Imagine a workplace where your team takes initiative, exceeds expectations, and always stays in sync. This means no more chasing updates or second-guessing performance. Even communication flows effortlessly, and you have real-time insights at your fingertips.
It sounds like a dream, right?
But that’s where performance management software steps in to make your job easy. These tools take the hassle out of performance reviews by automating the entire process.
The latest ones go beyond reviews and let you set goals, track progress, assign tasks, and gather continuous feedback, all in one place.
A good performance management system does more than keep things organized. It helps your team do their best work, stay motivated, and stick around longer.
If you want to make reviews easier, track goals, and keep improving- the right tool can help. So, here are the 15 best performance management tools to check out.
TL;DR
- Lattice – Helps managers and employees communicate better with 1:1s, analytics, and pay management.
- Engagedly – Replaces old-school reviews with ongoing feedback and simple templates.
- AssessTEAM – A mobile-friendly tool for tracking projects, automating evaluations, and getting real-time insights.
- Trakstar – Covers hiring, training, and performance reviews with flexible options.
- Effy AI – Uses AI to speed up feedback forms and make peer nominations easy for small teams.
- 15Five – Combines performance tracking, manager training, and engagement analytics.
- Workleap – Ideal for hybrid teams, offering performance reviews and team management in one place.
- Reviewsnap – Provides detailed reports, role-based access, and customizable review cycles.
- BambooHR – Manages performance reviews and employee satisfaction in one HR platform.
- Leapsome – Uses AI to track goals, career growth, and employee skills.
- Reflektive – Separates tools for performance, engagement, and analytics, with feedback templates and recognition features.
- PerformYard – Makes performance reviews simple with real-time tracking and integrations.
- Culture Amp – Focuses on DEI with research-backed surveys and insights based on employee stories.
- Paylocity – Connects performance management with hiring, onboarding, and payroll.
- Synergita – Stands out with email tracking, culture scoring, and real-time feedback.
1. Lattice
Lattice aims to build a strong manager-employee relationship with 1:1 meetings, which makes it easy to collaborate, customize cadence, and resolve issues related to the assigned project.
It even keeps a history of your past conversations and integrates with tools like Slack and MS Teams. For managers who like charts and graphs, Lattice visualizes your budget and tracks your work progress.
To manage payouts, there are Compensation Bands to create a structure around pay, while Statement Shareouts give your employees context when there’s a change in pay.
There’s a section dedicated to analytics too.
You’d find a unified record of employee data like demographics, performance, and an option to tweak permissions as well. There’s an Adoption Dashboard that gives you a clear view of employee participation. It helps you track, report, and improve engagement in your programs.
If someone new joins in, Lattice automates approvals, tasks, and documentation for a smoother onboarding process. And with new updates, Lattice makes it easy to nominate people for promotion. This feature is integrated into your performance review cycle, so you don’t have to wander elsewhere.
Pricing
Lattice’s Talent Management plan comes with tools for performance review, talent review, feedback, goals, and OKRs(Objectives and Key Results). It’ll cost you $11/month per seat. Plus, there are add-ons for IDPs, cycle management, and analytics, starting from $4/month.
HRIS(Human Resources Information System) plan shifts focus to features like employee records, onboarding, and workflows. Each seat costs $10/month.
Pros
- On-behalf reviews for a consistent workflow
- Real-time grammar and bias checks with Lattice Writing AI
- Engagement survey to collect employee feedback
- PIPs(Performance Improvement Plans) to optimize employee potential
Cons
- Lacks in-depth workflow customization
- Can be a bit overwhelming for beginners
2. Engagedly
Engagedly replaces outdated annual reviews with a more interactive and continuous process.
For starters, managers can create custom templates. I like how your templates are separated by job role, department, and recurring milestones like 30-60-90-day reviews. This helps you quickly set up structured performance reviews and take real-time feedback.
You can also do sequential reviews (feedback moves step-by-step through a chain) or matrix reviews (for teams where employees report to multiple managers).
Engagedly helps you make evaluations fair and transparent. This leaves no room for persona; bias. Plus, it gives your employees clear career paths and development plans, keeping them aligned with company goals, whether they’re just starting out or already excelling.
- Execute: Breaking down large goals into actionable steps
- Enable: Equipping employees with necessary tools and resources
- Engage: Fostering positive team culture and motivation
Whether it’s 360-degree feedback, peer reviews, performance appraisal, or leadership evaluations the E3 model covers it all.
Pricing
All Engagedly plans have perks like Social Wall, Engaedly Academy, Platform Gamification, and workflow automation. Currently, it has four plans.
- Manage Performance: $5-$8/month
- Learn & Grow: $3- $5/month
- Recognize & Reward: $2/month
- Engage & Listen: $2/month
Pros
- Award badges and redeemable points
- AI-powered role-based recommendations
- Add-on for essentials like deskless employee communication
- Department and team-wise heatmaps
- Integration with content partners like LinkedIn and Udemy
Cons
- There’s no free trial
- Phone support is limited to weekdays
3. AssessTEAM
Whether you’re running annual reviews, real-time feedback, or project-based assessments, AssessTEAM has your back. It collects and analyzes your employee performance data without the usual hassle.
One of its standout features is ease of use.
AssessTEAM’s mobile app makes it easy for your team to submit evaluations on the go. Built-in e-signatures make the approval process less time-consuming. Since your all your data is stored, there’s no need for paperwork or endless follow-ups.
Performance insights are where AssessTEAM shines.
It collects data on key performance indicators. This helps you spot trends, strengths, and areas for improvement.
Tracking work hours manually takes time and effort. With an automated system, employees can log their hours easily using a cloud-based app. They can choose to track time daily, weekly, or monthly, making the process quick.
AssessTEAM simplifies project tracking by comparing budgets with actual costs in real time. Just enter employee pay rates, and the system will use timesheets to monitor expenses.
Your managers will then receive alerts if costs exceed the budget. This helps you to keep projects profitable and resources well-managed.
Pricing
All AssessTEAM plans come with unlimited evaluation, customer support, and mobile app support. Here are your options:
- Evaluations:$2/month
- Time tracking:$3/month
- Profitability:$4/month
Pros
- 3000+ KPI library with AI-based evaluation criteria
- All plans get an onboarding with a dedicated relationship manager
- Over 200 integrations with tools like Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, and Slack
- 24/7 support available for each plan
- OKRs and Goals included in the time tracking and profitability plans
Cons
- Short free trial of just 10 days
- Teams with basic needs might find features overwhelming
4. Trakstar
Training your employees is key to better results at work, and Trakstar by Mitratech makes it easy. Aside from perks like automated reminders, survey insights, and a real-time dashboard, it stands out when it comes to employee training.
With Trakstar LMS, you can build courses using PowerPoints, videos, audio, text documents, and more.
You can even stick to your existing templates, create new assessments, and explore different ways to structure training with their eLearning software.
Plus, setting SMART goals helps employees stay on track and motivated. You can break complex projects into small achievable goals, and set due dates. Automated notifications and email make sure your employees work with the deadline in their minds.
You don’t have to worry about losing access to training materials either. Your employees can download resources for offline use, print them out, and keep them handy whenever they need a quick reference.
If you’re hiring, Trakstar Hire makes the process quick and easy.
From a unified dashboard, it lets you publish jobs on different sites like Indeed, SimplyHired, Glassdoor, and more. Plus, all job application forms are customizable. This means you can easily frame questions, set expectations, and collaborate with external recruiters through email.
Pricing
Trackstar works on a custom pricing model, so there are no plans as such.
Pros
- Rich resources for beginners like webinars, podcasts, and Trakstar Academy
- Unlimited storage to save data, lessons, reviews, and content
- Downloadable reports for meetings and presentations
- Easily switches between current review, manager scoring, and future goal-setting
Cons
- Lack of pricing plans
- Basic reporting and integration features
5. Effy AI
Effy is perfect for those who need a straightforward tool for things like performance reviews and 90-day reviews.
It uses AI to create multi-source feedback forms in minutes. Simply answer a few questions, and you’re set. You can add different questionnaires for team members, managers, and subordinates, making the review process smooth.
Plus, with the Peer Nomination feature, you can decide who approves the reviews. This keeps everything organized and puts you in control. And you can keep track of the reviews using the status dashboard. Close to the deadline, Effy even sends reminders to peers with pending reviews.
Once you’re done collecting reviews, Effy AI does all the heavy lifting. It studies the collected responses to bring you actionable insights and summaries.
While it lacks the versatility of tools like Lattice, its interface is neat and organized. People who run a small business, students, and freelancers, there’s even a Free plan. It supports up to 5 people and gives you unlimited reviews.
Pricing
Aside from its free plan, you can either go with Effy’s Pro plan. It’ll cost each team member $2.50/month on annual billing.
Then there’s the Enterprise plan with premium support. You can book a demo to get a quote from Effy.
Pros
- Pre-defined blocks to configure review reports
- Effy offers a 30% discount for nonprofits and education
- Responsive customer support
- Single Sign-on with Slack
- Dedicated account manager with the Enterprise plan
Cons
- Limited integration
- No monthly subscription. Effy bills quarterly and annually
6. 15Five
15Five combines software, education, and community. Unlike other alternatives, 15Five focuses on helping managers become more effective and improve employee performance.
To upskill your managers, 15Five offers on-demand manager training sessions, one-on-one, and group coaching. They can always count on other resources like curated learning tracks, microlearning and full-length courses, and in-house experts.
If engagement is a challenge, there’s 15Five’s Predictive Impact Model to turn feedback into actionable insights.
It uses AI to identify exactly where to focus your efforts. You can filter and compare engagement data at the company, team, or individual manager level.
15Five’s strength lies in the Lifecycle Surveys.
These surveys collect employee feedback at every stage of their journey, from onboarding to their last working day. These surveys are fully customizable, so you can target specific groups or use popular templates. This makes it easy to measure engagement, manager effectiveness, DEI(Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) initiatives, and more.
Now to nurture fresh talent, there are tools like Strengths Discovery and Career Vision. They help your employees understand their roles, build a strong work ethic, and find clarity in their career paths.
Pricing
15Five offers four paid plans.
- Engage:$4/month
- Perform:$10/month
- Total Perform: $16/month
- Transform: Custom plan starting from $99/month
Pros
- Unified compensation reviews and real-time benchmarking
- Apps for iOS and Android devices
- Manager Effectiveness Indicator to evaluate those in charge
- HR Outcomes Dashboard to plan, and check insights
- Rich integration with HRIS tools like Jira, Salesforce, and Namely
Cons
- No live chat for quick support
- Lacks a free trial to test features
7. Workleap
Workleap claims itself to be best suited for hybrid teams, keeping everyone connected, no matter where they work. Thanks to their HR bundle, which acts like an all-in-one team management tool.
Tools like Officevibe help you design surveys and get quick feedback, while Learning Management helps your team get a hang of the in-app tools. The entire bundle comes with other perks like centralized onboarding, custom profiles, automated enrollment, and HRIS provisioning.
For performance management, Workleap focuses on three core fundamentals: Simple, Consistent, and Flexible.
Simple refers to easy-to-use features like 360-degree reviews. They are designed for employees, peers, and managers to collectively share their insights in one place. You can then customize evaluation criteria and choose who reviews the collected data.
From Consistent, Workleap means a structured process for everyone. This is to keep things fair and transparent. For every employee managers align teams with business goals and track progress through performance analytics.
Workleap adapts to your company’s unique needs, hence Flexibility. It’s pretty simple to create custom review cycles, design tailored review forms, and automate notifications to keep everyone on track.
Pricing
Workleap’s entire bundle comes at $12/month per user.
If you just want Workleap’s Performance plan, it’ll cost you $5/month for each team member. You can also contact sales for a custom plan.
Pros
- AI-powered skills mapping & progression plans
- Office 365, Slack & Google integrations
- Neat and easy-to-navigate interface
- Pulse surveys and anonymous employee feedback
- Seamless communication with two-way Manager-Employe dialogue
Cons
- Creative individuals may find customization limited
- Support is limited to weekdays
8. Reviewsnap
If you want something simple, with advanced reporting features, check out Reviewsnap.
Since keeping track of an employee’s performance can feel overwhelming, Reviewsnap’s Performance Notes take care of it.
Both managers and employees can use it to document progress, achievements, and areas for improvement. So when review time comes, there are no surprises. Your conversations stay to the point and are backed by data.
Reviewsnap even collects insights and lets you customize review cycles, forms, and testing criteria. This helps you create brand-centric goals while getting rid of unnecessary data.
For deeper insights, you can use advanced reporting tools like Rater Bias, Performance History, and 9-Box Grid. These reports help you spot trends, identify top performers, and address challenges in real-time. You can take a demo to learn more about how these reports work.
Plus, role-based permissions let you control access levels, so managers and admins have the tools they need without compromising security.
While Reviewsnap is packed with features, free trials are limited to potential paying customers.
Pricing
To get a quote you need to fill out a form, but there are no other plans. So, it’s best to take their free live demo before any commitments.
Pros
- Unlimited storage to save data, reviews, and content
- No extra charge for setup and customer support
- Reviewsnap lets you set personal, SMART, and strategic goals
- Customer API for integrating existing systems
Cons
- No mobile app or a free plan
- Limited functionality
9. BambooHR
BambooHR makes it easy to create and customize performance review cycles. All of it is tailored to serve different teams like Product, Sales, or Customer Support. You can set specific questions, schedules, and evaluations to fit each team’s needs.
It also simplifies manager-employee 1:1 meetings by letting you schedule them, track notes, set agendas, and follow up. This is where assessments, feedback, and goal tracking happen, keeping everything organized and accessible.
I also like the Employee Satisfaction feature, which gives an instant satisfaction score and helps you understand your team better. It uses the Net Promoter®-based eNPS survey method combined with AI-analyzed, open-ended feedback.
If you’re using BambooHR, don’t worry about hiring candidates.
It updates your candidates with automated emails, in-system messaging, and more. Moreover, it adds a professional touch. All the data is centralized, you can access it from your phone and desktop.
Different team members can access resumes, and respond to candidates. Once someone’s hired, you can use customizable offer letter templates, which are sorted according to job type, positions, and teams.
Pricing
BambooHR has three plans, with the Elite plan still in the works. Pricing isn’t listed upfront, so you’ll need to fill out a form for a quote. However, you can check out the features of the Core and Pro plans on their pricing page.
Pros
- Essential add-ons for payroll, time tracking, and administration
- BambooHR files all federal, state, and local taxes on your behalf
- Over 125 pre-built integrations
- HR benchmark data for turnover, age, gender, employee wellbeing, and more
- BambooHR lets you set custom policies for your organization
Cons
- Despite structured plans, pricing isn’t transparent
- Customizing the approval process can be limiting
10. Leapsome
Leapsome makes goal management with flexibility.
You can drive progress by setting up recurring goal cycles with fixed timelines. To actively stay in touch with your employees and guide them, simply drop comments. It gives the concerned person the context to discuss goals.
Privacy is no concern either. Leapsome lets you set visibility for each goal. You get to decide who gets to see it, be it your colleagues, specific teams, or the whole company.
If you’re new to performance management, Leapsome welcomes you with a 5-minute self-guided tour. It walks you through Leapsome’s use case and key features. On the downside, you need to enter your organization’s email address. For some reason, this tour doesn’t support Gmail.
Leapsome helps you set company objectives and development goals faster with its AI. It automatically suggests initiatives that follow OKR best practices while considering all relevant factors.
With Leapsome AI, you can also create clear career paths. Its AI builds a complete competency framework from scratch, helping employees understand their growth opportunities and the skills they need to advance.
Pricing
Custom pricing based on your needs.
Pros
- Instant feedback without using formal reviews
- Comes with customizable expert-designed question templates
- Leapsome Academy for free on-demand management courses
- GDPR-compliant service with Single Sign-On
- Wide range of add-ons for DateV integration, learning content, and more
Cons
- Lacks a free plan
- It can be overwhelming for small teams
11. Reflektive
Without cluttering unnecessary features, Reflektive breaks down its tools into three zones. Performance, Engagement, and People Analytics.
In Performance, you’ll find the essentials like goal management, reviews, check-ins, and 1:1s to discuss areas of improvement. But it’s feedback where it gets interesting. You can ask for feedback on how your team is working, or how an individual is doing.
There’s even a ‘About Yourself’ template. It helps you check your progress by collecting feedback from your peers, colleagues, and collaborators.
Reflektive’s engagement tools help you compare your company’s performance with past results or industry benchmarks. With clear action plans based on survey feedback, you can set goals and track progress easily.
Plus, their surveys give you both numbers and insights into how people feel, all summarized in easy-to-read dashboards.
Lastly, with People Analytics you can plan smarter by seeing who’s performing well and who might need support. It also keeps everyone on track with goals and helps spot any unfair gaps in how things are done.
Pricing
Need to contact sales.
Pros
- Straightforward tools with a neat interface
- Internal and external benchmarks to better assess employee engagement
- Templates for quick onboarding, termination, and promotion
- Filters to access data by department, location, gender, and other demographics
- Recognition wall to comment, edit, and attach photos of top achievers
Cons
- Support can be improved. Lacks live chat
- Basic features for admins
12. PerformYard
PerformYard is all about making performance reviews simple and effective.
You can customize review forms and cycles to fit your company’s needs. It tracks review progress in real-time, so you always know what’s done and what’s left. This means no more chasing people down.
For a well-rounded overview, there’s 360-degree feedback. You can use it to collect data from reports, managers, and even people outside your organization.
PerformYard works with most HR systems, including payroll and HRIS, to simplify data flow and cut down manual work. Its visual dashboards give quick insights into engagement trends, helping you catch issues early and support employees who need it.
If you’re concerned with retention, tools like cohort analysis help your HR track team sentiments and find loopholes in your work culture.
PerformYard makes Performance Improvement Plans (PIPs) easy and effective.
It gives you a central spot to create, track, and manage PIPs, so both managers and employees stay on the same page. Notifications keep everyone updated, and your progress is visualized for clarity. Your employees can share feedback and track their growth right from the dashboard.
Pricing
PerformYard keeps its pricing simple with two plans.
- Performance Management:$5-$10/month
- Employee Engagement:$1-$3/month
Pros
- No additional cost for onboarding and training
- 3rd party security audits like SOC 2 Certification
- Free phone support and a dedicated support manager with every plan
- Rich reporting tools like 9 box grids, cross-cycle, and trend reports
- Smooth navigation with an intuitive design.
Cons
- Goal-setting workflows need to be improved
- Lacks an in-built document storage system
13. Culture Amp
For organizations that value diverse work culture and inclusion, Culture Amp is the best bet. With their DEI(Diversity, equity, and inclusion) surveys you can build a more diverse workplace.
Culture Amp uses research-backed questions to understand how your employees feel about belonging, fairness, and opportunities. Then you can spot gaps and set clear goals to improve accordingly. With tools like heatmaps and demographic filters, you can see how different groups feel.
Like other performance management tools, Culture Amp comes with features like 1:1 conversations, retention insights, ready-to-use surveys, and goal management. So, what’s special about it? The Storyboards.
Culture Amp’s Storyboards make data easy to understand and share. You can filter insights by department, region, or employee group to focus on what matters most. You can create dynamic, real-time narratives that update automatically. For sensitive data, you can share personalized Storyboards using role-based permissions.
Then you can find tools to collect, centralize, and organize feedback throughout the year. Culture Amp is good at showing you all the feedback with a dedicated timeline.
Pricing
Culture Amp has four core plans: Engage, Perform, Develop, and People Analytics. While the pricing for none of these plans is visible, you can go through the features and pair them with each other.
For bigger teams, there are custom plans.
Pros
- Text analytics & AI comment summaries
- Performance reviews (including 360°, peer & manager feedback)
- Skills Coach for daily learning with each plan
- Employee development features like career paths, role tracks, and proficiency levels
- Free demo for an in-depth product tour
Cons
- Pricing isn’t transparent and there’s no free trial either
- Support is limited to weekdays
14. Paylocity
Paylocity talent suite covers everything from onboarding to compensation, taking care of your HR needs. In total, there are five components, and performance management is a part of it.
You can start with tools like QR codes, video interviews, and quick scheduling to automate the recruiting cycle. With Gmail, Outlook, and iCloud calendar integrations, you can schedule interviews without time clashes. This makes the hiring process easy.
When a candidate is hired, onboarding tools kick it.
They turn paperwork into a smooth, engaging experience. With Paylocity Mobile App new hires can complete tasks from anywhere and feel welcome from day one.
Paylocity’s performance tools make goal-setting and review easy. Employees and managers can set goals together, track progress, and have transparent conversations using market pay data. To nurture new hires you’d find tools like video journals, and talent assessments.
For fair pay and budget planning, the compensation tools have you covered. And when it comes to training, you get a mix of ready-made courses, custom brand-focused resources, and a supportive online community.
Pricing
Like most performance management tools, Paylocity follows a custom pricing model. It offers the following plans:
- Payroll Software
- Human Resources Software
- Workforce Management Software
- Talent Management Software
- Benefits Management Software
- Employee Experience Platform
- Beyond Traditional HRIS Software
Pros
- Clean, intuitive, beginner-friendly interface
- The attendance points program for managers to manage absenteeism
- Payroll services are available in over 100 countries
- Developer-friendly APIs to connect Paylocity to any system
Cons
- Admin controls can be improved
- Customer support isn’t responsive
15. Synergita
Synergita keeps your team motivated, growing, and working in sync.
Its E-communication tool makes email management easy, letting you send, track, and analyze emails from one place. A visual dashboard shows you key insights like open rates and reader engagement.
With the Culture Score feature, peers can rate colleagues on core values like honesty and integrity. This gives HR and leadership a clear view of how well company values are followed across departments.
For employee engagement, Synergita uses surveys and anonymous feedback to understand how employees feel. The data helps improve workplace culture, and the quick setup makes it easy for HR to run surveys.
Rewards & Recognition make work more enjoyable by celebrating achievements. So Synergitra keeps your employees motivated with Insta awards and regular recognition programs.
I like how Performance Journal makes it easy to track milestones. This way your managers can give feedback for fair appraisals. You can pair it with Continuous Feedback tools, like real-time coaching and VoiceNotes, to support open communication and teamwork.
Pricing
Here’s where Synergita wins. Aside from transparent pricing, you even get a 7-day free trial.
- Synergita Engage:$2/month
- Synergita Perform:$4/month
- Synergita Perform Plus:$7/month
Pros
- Peer-to-peer recognition and talent intelligence metrics
- Integrates with popular tools like Slack, Teams, Sheets, and more
- Ideal for small businesses with discounts on bulk purchase
- The Employee Passport & Visa feature tracks essential documents
- Real-time dashboards and reports help track OKRs and stay on course
Cons
- Lacks technical support
How to Choose the Best Performance Management Software
Now, here are a few factors to keep in mind. They’ll help you pick the right tool for your team and goals.
Essential Features
Look for goal-setting, structured check-ins, and flexible feedback options. Then move on to find a real-time dashboard to track progress. Bonus points if your performance management tool has AI-driven analytics for well-rounded evaluations.
Integrations
Without proper integrations, you’ll face duplicate data and lose time switching between systems. So pick a tool that integrates with your HR systems, LMS platforms, or project management tools.
Analytics
Data is everything. The right software should track performance trends, engagement levels, and productivity metrics. These progress reports keep your employees motivated, while insights help managers find the weaklings and support those who are struggling.
Customer Support & Training
Even the best tools have a learning curve. So it’s best to find tools with solid onboarding, responsive customer support, and helpful resources. A free trial or demo can also give you a feel for the software before committing.
Usability
If the software isn’t intuitive, then it’s a problem. A smooth interface helps your team spend less time on the tool and more on their work. Nobody likes clunky systems that slow things down and reduce engagement.
Final Words
Since most tools don’t offer transparent pricing, I think it’s best to shortlist a few options. See which tool aligns with your priorities and then request demos.
This will make it easy for you to evaluate features, usability, and integration capabilities.
If you need a full HR suite, BambooHR or Paylocity are solid choices. For continuous feedback and employee growth, Engagedly or 15Five might be a better fit.
If diversity and inclusion are a priority, Culture Amp is worth exploring. And for hybrid teams, Workleap’s all-in-one approach could be the way to go.
Remember that the right tool isn’t necessarily the most feature-rich, but the one that best supports your team’s workflow and culture.
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