Feb 15, 2024
6 min red

5 Best Staff Appraisal Software for Better Evaluations

Focusing on weaknesses during performance reviews motivates barely 20% of employees to improve. That’s because humans naturally crave praise. Constant criticism gets us nowhere.

Thankfully, we live in an age where commending your employees for their great work is made easier than ever by staff appraisal software that automates this process. But how do you pick the best tool for your team's needs? We looked at five of the best performance appraisal tools to help you save time and money on research.

Read on to pick the best staff appraisal software that will effectively streamline your team's performance management and improve their work motivation.

5 best staff appraisal software: A detailed overview

Effy AI

Effy AI is the simplest and fastest self-service employee management software. It allows you to register and launch employee evaluations in minutes and is the best option for small and medium businesses that want to recognize their teams for all their hard work, dedication, and contributions.

This tool lets you conduct employee performance reviews with minimum setup. It also stores all the information about your team's performance. Aside from appraisals, you can use this solution to record private notes, track project milestones, or remind yourself about employee birthdays or other celebrations.

Features

  • Large question bank
  • 360-degree feedback
  • Regular, automated reminders
  • Anonymization
  • Access level management
  • AI-generated review summaries and individual development plans
  • Comprehensive data visualization
  • Integrations with Slack that allow you to fill in employee appraisals within the messaging app

Pricing

We offer two transparent pricing tiers to help you make your employee engagement, performance tracking, and appraisals as easy as possible:

  • Free forever: Includes unlimited members, number of reviews, and templates
  • Pro: $75/space/month or 900/space/year, includes 30 AI reports, anonymized reviews, and priority support

Customer reviews

Clients love Effy AI for its friendly UI and ease of use. It helps them focus on performance management, which currently about 80% of companies are struggling with. Customers also value our great customer support and reasonable price.

Its ratings on software vendors' review sites are:

  • 4.9/5 on Capterra
  • 4.9/5 on G2
  • 4.6/5 on Trustpilot
Effy AI customers review

Source: Capterra

Lattice

Lattice describes itself as a people management platform. It combines the features of performance management software, employee engagement tools, and team development solutions. It's best for companies of all sizes looking for a wide set of HR-centric features and automations in one tool.

You can use this talent management solution to run performance appraisals, track individual performance, and set individual and organizational objectives. It has automatization options that make the employee review process run smoother. Lattice is customizable enough to adapt it to various company structures and tailor it to the frequency, content, and format of the reviews you want to give.

Lattice staff appraisal software

Source: G2

See also: Lattice vs 15Five

Features

  • Performance management features, e.g., automatic rules for review cycles, workflows and dashboards, peer feedback, direct reports, public praise, and one-on-ones
  • Compensation administration
  • Productivity, performance, and engagement analytics
  • OKR and goal management
  • Development plans
  • Engagement surveys
  • Integrations with BambooHR, Jira, Microsoft Teams, Okta, Slack, and Zenefits, among others

Pricing

Lattice requires a minimal annual agreement of $4,000 and doesn't allow monthly payments.

These are the package options you get:

  • Performance management system + OKRs and Goals: $11/person/month as a package, or $8 each when paid separately
  • Engagement: $4/person/month
  • Grow: $4/person/month
  • Compensation management: $6/person/month

Customer reviews

Lattice customers enjoy the use flexibility it offers. However, they are disappointed that it's not always clear how to get around the interface and the high costs.

Its ratings on software review sites are:

  • 4.5/5 on Capterra
  • 4.7/5 on G2
  • 3.2/5 on Trustpilot
Lattice customers review

Source: Capterra

15Five

15Five is an employee performance review software for elevating the work of HR teams and employees. It has plenty of manager- and employee-led features for boosting engagement and growth and building a positive work environment.

This tool is best for handling the performance management process, but it doesn't have HR-centric features like applicant tracking or benefits administration.

15Five Staff Appraisal Software

Source: Capterra

Features

  • Engagement surveys
  • Benchmarking
  • Custom and targeted assessments
  • Career paths and plans
  • 360-degree feedback
  • OKRs and a goal management system
  • Teammate recognition (high fives)
  • Analytics – heatmaps, data filters, action plan dashboard, insights
  • Spark AI Synthesized Feedback Insights
  • Integrations with HRIS, Slack, Salesforce, Jira, MS Teams, Google Calendar, and more

Pricing

15Five offers three pricing tiers, all of which are billed annually:

  • Engage: $4/user/month
  • Perform: $10/user/month
  • Total Platform: $16/user/month

Customer reviews

15Five customers praise this tool for its many features for improving employee performance and engagement. However, based on their comments, some functions aren't easy to find, and scheduling one-on-ones can be confusing.

Its ratings on software review sites are:

  • 4.7/5 on Capterra
  • 4.6/5 on G2
  • 3.4/5 on Trustpilot
15Five customers review

Source: G2

PerformYard

PerformYard is a cloud-based employee performance and appraisal software that helps organizations create a high-performance culture through conducting performance reviews and implementing goal management, feedback, and engagement surveys. The platform's workflows and data dashboards provide actionable insights to improve workforce potential.

It's best for allowing employees to set their own goals and track their growth. It facilitates self-assessment and sorts the data into actionable, sharable reports.

PerformYard Staff Appraisal Software

Source: G2

Features

  • 30-60-90 check-ins
  • 360 employee performance evaluations
  • Automated notifications
  • Project-based reviews
  • Upward and multi-manager appraisals
  • Flexible goal setting
  • One-to-one feedback
  • Public recognition
  • Reporting and analytics
  • Integrations with HRIS, SSO providers, Slack, and Microsoft Teams

Pricing

PerformYard has two plans, billed annually, with applied minimum pricing and enterprise-level discounts available:

  • Performance management: $5-10/person/month
  • Employee engagement: An additional $1-3/person/month

To get an exact, full price for your needs, you have to contact the company.

Customer reviews

According to reviews, PerformYard offers great customer service for its users. It's also described as aesthetically appealing. However, its customers complain about the dashboard, which gets challenging to navigate at times, requiring multiple clicks to get you where you need.

Its ratings on software review sites are:

  • 4.8/5 on Capterra
  • 4.7/5 on G2
  • 8.5/10 on TrustRadiu
PerformYard customers review

Source: G2

Leapsome

Leapsome is a modular people enablement platform. It's a highly customizable solution for HR professionals, but the downside is you have to pay extra for additional feature packs. The tool helps to automate performance reviews and includes features for goal management, employee development, engagement surveys, feedback and praise, compensations, and meetings.

Leapsome Staff Appraisal software

Source: G2

Features

  • Competency framework
  • Instant feedback tools
  • Public praise
  • Feedback leaderboards
  • Meetings organization
  • Flexible templates and visibility
  • Review cycle automation
  • Drag and drop calibration
  • Performance and 360-degree feedback
  • Individual, team & company OKRs
  • Surveys and post-survey action plans
  • Personalized learning paths
  • Compensation management
  • Integrations with HRIS, SSO, Jira, calendars, and communication platforms

Pricing

Leapsome offers multiple modules you can mix and match to shape a platform that fits your needs. There are multi-module discounts available. However, there is no pricing information on the website.

Customer reviews

Leapsome's advantages are its centralized development, performance management system, and the ability to exchange anonymous remarks. However, some users complain about the UI/UX of the staff appraisal software, particularly the open task section.

Its ratings on review sites are:

  • 4.7/5 on Capterra
  • 4.8/5 on G2
  • 7.8/10 on TrustRadius
Leapsome customers review

Source: G2

Best staff appraisal software: Comparison table

Platform Features Pricing Best for
Effy AI - Question bank and templates
- 360-degree feedback
- Access level management
- Anonymization
- AI-generated reports
- Review reminders
Free forever plan available Small and medium businesses looking for easy-to-use team recognition tools at a reasonable price
Lattice - Performance management
- Compensation administration
- Analytics
- Goal management
- Development plans
- Engagement surveys
From $8/person/month Companies looking to automate the full HR cycle
15Five - Engagement surveys
- Benchmarking
- Assessments
- 360-degree feedback
- Goal management
- Teammate recognition
- Analytics
- AI Insights
From $4/user/month Businesses looking to improve their employee performance management and engagement
PerformYard - Check-ins
- 360 evaluations
- Project-based reviews
- Multi-manager appraisals
- Goal management
- One-to-one feedback
- Public recognition
- Reporting and analytics
From $5/person/month Companies looking to allow their employees to run self-assessments
Leapsome - Competency framework
- Instant feedback tools
- Public praise
- Feedback leaderboards
- Meetings organization
- Review cycle automation
- OKRs
- Surveys
- Learning paths
N/A Businesses looking to run structured feedback cycles and improve the appraisal process

Conclusion

Staff appraisal software is a foolproof tool for ensuring you never forget to commend your team on a job well done. Experts say positive comments aren’t just a way to improve workplace productivity – they also strengthen relationships, improve creative thinking, and reduce stress and physical health problems. All solid reasons to make positive feedback a permanent part of your work culture.

Effy AI is employee performance review software loved by customers, with hundreds of positive ratings. It is an affordable solution that combines ease of use and all the tools necessary to empower high-performing teams. Sign up for free to run your first employee performance review process in under 60 seconds.

FAQs

What is performance appraisal software?

Employee performance management software automates and streamlines staff evaluation. These tools typically include features like goal setting, feedback collection, performance reports, and development plans.

How do I appraise my staff?

To assess the accomplishments and productivity of your team, start by setting performance criteria. Rating scales can come in handy. Make sure to document all achievements as soon as possible so they don’t get overlooked in the everyday rush of work. We also suggest you ask other team members or clients for feedback for a more well-rounded view and look for patterns. 

The whole process can be made faster and easier with 360 feedback software. Such tools let you automate holistic performance reviews and keep all relevant data in one place.

What is the system for employee appraisal?

The performance management cycle involves regular, formal review meetings, individualized development plans, and recognition for outstanding performance. A dedicated performance management tool helps streamline this process. 

What’s Effy software?
AI-generating form
Submitting in Slack
Completion tracking
Reminders schedule
Scoring report
AI summarizing
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