Performance management software centralizes and standardizes scattered review processes that often live in email threads, random Word documents and managers’ heads.
It helps small businesses set meaningful goals that align with company objectives, increase workforce productivity and give top performers a clear growth path.
In this article, you’ll discover the best performance management software tools and learn how to use a CRM like Pipedrive as a simpler, more cost-effective alternative.
Key takeaways for performance management software
Performance management software helps small businesses replace ad hoc manual processes with structured reviews, goal tracking and feedback collection.
Software can improve the employee experience, increase revenue and boost retention rates.
Some tools are purpose-built for managing employee performance, while others serve the entire employee lifecycle.
SMBs that want a simple, cost-effective alternative to performance management software can use a CRM like Pipedrive to track and develop their teams. Try it free for 14 days.
Do small businesses need performance management software?
Employee performance management software replaces informal, inconsistent goal-setting and review processes with a structured system.
Rather than ad hoc reviews of an employee’s performance, the software encourages small businesses to consistently collect feedback and assess performance at regular, pre-determined intervals.
It significantly reduces the burden on overworked one-person human resources teams and supports managers with the following tasks:
Holding meaningful performance reviews in a structured and repeatable manner
Setting and tracking individual goals that clearly connect to team and company performance objectives
Creating continuous feedback loops with input from colleagues and line managers
Measuring employee performance through dashboards and custom reports
Identifying and nurturing high-performing employees for succession planning
Ultimately, performance management software establishes structures and routines to nurture employee growth.
Given that a lack of advancement is one of the top reasons employees quit, the right tool can help small businesses hold onto their best employees
The software also improves business outcomes.
Research by McKinsey finds that companies that focus on employee performance are 4.2 times more likely to outperform competitors. These companies also experience 30% more revenue growth and 5% lower attrition rates.
While some small business owners may be reluctant to invest in additional software, the time teams save and the benefits they gain often outweigh the cost.
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5 best performance management software solutions for small companies
Different performance management tools serve different functions. Some focus on a specific task, like performance reviews, while others offer an all-in-one HR solution.
Here’s a list of the best performance management software for small companies, along with advice on which types of small businesses they suit.
1. CharlieHR: best small businesses platform
CharlieHR is an HR and performance management platform that provides many of the features small businesses care about without the complexity of enterprise software.
Small teams can get started quickly with a 360-degree feedback collection tool and review templates written by qualified professionals.
The platform’s dashboard gives HR professionals and business owners a clear overview of the performance cycle in a single view. It lets you check on review status and find roadblocks. You can even create automatic notifications to encourage employees to complete reviews.
Other features include:
A managerial dashboard to track progress across the whole team
Employee perks and benefits that let you reward great performance
Employee onboarding workflows that reduce manual work every time you hire
What users are saying:
“We just went through our first formal review process with the team and the in-built tools were super helpful for ensuring everyone went through the same process and most importantly that we completed it in a set amount of time.” – G2 user
Who CharlieHR is best for: small business teams that want a simple-to-use HR and performance management platform without a lot of complexity or a high price tag.
2. BambooHR: best all-in-one HR platform
BambooHR is a comprehensive HR tool suite for small and medium-sized businesses seeking a single platform for complete talent management.
In BambooHR, you can manage recruiting, onboarding, time off, payroll, benefits and performance management from a single interface.
It centralizes all your HR data, including employee records, documents and performance reports, eliminating the need to manage information across multiple spreadsheets, folders or platforms. It streamlines and standardizes processes, while keeping important employee information secure.
The software tracks employee performance through goal setting, peer feedback surveys, self-assessments and performance reports, giving managers a multi-dimensional view of performance.
Other features include:
A powerful applicant tracking system that streamlines the process of hiring new employees
Compensation benchmarking data that lets you compare remuneration packages
A feature-packed mobile app that lets you track HR data on the move
What users are saying:
“It [has a] clean, easy to use interface as well as prompt reminders for requests. The performance review function is also intuitive and simple, allowing for feedback to be easily captured instead of having multiple options and ranking, which often do not capture the essence of feedback.” – G2 user
Who BambooHR is best for: fast-growing businesses that want a single place to manage all things people, not just performance.
3. PerformYard: best dedicated tool
PerformYard is a purpose-built performance review software that focuses entirely on feedback, goal tracking and employee engagement.
For SMBs that already handle HR functions via other methods, PerformYard is a flexible and comprehensive performance management solution.
PerformYard automates the entire review cycle, from sending forms and reminders to analyzing feedback, compiling reports and identifying competencies.
The platform’s AI tool saves even more time by reviewing responses for tone and clarity, generating summaries of employee reviews and suggesting areas for improvement.
Other features include:
Centralized performance dashboard that consolidates all feedback into one place
Detailed reporting that identifies top performers and spots patterns across review cycles
Employee recognition features that display feedback publicly in the platform, so teams can celebrate achievements
What users are saying:
“PerformYard makes creating review cycles incredibly easy. It takes me about 10 minutes to set up an entire quarterly cycle for 40 people and it saves me a lot of time overall.” – G2 user
Who PerformYard is best for: small businesses seeking a dedicated, purpose-built performance management tool without superfluous features.
4. Peoplebox.ai: best AI-powered solution
Peoplebox.ai is an AI-powered HRIS and performance management system that helps teams automate the feedback and review process.
Peoplebox.ai offers OKR tracking, performance appraisals, one-on-one meetings, engagement surveys and KPI management in a single dashboard. That’s everything small businesses need to start running standardized reviews.
The platform uses AI to surface performance trends, identify disengagement risk and enable data-driven decisions around talent. It means small businesses don’t need a dedicated HR analyst.
Other features include:
Structured 1:1 templates, suggested talking points based on goal progress and action item tracking
A Slack integration that lets team members complete performance reviews and engagement surveys within the messaging app
AI interview and resume screening software for when you’re ready to expand your SMB
What users are saying:
“Peoplebox makes performance tracking and goal-setting effortless with its intuitive interface and structured workflow. I love how it streamlines quarterly reviews, goal alignment and progress tracking, making it easy to stay on top of key objectives.” – G2 user
Who Peoplebox.ai is best for: teams that want help creating performance reviews and analyzing feedback.
5. Deel HR: best for creating review cycles
Deel HR is a global payroll and HR compliance platform with a dedicated performance evaluation module called Deel Engage.
Deel Engage makes it easy to create and sustain regular review cycles. It supports annual, quarterly and 360-degree reviews with a drag-and-drop form builder, goal tracking, progress visibility and automated reminders to keep your team on track.
The availability of employee compensation and contract information alongside performance data makes salary reviews and hiring decisions easier and faster, eliminating the need to refer to multiple platforms.
Other features include:
Structured career development plans to motivate employees
Standardized one-on-one meetings with a shared agenda and structured notes
In-depth reporting that surfaces actionable insights by connecting performance, engagement and growth signals into one view
What users are saying:
“What I like best about Deel HR is how it brings global HR, payroll and compliance into one clean platform. All-in-one workflow: onboarding, contracts, time off, documents and payroll in the same place.” – G2 user
Who Deel HR is best for: teams looking to build review processes once and run them automatically in the background.
What to consider when choosing small business performance management software
If you’re investing in a dedicated employee performance platform, here are six features to look for:
1. Goal setting and tracking | Look for a platform that lets you collaboratively set and track clear goals with employees. Features should include OKR frameworks, milestone tracking and regular progress check-ins. The best tools connect individual goals to organizational goals, so employees understand how they contribute to the company’s success. |
2. Feedback collection | Choose a tool that enables 360-degree feedback collection from managers, peers and self-assessments with minimal effort. Ideally, the platform should automate the process through emails or web forms sent to staff at pre-defined intervals or after milestone events, such as a promotion. |
3. Workflow automation | Select software that automates the administrative work of running performance review processes so small HR teams can focus on high-value work. Tasks to automate include distributing review forms, sending reminders to participants, tracking completion status and compiling results |
4. Integrations | Find tools that integrate with the tools you already use to eliminate manual data entry and keep employee records in sync. Example integrations include messaging platforms like Slack, engagement software like Pointagram and your CRM. |
5. Reporting | Opt for a platform with reporting and insight functionality to make it easy to identify high performers and spot those who need additional support. Basic reporting tools like graphs are fine for small teams just getting started. More advanced dashboards and AI-powered analytics become important as your performance management program grows in size and complexity. |
6. Pricing | Identify platforms with a clear and transparent pricing structure that’s affordable now and in the future. All-in-one HR software can seem like an affordable way to bundle various employee tools into a single platform, but per-seat pricing can quickly become expensive as your team grows. |
Alternatively, you can use the features in your existing software to handle parts of the performance management process. It will save time, keep costs low and make it easier for staff to get started.
How Pipedrive helps: UK-based Integrated marketing agency CreativeRace uses Pipedrive to manage pipelines, forecast sales and track team member performance. The agency has seen a 42% increase in conversion rates and a 600% increase in client acquisition.
As sales director, Oliver Lee says:
“A lot of other CRM tools either aren’t user-friendly or are simply too expensive for the current position our team was in. Pipedrive is significantly better value than other CRMs, but still has an easy-to-use interface. It became apparent that it was a great fit for our team, at a cost we could afford.”
You’ll learn how to use your CRM as a performance management tool next.
How to use your CRM as performance management software
A customer relationship management (CRM) system can be a versatile alternative to dedicated performance management software.
Most let you track sales performance by default. Some, like Pipedrive, include additional features that extend performance tracking beyond the sales team.
Here’s how you can set up Pipedrive as a performance management software solution.
Measure sales performance with insights and reports
Pipedrive’s reporting and insights features give sales managers real-time feedback on individual and team sales performance.
You can check performance at a glance using the insights dashboard below.
Build custom reports that track the metrics that matter most to your team. Pipedrive’s AI report generator also lets you query your team’s performance data using natural language.
Once you’ve got an idea of team performance, use Pipedrive’s Goals feature to set individual or team targets based on activities or revenue. Reps can also use Pipedrive’s reporting features to see how they’re performing in real time without having to ask.
The result is a continuous cycle of action, feedback, review and goal refinement that keeps your sales team focused and on track.
Manage assets with custom pipelines
Pipedrive’s customizable pipelines offer a structured way to track the performance of assets, such as office equipment.
Build a custom sales pipeline that maps your asset’s lifecycle. Instead of deal-based stages, create pipeline stages that reflect the status of your equipment:
Procurement
Storage
Deployed
Maintenance
Retired
That would give you a pipeline that looks like this:
Use deal cards to represent individual assets or employees. Then use custom fields to record relevant information like serial number, purchase date and operating system.
If this information already lives in a spreadsheet, Pipedrive’s import feature saves time and reduces the risk of manual data entry errors.
For small businesses that don’t need dedicated asset inventory management software, Pipedrive offers a familiar and practical starting point.
Track customer service success with Pipedrive’s integrations
Pipedrive connects with customer service tools like Zendesk, Intercom and Aircall, so you can measure the performance of customer service agents within your CRM.
By linking support ticket data, call outcomes and customer satisfaction signals to contact records in Pipedrive, managers get a broader view of how team members are performing across customer interactions.
For example, the Zendesk integration lets you view support ticket requests in your CRM and create new activities or deals related to them.
Use Pipedrive’s activities feature to create tasks based on support tickets, then use the activities insights report to measure rep performance.
The activities performance report provides a detailed breakdown of what each rep has done every day, week or month, allowing managers to see who’s been most productive.
You can also use the performance report to set and track activity-related goals for your support team.
Alternatively, you can use Pipedrive as a helpdesk software by creating a pipeline for support tickets and the CRM’s built-in reporting tools to track employee activity.
Assess team performance with Projects by Pipedrive
Projects by Pipedrive is a Kanban-style project management tool that can act as your team’s project management software and measure employee activity.
For performance management, Projects gives managers visibility into who’s contributing to what and whether employees are completing key deliverables on time.
Here’s what the dashboard looks like:
It’s particularly useful for teams working on recurring internal projects.
Imagine a digital marketing agency that runs monthly SEO lead generation campaigns for clients. Projects by Pipedrive lets the agency owner ensure tasks like on-page optimization, content creation and link building are completed promptly by the relevant employee.
Each project’s detailed view lets them see what progress is being made, who is ticking off tasks and what’s causing bottlenecks.
When it comes to reviewing each employee, the project record provides concrete evidence for performance conversations.
Automate reviews with Web forms and workflow automation
Pipedrive’s Web Forms let you gather structured feedback from your entire team without needing separate survey management software.
You can build custom forms for each type of review (manager appraisal, peer feedback and self-assessment) using a mix of qualitative and quantitative questions.
Once your form is ready, publish it and share the link directly with employees or embed it in your company’s internal wiki or employee portal.
Every form submission automatically creates a new record in Pipedrive, centralizing all feedback in one location.
You can also automate the process using Pipedrive’s workflow automation features.
Use the drag-and-drop builder shown below to trigger review activity based on specific events, such as an employee’s work anniversary, a promotion or the start of a new fiscal year.
Doing so lets your review process run on a consistent cadence without anyone having to manually chase participants or send feedback request emails.
Final thoughts
Employee performance software gives small businesses a structured process that reduces the time you spend preparing reviews, setting goals and tracking performance.
Rather than add a new tool to your tech stack, extend your CRM to track the performance of your entire team – not just your sales reps.
Pipedrive’s all-in-one CRM lets you create custom pipelines to run review cycles and automate tasks like 360-degree feedback collection. Try it free for 14 days to see how it simplifies performance management without incurring the time costs of other “free” tools like spreadsheets and online forms.
