In today’s fast-paced business world, conducting effective employee performance review feedback is more important than ever
However, the reality is that many managers feel overwhelmed by the evaluation and appraisal process. On average, a manager might spend around 210 hours a year on performance reviews, juggling everything from filling out forms to delivering evaluations. Despite all this effort, accuracy often remains a concern. So, how can you make this process easier? That’s where an employee performance review software comes in—an invaluable tool designed to lighten the load and boost the effectiveness of your evaluations.
We've surveyed over a hundred HR and People Ops leaders to find what are the key considerations when choosing a good employee performance review software. Let’s dive into five key considerations that come up the most.
1. Flexibility of the employee performance review software
When selecting employee performance review software, one of the first things to consider is the flexibility it provides to reviewers. Managers have diverse styles and needs when conducting employee performance review feedback, so the software should be able to accommodate these different approaches.
For example, a good performance review platform should allow for:
- Multiple reviewers to share their unique insights and feedback on a single individual simultaneously
- Multiple layers of performance calibration to moderate scores across the board and ensure consistency and fairness, and
- Full customization of the performance review criteria template (i.e. what skillsets, values, etc should each employee be evaluated on).
This adaptability not only enhances the quality of the feedback but also fosters a more engaging and constructive performance review process.
2. Configurable appraisal routing system
Another critical feature is a configurable appraisal routing process. It’s crucial that you can customise the performance review workflow to fit your organisation’s structure.
Question what's relevant to your organization's performance review system:
- Who should be the first person to review the individual?
- Should you include performance review feedback from direct reports or indirect managers?
- How much time does each reviewer have before it routes to the next person?
Whether you need a straightforward approach or a more complex 360 review system with multiple levels of approval, the right software should allow HR managers to set this up easily.
This flexibility allows everyone involved in the employee performance evaluation software process to contribute effectively, leading to better employee feedback on performance reviews and an overall improved experience.
3. Aligning data from tasks, projects, and goals to the 360 feedback tool
A performance review is only as good as visibility into the individual's work set beforehand. Look for an employee performance review software that allows managers to easily view an individual's work (i.e. tasks, initiatives, and projects) and how well they are hitting their goals (e.g. OKRs).
This feature is vital because it creates a clear and transparent framework for measuring employee performance. There is no more guesswork when it comes to performance review feedback - everything is in plain sight.
When everyone understands the expectations, it not only streamlines (and speeds up) the review process, but also empowers employees to work towards achieving their goals.
Bottomline is, the performance review software you end up choosing should allow data from tasks, projects, and goals to flow into the performance review system; be it via an integration to other platforms (e.g. Jira) or better still, if the 360 review software already has an in-built module for employees to manage their projects and goals directly within it.
Also read: 5 key ways HR managers can improve their 360 degree reviews
4. Warehousing detailed and accurate employee notes
Creating ongoing, detailed employee notes throughout the year (and not just during review sessions) is essential for accurate employee appraisals. Many managers overlook this step due to the sheer volume of employees they oversee—on average, that number has doubled over the last decade. Moreover, research from the Corporate Executive Board (CEB) shows that 9 out of 10 HR leaders are overwhelmed and dissatisfied with the outcomes of their annual performance reviews, feeling the process often fails to deliver accurate information.
A good performance review software should not only allow managers to easily record notes about each employee's achievements, challenges, and areas for improvement as they come up, but allow managers to easily find and review the data as and when needed.
This ongoing documentation is invaluable for providing context during performance reviews and 360 degree feedback cycles, and ultimately leads to more accurate employee performance review feedback.
5. Seamless integration with other solutions
Lastly, choosing a performance review software that integrates smoothly with your existing HR or payroll systems is a nice bonus. This capability is important for keeping all employee data synchronised and easily accessible. An integrated system streamlines the process, allowing managers to concentrate on what really matters—providing constructive feedback instead of getting overwhelmed by paperwork.
This synergy can significantly enhance your organisation’s overall performance management strategy and help you identify the best performance management software for your needs.
That being said, most performance review softwares do not provide such integrations and if they do, do it poorly. It's common for HR leaders to have separate softwares that serve different purposes well.
Final thoughts...
Choosing the right employee performance review software can greatly impact how efficiently and effectively you evaluate your employees. Prioritizing the 5 key factors mentioned in this article will help make your performance review feedback process much smoother and more effective.
If you're ready to take your performance and 360 review system to the next level, discover how Happy5 can help you execute your strategy and drive growth with our popular employee performance management software.
Visit Happy5 today to learn more and schedule a demo to see how Happy5 can level up your organization!
