"When our people saw how easy it was—and BambooHR Performance Management really is an easy system— they connected with it right away."
Tyler Hensz, Human Resources Manager | Titanium Transportation Group
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Learn morePerformance management software helps companies manage, monitor, and improve performance at an organizational, departmental, and individual level. Quality performance management software will make the common elements of performance management, like performance reviews, manager one-on-ones, feedback, performance improvement plans, goal setting and tracking, and even rewards and recognition programs, easier to track and implement. The software should also produce actionable insights for managers, administrators, and executives through detailed reporting.
Managers and leadership are the main users of performance management software, but some software, like BambooHR® Performance Management, loops employees directly into the process of owning their performance and development with goal-tracking and feedback features that they can interact with through the software.
The main components of a complete performance management system include features for conducting reviews, supplying feedback, and generating reports, with the goal of improving performance through productive communication between employees, managers, and leadership. Because performance management is all about building and empowering a skilled workforce, the process and effectiveness of your current model should be weighed toward that end.
A typical performance management process usually flows as follows: conducting reviews, collecting feedback, discussing feedback, creating performance improvement plans, setting and tracking goals, and providing rewards and recognition.
When choosing a performance management system, it’s important to investigate which system will help you easily and efficiently manage performance while having the most impact. Will the prospective system topple current roadblocks, ease frustrations surrounding use and implementation, and facilitate better, more impactful conversations between employees and the managers assigned to their performance and development? Every stakeholder within your organization should have a say in how your current system answers this question and what any future system would need to offer to satisfy their needs.
As you create and implement a performance management program, remember these four performance management best practices:
1. Frequent and timely reviews. Frequent meaning on a schedule that prompts an assessment cycle more often than once a year, and timely meaning when feedback is most pertinent following the completion of a major project, on an employment anniversary, etc.
2. A balanced approach when collecting feedback. Allow for self-assessments alongside manager assessments, and provide the means for collecting feedback from the employee’s teammates, subordinates, customers, and even vendors.
3. Automation to eliminate the most time-consuming or burdensome aspects of performance management, such as scheduling reviews, conducting them, and collecting and consolidating actionable data from them. It also provides a foundation for better follow up as you can easily track performance progress over the long-term with automated reporting features.
4. A focus on people and relationships. Positive, genuine relationships between employees and leadership fosters a culture of growth and accountability. In such a culture, high performance is a natural conclusion to a process that enables attentive relationship maintenance, mentorship, and communication.