Without the right performance management software, employee reviews and number-crunching is a headache. But it can be worse: dealing with an inefficient system is the ultimate HR nightmare. If this sounds all too familiar, it’s time for a software upgrade.

The key is nailing down those essential features and modules from day one. Luckily, we’ve done the legwork and compiled the top employee performance management system requirements. Let’s dive in!

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Article Roadmap

• Key Requirements
  • 360-Degree Performance Review
  • Dashboard and Reporting
  • Employee Check-Ins Management
  • Employee Recognition
  • Employee Surveys
  • Feedback Management
  • Goal Management
  • Mobile Capabilities
  • Platform Capabilities
  • Talent Management
  • Integrations and Extensibilities
• Benefits
• How To Conduct a Software Evaluation
• Next Steps

Key Requirements

While hundreds of vendors provide different solutions, certain feature sets are common among them all. According to our analysts, the following are key requirements for any performance management solution:

1. 360-Degree Performance Review

Conducting effective reviews requires ample prep time and holistic individual assessments. Start internal conversations on the following:

• What’s your workforce makeup? And what defines success for each role?
• How often do you check in with your employees?
• How will you measure performance? Who’s included in the review process?
• What are your must-have action items in meeting agendas? What are the key discussion topics?
• Where and when do you want to schedule meetings?

Those answers are likely to change as your business evolves. So it’s crucial your system is flexible and adapts to changes.

Customizable interview guides, agenda templates, performance evaluation criteria and resources to prepare for review meetings are a must for streamlined and informed performance reviews.

2. Dashboard and Reporting

More isn’t always good. Large datasets are meaningless if they’re not actionable. The real trick is connecting the dots to identify the root causes of internal productivity trends.

An all-around employee management system pulls data from different areas and presents it in interactive visualizations. Instead of slogging through endless spreadsheets, use heatmaps, collapsible graphs and pie charts to access the right information faster.

Performance management systems offer customized reports detailing key metrics and KPIs with drill-down capabilities on every view. When evaluating your options, check each vendor’s automation capabilities, like budget, worksheet and performance report generation.

• Custom Reports
• Dashboard
• Pre-Built Reports
• Schedule Reports
• Visualizations

3. Employee Check-Ins Management

Continuous performance management isn’t about discarding annual performance reviews; it’s about keeping performance conversations alive with more frequent check-in and review meetings.

Regular employee check-ins play a crucial role in maintaining the momentum of ongoing performance conversations, ensuring alignment, feedback and consistent support.

Schedule meetings and auto-set your preferred frequency. Conduct weekly, monthly, or quarterly check-ins. Quick access to custom questionnaires and meeting notes streamlines the process.

• Check-In History
• Check-Ins
• Create Custom Check-In Questions
• Question Bank
• Set Up Check-In Communication Frequency or Cadence

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4. Employee Recognition

Have you ever wondered what keeps your employees engaged beyond their paycheck? Achievers Workforce Institute delved into this question in their latest report and uncovered some fascinating insights.

According to their findings, employees who receive monthly recognition are 36% more likely to feel engaged and productive compared to those recognized quarterly. Additionally, the same employees are 22% more likely to exhibit high job commitment.

It’s safe to say employee recognition is the unsung hero of retaining and engaging talent. You’ll need suitable employee recognition programs to keep your employees motivated.

Employee recognition tools let you create a personalized recognition wall with addable custom hashtags, celebration messages and images.

• Custom Hashtags in the Recognition Wall
• Recognition Channel
• Recognition Filter
• Recognition History
• Recognition Wall

5. Employee Surveys

Performance check-ins don’t always yield honest responses. People might hesitate to share candid opinions for several reasons. That’s when you’ll need a non-confrontational way to collect feedback. Employee surveys encourage your employees to speak up.

Collect anonymous feedback on internal processes from teams and managers to get genuine responses.

Customized pulse surveys and questionnaires help you detect patterns and diagnose low engagement and poor productivity.

• AI-Based Sentiment Analysis
• Build Engagement Survey
• Custom Survey Templates
• Employee Net Promoter Score (eNPS) Surveys
• Pre-Built Survey Templates
• Pulse Check Survey

6. Feedback Management

It’s important to give timely, helpful feedback to support your employees. You’ll need a system that makes it easy to create and share fair insights with the team.

Consider evaluating vendors for depth of feedback management tools. Consider the following top feedback management features.

• One-On-One Feedback
• Consolidate View of Past Feedbacks
• Custom Template To Give Feedback
• Give Feedback to a Team
• Schedule Feedback
• Share Feedback Through Various Channels

7. Goal Management

A recent Gallup survey uncovered that employee burnout and disengagement are at an all-time high. According to the study’s estimates, low engagement isn’t a minor hiccup — it’s a massive economic issue, costing the global economy a staggering $8.8 trillion (9% of global GDP).

Sense of responsibility and accomplishment are vital aspects of the employee experience and the foundational bricks that let employees know that their work contributes to the bigger picture.

An objectives and key results (OKR) framework is the yellow brick road guiding your team to complete goals that match your company values.

PGoal-setting tools help you set key performance goals at individual, team and organizational levels.

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8. Mobile Capabilities

Mobile-optimized apps fit perfectly on your phone or tablet. Your team can easily track performance, set up critical one-on-one talks and send updates from any of their devices.

Some vendors take things up a notch and provide a native mobile application, making it easier for teams to work productively from anywhere.

• Give and Review Feedbacks
• Manage One-On-Ones
• Native iOS and Android Mobile Applications
• Push Notifications
• Responsive Web Design
• View Directory
• View Goals

9. Platform Capabilities

Responsibly managing internal data depends on two crucial factors:

• Security: Safeguard sensitive employee data and user credentials with built-in data management, security and compliance practices.
• Accessibility: Easily navigate the platform with technical capabilities like admin settings, permissions and secure sign-in options and UI/UX experiences like notifications, resource visibility and multi-language support.

The good news is that modern systems keep sensitive user data safe and ensure that the right people have access to the right information.

Here’s what you need to look for in terms of data protection and compliance management:

10. Talent Management

It’s always better to build than buy. That’s the mindset driving more and more businesses to invest in their existing talent pools instead of hiring externally. Effective talent management is all about empowering your workforce to let them do what they do best.

Built-in talent management capabilities help unlock individual potential, bridge skill gaps and plan for the future.

Performance appraisal frameworks and insights assist your managers in making informed promotional decisions and creating personalized employee skill development paths.

• 9-Box Grid View
• Career Development Plan
• Competency Library
• Organizational Chart
• Skill Assessment
• Skill Matrix
• Succession Planning
• Talent Profile or Card

11. Integrations and Extensibility

Last but not least, consider how well the system integrates into your existing tech stack. The purpose of technology is to improve overall operational efficiency.

An ideal system must coexist with your existing human resource information system (HRIS). Other HR-related systems include talent management, learning and development, project management, and payroll.

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Primary Benefits

Effective and constructive feedback goes beyond an annual review. The right software facilitates this process and also inspires employees to enhance their performance.

A well-rounded performance management system brings the following benefits:

1. Empower Managers

The most effective businesses know how to position their managers as coaches. Performance management systems equip your leaders, managers and supervisors with the necessary performance information to support your workforce.

Track individual, team and departmental progress to start suitable dialogues with employees and help them succeed.

2. Gain Real-Time Performance Insights

A system that syncs perfectly with your business’s pace provides a clear, real-time view of individual performance. You’ll gain information on progress, productivity and performance fine-tuned to your workforce, letting you pinpoint disconnects and alter goals when required.

3. Have Ongoing Feedback Conversations

A recent study found that the modern workforce expects more than a paycheck from their employers. The preference for flexible work, work-life balance and employee voice are driving forces behind a productive workforce.

Employee management systems play a key role in meeting these expectations head-on. Feedback and check-in management tools help identify who requires support and the next steps to unlocking potential.

4. Conduct Fair and Accurate Reviews

Performance reviews get a bad rap, and using the pen-and-paper method for complex calculations wastes time and invites errors. Performance management software adds transparency to the review process and efficiently takes care of all the nitty-gritty details.

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How To Conduct a Software Evaluation

Choosing an ideal system is daunting, especially with hundreds of vendors in the market. If you need help figuring out where to start, consider the following steps to structure your software selection process:

1. Identify Unique Requirements

First, identify the key people who’ll use the platform extensively. Once you assemble your team, start internal conversations surrounding the obstacles and challenges they encounter in tracking progress and productivity. The goal is to identify weaknesses in internal processes that software can remedy.

First, figure out who will use the platform the most. Then, gather your team and talk about the problems they have with tracking progress and getting work done. The goal is to find out what the software can do to help fix these issues.

2. Develop a Requirements Document

Structure your findings by transforming your requirements list into an actionable document. The goal is to separate the must-have from the good-to-have features.

3. Compare Vendors

Once you pinpoint the key features you’re looking for, use that list to compare different vendors. See how each option matches up with what your company needs and choose the one that fits best.

Make things easier with collaborative tools like spreadsheets to gather your findings. Our free vendor comparison report, which includes a built-in ranking system, helps you collect, process, and save data more efficiently.

Want a shortcut? We’ve done the work for you. In this article, we revealed the top five solutions and highlighted their best-rated modules and limitations. Get all the essential info to kickstart your understanding of these leading vendors.

4. Finalize With Report

Finally, create a detailed report based on your aggregate findings. Share and review the information to identify the high-priority requirements. You’ll be able to evaluate the various weighted categories that emerge and pinpoint which features are essential.

Still, if you prefer a DIY approach, our article on the lean selection method covers the nine critical steps of software evaluation.

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Next Steps

Now that you know what a comprehensive system can and should do, it’s time to use this article as a resource and begin your software selection process. Take advantage of our free, customizable requirements template to see how different features stack against your software needs.

Which feature is most important to you? Let us know by leaving a comment below!