Aug 10, 2023
7 min read

Best Performance Management Software: Top 5 Picks Reviewed

According to Forbes, performance evaluations are the most crucial system in every organization. It’s no wonder 20% of employees have performance conversations once or twice a month. Performance management software can facilitate and enhance these conversations.

These tools provide a centralized platform for evaluating employee performance, collecting feedback, and setting goals. By automating the process, managers and employees can focus more on performance and development. According to the latest Capterra statistics, there are 365 Performance Management Software applications available on the market and that number is growing.

Performance management tools also come with real-time analytics. You can identify trends and make decisions that improve both individual and team performance. In this article, we’ll focus on the best performance management software that can improve your performance reviews.

What is performance management software?

Performance management software is a digital tool that helps organizations track, assess, and improve the performance of their employees. It usually has functions such as setting goals, collecting feedback, and performing performance reviews.

These tools centralize performance data through digital platforms accessible to both managers and employees. They facilitate 360-feedback, employee reviews, development plans, etc.

Businesses of all sizes leverage performance management software. It helps them understand how individuals are performing within the company.

Selection criteria for performance management software

Here’s what we considered when picking out the best performance management software for your business:

  • Features Each tool should include capabilities for performance reviews, feedback collection, templates, automations, and goal tracking. Integrations are also valuable, as they let you connect the new solution with programs you’re already using.
  • Pricing We like to see a clear pricing plan before signing up. A free trial for testing out the capabilities is also a plus. Ultimately, it’s best to balance value with cost instead of opting for the cheapest option.
  • Friendly UI – You’ll find dashboard screenshots for each of our top picks. They should help you judge whether the platform is clear, user-friendly, and easily readable. This minimizes the learning curve of implementing a new performance management tool.

Best 5 Performance management software

Let’s see which performance management tool can help you improve productivity in your organization.

Effy

Effy is a user-friendly performance review software. It’s perfect for small and medium-sized businesses or companies that conduct employee reviews once or twice a year. You can use it for performance reviews or 360 feedback.

The tool provides a centralized location for delivering and storing feedback. It ensures everyone’s on the same page during the performance review process.

Here are other reasons to choose Effy:

  • As a manager, you can use Effy to keep track of team information and create employee reviews. The process is simple and fast. You select team members and invite participants to the performance evaluations. Management and peer feedback will be visible in the same dashboard.
  • This performance management software automates the process by providing ready-to-use templates. From communication to leadership, our templates cover the areas managers and HR teams like to assess. You can also create a template based on your needs.
  • Effy also relies on artificial intelligence. It offers an AI-powered feature that generates a summary review and an individual development plan. The feature analyzes the results of employee reviews to draft the message.
  • You can integrate Effy with Slack, which allows employees to write and submit reviews straight from Slack.

Leverage Effy to manage your team’s performance and boost morale with valuable feedback. Here is the tool’s pricing:

  • Free – unlimited review, unlimited members, free templates, Slack integration.
  • Pro – $75/month (billed annually). 30 AI reports included, unlimited members, free templates, Slack integration.


Performance review template

15Five

15five performance management software

Image source: G2

15Five is one of the top performance management software solutions. It provides a platform for continuous feedback, goal setting, and career growth. Human Resources can tailor 15Five to fit their unique approach and objectives.

With 15Five, you can launch a customized review cycle. The tool lets you choose review admins, visibility settings, and milestones. It offers templates to speed up the performance management process.

15Five supports multi-dimensional feedback from various sources, including peers and managers. You can collect targeted feedback to better understand an employee’s strengths and weaknesses.

Other performance management features are:

  • Calibrations – managers can meet for calibration discussions. They go over each review to transparently assess how employees were rated. 15Five allows them to adjust scores to create a fair talent management system.
  • Performance reporting – HR teams can analyze performance ratings across different performance questions. The tool filters the data by group, cycle, and answers.

15Five is suitable for those who want to implement weekly reviews. It comes with three pricing plans:

  • Engage – $4 per user a month
  • Perform – $10 per user a month
  • Total Platform – $16 per user a month

Lattice

performance management software Lattice

Image source: G2

Lattice is performance management software that facilitates performance conversations, employee career development, and goal tracking. It offers a range of features to support the performance appraisal process.

This talent management software comes with:

  • Continuous feedback – participants can share employee performance feedback in real time throughout the year. This supports a team member’s growth all year long.
  • Performance reviews – it has a customizable framework for performance reviews. Admins can schedule, modify, and launch peer and manager assessments. You can even increase employee engagement because Lattice allows them to request feedback themselves.
  • Employee development tools – this performance management solution supports employee growth. You can make expectations clear to ensure your team members know what they need to improve. Lattice shows competency matrices that highlight areas for improvement like accountability and technical abilities.
  • Compensation management – Lattice helps you review benchmark data and performance to provide a fair compensation package to a team member.

Lattice is perfect for companies with mature performance management processes. If you’re ready to invest a lot of time and money in implementation and automation, then Lattice is for you.

Although it has four pricing plans, only one supports performance management. It costs $8 per person a month or $11 if you want to combine it with an OKRs & Goals package.

See also how Lattice compares to 15Five.

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PerformYard

performance management software PerformYard

Image source: G2

PerformYard is a performance management software solution that promotes a culture of continuous growth. It caters to organizations of various sizes, helping them evaluate employee performance quickly and easily.

PerformYard eliminates tedious tasks. HR teams can use it to automate reviews, send approval notifications, and schedule reminders. They can import existing review forms or create new ones to design the perfect review process.

With PerformYard, you can run:

  • 360 peer reviews
  • Continuous performance management feedback
  • Competency reviews
  • Goal check-ins
  • Project-based reviews

You can customize each cycle and form and decide which questions to ask and which areas to focus on. PerformYard is there to send timely reminders and collect comments from everyone. It evolves with your performance management strategy. You can define peer feedback relationships to determine who evaluates who at your company.

The tool also gathers performance data. You can create summary results that show competency ratings and goal scores. The results will help you identify top performers and create action plans for each employee.

It can serve as an employee engagement platform as well. You can conduct employee engagement surveys to determine what impacts your team member’s performance. Determine how satisfied employees in different departments are and develop an idea to improve the score.

The available pricing plans are:

  • Performance Management – $5-$10 per user a month (for an additional $1-$3 per user a month, you can also get an Employee Engagement package)

Trakstar

performance management software Trakstar

Image source: G2

Trakstar is a talent management platform focusing on the entire employee life cycle. It provides features that help you at every stage – from hiring to onboarding and beyond. For the purpose of this article, we’ll only focus on its performance management capabilities.

Here are the features that stand out:

  • Performance management – HR professionals can create performance reviews that align with their goals and needs.
  • Engagement surveys – discover employee sentiments by launching a survey. You can then break down results by department and team.
  • Goal setting and tracking – Trakstar supports SMART goal setting to ensure you build high-performing teams.
  • Automated reminders – Trakstar integrates with Microsoft Teams, Slack, and Zoom to send reminders to reviewers.

Trakstar also comes with reporting and analytics capabilities. It creates dashboards and reports to help you understand your employee’s performance. The pricing is available upon request.

Best performance management software: Comparison table

Let’s compare the performance management software in the table below:

Platform Features Pricing starts at Best for
Effy Customizable forms
Templates
Slack integration
AI-powered feature
Role-specific reviews
Free plan available Small and medium-sized businesses
15Five Calibrations
Performance reporting
Templates
Employee pulse surveys
Survey customization
Employee engagement surveys
From $4 per user a month Small to medium-sized businesses
Lattice Team OKR
Employee pulse surveys
Compensation feature
Peer and employee recognition
$8 per user a month For companies with mature performance management processes
PerformYard Goal management
Reporting and analytics
Supports various feedback types, including 360 feedback and competency reviews
Customizable forms
Employee engagement features
From $5 per user a month Organizations of all sizes
Trakstar 360 review feedback
Automated reminders
Performance management features
Reporting
Custom pricing From medium-sized to larger companies

Conclusion

Performance management software has changed the way companies conduct performance evaluations. We now have a centralized location that helps us track progress, set goals, conduct performance reviews, and foster communication. By leveraging these solutions, you can automate processes and enhance the evaluation process.

Some of the most commonly used types of review that can be conducted with performance management software tools are annual performance reviews, 360-degree feedback and self-conducted performance appraisals. Yet, when it comes to choosing the one that works best for you and your team you should always take into account what each performance management tool offers in terms of features.

We explored five tools that offer performance management capabilities. We suggest you carefully go over their pricing and features. Then, choose the one that aligns with your business needs. If you need a simple, affordable and fast solution, look no further than Effy. Our software keeps everyone on the same page, helps you provide timely feedback, and engages your entire workforce.

Sign up now!

FAQs: Find the best Performance Management Software

What is the best solution for performance management?

Choosing a top performance management platform depends on many factors, but if you're looking for a comprehensive 360-degree performance management solution Effy could be your best choice.

How do you measure employee performance?

The most effective way to collect and measure performance data is to use 360-degree feedback. You can automate this process by using performance management systems like Effy.

What are the benefits of performance management software?

The main benefits include:

  • Streamlined goal setting
  • Improved feedback processes
  • Continuous employee development
  • Data-driven insights for better decision-making

These lead to increased employee productivity and satisfaction.

What are the goals of performance management software?

Performance management software is supposed to provide the benefits listed above. On top of that, it enhances communication and aligns individual goals with organizational objectives.

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