Performance management software supports the management of employee performance and is often adopted to improve the speed at which performance reviews can be distributed and evaluated. This software should aid development, and drive employee engagement.

Typically, it aligns employee goals with overarching company goals, ensuring teams are working together on a common outcome. Key features include objectives and goal setting, peer feedback, automation through workflows, reminders, and the ability to report on performance at an individual and team level.  

As with a lot of elements in HR, it’s possible to run processes without software. However, manually running performance reviews comes with huge inefficiencies, and makes it harder to scale operations effectively. 
There is a classic trade-off between budget, time and efficiency. The choice to opt for software depends on how serious you are about driving the right behaviours within your business. 

Performance plays a huge role in engagement. If you want to retain top talent and keep top employees progressing, you need a formalised way of measuring their performance and spotting development opportunities. When you’re a small business it can be easy to run these performance conversations offline and manage it all through your HR department. As your business grows, you’re relying on line managers to follow a process and document it effectively.  

Without appropriate performance management software, it becomes incredibly difficult to report on these processes and your success over time. Therefore, as an HR department, it becomes difficult to demonstrate the value and ROI linked to your performance initiatives.  

Our performance management module helps to simplify and automate your performance review processes for greater efficiency. Our platform is fully customisable, which means if you have a performance review structure which already works for you, we’ll work with you to ensure it’s implemented quickly. 
 
360 feedback – link all social recognition and peer feedback into employee performance reviews and request peer feedback before appraisals.  

Reviews – customise your process to work for you. Align your process to company values, review employee objectives, set goals and track progress. 

Automation – automate employee/manager reminders, schedule meetings, automate performance/ goal approval and get complete control of your performance processes. 

Self-service – let employees and managers review their performance against pre-defined goals across the period without the need for an HR touchpoint. 

Competencies – align performance to core skills required for the role and set competencies required for progression. 

Nine-box grid – managers and HR can see under and overperforming employees with a nine-box grid, making succession planning a breeze.

Every business has a different approach to performance management. The below details five ways performance can be conducted: 
 
Continuous performance management: this entails ongoing check-ins between managers and employees. Normally formed through regular, informal meetings where managers share immediate feedback. This real-time feedback means employees can respond with continuous improvement.  
 
Traditional performance appraisals: many businesses opt for formalised annual reviews where employees are evaluated in a consistent and standardised way. This may vary across departments, but rating scales are normally formalised across the business. In some instances, these rankings are linked to payment structures.  
 
Objectives and key results (OKRs): this is about clear and measurable goal setting. In many instances, employees and line managers will ensure this aligns with organisational goals to ensure consistency. Performance will then be gauged on the meeting of these objectives over a specific period of time.  
 
360 feedback: this form of performance management takes away stakeholder bias, by analysing feedback from multiple sources. This could include feedback from peers, subordinates, and managers. Giving a holistic view of employee performance.  
 
Management by objectives (MBO): Much like OKRs, employees and managers will work together to agree on specific objectives, meeting regularly to assess progress towards these goals. 

Performance management is a continuous process, usually carried out between a line manager and an employee. It consists of setting goals, evaluating progress, and opens the door to ongoing feedback. While HR might manage the formalised process, often it falls to line managers to carry out assessments and work with their team to get the best performance possible.