6 Top Employee Assessment Software For Employee Reviews

By

Ben Goodey

Published on

April 29, 2024

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I asked our People Science experts to help me choose six of the best employee assessment softwares. Here are the results. For each, we'll show you what customers think, how they work, and their value for employee assessments.

Cumbersome excel documents, random Notion pages, and inconsistent processes are just a few of the plagues that come with manually assessing performance.

But understanding how your employees’ are performing shouldn’t be such an administrative nightmare.

Employee assessment software streamlines and improves the process for you, for your managers, and for your people.

But not every tool on the market effectively monitors, measures, and drives performance.

So we sat down, spoke to our People team, and did hours of our own research to come up with a list of the 6 top tools available for you.

Have a read, find the one that suits your employee performance needs best, and book a demo to be on your way to better performance enablement.

Jump Ahead:

Analysis: 3 Factors You Should Look For
Review: 6 Best Employee Assessment Software

Disclaimer: We’re kicking this list off with our own product, Mesh. I think we'll impress you, but I also want to make it clear that we’re not going to dump on our competitors. We can acknowledge their strengths and the situations where they’re a better fit than we are.

Employee Assessment Software: The Pivot to Continuous Performance Enablement

Employee assessment software, also known as performance review software, helps organizations evaluate, manage, and develop employee performance, capabilities, and potential.

It comes in two forms:

Software supporting traditional performance management methods, focusing on periodic evaluations typically conducted annually or bi-annually.
Software backing performance enablement through continuous, real-time assessments interlaced with more impactful periodic reviews.

In time, we expect the first type to become obsolete. That’s because more and more businesses are realizing the need for performance enablement where performance is assessed continuously.

Why? Because the world of work has evolved dramatically.

Today, demand for hot talent is far greater than supply, leading to an increase in talent cost.

This excess of demand has also shortened employee tenure, as more individuals change jobs frequently due to more opportunities from a tight labor market. In fact, in 2020 and 2022, the share of workers (ages 20 or older) with the shortest tenure levels increased. This newer generation of employees are demanding purpose, personalization, and flexibility.

Not to mention innovation cycles are getting shorter, with new technologies on the rise every day.

The old way of top-down, twice-a-year performance assessments no longer work.

Getting feedback once or twice a year is ineffectual at best and more likely than not, it damages employee retention and performance.

We know this because employees regularly report wanting more feedback at work:

"83% of employees really appreciate receiving feedback, regardless if it’s positive or negative."—Workleap, formerly Officevibe Survey

To be able to keep up with changes and retain your top performers, you need to pivot to continuous, real-time employee enablement.

When employees get continuous feedback, they’re able to continuously improve. And the whole point of assessing performance is to understand and improve it over time.

For this reason, our list of top employee assessment software will focus on tools that support a continuous assessment model.

3 Factors to Look for in Employee Assessment Software

We asked our People Science team what to look for in an employee assessment software that provides continuous, real-time feedback.

Gaurav Chaubey, our People Science Leader here at Mesh, recommends you look for these three factors:

Factor 1: Ensures unbiased performance reviews and feedback

Performance reviews and assessments should always be unbiased and only include relevant details. However, they usually aren’t.

A great employee assessment software or performance review software will help employees and managers fight unconscious bias in the review process.

That way you get a fair, transparent, and comprehensive evaluation environment, where decisions are based on merit and factual evidence.

Factor 2: Facilitates continuous, comprehensive feedback

Feedback needs to be continuous, otherwise it happens too little, too late to be transformative to employee performance and morale.

Your employee assessment and performance review software needs to make feedback part of your people’s day to day because feedback is the crux of improving and sustaining performance.

It should also ensure feedback is constructive when it needs to be but that praise is given regularly too.

Factor 3: Makes assessments actionable and development focused

Feedback without action is a waste. Your employee assessment software should help employees and managers connect the feedback they give and receive to development opportunities.

If your tool can pinpoint specific capabilities that need to be developed and encourage those delivering assessments to write feedback with specific skills in mind, your organization will be able to upskill in relevant areas.

The 6 Best Employee Assessment Software - Summary

In a nutshell, here are the 6 best employee assessment software platforms we'll review in-depth today:

Mesh - The Best Employee Assessment Software For Enabling Better Performance Company-wide
Peoplebox - A Great Employee Assessment Software For Streamlining Business Review Meetings
PerformYard - A Great Employee Assessment Software For Simple Employee Assessments
15Five - A Great Employee Assessment Software With Built-In Employee Coaching
BetterWorks - A Great Employee Assessment Software For Calibrating Performance Expectations
Reflektive - A Great Employee Assessment Software For Values Based Assessments

1. Mesh - Best Employee Assessment Software For Enabling Better Company-wide Performance

📌 Mesh is a performance enablement and employee assessment software where employee reviews and feedback are:

Continuous
Unbiased
Effective

The platform makes monitoring and measuring performance as easy as possible and equips teams to improve their performance off the back of reviews and feedback.

Incremental actions taken regularly add up to a big impact on performance. This is why the Mesh platform uses Nudge theory to drive employees and managers to take action when and how they need to if they want to perform and lead effectively.

With Mesh, you get the exact features you need to manage, measure, and drive performance:

Goal setting and alignment
Manager-employee check-ins (1:1s)
Performance tracking
Period reviews
Continuous employee feedback
Capability tracking
Engagement and employee sentiment surveys
Detailed analytics
AI co-pilot, Maven who coaches users on the right behaviors

Want to see them in action? Book a demo with a member of our team and get a tailored walk through of the product.

Because of these features, your people are able to:

Have continuous (and better) conversations with peers and managers about their performance and development.
Improve manager effectiveness—turn them into daily coaches, not "badly done period performance review" experts.
Target their development toward the capabilities that will make the biggest difference in their and the organization’s performance

Let’s look at how Mesh meets the three factors we outlined earlier.

→ Factor 1: How Mesh ensures performance reviews and feedback are unbiased

Performance reviews play a critical role in decisions regarding raises, promotions, and overall employee development.

To support that and accommodate your company's unique approach to review cadence and performance focuses, Mesh's performance review feature is highly customizable.

When the review period approaches, Mesh gives your employees comprehensive data from past check-ins, 1:1s, and feedback. This information serves as a foundation for an unbiased and thorough review, offering multiple perspectives on performance.

Teams that run reviews/feedback cycles on Mesh see a ~42% drop in grievance reports on the final feedback reports.

→ Factor 2: How Mesh facilitates continuous, comprehensive feedback

Continuous employee assessments, unsurprisingly, require your team to continuously give feedback. That feedback shouldn’t just be continuous, it should be timely and relevant. This goes for constructive criticism and praise.

Through the platform and thanks to integrations with Slack and Microsoft Teams, Mesh ‘nudges’ managers and colleagues to write feedback as and when they should. Employees can also request feedback from colleagues and managers whenever they want.

So if they’ve just wrapped a project and want to learn what went well or what they could improve on, they can head to the platform and put in a request with just a few clicks.

And when it comes time to write feedback, employees are coached by Maven (Mesh’s AI co-pilot) on what good looks like.

Maven will point out strengths and weaknesses in your feedback draft, and even give pointers on how to write it better.

See Maven in action here.

Teams that leverage praise and advice on Mesh see a ~138% boost in feedback inputs throughout the year over traditional periodic review/feedback cycles. Learn more about our Continuous Feedback Feature.

→ Factor 3: How Mesh helps make assessments actionable and development focused

And at the end of every performance review cycle, Mesh provides an automated summary of organizational performance, eliminating the need for cumbersome spreadsheets or lengthy meetings.

They also get regular updates on goals progress, capability tracking, and survey responses.

Armed with these insights, HR, managers, and the Exec team can make strategic decisions about the future of the company and its people. Whether they identify a hiring need, see they need to invest in a specific team’s development, or want to offer an end of year bonus to reward performance.

Employees gain access to a real-time dashboard of their strengths and areas for improvement against specific capabilities. They can use this to inform what skills they’ll develop next. They can then track the progress of those capabilities, and any goals they set.

Pros, Cons, and User Reviews

When reviewing what our uses have to say, a few pros and cons stand out:

Pros

Performance reviews that are effective thanks to our AI co-pilot Maven who coaches employees and managers on how to give great feedback
Improved 1:1 management where managers feel empowered and informed
Management of goals with the ability to set, measure, and stay on track.
Automation of performance analysis, saving managers and HR from clunky, time-consuming excel sheets

Cons

Unable to download documents and data from the platform
Lack of employee onboarding specific features
Employees who are collaborators for goals can edit targets

But don’t just take it from us, take it from real Mesh users:

Mesh Costs

Our pricing is designed to meet and scale to your organization’s employee assessment needs.

That’s why there’s more than one package to choose from: Base, Premium, and Enterprise.

Base: $4 per user, per month
Premium: $7 per user, per month
Enterprise: Custom pricing

You can see what features are included in each:

→ Want a tool where your employees' performance is assessed and developed continuously without bias? Get in touch with us for a demo of the product. ←

2. Peoplebox - Best Employee Assessment Software For Streamlining Business Review Meetings

🥜 In a nutshell 🥜

Peoplebox is a classic employee assessment software helping companies streamline performance management and get a gauge on how their people are performing at any given time.

💫 Where they shine 💫: Business review meetings

Business review meetings are a time when stakeholders from different departments get together to discuss performance, and that includes assessing employee progress and goals.

The issue is, these meetings are often unfocused and longer than they need to be. Peoplebox is an Employee Assessment Software that streamlines this meeting and facilitates strategic decision making following on from performance reviews and goal setting.

It helps teams surface the important information and structure meetings better so impactful decisions are easier to make.

Pros, Cons, and User Reviews

We looked through real user experiences and reviews to find out what it’s really like to be a Peoplebox customer. Here’s what we found:

Pros

They offer multiple features under one platform (goal setting, reviews, feedback, surveys, meeting support, etc.)
Great customer service
An easy to use platform that’s engaging and integrates well into existing systems like Slack and Microsoft Teams

Review from a Peoplebox user:

“The UI & customer service is great. We have just implemented peoplebox in our company and initially there were few hiccups but the Peoplebox team was always there to support and helped us resolve the issue.”

Cons

Users have reported glitches and errors
Some users wished there was better onboarding support and product tours available
Lack of customization and flexibility in the tool was reported several times

Review from a Peoplebox user:

“While the performance review cycle parts are easy to manage, the framing of questions is not very user friendly.nIt's not a definitive way to review a peer with just 'less of' or 'more of' questions. It'll be nice to have some guided and simpler questions too to make the review more whole.”

Peoplebox Costs

Peoplebox pricing starts at $7 per month, per person for its most basic package and goes up to $15 per month, per user for its full suite of features.

See the image below to understand it’s five tiered pricing model:

3. PerformYard - Best Employee Assessment Software For Simplified Performance Overviews

🥜 In a nutshell 🥜

PerformYard is an employee assessment software that specializes in streamlining performance management processes, offering tools for reviews, goal tracking, and feedback to enhance organizational efficiency and employee development.

💫 Where they shine 💫: Simplifying the assessment process

Sometimes the biggest barrier to effective employee assessments and performance reviews is that managers and employees think they’re complicated and time consuming.

PerformYard has really focused on making the process as simple as possible to increase the likelihood assessments actually happen.

While not as progressive as Mesh or some of the other tools on this list, for companies who aren’t ready to commit to performance enablement, PerformYard can be a good stepping stone in the right direction.

Pros, Cons, and User Reviews

We looked through real user experiences and reviews to find out what it’s really like to be a PerformYard customer. Here’s what we found:

Pros

Breathes new life into traditional performance management processes with modern tools for feedback
Encourages ongoing development and dialogue between manager and employee
Ensures that individual and team objectives are clearly defined

Review from a PerformYard user:

“It is an easy way for us to check in with our manager. It allowed for feedback in a positive and productive way.”

Cons

While PerformYard offers flexibility, setting up and customizing the system to fit specific organizational needs can be complex and time-consuming
Focus on traditional performance management, even with modern enhancements, might still prioritize structure over the more nuanced aspects of employee performance and development
Users expressed a desire for more customization around 360 review due dates and reporting

Review from a PerformYard user:

“We wish we could customize the due dates of 360 peer feedback. We would also like to see more customizable reporting for current review cycles (include identifiers like business unit and department).”

PerformYard Costs

You can access PerformYard for $5-10 per person/month. You also have the option to ‘add on’ their engagement features for an extra $1-3 per person/month.

4. 15Five - Best Employee Assessment Software With Built-In Employee Coaching

🥜 In a nutshell 🥜

15Five is a performance management software that provides continuous feedback, OKR tracking, and employee engagement tools to help organizations improve communication and align individual and company goals.

💫 Where they shine 💫: Coaching managers

15Five has a unique built-in manager coaching and training feature. When you consider the impact managers have on employee performance and fair performance assessments, it’s no wonder they spent time developing this part of their product.

Managers on 15Five can connect with coaches, follow curated learning pathways, and take part in bite-size training modules.

For teams who want to equip their managers with more resources in addition to getting performance review software, 15Five is a solid option.

Pros, Cons, and User Reviews

We looked through real user experiences and reviews to find out what it’s really like to be a 15Five customer. Here’s what we found:

Pros

Combines goal tracking with feedback, allowing for real-time progress assessments and adjustments
Offers extensive resources and training for managers and employees to enhance their coaching and feedback skills
Customizable check-in questions, enabling organizations to tailor conversations and feedback

Review from a 15Five user:

“It's scalable and has some great features that aren't locked behind a higher tier/out of reach of small companies.”

Cons

Some users find the full range of features overwhelming at first
Can be difficult to get in touch with support
Clunky UX that makes it difficult to use

Review from a 15Five user:

“Sometimes the UX feels a bit clunky, and it can be slow to load on occasion. I feel the OKR tracking mechanism could improve, as sometimes it feels complicated to submit them, edit them, and set them up.”

15Five Costs

15Five’s pricing starts at $4 per user/per month and is billed annually.

It comes in three tiers:

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

5. BetterWorks - Best Employee Assessment Software For Calibrating Performance

Expectations

🥜 In a nutshell 🥜

Betterworks is a continuous performance management software that facilitates goal setting, feedback, and performance conversations, designed to help organizations align and motivate their workforce towards achieving key objectives.

💫 Where they shine 💫: Calibrating performance expectations

Performance calibration is when you define the expectations and standards of roles in your organization. It’s critical if you want your people to understand what they’re working toward and is generally the foundation for meeting, if not exceeding, expectations.

BetterWorks sets you up for success by having a feature where performance calibration can be done by letting you customize your performance calibration standards in the platform.

BetterWorks Pros, Cons, and User Reviews

We looked through real user experiences and reviews to find out what it’s really like to be a BetterWorks customer. Here’s what we found:

Pros

Several users enjoyed the e-learning videos available in the platform upskilling them on OKR setting
Great for tracking project progress as a team and an individual
Solid, easy to use interface for users

Review from a BetterWorks user:

User interface is really friendly. Everything is where you'd expect it.

It's very easy and intuitive to add new goals, modify existing ones, or updating progress.‍

Cons

Some users found the integration features lacking in functionality and scope (didn’t integrate with enough of the tools they want it to)
Great for tracking project progress as a team and an individual
Some users reported the lack of alerts and notifications impacted how often they would check in on their performance and goals

Review from a BetterWorks user:

I feel like Betterworks can improve its integration capabilities with third-party solutions. Betterworks offers an out of box solution for integration but is limited to being able to receive/send employee information between systems. We were looking for a tool to send OKR information to our Performance Platform but unfortunately it could not be done.

BetterWorks Costs

BetterWorks does not publicly share its pricing model. We’ll update this article with that information should they share it in the future.

6. Reflektive - Best Employee Assessment Software For Values Based Assessments

🥜 In a nutshell 🥜

Reflektive is a performance management platform that offers real-time feedback, goal management, and performance reviews to help businesses build a culture of continuous development and engagement among employees.

💫 Where they shine 💫:

Companies don’t set values for fun, they set them because they want their employees to live by them. Reflektive makes this reality more likely by facilitating feedback in their platform that links directly to the values the company has set.

This way employees can connect their behaviors directly to the desired values, learn where they’re falling short, and work toward becoming a more balanced employee.

It can be difficult to measure cultural behaviors in performance but Reflektive makes it that much easier.

Reflektive Pros, Cons, and User Reviews

We looked through real user experiences and reviews to find out what it’s really like to be a Reflektive customer. Here’s what we found:

Pros

Contributions are recognized in alignment with organizational values, enhancing motivation and engagement
Makes it simple for employees to receive acknowledgment alongside constructive feedback
Users find Reflektive's platform intuitive and easy to navigate

Review from a Reflektive user:

“Using Reflektive to thank a coworker is so much better than just sending them an email because they get recognized by the whole company and can also cash in their points for rewards! This tool empowers every employee to recognize the people that have done stellar work!”

Cons

Some features have a steep learning curve, requiring additional training
Certain users report difficulties in integrating Reflektive with existing HR systems
Pricing can be a hurdle for smaller organizations or those with limited budgets

Review from a Reflektive user:

“I do not like how buttons and actions are hidden. I think these should be in plain sight. I would also like to be able to choose full teams/departments and not have to enter individual names when working through adding folks for quarterly reviews.”