10 Best Performance Management Software Solutions in 2024

GoCo is streamlining company-wide performance reviews for small businesses (SMBs) all around the world, in addition to consolidating all of their HR processes. Read on to learn how to evaluate performance management platforms, and compare the top solutions for your business.

Why Your Small Business Needs Performance Management Software

As an HR professional, your job revolves around your organization and your workforce. A talented, engaged, and motivated workforce keeps the business running. Managing performance reviews digitally saves time, paper, and keeps your team engaged. We’ve compiled a list of top performance management systems you can consider for streamlining your efforts. From key features to overall reviews, you can compare and decide which software makes the most sense for your small business, which likely means you’ll want an all-in-one HR experience.

GoCo is the first choice with these aspects in mind, but check out our full list below:

Top 10 Performance Management Software for Small Businesses

Best Software

  • GoCo
  • Culture Amp
  • 15Five
  • TINYPulse
  • Reflektive
  • Hirebook
  • PerformYard
  • Leapsome
  • Quantum Workplace
  • Motivosity

1. GoCo

GoCo Logo

Website: Visit GoCo

G2 Rating: 4.6 (378)

GoCo is modern HR, benefits administration, payroll, and performance reviews built with flexibility and ease-of-use in mind. GoCo comes in first place if you’re looking to manage & track your performance review workflows in the same hub as all of your other HR features. With GoCo, you can not only distribute, manage, and organize all performance review-related documents, but you can easily report on it for future reference. Yes, this means all of that data that’s typically held hostage on paper or in a standalone performance management system is easily pulled for big-picture insights, right alongside your payroll, team member, and benefits reports.

GoCo’s Key Performance Review Features:

  • Build custom performance review templates (i.e. self-evaluations, surveys, manager expectations, 1:1s, feedback and more!)
  • Add custom fields within performance review documents to collect on — including checklists, open-ended questions, dynamic review fields, automated due dates, and so much more
  • Automatically & dynamically assign due dates & tasks to direct managers, department heads, or other team members in GoCo
  • Track all performance reviews, employment changes, documents, and 1-on-1 notes in one place on the Employee Timeline
  • Keep all teams in sync
  • Automate reminders & set up triggers
  • Track and report on review task completion progress with a visual timeline to ensure timely review completion

With GoCo, teams are able to eliminate pain points of a manual performance review process while maintaining all of the benefits of being able to use a completely personalized performance review specific to their business. You’ll never be required to fit a performance review framework or template that doesn’t suit your needs -- instead, you’ll be empowered to customize the software around the way you work.

The best part? All of your performance review information is kept in the same platform as your onboarding, benefits, payroll, and other HR workflows with a single log-in, so you can tackle all of your HR in one place.

If you’re ready to level-up your performance reviews with All-in-One HR, take a free interactive tour to see GoCo in action.

Visit GoCo

2. Culture Amp

Culture Amp is a solid point-solution choice for organizations focused on employee experience and development. The platform provides a suite of tools designed to foster a positive work culture, improve engagement, and support performance management. With an emphasis on people science and data-driven insights, Culture Amp helps organizations understand and improve the key drivers of employee satisfaction and productivity.

Culture Amp’s Key Performance Review Features:

  • Set expectations with goal features
  • Review confidence levels for communication
  • Give helpful feedback
  • Send employee surveys on a schedule
  • Answer status questions
  • Drive career growth with planning tools

Pricing: Culture Amp does not provide pricing without taking a demo, but they charge on a per employee per month (PEPM) basis.

A few downsides to the platform include a steeper learning curve for new users, higher pricing for smaller organizations, and potential limitations in customization for niche industries. However, the system's robust analytics and evidence-based approach make it a valuable asset for companies aiming to enhance their employee experience and performance management processes.

Overall, Culture Amp is a powerful tool for driving employee engagement, continuous improvement, and a strong organizational culture.

Visit Culture Amp

3. 15Five

15Five is a good alternative for teams looking for isolated performance management features. The platform is human-centered to aid in employee development and offers education and solutions around it. Aligned with latest positive psychology research, employees and managers can expect to find helpful tools for engagement and performance.

15Five’s Key Performance Review Features:

  • Send evidence-based employee engagement surveys
  • Maximize growth with self reviews
  • Celebrate wins with employee recognition
  • Request and send detailed feedback
  • Set goals and objectives within the platform

Pricing: Plans start at $4/per person, per month, with basic access to engagement survey tools.

A few downsides to the platform include limited objective tracking, little data visualization, and lack of flexibility for different organization types. It may be difficult to customize the framework to work for unique requests.

Still, the system is a helpful tool for performance management, team empowerment and recognition.

Visit 15Five

4. TINYPulse

If you’re more focused on employee surveys, TINYPulse can be a good option for understanding your team and any gaps for improvement. The performance management and engagement software provides tools for HR pros to improve internal communication for stronger employee culture. The platform covers engagement, social recognition, and actionable feedback for all team members.

TINYPulse’s Key Performance Management Features:

  • Send and receive anonymous employee surveys
  • Plan for 1:1s
  • Send Cheers for employee recognition
  • Run annual surveys for enterprise companies
  • Choose from a full survey library

Pricing: Pricing starts at $5/ per person, per month, with limited access to dashboards, pulse surveys, peer recognition, and more.

Keep in mind that for some features, it may be difficult to take action on the insights received and some users report lack of transparency about new features.

If you’re looking for an affordable point-solution for performance management, TINYPulse may be a good option.

Visit TINYPulse

5. Reflektive

Reflektive, part of PeopleFluent, is a performance, productivity, and engagement tool meant to empower teams. The platform focuses more on people analytics than the other standalone performance management systems, with helpful insights available in pre-built dashboards.

Reflektive’s Key Performance Management Features:

  • Manage goals & OKRs
  • Provide recurring reviews & check-ins for managers and employees
  • Build surveys with a survey builder
  • Track progress on company goals
  • Advanced filtering

Pricing: Starts at $7500/ per month

Though it offers a wide range of features, the product is on the simpler side, with some data features replicable in Google Sheets. Additionally, lack of visibility and flexibility in polls can prove to be frustrating when analyzing employee insights.

If you’re looking for an isolated solution for boosting productivity within your organization, Reflektive is worth considering.

Visit Reflektive

6. Hirebook

With a heavier emphasis on employee engagement, Hirebook also offers productivity and performance management tools to help empower teams. The platform aims to push teams to focus on dialogue, objectives and outcomes through casual conversations.

Hirebook’s Key Performance Management Features:

  • Send ongoing check-ins and future plans
  • Schedule recurring meetings and create agendas
  • Share objectives with employees
  • Navigate your org chart for strategic alignment

Pricing: Hirebook starts at $10 per user per month when billed annually or $15 per user per month when billed monthly

The downside to the platform is the ability to streamline performance review tasks in a cohesive way — instead, it offers single solutions for many components within the category of performance reviews. Reviewers also mention that Hirebook is missing some key integrations like with Google Calendar, and that they have experienced some bugs and interface issues with the performance solution.

Visit Hirebook

7. PerformYard

PerformYard is another alternative for performance management that helps HR improve people management within organizations. Managers and employees can easily submit feedback and record achievements to see where they stand.

PerformYard’s Key Performance Management Features:

  • Automate review cycles
  • See 90-day reviews, annual rankings, and client feedback in one place
  • Compare individuals, teams, and visualize performance
  • Collect project-based feedback

Pricing: Pricing starts at $5-10 per employee per month for performance management and an extra fee of $1-3 per employee per month to add on engagement features like surveys

With generally strong features for performance management, the cons of this platform are the lack of flexibility to consolidate HR. HR pros looking for an all-in-one option may find it difficult to integrate with HR software.

All in all, the easy-to-use platform may be a good standalone solution for you.

Visit PerformYard

8. Leapsome

Leapsome creates a continuous cycle of performance management and learning to improve employee engagement within businesses. This platform has an edge in personal development and learning, whereas other standalone platforms tend to focus more on only performance reviews.

Leapsome’s Key Performance Management Features:

  • Run performance and 360 reviews
  • Automate review cycles
  • Deliver learning content and curriculum to employees
  • Test skill development

Pricing: Pricing starts at $8/ per employee per month

Similar to other point-solutions, it may be difficult to integrate reviews with additional HR processes and HR solutions. Still, the software is easy to use and proven to help boost company morale.

Visit Leapsome

9. Quantum Workplace

Quantum Workplace is a complete employee engagement and performance solution aimed to help drive employee and organization success. The platform helps leaders identify key insights between employee engagement and performance -- they have an edge in the data department, with North America’s largest database of employee engagement data.

Quantum Workplace’s Key Performance Management Features:

  • Send comprehensive & automated employee surveys
  • Set goals and track progress
  • Recognize peers and give real-time feedback
  • Review business impact analytics
  • AI tools to help complete talent management to-dos

Pricing: Pricing starts at $2-$4 per employee per month for Engagement and $3-$5 per employee per month for Performance. Both are billed annually and have a yearly contract minimum of $7500.

Though the platform offers some great data insights, there might be limitations on flexibility for small workplaces and configuration. Additionally, it may be more expensive than alternatives. Still, this can be a great complementary tool for leveraging business success.

Visit Quantum Workplace

10. Motivosity

Motivosity is another great option for performance management and recognition, with a goal of making people happier at work. The three core components of the platform are engagement, motivation, and recognition to drive a sense of community.

Motivosity’s Key Performance Management Features:

Show appreciation for managers and peers on dashboard

  • Build social connections through highlights and announcements
  • Navigate your company with an org chart
  • Help team members know where they stand with continuous feedback
  • Organize and offer a rewards & swag marketplace for employees

Pricing: Pricing starts at $4/ per employee per month. They have an annual minimum contract of $3000.

That said, some reviewers have noted that the limited amount of reward dollars given to employees each month can feel performative, and that employees feel it can be more of a burden than a bonus.

Visit Motivosity

Choosing the Best Performance Management System for Your Small- or Mid-Sized Business

As a small- or mid-sized (SMB) business, your workforce is your most valuable asset — and having the proper performance management platform can make or break your business goals.

Some common pitfalls we tend to see within SMBs are:

  • Not providing employees with timely feedback
  • Not setting appropriate goals and objectives for employees
  • Not providing feedback at all
  • Improper or incomplete documentation of performance reviews
  • Lack of recognition for performing employees

In order for employees to continue performing at their best, it’s important to pick a performance management software that helps minimize the chance for mistakes like the ones above. A strong HRIS or performance review software should be easily accessible via web and include features for providing feedback, setting objectives, and adding documentation for records. In addition, the platform should make it easy to set reminders for deadlines, assign team members to workflows, and automate these tasks.

Small businesses also thrive on accessibility, so a performance management system shouldn’t feel like an extra clunky process to add to HR’s plate. That’s why many SMBs like to opt for SaaS options that knock out multiple HR features. So, instead of a standalone performance system or a singular payroll software, it may make the most sense to implement an all-in-one HRIS that provides all of the benefits with one single log-in/location.

Software that offers point-solutions and refuses third-party integrations is becoming less and less popular as HR becomes more and more busy. Additional features like time & attendance tracking, HR compliance, and streamlined onboarding are becoming non-negotiables as well. All of these features add up to a service that provides more value while spending less time.

The Importance of Performance Management Software

Did you know that 92% of employees want feedback more than once a year? According to ClearCompany, most employees crave feedback on their performance. And who can blame them? Feedback is key to growth and development, bringing us to another startling statistic: 86% of professionals would switch jobs if offered more chances for professional development.

So if you want to retain your top talent, you need to invest in their growth. That's where digital performance reviews come in. Not only do they save time and paper, but they also provide a platform for regular, meaningful feedback that can help your employees grow and thrive.

Things to Keep In Mind Before Choosing a Performance Management Software

To make the ultimate decision on which platform fits your situation, make sure to keep these in mind:

  • icon of a dollar sign Your monthly or yearly budget
  • The number of employees in your organization (Most platforms utilize a per-user pricing plan)
  • icon of a clock face The implementation timeframe for new software
  • All of the services you are looking for (Performance management, benefits administration, document management, compliance support, etc.)
  • icon of an integration symbol Types of integrations you would like
  • icon of a heart Add-ons to streamline your entire HR process

Keeping these items in mind will help guide your research process, and help you identify qualifying software options. 


HR software like GoCo provides a consolidated, easy-to-use HR platform with not only sophisticated performance management tools, but also unique solutions for digital onboarding, workflow management, payroll runs, and COBRA compliance tasks that likely fall on your plate too. For the ultimate automated HR experience, we recommend taking the all-in-one HR route and making GoCo a multi-purpose digital tool for your organization.

See how GoCo can simplify your HR

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FAQs

What is performance management software, and why is it important?

Performance management software helps organizations streamline and automate the process of evaluating employee performance. It enables HR teams and managers to set clear goals, provide continuous feedback, and track progress over time. This software is crucial for improving employee engagement, increasing productivity, and ensuring alignment between individual and company objectives.

How does GoCo’s performance management software compare to other alternatives?

GoCo’s performance management software stands out for its ease of use, seamless integration with existing HR tools, and flexibility tailored to small and mid-sized businesses. Unlike some competitors, GoCo offers a user-friendly interface and customizable workflows, ensuring that you can adapt the software to your unique business needs.

What features should I look for in performance management software?

When choosing performance management software, look for key features such as goal setting, continuous feedback, performance reviews, and reporting capabilities. Integration with other HR tools and ease of use are also essential factors to consider.

Can performance management software improve employee retention?

Yes, performance management software can significantly improve employee retention by fostering a culture of continuous feedback and development. When employees feel their contributions are recognized and they have clear paths for growth, they are more likely to stay with the company.

Is GoCo’s performance management software suitable for small businesses?

Absolutely. GoCo’s performance management software is specifically designed with small and mid-sized businesses in mind. It offers a scalable solution that grows with your company and ensures that you can manage performance effectively without overwhelming your HR team.

How does performance management software integrate with other HR tools?

Performance management software like GoCo’s is designed to integrate seamlessly with other HR tools such as payroll, benefits administration, and employee onboarding systems. This integration ensures that all HR processes are connected, reducing manual work and improving data accuracy.

What is the cost of performance management software?

The cost of performance management software can vary widely depending on the features, number of users, and level of customization required. GoCo offers competitive pricing designed to be affordable for small and mid-sized businesses, with options to scale as your company grows.