9 step checklist for choosing a Performance Management System

One of the most awkward and controversial discussions between managers and employees were annual performance reviews. The largest flaw in the annual review is that it holds employees accountable for what they did last year.

Think about this. How can a review based on a 12-month-old job description do justice to the hurdles employees overcame? This is a major reason why choosing a performance management system became extremely important, and is probably the only way out of the tunnel.

If traditional performance management was first called broken some years back, it got entirely demolished in 2020. Thus, it goes without saying that performance management changed over time, and modern thinking transformed in this way:

1. It is becoming crucial to satisfy and retain employees, and prepare them for employee performance appraisals in today’s tight labour market.

2. Your performance reviews for remote employees need to tell you more about improvement areas rather than just drawing a picture of employee’s accountability.

3. The fast-changing corporate environment is now demanding regular employee feedbacks and check-ins.

How can an organisation possibly keep track of all these things without the help of technology? A message to leaders: 2023 will be the year where performance management is reinvented through people experiences. Growing your people must become an agile process, which is simply putting people at the centre of decisions and allowing them to experiment with procedures more quickly.

And to be honest, there’s no way to achieve this without an employee-owned, effective performance management system in place.

Below is a list of elements of a performance management software and checklists for managers to better align, develop, engage & retain a world-class workforce before choosing a Performance Management System.

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9 step checklist for choosing a Performance Management System

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1. What kind of features does the system offer?

Make a note of the challenges your organisation is now experiencing with workforce management and review.  Is it true that reviews take too long? Do managers find it difficult to give staff specific goals to work toward? Is there a lot of paperwork involved in the process? Make a list of areas you'd like to improve, and inquire about how the features of performance management system may assist you before .

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Top 6 performance management system requirements:

• Performance Reports
• Continuous Performance Tracking
• Completion Tracking
• Peer and 360-degree feedback questions‍
• 1-on-1s meetings [Also see: Top 6 mistakes managers make during 1-on-1 meetings]
• Integration with other HCM tools

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2. Do they provide adequate customer support and training?

It's critical to choose a reliable vendor that also excels at customer service. Check to see if the vendor offers support after the software is installed at your company's location. Choose a provider with friendly customer service representatives who will gladly walk you through any problems. When the number of employees grows or you want to add new features to the best performance management software, you must be able to scale it easily.

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3. What types of reporting tools are present?

Inquire about the system's performance reports, as well as any filters you may require, such as reporting by team, location, time, or employee level. Managers find it difficult to assess performance using paper-based systems, which can lead to manual errors. HR reporting software can create reports to better understand employee potential, progress, and overall happiness with the organisation.

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4. Does the system align with your business requirements?

Before choosing a performance management system, it is critical that the programme corresponds with your own performance management expectations. Ensure the system is flexible and stable to accommodate new employees. For instance, managers are responsible for a large number of employees and their work, making it impossible to manually track all of them. An effective performance management system simplifies this job, and allows managers to keep track of employee goals. One may refer to the guide to objectives and key results to create clear goals and monitoring employee performance without any manual errors.

5. Is it built for employee self-service? (ESS)

Employee self-service portals allow employees to conduct self-reviews, input information about training and development activities, and evaluate, react to, and sign yearly performance evaluations. In the performance management process, ESS allows human resources to focus more on value-added processes. These systems also aid HR professionals by centralising the outcomes of the complete performance management and compensation system, making analysis and reporting easier.

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6. How easy is it to navigate and access the platform?

The major arguments for using HR software are higher productivity and reduced HR workloads because employees conduct duties autonomously under Employee Self Service. These objectives, however, will be impossible to choose a performance software if it is too complex. As a result, user friendliness for all users is a requirement that should never be overlooked.
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• Software must be simple to comprehend and use, requiring no special knowledge or training.
• Users must be able to find what they need quickly and easily, as well as have easy access to important information and functions.
• Any device must be able to run software and operate it.

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Questions to review user-friendly interface:

• Is there a short guide for the different functionalities?
• Is it possible for users to navigate to all of the functionalities and information without having to conduct long searches?
• Is it possible for users to complete repeating tasks as soon as possible?
• Is it true that the functions are 'intuitive'? Is it possible for unskilled users to grasp how to use the software?
• Is it straightforward to read and identify all of the text and buttons?
• Is it possible to utilise the software from a mobile device while on the go?
• Is the software easy to use and does it load quickly?

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7. Does the system fit your budget needs?

If you're working with a budget, the budget should be one of the first things on your list while choosing a performance software. You may wish to rethink your key functionality performance management system requirements and add or remove items from the list depending on your budget. Whatever your budget, search for a platform that provides a trial period so you may assess the platform's user friendliness, intuitive features of a performance management system, and overall compatibility with your team members and existing tools.

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Must read: 6 reasons why a performance management system in Maldives must now be mandated

8. Do you need heatmaps to boost your performance?

In addition to performance tracking and insights, best performance management software that are forward thinking will provide you heatmaps. If your HRIS wasn't built for performance management, heatmaps by peopleHum, can help you assess the overall health of your firm and develop a future strategy based on industry benchmarks. Heatmaps help you monitor performance levels in a comprehensive way as a fast-growing company.

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9. Would you benefit from Al-driven performance analytics?

Given that 70% of firms need to link performance management with other talent decisions, AI in performance management and performance data analytics may help managers extract useful insights by creating a unified source of truth. A "human" manager may lack the foresight necessary to match performance feedback based on historical data with future paths. This is why AI intervention is so critical - AI's predictive capabilities can use data gathered from a variety of sources to forecast an employee's likely career path and produce evaluation figures.

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Conclusion

Choosing a performance management system for your organisation is a challenging task, but once you've done so, your employee performance appraisal system will be a breeze. choosing a right performance management system is vital to outstanding work culture, whether you're starting from scratch or simply seeking for a change. To see what it's like to have a completely automated system to evaluate your staff, first measure the ROI of performance management, and sign up for a free peopleHum demo and compare it to other performance management systems.