looking to enhance their performance management processes and create a more engaged and motivated workforce. Its user-friendly interface, comprehensive features, and focus on employee development make it a valuable tool for HR teams, managers, and employees alike. However, it's important to note that software needs can vary significantly between organizations, so it's recommended to explore different options and consider factors such as budget, company size, and desired features before making a decision.

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Pros & Cons

Goal Alignment: Enables users to align individual goals with company objectives, fostering a sense of purpose and direction.
Performance Reviews: Streamlines the performance review process, making it more efficient and less time-consuming for both managers and employees.
Feedback Culture: Promotes a culture of continuous feedback, allowing for regular check-ins and performance discussions.
Development Focus: Encourages employee development through features like learning modules and career pathing.

Meeting Management: Users have expressed frustration with the meeting management features, finding them to be cumbersome and lacking the desired level of intuitiveness. The interface for scheduling and managing meetings has been described as clunky, leading to a less-than-optimal user experience.
Integrations: Leapsome's integrations with other popular workplace tools have been a point of contention for some users. The limitations in integrating with certain essential tools can disrupt workflows and hinder productivity, particularly for teams that rely on a connected ecosystem of applications.
Customization: The platform's customization options have been noted as somewhat restrictive, making it challenging for organizations to tailor the system to their specific needs and preferences. This lack of flexibility can lead to a less-than-ideal fit for companies with unique performance management processes or requirements.

Key Features

Intuitive Dashboard: Simplify tasks with a user-friendly platform and a real-time view of resources, key data and review cycles. Boost productivity with automated reminders. Simplify tasks with quick access to notes, past reviews and progress.
Comprehensive Reviews: Use 360-degree evaluations and agile reviews to measure performance at organization, department and individual levels. Choose from templates or build customized frameworks with the option to define questions, timelines and confidentiality settings.
Onboarding Tools: Conduct employee orientation courses to acquaint new hires with their roles, responsibilities and organizational values. Oversee learning paths and test progress with quizzes.
Integrations: Create an HRIS suite with secure authentication, easy data imports and single sign-on to run multiple productivity apps with full context. Pick from chat and collaboration tools, productivity apps and browser extensions to integrate workflows.
Employee Recognition: Allow managers to send feedback based on predefined criteria, without waiting for annual review cycles. Gain at-a-glance views of employee performance to identify top contributors. Assign mentors to track private feedback and support individual growth.
Meeting Support: Organize structured one-on-one sessions by sharing agendas and summarize with meeting notes. Integrate with calendars, email providers and communication apps. Access previous meetings history, view unresolved points and track actionable items across meetings.
Engagement Surveys: Use customizable questionnaire templates generated by psychologists to uncover underlying personnel insights. Deploy anonymous or confidential surveys at different department levels and use indicators like employee NPS to monitor changes in engagement.
Analytic Reporting: Use actionable insights from skill gap analysis and live heat maps to improve budgetary decisions, align teams with mission statements, track changes over time and improve hiring strategies. Employ KPIs to support HR functions like talent for succession planning and training investments.
Security Policies: Safeguard user data by relying on security policies with SSL encryption, AES-256 algorithm and two-factor authentication. Protect databases with role-based request verification and ID tagging. Prevent cyber attacks with ISO/IEC 27001:2013 compliant information security practices.

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Quantum Workplace

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^$10,000

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Why We Picked Quantum Workplace

Reviews for Quantum Workplace over the past year reveal a software that shines for its user-friendliness and focus on fostering a culture of continuous feedback. Many users, particularly in fast-growing startups and SMBs, appreciate Quantum Workplace's ability to streamline performance management with features like automated reminders and goal tracking. This shift away from annual review dread allows for more frequent, focused conversations between managers and employees, leading to higher morale and engagement according to reviewers. Quantum Workplace's user-friendly interface is also a hit, with some users comparing it favorably to competitors that can feel clunky and complex.

However, reviewers also highlight limitations that may be dealbreakers for certain companies. Quantum Workplace's customization options are somewhat limited, which can be frustrating for organizations with intricate workflows or unique review processes. For instance, a company with a multi-step review process requiring input from various stakeholders might find Quantum Workplace inflexible. Additionally, while Quantum Workplace offers a mobile app, some users report it lacks the full functionality of the desktop version. This can be a pain point for employees or managers who prefer on-the-go access to performance management tools. Finally, Quantum Workplace seems to cater best to small and medium-sized businesses. Large enterprises with massive workforces may find its features and reporting capabilities inadequate for handling a high volume of employee data.

In conclusion, Quantum Workplace stands out for its user-friendly approach and focus on continuous feedback, making it a strong fit for startups, SMBs, and any organization seeking to streamline performance management and boost employee engagement. However, companies with highly customized review processes or very large employee populations might be better suited for a more scalable and feature-rich enterprise solution.

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Pros & Cons

Boosts Employee Engagement: Quantum Workplace fosters a culture of recognition and feedback. Imagine a salesperson exceeding their quota and receiving instant praise from their manager. This simple act can significantly boost morale and keep employees feeling valued.
Streamlines Performance Management: Quantum Workplace automates tasks like scheduling reviews and collecting feedback. This frees up time for managers to focus on development conversations, leading to a more engaged workforce. Think less paperwork, more coaching!
Improves Data-Driven Decisions: Quantum Workplace tracks performance metrics and generates reports providing valuable insights. Imagine a manager using data to identify a knowledge gap in their team and implementing targeted training – that's the power of data!
Enhances Transparency & Communication: Quantum Workplace promotes open communication. Employees can access their performance reviews and goals anytime, fostering a sense of accountability and ownership. Think of it like a shared dashboard – everyone's on the same page!

Limited Customization: While user-friendly, Quantum Workplace's customization options can feel restrictive for complex workflows. Imagine a company with a multi-layered review process requiring specific approvals. Quantum Workplace might lack the flexibility to perfectly accommodate this structure.
Mobile App Functionality Concerns: Some users report the mobile app has limitations compared to the desktop version. This can be frustrating for employees or managers who prefer on-the-go access. Imagine a manager wanting to provide feedback during a client visit but finding the mobile app lacking functionality.
Fewer Features Than Some Competitors: For organizations seeking very advanced features, Quantum Workplace might seem basic. Think of it like a Swiss Army Knife versus a specialized performance management tool with a wider range of capabilities.

Key Features

Goal Setting & Tracking: Set SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound) goals for individuals and teams. Track progress visually and receive automated reminders to ensure everyone stays on target. Imagine a marketing team setting a goal to increase website traffic by 20% in Q2 – Quantum Workplace can help them track their progress week-over-week and identify any adjustments needed.
360-Degree Feedback: Gather feedback from managers, peers, subordinates, and even clients to get a holistic view of an employee's performance. This multi-source feedback approach provides a well-rounded perspective and fosters a culture of development.
Performance Reviews: Facilitate efficient performance reviews with customizable templates and automated workflows. Managers can easily document achievements, provide feedback, and set development goals – all within the Quantum Workplace platform.
Feedback Management: Encourage a continuous feedback loop by allowing employees to request and receive feedback anytime. This fosters a growth mindset and helps employees understand their strengths and weaknesses on an ongoing basis.
Development Plans: Create personalized development plans based on individual performance reviews and feedback. These plans can include specific training courses, mentorship opportunities, or stretch assignments to help employees reach their full potential.
Reporting & Analytics: Generate comprehensive reports that provide insights into individual and team performance. These reports can be used to identify trends, track progress towards goals, and make data-driven decisions about talent development.
Recognition & Rewards: Recognize and reward employee achievements to boost morale and keep them engaged. Quantum Workplace allows for public or private recognition, as well as integration with reward programs.
Mobile App: Access key Quantum Workplace features on the go with the mobile app. Employees can review their goals, provide feedback, and stay up-to-date on their performance anytime, anywhere.
Integrations: Integrate Quantum Workplace with your existing HRIS (Human Resource Information System) and other business tools to streamline workflows and centralize employee data.

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Betterworks

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^$7

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Why We Picked Betterworks

Betterworks receives praise for its user-friendly interface and intuitive goal-setting features. Users appreciate the platform's ability to align individual goals with broader company objectives, fostering a sense of purpose and direction. The software's feedback tools facilitate continuous performance conversations, promoting employee development and engagement. However, some users note that the mobile app's functionality is limited compared to the desktop version. Additionally, while Betterworks integrates with various HR systems, some users desire more extensive integration options.

Betterworks distinguishes itself through its emphasis on continuous performance management and employee engagement. The platform's features encourage regular feedback, goal setting, and progress tracking, creating a culture of ongoing development and improvement. This focus on employee-centric performance management sets Betterworks apart from traditional performance review systems that often rely on annual or bi-annual evaluations. Consequently, Betterworks is well-suited for organizations seeking to cultivate a culture of feedback, growth, and employee engagement. The platform's flexibility and customization options make it adaptable to various company sizes and industries, particularly those with a modern approach to performance management.

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Pros & Cons

Goal Alignment: Aligns individual goals with broader company objectives, fostering a sense of purpose and direction among employees.
Continuous Feedback: Enables regular feedback exchanges between managers and employees, promoting ongoing development and improvement.
Performance Calibration: Facilitates objective performance assessments by mitigating bias through calibration sessions.
Development Plans: Supports the creation of personalized development plans to help employees enhance their skills and knowledge.

Calibration Issues: Some users have expressed concerns about potential biases during the calibration process, where managers discuss and adjust employee performance ratings to ensure fairness and consistency. Ensuring objectivity and mitigating bias in calibration sessions is crucial for maintaining trust and fairness in the performance management system.
Goal Management Challenges: Users have mentioned that setting and aligning goals within Betterworks can be cumbersome, particularly when dealing with intricate organizational structures or complex goal hierarchies. Streamlining the goal-setting process and providing clear guidance on goal alignment can enhance the user experience and promote effective goal management.
Limited Customization: Betterworks offers a range of features and functionalities, but some users have noted limitations in customizing the platform to meet their specific needs and preferences. Providing greater flexibility and customization options would empower organizations to tailor the platform to their unique performance management processes and requirements.

Key Features

Goals Alignment: Foster individual goal alignment with organization objectives and key results (OKRs) or the FAST goal methodology and quarterly progress reviews. It allows users to quickly view the most pertinent information and interact with goal progress on the activity stream. Integrations to Slack and other applications allow users to bring goal management into their workflow.
Conversations, Feedback and Recognition: Automate goal alignment conversations, regular goal check-ins and career development conversations. Templates for each type of conversation are provided for managers and can be customized by department, job level and business objectives. Conversations can consist of free text and quantitative sources. Peer feedback may be requested or scheduled at any time.
Calibration: Manage talent calibration and succession planning with an intuitive drag-and-drop box UI. Users can filter by department, level, job type, gender and more to provide up-to-date information concerning employee performance and development.
Engagement: Betterworks acquired Hyphen, an employee voice and engagement platform, which has expanded system capabilities to provide automated surveys and polls. They can be configured to reach specific teams or the entire organization; time or event-based launch triggers allow you to customize frequency. The system enables users to create custom action plans based on real-time survey results. Polls help to identify emerging trends and create action plans quickly.
Insights and Analytics: The system allows users to gather talent insights into engagement, career development and manager effectiveness. The input integrates with your HRIS to encourage a smooth flow of processes.

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Reflektive

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^$7,500

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Why We Picked Reflektive

Reviews of Reflektive highlight its user-friendly interface, flexibility, and effectiveness in streamlining performance reviews and fostering a feedback-rich culture. One user enthusiastically described Reflektive as a "game-changer," praising its ability to simplify performance reviews and cultivate a more feedback-oriented environment. Another user lauded Reflektive as the most user-friendly performance management software they've encountered, emphasizing its ease of setup and use, along with its significant contribution to improving their performance management processes.

While Reflektive receives accolades for its strengths, users also point out areas for improvement. Some users note the absence of a feature for comparing performance across quarters without opening multiple tabs, as well as the lack of an autosave function. Additionally, occasional bugs in the Outlook app and minor issues with single sign-on have been reported. Despite these drawbacks, the overall sentiment toward Reflektive remains positive, with users consistently praising its ease of use, customizability, and ability to enhance performance management practices. The software's integration with Outlook, allowing users to give and receive feedback, prepare for check-ins, and update goals directly within their email client, is a standout feature that sets Reflektive apart from competitors like BetterUp.

Reflektive is well-suited for organizations of all sizes seeking to improve their performance management processes. Its user-friendly interface, flexibility, and effectiveness in facilitating feedback and goal setting make it a valuable tool for both small businesses and large enterprises. However, it's important to note that software capabilities and user experiences can evolve, so it's always a good idea to check for the latest information and reviews before making a decision.

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Pros & Cons

User-Interface: The solution has a straightforward and streamlined user interface, according to 61% of users. It’s intuitive and facilitates easy navigation.
Goal Management: According to 85% of users who reviewed this pro, it has advanced goal management features to align user goals with the organizational goals.
Performance Management: About 80% of users who mentioned this pro said the solution has excellent performance management capabilities to facilitate employee engagement.
Better Collaboration and Feedback Management: Regarding this feature, approximately 100% of users said it encourages better collaboration with co-workers. It enables unbiased feedback delivery within the team.

Calibration Tools: Users have expressed a desire for more robust features to facilitate calibration meetings, specifically the ability to view and compare employee performance ratings side-by-side.
Goal Management: The platform's goal-setting functionality has been noted as an area for improvement, with users finding it somewhat cumbersome and lacking the flexibility needed for effective goal management.
Performance Review Process: Some users have found the performance review process to be rigid and lacking in customization options, making it difficult to tailor the system to their specific needs and preferences.

Key Features

Feedback Tools: Facilitate a culture of continuous feedback. Write feedback in Outlook, Slack or Gmail and post it on the recognition wall for the whole team to read and use. Filter to see the information relevant to the users. View historical feedback and plug data directly into performance reviews.
Goal Management: Set goals as public or private, view goal reports, use check-ins to pull up goals and talk about progress, recall real-time feedback for visibility and adjust goals as needed.
Check-Ins: The check-in feature allows managers to construct questions for their employees to answer. It facilitates light conversations between managers and employees.
Analytics and Reporting: Access data and visual reports by department, location and other sub-groups. Uncover biases, pinpoint achievements and view compensation information.
Performance Reviews: Create performance reviews with anonymity settings and the option to customize question types. The system autosaves reviews and displays them in an intuitive format. It integrates with technologies such as BambooHR and Workday.
1:1 Meetings: Talk through Slack, email, Reflektive or mobile devices to set 1:1 agendas. Track conversations by date, follow-up on past items, use the system’s conversation starters and mark topics as discussed. Users can tie 1:1s back to goals and feedback.
Employee Engagement: The employee engagement module provides anonymous surveys for employees to submit feedback on your organization. Gain access to HR insights with year-round surveys and polls.

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Profit.co

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^$7

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Why We Picked Profit.co

Profit.co appears to be a popular choice among businesses seeking a comprehensive platform to manage OKRs, employee engagement, and performance reviews. Users frequently highlight its user-friendly interface and intuitive design, making it easy for both administrators and employees to navigate and utilize its features effectively. The platform's flexibility is also a significant advantage, as it allows for customization to align with specific organizational structures and workflows. Profit.co's ability to integrate with various third-party applications, such as HRIS and project management tools, further enhances its value proposition by streamlining data flow and reducing manual effort.

While Profit.co receives positive feedback for its core functionalities, some users note that certain advanced features, such as reporting and analytics, could benefit from further development to provide more in-depth insights and data visualization options. Additionally, while the platform offers a mobile app, its functionality is somewhat limited compared to the web-based version, which may pose challenges for users who require on-the-go access.

Profit.co's emphasis on OKR management, coupled with its performance review and employee engagement modules, positions it as a suitable solution for organizations that prioritize goal alignment, continuous feedback, and performance improvement. Its scalability and customizability make it adaptable to businesses of varying sizes and industries, particularly those seeking a holistic approach to performance management that fosters transparency and accountability.

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Pros & Cons

Balanced Approach: Profit.co offers a balanced approach to performance management, combining traditional performance reviews with continuous feedback and development. This allows for a more holistic view of employee performance and helps to identify areas where employees need support.
Goal Management: The platform provides robust goal management features, allowing users to set, track, and manage goals at individual, team, and organizational levels. This helps to ensure that everyone is working towards the same objectives and that progress is being made.
Customizable: Profit.co is highly customizable, allowing organizations to tailor the platform to their specific needs. This includes the ability to create custom performance review templates, set up different goal types, and configure workflows to match existing processes.
User-Friendly Interface: The platform has a user-friendly interface that is easy to navigate and use. This makes it easy for employees and managers to adopt the platform and get the most out of its features.
Integrations: Profit.co integrates with a variety of other business applications, such as HRIS, payroll, and learning management systems. This helps to streamline processes and improve data accuracy.

Steep Learning Curve: The platform's extensive features and functionalities can overwhelm new users, leading to a prolonged onboarding process and potential frustration.
Customization Challenges: Profit.co's emphasis on OKRs might not align well with organizations seeking a more flexible performance management system.
Integrations: Profit.co's integrations with other HR and business tools may be limited compared to other performance management platforms, potentially hindering seamless data flow and workflow automation.

Key Features

Meeting Support: Conduct one-on-one and team meetings to check progress and address issues with editable agendas. Avoid scheduling conflicts by comparing availability, assigning users and automating recurring meetings.
Recognition Scoreboards: Drive healthy competition with leaderboards to display rewards, badges and points. Reward top performers and improve engagement by posting comments and congratulating peers for work accomplishments.
Performance Reviews: Generate 360-degree assessments with self-evaluation tests, manager evaluations and peer reviews. Assign secondary reviewers, performance scores and manager ratings to eliminate subjectivity.
Goals Management: Add OKRs to projects with preset visibility, target dates and performance indicators to measure productivity. Review departmental heat maps and progress percentages to track ongoing progress and goals alignment.
Activity Tracking: Manage boards containing lists to streamline tasks. Let team members move assigned cards through different queues to change activity status.
Multi-Device Compatibility: View dashboards, monitor updates and receive alerts on mobile devices. Display performance data on desktops, TV screens and tablets during meetings.
Integrations: Bundle with productivity apps, office tools and communication platforms. Integrate existing HRIS with single sign-in authentication and run multiple platforms with full context.

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PerformYard

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Why We Picked PerformYard

Stepping into the realm of performance management software, PerformYard emerges as a compelling contender, capturing the attention of users with its user-friendly interface and adaptable framework. Reviews highlight its intuitive design, making it accessible even for those with limited technical expertise. This ease of use is a significant advantage, as it allows teams to quickly adopt and utilize the software without a steep learning curve.

PerformYard's flexibility further distinguishes it from competitors. The software's ability to conform to the unique requirements of diverse organizations empowers users to tailor it to their specific workflows and performance evaluation processes. This adaptability ensures that PerformYard seamlessly integrates into existing systems, rather than forcing organizations to conform to rigid software structures. Additionally, PerformYard offers a comprehensive suite of features encompassing goal setting, performance reviews, and compensation management, providing a holistic solution for performance management needs. Users particularly appreciate the goal-setting functionality, which facilitates clear communication and alignment between employees and managers.

While PerformYard receives widespread acclaim, some users note that certain reporting functions could be more intuitive. However, these minor drawbacks are overshadowed by the software's overall strengths. PerformYard is an ideal choice for organizations seeking a user-friendly, adaptable, and feature-rich performance management solution. Its intuitive design, flexibility, and comprehensive features make it suitable for businesses of all sizes and across various industries.

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Pros & Cons

Usability: The solution is easy to use, according to 100% of users. It’s easy to navigate with icons and a concise dashboard.
Customer Support: According to 100% of users who reviewed this pro, the customer support team is responsive and knowledgeable. The team provides excellent training and guidance to the users.
Performance Management: About 100% of users who mentioned this pro said it has excellent performance management capabilities. The ability to provide timely reviews and feedback about employee performance is outstanding.
Goal Management: Regarding this feature, approximately 84% of users said that creating, tracking and managing goals is straightforward. Users can produce measurable and consistent goals for the employees that can be customized and updated at any time according to the business needs.

Calibration: Users have expressed frustration with the calibration tools, finding them to be cumbersome and lacking the desired level of intuitiveness for effectively managing performance reviews.
Integrations: The platform's integration capabilities with other HR and business systems have been a point of contention for some users, as they may require additional configuration or customization to achieve seamless data flow.
Reporting: Users have noted limitations in the reporting functionality, particularly in generating customized reports or accessing granular data for in-depth performance analysis.

Key Features

Performance Reviews: Allows users to customize performance reviews with a variety of question types to choose from. Set a cadence for review cycles and enable email reminders. A live progress dashboard provides an overview so that users can track review progress and check on participation levels. Performance reviews may incorporate 360s, input from people across the organization, as well as external input.
Goal Management: Break down goals based on their owner, expectation, timeline and contributions with the visual goal cascade feature. These classifications help with assigning responsibilities and breaking the goal into separate, actionable steps. Individual goals have a repository for updates, feedback and collaboration. Users can link goals to reviews.
Continuous Feedback: Provide recognition for employees on the activity stream, provide 1:1 feedback that can be shared with employees’ managers and follow-up with them throughout their time at the organization. Users can inform managers about employee performance with a full track record of their team that can be filtered by date, contributor and type. Users can write private performance notes.
Reporting: Automatically generate reports and visualizations for goals and review data. Reporting also includes review cycle dashboards, a stacked bar chart, performance values nine-box grid, segmented reports, performance trends and custom form reports.
General HR: Access a couple of general HR features such as onboarding workflows, document storage, company directory, enterprise security, activity logs and employee data.
Automation: Leverage automation for email reminders, single sign-on implementation, E-Signature capabilities and more. All employee data is automatically collected, encrypted and stored within the system. Managers can distribute reviews with one click as well as export them to PDF.
Integrations: ntegrates with ADP, BambooHR, Slack, G Suite, Office 365, Okta and OneLogin. These integrations provide synchronicity of business processes, mitigating the need to log into several applications every morning.

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Why We Picked Plai Team

Users seem to think so, praising its user-friendliness, progress tracking, and ability to keep teams on the same page. One user raved about how easy it is to use and how it helps them stay focused on their goals.

While specific comparisons to similar products like Lattice or BambooHR are limited in the provided information, the emphasis on ease of use and goal tracking suggests Plai Team might be a good fit for smaller teams or those new to performance management software. Larger organizations or those with more complex needs might require a solution with more robust features. However, without further details on user experiences comparing Plai Team to its competitors, it's tough to definitively say where it stands in the market.

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Pros & Cons

Lightweight and intuitive: Plai Team is praised for its user-friendly interface and ease of use, making performance management processes less cumbersome.
Effective goal-setting and tracking: Users appreciate the platform's features that facilitate setting clear objectives and monitoring progress, fostering better alignment and accountability.
Streamlined feedback mechanisms: Plai Team simplifies the process of giving and receiving feedback, enabling more frequent and constructive performance conversations.

Limited Functionality: Users have expressed that Plai Team lacks some advanced features found in other performance management systems, such as comprehensive reporting capabilities and talent management tools.
Steep Learning Curve: Some users have reported that the platform's interface can be difficult to navigate and requires a significant time investment to learn.
Occasional Bugs: While generally stable, some users have encountered occasional bugs or glitches within the platform that have disrupted their workflow.

Key Features

Goals Management: Use objectives and key results to create achievable goals, assign relevant tasks, track ongoing progress and achieve defined results. Review history, notes and comments and update plans to align employee and company goals.
Multi-Device Display: Present progress data on TV screens during meetings to engage larger teams and support productive conversations. Enable managers to monitor changes, view goals and receive real-time updates with the mobile app.
Meetings Support: Choose from over 100 questions and templates to conduct structured one-on-one meetings that facilitate informed conversations. Use shared agendas, notes, checklists and synchronized calendars to ensure team cohesion.
Performance Feedback: Use customizable questionnaires with defined deadlines to gather timely feedback. Generate 360-degree assessments based on self-evaluation tests, manager evaluations and peer reviews.
Recognition Leaderboard: Celebrate wins and share praise publicly on team dashboards. Rank achievements to identify top performers and corresponding values to drive healthy competition.
Integrations: Improve employee engagement by adding reactions to cross-sent recognition messages on integrated communication apps. Receive updates and notifications to stay on top of real-time changes, new comments and overall progress.

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Pricing & Cost Guide

See the Price/User for the top performance management software… plus the most important considerations and questions to ask when shopping.

Buyer's Guide

Performance Management Software Is All About Tracking Real-Time Progress and Providing Continuous Feedback To Empower Your Workforce

By Saniya Farokhi, Technical Content Writer at SelectHub

Performance Management Software BG Intro Header

Is your HR team struggling to keep up with endless performance calculations and never-ending check-in backlogs? If you're nodding your head, it’s time to ditch the age-old traditional performance management process and usher in an efficient and engaging future for your organization with performance management software — the solution to unlocking your workforce’s potential and starting inspiring performance and feedback dialogues.

Executive Summary

Employee performance management software automates and streamlines repetitive tasks, saving time and boosting overall productivity.
Knowing your company-specific requirements and business goals is vital for an informed software selection process.
Developing a requirements list helps you identify vendors offering the most features and services you need.
Asking vendors key questions will help you select the best software for your requirements.

What This Guide Covers:

What Is Performance Management Software?
Deployment Methods
Primary Benefits
Implementation Goals
Basic Features & Functionality
Advanced Features to Consider
Current & Upcoming Trends
Software Comparison Strategy
Cost & Pricing Considerations
Best Performance Management Software
Questions To Ask Yourself
Questions To Ask Vendors
Next Steps
Product Comparisons
Additional Resources

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What Is Performance Management Software?

Performance management software is an HR tool used to measure and improve productivity and overall business performance throughout the employee lifecycle. It provides goal setting, performance evaluation, continuous feedback and reporting solutions that adjust and align with company-specific human capital management (HCM) goals.

Deployment Methods

You have two choices when implementing performance management systems: on-premise and cloud-based deployments, each with its own set of benefits and considerations:

Cloud-Based Performance Management Systems

Cloud performance management software stores your information on external servers and is accessible online. This deployment method brings the following to the table:

Accessibility: Gain remote data access and view real-time changes, updates and progress. While collaborating with your team on the go.
Integrations: Acquire extensive integration options with cloud-based systems. Handpick your choice of productivity apps and connect with existing tools to create a cohesive and productive software ecosystem.
Responsive Design: Cloud deployments are typically compatible with different devices, ensuring on-the-go performance tracking on desktops, phones and tablets.
Automatic Updates: Cloud-based software providers typically handle updates and maintenance, ensuring your system is always up-to-date with the latest features and security enhancements.
Cost Efficiency: Tackle relatively lower upfront costs and predictable subscription pricing, making resource planning and allocation much easier.

On-Premise Performance Management Systems

On-premise systems store your information on your company's internal databases. While they offer advantages such as data control, they come with their own considerations:

Data Security: You’ll have complete control over your data. Your data security is as strong as your internal IT infrastructure and data centers.
Implementation and Maintenance Costs: On-premise solutions typically incur higher initial implementation costs and ongoing maintenance expenses. Organizations need to invest in hardware, software licenses, and IT expertise.
Control: On-premise systems grant you greater control over your performance management system, letting you customize the platform to meet specific requirements.

Cloud-based solutions are ideal for those seeking flexibility, scalability, and remote access, making them suitable for startups and organizations looking to streamline operations across various locations.

On the other hand, on-premise solutions are the top choice for larger businesses prioritizing stringent data management, where maintaining direct control over infrastructure is essential.

Ultimately, your software choice must align with your company‘s unique requirements.

Primary Benefits

Effective performance management empowers your managers to make better developmental decisions and inspires your workforce to excel in their fields. Here’s how implementing the right performance management system brings a bevy of advantages to the table:

Benefits of Performance Management Software

Boost Consistency and Reduce Bias

Traditional performance reviews are often overwhelming for employees and managers. The process can be contentious and reductive, missing precise performance data essential for constructive feedback. Performance management systems save your HR teams from manually measuring productivity and performance.

Internal frameworks ensure a level playing field, leaving no room for favoritism and bias. This way, your employees receive well-deserved recognition and opportunities. Your managers can breathe a sigh of relief as automated workflows streamline everything from objective insights to upcoming check-ins to real-time progress.

Track Real-Time Progress

Your team’s performance directly impacts your business outcome. Performance management systems help create a flexible performance evaluation strategy to measure individual, team, departmental and organizational progress and adjust your goals to meet current talent needs. An objective, data-driven process helps pinpoint what’s driving your team and set realistic benchmarks to motivate your workforce.

Improve Retention Rates

Is low pay the sole reason employees leave, or is there more to the picture? A recent Pew Research study found that growth opportunities and disrespect at work are top reasons for resignations. Safe to say: if employees can't see a future with your organization, they’ll likely leave.

Transparent communication and good manager-employee relationships are key to effective talent management. Performance management tools support this endeavor with insights that allow career advancements and skill development initiatives that foster a sense of accomplishment and ownership.

Optimize Internal Processes

Behind every successful business is a workforce that knows and works towards accomplishing company-wide goals. So, it’s vital to support your people when necessary. Time-saving automation capabilities, data insights and unified goal management capabilities help you adapt your performance goals as talent requirements change. Performance management systems reinvent how you track, manage and measure performance.

Performance Management Software Report

Expert recommendations and analysis on the top performance management solutions

Employee Performance Management Software Report

Implementation Goals

It’s important to have a game plan when implementing new software. Gather your team and discuss what you want to achieve with new tools. To kick things off, performance management software should help you achieve these goals:

Goal 1 Automate Workflows & Streamline Tasks	Automate scheduling and documenting employee performance reviews, letting HR teams concentrate on other tasks beyond software capabilities. Achieve efficiency by reducing time spent on routine employee review tasks, enabling a greater focus on critical decision-making matters.
Goal 2 Align Employee Goals With Business Objectives	Communicate strategic goals at every step so everyone is always on the same page. Assess goals alignment with business objectives and offer meaningful feedback to enhance performance.
Goal 3 Track Individual & Team Performance	Streamline performance management by tracking individual employee progress, achievements and goals efficiently, even with a large workforce. Facilitate collaboration by providing a unified, auto-updating dashboard within your chosen system. Improve autonomy by letting employees access their progress and view target completion, ensuring transparency and involvement.
Goal 4 Enable 360-Degree Feedback Management	Transform performance reviews from confrontational meetings to constructive conversations by providing meaningful and actionable feedback. Collect holistic feedback from peers, teammates, managers and more to conduct comprehensive evaluations. Utilize reports and data visualizations to identify performance gaps and implement tailored coaching programs to address weaknesses.
Goal 5 Address Internal Talent Needs	Ensure that your chosen system accommodates your business growth and changing workplace dynamics, focusing on smooth communication, talent management and role assignments. Address your unique business operations, industry standards and workforce needs.

Expert recommendations and analysis on the top performance management solutions

Performance Management Software Report

Basic Features & Functionality

Performance management systems come in all shapes and sizes. However, certain feature sets are common among all alternatives. Here are the essential features you’ll require in an ideal system:

Goal Setting & OKRs Management	Set realistic targets that energize your teams instead of stressing them out with unsuitable objectives. Access valuable metrics and KPIs to track progress, create customizable plans and identify top performers. Receive alerts that remind you to check on employees.
360-Degree Assessments	Leverage various assessment techniques like peer, manager and self-assigned assessments to measure performance levels holistically. Certain vendors offer built-in talent intelligence frameworks that go beyond typical assessments by analyzing qualities like team dynamics, internal performance standards and individual potential.
Feedback and Check-In Management	Use surveys, forms and check-in meetings to send and receive input from key people. Foster continuous growth conversations by scheduling one-on-one meetings with specific employees. Clear doubts, address issues and strengthen manager-employee relations with regular communication.
Career and Employee Development	Create suitable individual development plans (IDPs) and employee skill development paths with actionable insights. Assign training and learning resources to bridge internal skill gaps and support people when necessary.
Reporting & Performance Analytics	Identify top performers, pinpoint factors influencing productivity and develop realistic performance benchmarks for every role. The reporting and analytics feature processes complex employee data and provides performance reports based on talent and people analytics.

Expert recommendations and analysis on the top performance management solutions

Performance Management Software Report

Advanced Features & Functionality

Learning & Development	Follow up after performance evaluations end by developing suitable learning, coaching and development paths. Track learning progress and provide feedback throughout the process. Ensure that your employees have everything they need to meet the goals defined by their performance review.
Succession Planning and Talent Pipelines	Identify high-potential employees and create succession plans to set your employees on a path to successful careers. Prepare for leadership transitions and ensure steady talent is always available when critical and non-managerial roles open up.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) Functionality	Take things up a notch by leveraging AI and machine learning algorithms to predict future performance trends, and address potential issues before they occur and identify opportunities. Access tailored employee development recommendations based on past performance data.

Learning & Development

Follow up after performance evaluations end by developing suitable learning, coaching and development paths. Track learning progress and provide feedback throughout the process. Ensure that your employees have everything they need to meet the goals defined by their performance review.

Succession Planning and Talent Pipelines

Identify high-potential employees and create succession plans to set your employees on a path to successful careers. Prepare for leadership transitions and ensure steady talent is always available when critical and non-managerial roles open up.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) Functionality

Take things up a notch by leveraging AI and machine learning algorithms to predict future performance trends, and address potential issues before they occur and identify opportunities.

Access tailored employee development recommendations based on past performance data.

Current & Upcoming Trends

The recent years brought on a host of changes in performance management software. The rise of hybrid work models is changing how businesses and their workforces operate, prioritizing seamless communication and real-time performance tracking. Here are the top trends to remember:

Performance Management Software Trends

Continuous Performance Management

The annual performance review relays a bygone era. These reviews, though well-intentioned, can unintentionally cause stress and anxiety among employees. Today, more and more businesses are reinventing their performance management strategies to adapt to the new reality. The continuous performance management model is at the forefront of this shift.

Replacing annual or quarterly performance reviews with ongoing coaching and feedback dialogues doesn’t mean eliminating all performance reviews. Quite the contrary, continuous performance dialogues increase the check-in frequency.

Continuous performance management acknowledges that everyone has room for growth and aims to create an environment where employees are encouraged to express themselves openly and honestly.

Talent Intelligence

A recent Harvard Business Review article revealed that the key to equitable talent management lies in fair, accurate and bias-free performance management.

The same article noted the rise of behavioral science and HR technology advancements contribute to informed development and promotional decisions. The increase in data insight availability encourages quality practices.

Talent intelligence tools significantly shifted how organizations approach performance management. I/O psychology frameworks analyze team dynamics and develop company-specific job criteria to enhance talent selection, placement and development, ultimately optimizing workforce effectiveness and productivity.

Integrating talent intelligence into performance management practices ensures that companies hire people with the potential to grow in their organization for the long haul.

Employee-Centric Performance Management

Today's workforce has higher expectations and is looking for something more meaningful from their employers.

The Talent Strategy Group found that only 50% of companies let employees set their own goals, while managers take charge of goal-setting in about 40% of organizations. Interestingly, the same report suggests that managers should only offer a guiding hand in this process instead of directly setting goals for their team members.

Another report by Betterworks uncovered employee experience is a package deal. Elements like finding purpose, experiencing fairness, enjoying inclusion, having flexible work options and opportunities to advance collectively create a fulfilling journey for everyone on board.

Forward-thinking companies that embraced collaborative goal-setting and aligned career development with individual aspirations experienced greater success in increasing employees’ sense of productivity, jumping from 40% to 67%.

Expert recommendations and analysis on the top performance management solutions

Employee Performance Management Software Report

Software Comparison Strategy

Before we dive headfirst into the steps, it's essential to have a clear vision of what you're after. Here are the key factors to remember as you kickstart your software comparison journey:

Usability: Look for a system with an intuitive interface that employees and managers can navigate effortlessly. A user-friendly system streamlines the performance review process, making conducting and participating a breeze.
Scalability: When your company is on the rise, your performance management system should be ready to grow with you. Think of it like an elastic band, capable of stretching to accommodate your expanding workforce and evolving needs, but doesn’t snap under pressure.
Accessibility: Your chosen system must be as accessible as a well-traveled highway, letting users easily navigate it from any location or device and making information readily available. Seek systems that offer role-based permissions, granting basic access to certain employees and additional access to managerial staff.
Integrations: Your selected performance management system should match other tools and software your company uses. Look for a system that effortlessly integrates with HRIS, payroll software and other applications to ensure a smooth data flow across your organization, making your work life much easier.

Assemble your squad of top management, decision-makers and HR folks who’ll use the platform extensively. Follow these steps:

Determine Your Performance Goals: Discuss precisely what you want to achieve with the new software. Your goals can be anything like simplifying performance appraisals, enhancing feedback processes or improving employee development tracking. Organize a team brainstorming session to list out your goals and challenges. Keep this list handy throughout your search.
Develop a Requirements List: Performance management systems come in all shapes and sizes, so it’s vital to distinguish the must-have features from the good-to-have features. Check out our requirements template to identify and rank key criteria.
Research and Compare Your Options: Refer to software review websites, ask industry peers for recommendations and identify systems your competition uses. Use a spreadsheet to compare each software option's features, pricing, and user reviews. Systems that align with your industry should jump to the top of your list.
Request Demos and Trials: Schedule product demos and use free trials to see things in action. Prepare a list of questions to ask during demos to ensure you cover all aspects. Encourage your team to provide honest feedback.
Make a Decision: Aggregate your insights and findings documented in a shareable report or spreadsheet. Evaluate each vendor's usability, efficiency and overall user satisfaction to identify the ideal choice.

Still confused about where to start? We’re here to help! Check out our article on lean selection, which covers the nine critical steps of conducting an informed software selection process.

Cost & Pricing Considerations

Once you’re familiar with what a comprehensive performance system can do, it’s time to calculate how much those essential features and functions cost.

Firstly, implementing performance management software incurs an upfront cost with recurring subscription fees depending on your pricing plan. Following are the most common pricing plans:

Tiered Plans: Vendors often provide tiered pricing with varying depths of feature sets and capabilities. You can choose a plan that aligns with your organization's needs, with basic, standard and premium features options.
Pay-Per-User Plans: The number of users with platform access determines the cost. This method is ideal for growing businesses and startups seeking solutions that scale with their workforce sizes.
Enterprise Plans: Some providers offer customized enterprise-level plans tailored to the specific requirements of large organizations. These plans often include advanced features, dedicated support and scalability for extensive user bases.
Pay-Per-Use Plans: In some cases, you can pay based on the number of performance reviews, assessments or other specific actions you perform within the software.
Module-Based Plans: Certain vendors offer ancillary or related modules or add-ons for additional functionalities, such as performance appraisals, employee recognition, performance-based compensation calculations, learning management capabilities or analytics. You can choose and pay for the modules that suit your needs.
Free Plans: Here’s the good news: some providers offer free plans. However, free solutions are often bare-bones versions of the premium plans, with the most basic functions and limitations on the number of users, storage, support and actions.

Price Guide for Performance Management Software

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Questions To Ask Yourself

Asking questions internally helps uncover your company-specific needs and requirements. Use these questions as a starting point for internal conversations:

How many employees will use the platform?
Which essential features will improve internal processes?
What are our requirements for on-the-go access, the scope of customization and workflow integration?
Do we require AI-based benchmarking frameworks?
What does the future of my business look like? Do we anticipate a need to add more users or functionality down the line?
Will we require additional IT support to implement a performance management system?

Performance Management Software Questions to Ask

Questions To Ask Vendors

Asking different vendors questions helps uncover the pros and cons of using their services. Use the following questions as a starting point for conversations with vendors:

About the Software

Do you offer HR software that can integrate with your performance management platform? Or is it a stand-alone system?
Is the platform customizable? Does it provide options to personalize the talent pipeline or create custom surveys?
How often is the software updated? What does that process look like for users?

About the Vendor

How do you position yourself to leverage the latest technologies?
Do you offer any support, training, implementation or consulting services? Are they chargeable?
What is your experience working with my company size and industry?

Expert recommendations and analysis on the top performance management solutions

Next Steps

Performance management software is a wise investment toward strengthening a workforce and improving company culture. As a buyer, you can ensure that you make the most of your resources by evaluating your business requirements, identifying software that provides the correct functionality and thoroughly analyzing those options.

Need help starting your software search? Consider our free, customizable comparison matrix report to access recommendations tailored to your company’s specific needs.

Product Comparisons

Additional Resources

About The Contributors

The following expert team members are responsible for creating, reviewing, and fact checking the accuracy of this content.

By Saniya Farokhi

Technical Content Writer

Saniya was a Technical Content Writer at SelectHub. With an MBA in Marketing, she found her calling in the world of digital marketing and technical content writing. Her work spanned HR-centric systems like talent management, recruitment and performance management to robust software like ERP and manufacturing systems. When the day winds down, she enjoys taking long walks with her dog or indulging in her artistic side by swapping her keyboard for a pencil. She finds solace in watching the sunset over the beach and appreciates the little things in life.

Technical Research By Aayushi Kishor Sharma

Senior Analyst

Aayushi Kishor Sharma has been part of SelectHub since 2021, working on categories like HR, EHR and Marketing, for which she also earned an MBA. A self-described "social butterfly," she loves meeting people, exploring and trying new things.

Technical Review By Jaisri Narasimman

Principal Analyst

A graduate of NTU Singapore, Jaisri Narasimman honed her data mining and curation skills during her post-graduate education, focusing on developing strategies to help businesses make the most of their data. In her role at SelectHub, her research spans categories like HR, CRM and EHR.

Edited By Joe Evans

Content Editor

Joe Evans is an Editor and Senior Market Analyst at SelectHub. A seasoned professional wordsmith, he has a bachelor's degree in journalism and electronic media and a decade of professional expertise in crafting top-tier digital content for niche online brands. He leads his small yet formidable team in producing helpful, compelling content in vital categories like HR, payroll, talent management, performance management, marketing automation home health, MES. When not editing and writing, he enjoys sports, quality time with family and dogs, and remains constantly in pursuit of something new and interesting to read or listen to.