HR Software

The Best Performance Management & Employee Engagement Vendors for 2020

March 8, 2023
Brett Ungashick
Founder

The Performance Management & Employee Engagement market has skyrocketed in recent years. Who are the key players and what unique challenges does each try to solve?

This article looks at the best modern Performance Management & Employee Engagement vendors and helps you better understand who they work best for.

The Performance & Engagement space has skyrocketed in popularity over the past few years. In the middle of the decade, companies were faced with the challenge of low retention and low employee motivation. In a tight job market, losing good employees was even more costly.

What companies needed was a more modern, continuous and dynamic way to engage with their employees. Employees wanted more real-time data on where they stood in the company and how they could move forward. Employees also wanted to feel more connected to their company and wanted their voices to be heard.

2022 Update: Best Performance Management Systems for 2022

This demand led to a huge influx of creative, well-funded start-ups who were ready to try and meet the market's needs.

As the Performance & Engagement market has grown, it has become challenging for buyers to know which solutions are the right fit for their needs.

So below is an overview of 7 best modern Performance Management & Employee Engagement solutions for small and medium sized businesses

Lattice

For those who want high user adoption

Lattice recently raised $45M to continue building out their vision of a flexible, easy-to-use performance and engagement platform that can drive productivity and success for any organization. Lattice's user interface is exactly what the modern workforce is looking for in technology. And when employees are excited to use a tool like Lattice, companies can expect better data and better outcomes.

15Five

For those who want to create a continuous engagement model

15Five is another modern leader in the Performance & Engagement space. They pioneered the weekly pulse-check model, which asks employees to take a few minutes each week to reflect on how they're feeling at work. This simple, unobtrusive nudge helps managers to better understand their employees and helps companies to have real-time data on how their workforce is feeling.

Culture Amp

For those who want to deeply understand their workforce

Culture Amp was one of the pioneers of the modern employee engagement survey model. Their psychology-based survey tools can help companies ask the right questions, understand their employee's results and take action in a meaningful way. Although they started off focusing on employee engagement, Culture Amp acquired a performance management solution in 2019 and have begun bringing the two solutions together.

Kazoo

For those who want the employee experience at the center of everything

While many of their peers are actively developing new features to broaden their offering, Kazoo has already built a unified employee experience platform. Rather than just being a platform that employees visit to complete reviews or surveys, Kazoo is designed to be the cultural hub of your company. This includes not just reviews and surveys, but also rewards, recognition, goals and a newsfeed.

Bob

For those who want engagement built into their HRIS

Almost every major HRIS vendor now offers a performance management and employee engagement module. However, very few can offer the modern, dynamic functionality that companies are looking for (which is why this marketplace exists). That is except for Bob. Bob is a true HRIS with timekeeping, onboarding and benefits management capabilities. But  Bob's HRIS was built with employee engagement and performance management tools at its core, while others make those tools ancillary add-ons.

Betterworks

For those who are focused on business performance

Smart companies have always known that businesses perform their best when individuals are bought in and rowing in the same direction. The Objectives and Key Results (OKR) framework has been adopted at thousands of companies to help create greater alignment throughout the organization around strategic goals. The person who developed the OKR framework sits on Betterworks' board, and all of Betterworks' performance and engagement functionality cascades down from those strategic business goals.

7Geese

For those who want to create a goal-centric mindset

Similar to Betterworks, 7Geese has built their platform around company goals. This enables executives and business leaders to set the company's course, it creates a greater connection to the organization among employees and increases transparency throughout the org. The 1-on-1 and performance review process becomes much more aligned when each individual knows what is expected of them and how that ties into the company's success.

Blog: How Much Does BambooHR Cost?

Subscribe to OutSail's Newsletter

Get industry insights that you won't delete, straight in your inbox.
We use contact information you provide to us to contact you about our relevant content, products, and services. You may unsubscribe from these communications at any time. For information, check out our Privacy Policy.
Brett Ungashick
Founder
Brett is the founder of OutSail. He spent the early part of his career selling HR software before switching sides and going to work for the people buying the software.

More news

Workday vs. BambooHR: Which HRIS Solution is Right for Your Business?
HR Software

Workday vs. BambooHR: Which HRIS Solution is Right for Your Business?

Two of the most popular HRIS solutions are Workday and BambooHR. Both offer robust features and integrations with 3rd party tools; however, they differ in scalability, cost structure, and overall user experience.

Read Article
How to Choose the Best HRIS for Your Company Size and Budget
Buying Strategies

How to Choose the Best HRIS for Your Company Size and Budget

There are hundreds of HRIS vendors in the market today and it would be impossible for one company to evaluate all of the potential options. This article will walk you through some of the planning steps you can take to limit your focus on vendors that are a great fit for your needs.

Read Article
The 3 Ways to Integrate Your HRIS System With Your Payroll System
Buying Strategies

The 3 Ways to Integrate Your HRIS System With Your Payroll System

Everyone wants their enterprise systems to be well integrated, so that they can have more accurate and real-time data available with less manual intervention. This article walks through the different ways to integrate your HRIS & Payroll systems.

Read Article