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Home HR Software

Best Performance Management Software

With the world working remotely, it's never been more important to establish clear KPIs and performance management goals.
Written by Conor Cawley
Updated on January 17, 2023

Our content is funded in part by commercial partnerships, at no extra cost to you and without impact to our editorial impartiality. Click to Learn More

Organizing and monitoring how your company gets work done is an integral part of running a successful business, and the fastest way to do so is with the best performance management software on the market. Fortunately, we've found some of the most productive and efficient software available for you.

After some research, we believe the best performance management software you can choose is Workday. This software provides users with easy to use platforms that accurately measure employee performance, based on a wide range of criteria.

These aren't the only impressive performance management tools on the market, though. This competitive field plays host to a number of unique and helpful platforms that can make a huge difference to your company. Now, you just have to find out which one works with your particular needs.

In This Guide:

  • What is the Best Performance Management Software?
  • Performance Management Trends for 2022
  • Performance Management Best Practices for 2022
  • Next Steps for Choosing Performance Management Software
  • Frequently Asked Questions
0 out of 0
Starting Price
Best for
Pros
Cons
Performance
Training
Recruiting
HR
Benefits
Review

Workday

BambooHR

Betterworks

Impraise

Lattice

Engagedly

Cornerstone

PerformYard

$8.33 per user per month

$6 per employee per month

On request

On request

$9 per user per month

$5 per user per month

On request

$4 per user per month

Ease of use

Visual users

Goal-oriented teams

Team-centric tracking

Mid-sized businesses

Customer support

Individual evaluation

Affordability

  • Well-designed
  • 24/7 support team
  • Easy to use
  • Visually focused interface
  • Online customer support resources
  • Feature-rich
  • Integrates with Slack, Salesforce, and Jira
  • Simple, stylish interface
  • Lots of feedback options for employees
  • Slack integration
  • Built-in notifications for engagement
  • Promotes feedback culture
  • Great customer support
  • Competitive price
  • Focused on individual team members
  • Self-serve HR platform
  • Very affordable
  • Integrates with Google Workplace, Office 365, and OneLogin
  • 3-year contract
  • Customer support only available 12/7
  • More expensive than most
  • Too basic for experts
  • No individual performance tracking features
  • Too small to manage large companies
  • Too expensive for small companies
  • No free trial
  • Complicated, sometimes expensive pricing model
  • Missing added features
  • Limited customizability
Try Workday
Try Bamboo
Try Betterworks
Try Impraise
Try Lattice
Try Engagedly
Try Cornerstone
Try PerformYard

Best Performance Management Software Reviewed

Now that you've got a better understanding of what the top brands are doing in the performance management sector, it's time to get the full picture. We've tested and researched these providers quite a bit, so you'll know exactly which features you can expect, what price you'll have to pay, and what pros and cons you'll come across in your own research.

Take a look at our thorough reviews below, and make sure to get a customized quote before making a decision, as each provider will have specific costs related to your particular company.

  • Workday – Best for ease of use
  • BambooHR – Best for visual users
  • Betterworks – Best for goal-oriented teams
  • Impraise – Best for team-centric tracking
  • Lattice – Best for mid-sized businesses
  • Engagedly – Best for customer support
  • Cornerstone – Best for individual evaluation
  • PerformYard – Best for affordability

Workday

Best for Ease of Use

Adding new programs to your company can be stressful, which is why an easy to use platform like Workday can make a big difference. Between its modern design and its 24/7 support team, you can be sure that your employees will actually utilize this platform to improve productivity.

Specifically designed to highlight internal talent, Workday provides users with goal-setting, talent review, and analytics features that comprehensively give managers and employees a clear picture of the work at hand. Plus, at this lower price point, it offers some serious bang for your buck.

There is a catch, though: Workday users are required to lock into a three-year contract to sign up. You are granted access to a free demo, so you can find out if the software is right for you – but once you've purchased Workday, you're in it for the long haul.

Workday
Workday Logo
Stylish, modern, best for ease of use
In Short

Pros

  • Well-designed
  • Affordable

Cons

  • 3-year contract
Gallery Click to expand
Click to Try

BambooHR

Best for Visual Users

Installing performance management software for your company is all about painting a clear picture of how your company functions, and BambooHR provides a wide range of visual tools to help you do so. Its platform is built on graphs, charts, and visual metrics that make it easy for everyone on your team to understand how they're performing.

From employee performance charts with multiple axes to color-coded team engagement scores that can be organized by function, you'll be able to get an in-depth look at your company's strengths and weaknesses.

BambooHR is incredibly easy to use, which is fortunate, considering its customer support options are decidedly lacking. You won't have 24/7 help (more like 12/7), but you will have plenty of online resources to hopefully solve the problem yourself.

BambooHR
BambooHR Logo
An ease-to-use option best for visual learners
In Short

Pros

  • Easy to use
  • Visually focused interface
  • Online customer support resources

Cons

  • Customer support only available 12/7
Gallery Click to expand
Click to Try

Betterworks

Best for Goal-Oriented Teams

Setting and measuring goals can be difficult in a growing company, which is why Betterworks makes it such a valued priority. Founded in Goal Science, the robust platform provides users with a plentiful bounty of features, aimed at measuring what really matters on your team.

From the hefty feedback system to the well-designed goals and results processes, you'll be able to easily see what your team excels at, and where they struggle. Plus, with third party integrations like Slack, Salesforce, and Jira, you can manage your whole company from one platform.

Feature-rich platforms like Betterworks don't come cheap, though, and it's important to consider this before making a decision.  Learn more about Betterworks pricing. However, as far as value for money goes, you could do a whole lot worse than Betterworks.

Betterworks
Betterworks Logo
Feature-rich and best for goal-oriented teams
In Short

Pros

  • Feature-rich
  • Third party integration with Slack, Salesforce, Jira, and more

Cons

  • More expensive than most
Gallery Click to expand
Click to Try

Impraise

Best for Team-Centric Tracking

Communication is the key to a solid relationship, and feedback is the key to a well-run company. Fortunately, Impraise provides you with a whole bunch of feedback options, putting the power of performance management in the hands of managers and employees alike.

Perhaps one of the most valuable features of Impraise is its integration with Slack. By providing users with a fast and easy avenue for giving praise and criticism to coworkers and employees, using a program they're already familiar with, Impraise makes feedback a priority beyond any other software on this list.

However, Impraise is more team-focused than individual-focused, which means it's missing independent development features that can help you focus your efforts more specifically.

Impraise
Impraise Logo
A team-centric software with good integrations and feedback offerings
In Short

Pros

  • Simple, stylish interface
  • Lots of feedback options for employees
  • Slack integration

Cons

  • Too basic for experts
  • No individual performance tracking features
Gallery Click to expand
Click to Try

Lattice

Best for Mid-Sized Businesses

Employing performance management software is useless if none of your employees are using it – which is why Lattice has built-in notifications to keep employees engaged. They'll receive reminders to partake in feedback and reviews on a regular basis, facilitating an open communication between managers and employees.

Because Lattice is relatively new to the performance management industry, it isn't fully equipped to manage a larger company's workforce. However, it's perfect for mid-sized companies who are looking to scale, supported by a business that understands its needs.

Additionally, because Lattice is a bit on the expensive side, it doesn't make sense for smaller companies looking to get off the ground, as the resources dedicated to managing performance would likely be too high. This makes Lattice perfect for mid-sized companies.

Lattice
Lattice Logo
Notification-powered software that's best for mid-sized businesses
In Short

Pros

  • Built-in notifications for engagement
  • Promotes feedback culture

Cons

  • Too small to manage large companies
  • Too expensive for small companies
Gallery Click to expand
Click to Try

Engagedly

Best for Customer Support

When it comes to new, complicated software, having a dedicated customer support team can make a huge difference. With Engagedly, that's just what you get. While it hasn't been around for as long as tools like Performance Pro, its robust, feature-rich software comes with a 24/7 support team that is available via email or phone all day long. Plus, with a wealth of knowledge on its website, you can troubleshoot the problem on your own if you're not in a talkative mood.

As for Engagedly's performance management features, you'll have access to multi-rater feedback and performance review cycles, so that everyone can stay engaged throughout the process. Plus, with its modern interface, it'll be hard to keep employees off Engagedly.

The pricing is fairly competitive, but tragically, there's no free trial. This means you're going to need to show a little faith when it comes to utilizing Engagedly at your company.

Engagedly
Engagedly Logo
A well-designed option best for strong customer support
In Short

Pros

  • Great customer support
  • Competitive price

Con

  • No free trial
Gallery Click to expand
Click to Try

Cornerstone

Best for Individual Evaluation

While many of the platforms on this list cater to teams and groups, Cornerstone — formerly Lumesse — is different in that it focuses on individual performance and growth. With specific personal objective overviews and continuous feedback, your individual team members will feel valued and heard within your company.

Cornerstone also features a number of self-serve features that let employees take care of their own performance management needs, such as HR tasks and learning opportunities. Plus, with team goal trackers, you can maintain that group attitude while fostering productive employee behavior.

However, Cornerstone does have a segmented pricing model, which means each of the specific features you might be interested in will cost extra – which can really add up down the line. This à la carte pricing might work for you, but just be sure you know what you're in for.

Cornerstone
Cornerstone
An à la carte priced software best for employee learning
In Short

Pros

  • Focused on individual team members
  • Self-serve HR platform

Cons

  • Complicated, sometimes expensive pricing model
Gallery Click to expand
Click to Try

PerformYard

Best for Affordability

Sometimes, when it comes to adding new software to your business, affordability is most important – which is where PerformYard comes in handy. It may not be the most robust option on the list, but it's definitely on the cheaper side of the spectrum, without sacrificing too much functionality.

You'll still get all your favorite performance management features, like reviews, goal management, and continuous feedback, while still having access to third party integrations with G Suite, Office 365, Okta, and OneLogin.

However, you won't have nearly as much customer support since teams are limited to business hours only, while some of the fancier features – such as customizability and automation – are nowhere to be found. Still, if you're looking to organize your business while saving money, PerformYard could definitely help.

PerformYard
PerformYard Logo
A stripped-down service that's the best for your budget
In Short

Pros

  • Very affordable
  • Integrates with GSuite, Office 365, and OneLogin

Cons

  • Missing added features
  • Limited customizability
Gallery Click to expand
Click to Try

Performance Management Trends

Now that you know about all your options when it comes to performance management software providers, it might be helpful to understand exactly what's going on in the industry.

With the global pandemic mixing things up for everyone, it's vitally important to stay on top of trends, which is why we talked to our own HR team to get some insight on how performance management is trending.

Remote work is here to stay

“Workplace systems and digital tools of every kind have exploded in popularity over the last 12 months with everyone moving to remote work. These resources have massively proved their worth for many and will continue to be critical to effective performance management.”

…but it's going to get more complicated post-pandemic

“Managing virtually in one form or another is something that's here to stay for many, but it's worth noting that working remotely in a pandemic is very different to working remotely as part of a strategic decision though.”

Training is going to be infinitely more important

“Training on performance management in-person and remotely will be even more important covering both conversations and process.”

Performance Management Best Practices

A good software is only as good as how you use it, which is why understanding performance management best practices can be arguably more valuable than any business resource.

In hopes of giving you a head start on your own performance management needs, we talked to our own HR department to get some tips and tricks for managing your team as effectively as possible.

Always be learning

“Performance is a continuous conversation, it's not an interim and annual review where you wait 6 or 12 months to find out how you're doing.”

Feedback, feedback, feedback!

“Feedback plays a massive part in identifying areas of strength and areas for improvement. It should always be two way too!”

Measure performance clearly

“Clear and realistic KPIs should be shared as soon as someone joins the business so they know where they are and how they're progressing.”

Think long-term and short-term

“We have overarching, long term strategic objectives that we're working towards, but also function on team-level roadmap sessions to prioritize shorter term goals.”

Work together

“Collaboration across teams is key. Building a collaborative and knowledge-sharing culture will empower team members.”

Next Steps for Choosing Performance Management Software

That was certainly a lot of information – but now, at least, you understand how these performance management software tools stack up against each other. Between the cavalcade of features and the varying price points, there's a lot to consider before making a decision for your company.

If you're serious about setting up performance management software for your company, be sure to grab a customized quote for a complete picture of how much one of these platforms will cost you.

Frequently Asked Questions

Workday is the best performance management software on the market, thanks to its incredible ease of use, 24/7 support team, and goal-oriented features. It offers all this at a decidedly reasonable price point too, so you can improve productivity without cutting into your budget too much.

According to our research, performance management software comes down to five different functionalities: performance, training, recruitment, benefits, and human resources.

Using performance management software can notably improve your business. From increased accountability to advanced organization, you'll be able to ramp up your productivity, simply by understand what your team is up to and how they can get better.

Typically, you can expect to pay anywhere from $4 per user per month to $9 per employee per month. These prices vary greatly depending on how many users you need and how many employees you have, so be sure to consider that before making a decision.
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Written by:
Conor Cawley Writer

Conor is the Lead Writer for Tech.co. For the last six years, he’s covered everything from tech news and product reviews to digital marketing trends and business tech innovations. He's written guest posts for the likes of Forbes, Chase, WeWork, and many others, covering tech trends, business resources, and everything in between. He's also participated in events for SXSW, Tech in Motion, and General Assembly, to name a few. He also cannot pronounce the word "colloquially" correctly. You can email Conor at conor@tech.co.

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