20 Best Performance Management Tools in 2024

Great performance management is more than just reviewing employee performance once or twice a year. It involves creating an environment where employees can thrive and succeed. It’s about empowering them to take ownership of their roles, improving their skills and competencies, and managing them proactively so they can reach their full potential. Performance management tools are, therefore, essential. They not only include an employee performance appraisal system, but give you the process, tools, and visibility to improve your organization’s overall performance.

But what would be the best performance management tool for your business? This article helps you to decide by curating the best performance management tools, along with their key features and prices. Take a look also into the current trends that will help you to develop productive and forward-thinking ways of giving your employees constructive feedback.

Today’s workforce demands more performance-based work and less micro-management. They want to feel trusted, not controlled. They want to stretch themselves and be challenged on a daily basis. And they want to see the value that they bring to their team and organization. As such, tools for performance management are ever more important in organizations. In fact, the performance management system software market could reach $5.82 billion by 2027, growing at a CAGR of 12.29%.

The growth of mobile apps, analytics, and team-centric management by enterprises are some of the market’s driving forces. IT business expenditure on best performance appraisal software or performance management solutions, in general, is also supporting market growth. The future of performance management reveals the following trends leading the way towards better workforce development and growth.

Perhaps the top trend to observe this year is transparency with real-time data. There will be widespread real-time data collection, analysis, and even coaching. Respondents in a 2022 PWC survey stressed the importance of transparency from employee welfare to environmental responsibility.

Meanwhile, 360 feedback will be more frequent and actionable. Employees who receive daily feedback are three times more engaged and motivated compared to those who only receive annual reviews. As such, feedback will address performance issues between employees.  The empowerment of feedback means traditional ratings of performance management are going away. With that, we proceed with our list of the best performance management tools in the market today.

Best Performance Management Tools

1. BambooHR

BambooHR is a cloud-based employee engagement and management platform. It includes features such as in-app messaging, time tracking, project management, and more. This tool is designed to help organizations better engage and manage employees by providing an easy way to create and share important information with all employees.

BambooHR also streamlines recruitment and onboarding processes. You can manage all recruitment tasks, from sourcing candidates to onboarding new hires. You can also schedule interviews and ensure candidates’ compliance with requirements. This software also integrates with external tools such as Glassdoor, 15Five, Workable, Performance Pro, Motivosity, NetSuite, and other third-party apps, allowing you to create an efficient performance management process.

BambooHR

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With this tool, you can keep track of employee attendance. You may leverage HR analytics to gain insights into employee behavior and activities. As such, you get insights into your team’s performance, allowing you to take action when needed. With this data in hand, you can make informed decisions and foster a sense of teamwork throughout the business.

The vendor offers two plan packages as well as discounts based on managed employees and bundled features. There are prepayment and non-profit discounts. You may reach out to the vendor for pricing. Be sure to review BambooHR’s pros and cons before diving into it.

2. Connecteam

Connecteam is an all-inclusive, user-friendly, and scalable employee management system. It encompasses operations, communication, and education. There are modules for employee communication, scheduling, time tracking, checklists and forms, task management, and people management. All these facilitate communication with deskless field workers.

As a collaboration platform, Connecteam includes a company directory, direct chat, team chat, and automatic updates. Other advanced features include surveys, live poll posts, and post engagement options. Likes, comments, replies, and @mentions are available, and filesharing and scheduled posts are supported.

Connecteam

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Connecteam includes a module for event management for HR appointments, team meetings, and training or onboarding schedules. The knowledge base of Connecteam assists users in solving both known and new problems. As such, you reduce the loss of organizational knowledge.

The Android and iOS apps for Connecteam include all of these features. Additionally, the platform is compatible with Google Calendar and other Google applications. You may integrate it with QuickBooks Online as well. You can get all these features for free with one Connecteam account, while premium plans are available to the first 50 users for $39 per month, billed annually.

3. Reviewsnap

Reviewsnap is a cloud-based tool for performance management that accelerates and enhances the process. The software integrates performance evaluations, 360-degree feedback, and compensation tracking to increase employee engagement and output. You can manage employee performance and growth while employees are able to identify their strengths and areas for growth from evaluations and feedback.

Reviewsnap is fully automated and versatile, so you can ensure performance reviews are completed on time and accessible to all. You can also tailor performance reviews, so you can align employees with your objectives and equip them with the skills, motivation, and authority to produce optimal results. Such automation and customization save you time and let you focus on core processes.

Reviewsnap

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The software allows for transparent, performance-based pay, so employees can see how much they’re earning, as their productivity rises. Reviewsnap provides custom visual analytics for employee performance, so you can create personalized reports in real-time for better business decisions and improved performance. You can integrate it with ADP products for extended functionality.

The implementation support is backed by the vendor’s team of experienced specialists who will walk you through each step of the process. As such, you can maximize your investment and follow best practices for performance management. You can try this tool for free, but you will need to contact the vendor for pricing.

4. monday.com

monday.com is an all-in-one digital team workspace that synchronizes all data in a centralized location, thus empowering agents and team members to collaborate and make data-driven decisions. Its unique features help enhance the performance of any business, whether in-office or remotely.

The innovative board concept of monday.com provides in-depth insights into projects, tasks, and team performance through customizable dashboards and embedded analytics. The low-code platform allows teams to create custom solutions with the drag-and-drop functionality.  Add apps, widgets, automation, and formulas to one of the platform’s 200+ pre-made templates.  Ultimately, you and your team save time and energy from streamlined workflows.

monday.com

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More importantly, the high-level overviews and embedded dashboards help you better comprehend the performance of your team. The tool assists you in evaluating workload, sales per representative, and campaign effectiveness. You can also embed graphs and charts on your team’s workspace. Since it integrates with third-party apps like Dropbox, Zapier, G-Suite, and other collaboration and management tools, on top of its API, you can extend its functionality further.

You can try monday.com for free, and it is also free for one person. However, the plans start at $8 per seat per month. For enterprise pricing, you may contact the vendor.

5. OnPay

OnPay is a straightforward yet comprehensive payroll software for SMBs that also includes HR functions. Online access and self-boarding allow employees to enter personal data, make changes, and retrieve paystubs and tax forms. The software provides a checklist for new hires and notifies you of government reporting and documentation needs. Meanwhile, Lifetime Accounts let former employees access pay stubs and W-2s online.

Primarily, this cloud-based service automates tax filing and payment workflows. Hours, tips, reimbursements, and bonuses are easily entered. It also covers benefits like health insurance and 401(k) retirement, and pay-as-you-go workers’ compensation insurance. OnPay allows for unlimited pay runs, so you can run payrolls as planned without extra fees. It simplifies wage payment via direct deposit, pre-paid debit cards, and checks.

OnPay

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OnPay allows for advanced note-taking with attachments. Notes can be edited, annotated, and formatted. You also get access to an online HR library with handbook templates and state employment laws. It includes onboarding, offboarding, annual reviews, and performance plans. Track 3-tier PTO, sick, and vacation accruals easily.

OnPay has affordable subscription plans with many integrations and government compliance features. It integrates with apps like QuickBooks, Magnify, Kabbage, and more. It’s scalable, so you only pay for the features you need. It does not charge for plan changes, cancellations, annual fees, direct deposits, debit cards, personal check printing, and payroll taxes. You can try it for free, but paid plans start at $40 per month.

6. Sogolytics

Sogolytics, formerly SoGoSurvey, is a secure online survey, quiz, and customer experience platform. It helps collect customer feedback and conduct employee engagement surveys for enterprises, financial services, and government organizations. Its quiz maker and survey tools offer businesses a sophisticated research and experience solution.

On top of being a customer experience platform, Sogolytics assists in employee experience management. It can help improve workplace culture and retention. Sogolytics’ employee surveys, assessments, real-time behavior trends, and data-rich employee experience reports strengthen management-employee communication.

The app lets you choose different question forms like image choice, symbol rating scale, and text boxes that let respondents answer in their own language, balancing qualitative and quantitative data. Sogolytics is easy to use with its drag-and-drop interface. It has survey design tools and pre-built templates on top of question models. The online quiz maker helps you assess respondents’ knowledge, comprehension, and perception.

The software works with third-party apps. Salesforce, Zapier, Asana, and more integrations speed up data delivery and improve results. Finally, it offers different pricing plans. The basic survey is free, but paid plans start at $199 per month. You may contact the vendor for enterprise pricing.

7. eSkill

eSkill is a scalable pre-employment assessment and video interviewing solution that helps you to build stronger teams and avoid hiring the wrong people. All components can be used individually or combined into a total solution that integrates with applicant tracking systems (ATS). You can use pre-prepared tests from the eSkill Test Library or choose questions from one or more tests or add your own to create hiring assessments. There are also simulation questions you can use to see how candidates perform in real-world situations.

On top of the hundreds of job- and subject-based tests that eSkill includes, you can use video response questions to help you assess candidates’ communications skills. Applicants record their answers and upload them to eSkill, allowing you to access them anytime, anywhere.

eSkill

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With this tool, you can ensure the quality of hires to avoid high employee turnover. eSkill also takes the guesswork out of hiring and employee training and development. You can keep employees happy and motivated so they don’t leave. eSkill also helps you to identify training needs, and identify employees who are ready for promotion or could be with training. They can also assess high performers and develop candidate profiles to make recruiting and hiring easier.

eSkill’s API makes it possible for you to integrate with popular applicant tracking systems (ATS) like Oracle, iCIMS, SmartRecruiters, Workday, and more.

8. Sage People

Sage People is a human resource information system (HRIS) for midsized multinationals. It features talent acquisition, people management, payroll, compensation, and benefits processing. The software also improves employee engagement and productivity.

The tool’s employee management features help speed up HR tasks. It has a centralized employee database that lets you collect, store, and visualize employee information, and an employee self-service portal. By providing employee information online, you can reduce HR’s workload.

More than anything, Sage People’s performance and talent management feature tracks employee performance, skills, and development. With easy-to-understand reports and dashboards, you can analyze your employees’ key performance metrics. This helps you to spot high-performers, bridge talent gaps, and monitor employee development. You also get real-time insights into your organization’s health, helping you to make data-driven business decisions.

Sage People supports multiple languages, currencies, and global and local HR policies. It integrates with payment solutions, benefit carriers, and other business software to streamline HR processes. You can try the software for free to check how it fits your business needs, and you can contact the vendor for the pricing of a subscription plan tailored to your needs.

9. Insightful

Insightful, formerly Workpuls, provides time tracking and mapping for businesses available both on-cloud and on-premise, so it can grow with your workforce. It offers project management and employee monitoring. You can add new projects and tasks and assign them to team members. Per-task deadlines and urgency levels help your team prioritize. You can also set budgets based on project hours or costs.

This software analyzes and optimizes worker productivity by tracking computer activity and taking screenshots. Real-time monitoring lets you see what apps your team is using. You can track your employees’ time by task and project for improved accuracy and focus. The productivity alerts that you set up help you to determine your employees’ performance, so you can reach out to whoever needs further attention or help. All the monitoring is done automatically, so you save time.

Insightful

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The software’s built-in reporting lets you monitor project progress, allowing you to improve and optimize productivity when needed. Should you need further functionalities, the API integration lets you integrate Insightful with any app. As such, you improve workflow.

Insightful offers per-employee pricing plans to help you maximize your investments. Pricing starts at $8 per employee per month.

10. Evalart

Evalart is a cloud-based solution that helps recruiters and businesses evaluate candidates. Its assessment repository has ready-made tests for almost all jobs. You can create an automated questionnaire for your specific requirements. You can also include personality tests to determine if a candidate has the required skills and fits the company’s culture.

The tool offers tests that can help you gauge candidates for specific positions. For one, its programming test requires programmers and developers to write “pseudo-code” online in Python or Java. The code will be automatically evaluated and validated, and you receive a detailed report to filter the best candidates.

Evalart

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The tool also allows you to track candidates’ progress in real-time. So you do not only see the test-taker’s scores, but also who is still completing the assessment and who has not started yet. With automated scoring, recording of evaluations, and submission of results, you can narrow down the list of candidates to the top 20% and quickly identify those eligible for the next level or interview. As such, you save a lot of time.

You can further enhance its features by integrating with third-party applications via open API. You can try the tool for free, or you may contact the vendor for a quote-based pricing plan.

11. Pinpoint

Pinpoint is an end-to-end recruitment software that helps businesses get more candidates for less. The software allows for quick job postings and provides filters to find the right hire. You can create a targeted recruitment campaign using automated tools. Ultimately, the tool eliminates bias and unnecessary resume elements and allows you to choose from a larger pool of candidates.

As one of the best performance management tools around, the software also allows you to create recruitment campaigns with social advertising automation. So, you can build attractive web pages updated in minutes, customizable apps, and a candidate database. This database may contain resumes, applications, correspondence, and hiring team comments.

Pinpoint

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Pinpoint’s automated recruitment advertising tools target potential applicants to the careers site, shortlisting them at once. Meanwhile, the filtering and detection of uniform candidate profiles prevent hiring bias. You can also automate interview scheduling to save time.

Pinpoint integrates with Sonru, PeopleHR, BambooHR, and Facebook. The Growth plan starts at £5,000 per year. For an enterprise plan, contact the vendor.

12. Zoho People

Zoho People simplifies and organizes HR workflows. It benefits SMBs with its simple and scalable HR solution for managing workers and employees. Zoho People is a ready-to-use application that companies can customize to meet their needs.

This software ensures you have all the employee onboarding capabilities you need plus, an LMS for the Enterprise plan. With this feature, you can train newly hired employees and continue developing tenured employees so they can perform their duties and advance professionally. The LMS allows for blended learning, so you can choose between traditional and virtual classrooms to train continuously as needed.

Zoho People is among the top BambooHR alternatives. Its value lies in its centralized hub, which makes HR resources mobile. Your employees can report times from mobile devices, check schedules, request time off, and communicate with the manager and peers at any time. Besides, the tool leads to better performance and productivity with the collaborative environment you can build for your team to solve problems and share ideas.

Synchronizing Zoho People with other systems eliminates manual data entry The software integrates with third-party applications via webhooks and APIs. While it naturally works seamlessly with products in the Zoho Business Suite, it also works well with other apps like Docusign, QuickBooks, G Suite, and more.  The vendor offers flexible, affordable pricing that starts at $1 per month.  You can try it first for free.

13. SuccessFactors

SuccessFactors is a cloud-based business execution software from SAP that offers collaboration, onboarding, and social business tools. It has a built-in LMS and robust HR features for talent management, recruitment, and applicant tracking. With these, you can easily align business strategies and maximize team performance, regardless of company size or industry.

This software is also a smart acquisition system as it can protect talented and valuable workers and identify bad performance before it harms your business. Meanwhile, cloud-based HR marketing is probably SAP SuccessFactors’ most valuable, less visible benefit. After a while, businesses realize they’ve accelerated results by using the system’s memory and analytics to query data layers they never expected to.

SAP SuccessFactors is a proven innovator in business-to-business integration. It works seamlessly with CRM and financial management products and offers the excellent mobile capacity to manage data from any device.

Pricing information for SuccessFactors SMB and enterprise plans is only available upon request. Contact the company and explain your needs to obtain additional information.

14. Workday

Workday is a simple and intuitive system that unifies finance and HR for real-time insights, global visibility, and predictive analytics. that takes advantage of a modern technology platform, Workday gives you a fresh alternative to legacy ERP.  You don’t need to be an expert to use it. It also does not require disruptive, complex upgrades since it is delivered in the cloud and automatically updates. Thus, you can rest assured you always have the latest version.

This software unifies Human Capital Management, Financial, Payroll, and Management solutions. making it a viable alternative to legacy ERP.  It also integrates with many business systems and applications like Salesforce Sales Cloud. Kronos, Cloud Connect for 3rd Party Payroll, and many more, thus giving you extended functionalities.

Furthermore, Workday chooses reliable and secure data-center partners. As such, your data is protected from security threats and breaches.  Ultimately, Workday transforms your business with real-time business insights, financial capabilities, and auditable process management.

Workday offers flexible pricing, drafting a separate quote for each user based on his needs. Contact the company for more information and a quote.

15. Sage HR

Sage HR, formerly Cake HR, is a cloud-based HR management solution. It has six modules: Recruitment Management, Performance Management, Timesheets Management, Shift Scheduling Management, Leave Management, and Expense Management. While the tool does not include a feature for payroll management, you can integrate it with Sage 50cloud Payroll Software.

This tool helps you to manage the hiring process digitally, allowing you to post jobs, schedule interviews, and manage applicants. Meanwhile, Sage HR helps you maximize talent and build employee loyalty with 360-degree feedback from managers, peers, and subordinates to eliminate bias, and OKRs that let your team set goals, track progress and align with goals and missions.

Sage HR helps employees manage leaves and time-offs down to the hour. So you can quickly see who is on leave and when they will return. Besides, the tool provides detailed employee and company reports, which groups or individuals can share. You can, therefore, better understand your employees’ behavior and work ethic.

Sage HR can be accessed on mobile, desktop, and tablet devices with an internet connection. It integrates with other applications like Slack, G Suite, and Active Directory for better workflow. There is no free trial, but you may choose what module they want to avail of and pay either monthly or annually. The base pricing starts at $16 per employee per month.

16. Trakstar

Trakstar is an award-winning employee appraisal software that helps HR professionals to manage feedback, goals, and reviews.  This cloud-hosted solution includes automated performance review, real-time 360-degree feedback, goal management, and succession planning. These are user-friendly, customizable tools for the performance management needs of all business sizes and industries.

The HR solution helps you to track trainee performance and evaluate employees for promotion. It provides analytics and reporting tools to help you to make important worker decisions. Using goals and competencies to connect suitable candidates with your company’s core values can create a healthy and productive organizational culture.

Trakstar lets you use templates or build your own multi-rater review forms. It can send automatic email notifications for upcoming scheduled peer-to-peer reviews and document feedback year-round for later review and performance reviews. The built-in goal-setting interface aligns goals with performance and strategic objectives.

Trakstar is easy-to-use, flexible, and scalable. It integrates with OneLogin, G Suite. Okta Identity Management. and more. Its knowledge base includes resources, guide articles, tutorial videos, and webinars. Like with any other app, be sure to review the pros and cons of Trakstar.

Pricing at Trakstar is dependent on the number of employees. A price calculator is available on the vendor’s website to determine the exact annual subscription cost for a given number of employees. You can also sign up for a free trial or demo.

17. Hibob

Hibob, or Bob, is an innovative people management platform that helps fast-growing companies to creatively manage a modern workforce, increase productivity, and improve the employee experience. Hibob’s HR solutions include employee onboarding, attendance management, time-off tracking, payroll reports, benefits management, and more. It also automates and organizes tedious paperwork.

Bob’s culture module is designed to keep employees engaged and motivated, thus boosting performance and productivity. Plus, it helps in creating clubs that encourage employee connections. Bob’s reporting feature allows employees to report workplace misconduct to HR anonymously. The app’s engagement surveys provide real-time analytics to help HR make data-driven decisions about employees’ perceptions of work and the company.

The application integrates with numerous technology partners, including ERP, ATS, directory, and collaboration software. These applications include JazzHR, Greenhouse, Jobvite, and workable.

The pricing structure of Hibob is customized based on the modules and requirements of each customer. There are primary packages that include bundled features.

18. Deputy

Deputy helps manage team tasks, schedules, and time. It allows you to streamline your daily tasks and administrative duties so you can focus on your core business without manually checking each team member’s workload, time-off, and attendance. This system is ideal for retail stores, restaurants, government agencies, education, and nonprofits. It can help any business regardless of size, manage its workforce and tasks.

Automated multi-department scheduling improves team management. SMS and email alerts ensure no one misses a shift, and Deputy easily compiles employee hours for payroll. The integrated Newsfeed feature allows for quick updates. Dashboards, templates, and workload delegation help you and your team complete assignments.

Deputy integrates with HR, POS, and payroll systems to save you money and time and give you up-to-date business insights. Integrations with QuickBooks, Xero, Epos Now, Kounta, Zapier, and others are supported.

Deputy costs $2.50 a month. Annual plans save up to 11% and monthly plans can be canceled at any time. There’s a free trial. The enterprise plan is by quote. You may contact the vendor for pricing.

19. EPAY Systems

EPAY Systems is a web-based suite of HR, payroll, time, and compliance modules. It’s for mid-sized and large companies looking to outsource HR system management. Applicant Tracking, Onboarding, HR Administration, Time & Attendance, Payroll & Tax, and Performance Management are key modules.

You can post jobs on social networks and job boards, pre-screen applicants, and centralize CVs and file submissions. It accommodates overtime, union contracts, multiple pay groups, and shift differentials. Performance is evaluated using custom review templates and 360 feedback. Integrated payroll, benefits, and time and attendance help you to track ACA compliance accurately.

Benefits administration handles COBRA, FMLA, FSA/HSA, open enrollment, and unique compensation plans. It is also able to integrate with POS systems so that time data may be collected, and open and customized APIs are available as well.

The vendor can alter the functionality to fit your needs and workflows using a quote-based pricing structure. This helps vendors mix and match features for your company. Support is available 24/7.

20. Oracle Taleo Cloud Service

Taleo Cloud Service helps HR recruiters and managers acquire and retain talent. The technology targets SMBs and large organizations. The program also helps recruiters and supervisors track applicants at any time, from anywhere. As such, tracking staff performance for reviews is easy. The platform is ideal for SMBs and major organizations.

The platform’s new-hire portal is useful for onboarding new employees. A recruiter or hiring manager dashboard can spot onboarding difficulties before they occur. Besides, being cloud-based, this tool can electronically track applicants. That makes recruiting data accessible anytime, anywhere. More importantly, it reduces recruitment costs.

Taleo Cloud Service connects with Facebook and Twitter. It also integrates well with Microsoft Outlook, MyYahoo, iGoogle, and Oracle products.

There is no free trial for this tool. Meanwhile, if you’re interested, you may request a quote from the vendor’s website.

Empowering Your Workforce

Performance management has always been a part of the business world. The best performers get recognition, while those who are not performing as well get feedback that can help them improve. But it’s important to remember that while performance management sounds great, it can also be hard to implement correctly. The performance management tools listed in this article can help you in this process.

However, before you invest in a tool, check your needs first. Some tools may be offering features that you do not need or others could be lacking. Go for the app that meets your needs best at the price that is most reasonable for you. How you choose your applicant tracker or any performance management tool for that matter is vital in making your processes effective.

By Louie Andre

B2B & SaaS market analyst and senior writer for FinancesOnline. He is most interested in project management solutions, believing all businesses are a work in progress. From pitch deck to exit strategy, he is no stranger to project business hiccups and essentials. He has been involved in a few internet startups including a digital route planner for a triple A affiliate. His advice to vendors and users alike? "Think of benefits, not features."