Best Performance Management Software in the UK

Modern performance management is evolving faster than ever. Before you mourn the loss of traditional performance reviews, think about how the once a year reviews, filled with formalities and box-ticking activities actually impacted your team. Not only do they no longer reflect how modern businesses work and how employees grow, but they also fail to drive real growth and progression.

It’s time for a revolution in how we measure and inspire performance. The best performance management software moves you from painful annual reviews to a culture of continuous feedback, goal alignment and genuine development.

We’ll cut through the noise to take a comprehensive look at which is the best performance management software.

Why employee performance software is important

Employee reviews and development are no longer about a yearly check-in. With hybrid, remote and flexible working, businesses now need to find ways to keep their team connected, engaged and aligned with business goals… regardless of where they’re working from.

The good news is that there are platforms that can help businesses do this. The best performance management software provides a central hub to track objectives, facilitate real-time feedback and understand employee development needs.

It gives you the insights to not just manage, but to coach and inspire your people. This is fundamental to boosting productivity, improving retention and building a culture where everyone can thrive. It starts with a clear understanding of how to measure employee performance in a modern way.

What is performance management software?

The best performance management software is a tool that helps you create a continuous cycle of development. It goes far beyond simple review forms.

Modern platforms are designed to manage goals, facilitate ongoing feedback from peers and managers, handle recognition and provide powerful analytics. It digitises and automates the entire process, from setting objectives to tracking progress and rewarding achievements, freeing up managers to focus on high-impact coaching conversations.

The best performance management software

1. Employment Hero

Employment Hero’s Employment OS (operating system) takes all of the traditional isolated elements of employment and puts them into one place. This means you can not only conduct employee reviews, but also find and hire top talent, onboard, manage complex payroll, support compliance and more.

It is designed to be an all-in-one solution for managing the entire employee lifecycle, making it a powerhouse for businesses that want to eliminate disconnected systems.

What sets Employment Hero apart

The key differentiator for Employment Hero is its unified approach. Performance management isn’t a standalone module; it’s woven into the fabric of your daily HR operations. Features like real-time feedback, goal tracking (OKRs) and recognition are linked directly to employee engagement analytics. This gives you a holistic view of your workforce, connecting performance data with sentiment and wellbeing insights. Its powerful automation and seamless integrations streamline everything from reviews to rolling out a performance improvement plan.

2. 15Five

15Five is built around the concept of frequent, lightweight check-ins. Its name comes from the idea that employees should spend 15 minutes a week writing a report that takes their manager five minutes to read. The platform is heavily focused on fostering positive manager-employee relationships through continuous communication.

What sets 15Five apart

15Five’s strength lies in its emphasis on positive psychology and manager training. The software includes features like a “High Five” peer recognition tool and strengths-based assessments. It’s not just a system for tracking performance; it’s a platform designed to facilitate better conversations and build a more engaged, positive workplace culture.

3. Lattice

Lattice is a comprehensive people platform that combines performance management with employee engagement and development tools. It is known for its clean user interface and its ability to connect performance data directly to compensation decisions.

What sets Lattice apart

Lattice excels at linking performance, engagement and growth. It allows you to run review cycles, engagement surveys and set up career development tracks all within one system. Its standout feature is the ability to integrate performance review data with compensation cycles, creating a transparent and data-driven process for pay decisions.

Features of top performance management software

When evaluating platforms, look for these game-changing features.

Continuous feedback mechanism

This allows employees and managers to give and receive feedback in the moment, rather than waiting months for a formal review. It makes recognition timely and constructive criticism actionable.

360-degree feedback

This feature gathers anonymous feedback from an employee’s peers, direct reports and managers. It provides a well-rounded view of an individual’s strengths and development areas, which is a core part of any modern performance review.

People analytics

Powerful reporting dashboards give you insight into performance trends, goal attainment and engagement levels across the business. This data is critical for making informed talent decisions.

Employee reward and recognition

Integrated tools for peer-to-peer recognition, like shouting out great work, help build a positive culture and make employees feel valued.

Setting SMART goals

The best software makes it easy to set, track and align individual, team and company goals. This ensures everyone is pulling in the same direction. Look for support for frameworks like Objectives and Key Results (OKRs).

Learning management system

Some platforms integrate learning and development modules, allowing you to assign training based on feedback and identified skill gaps.

Customisation, security and integration

A top platform should be customisable to your review process, offer robust data security and integrate with your other HR systems. You can find many of these features in our complete performance review bundle.

What is continuous performance management software?

Continuous performance management (CPM) is a modern approach that replaces the annual review with ongoing dialogue. CPM software facilitates this by enabling real-time feedback, regular check-ins and agile goal setting. It’s a dynamic process designed for today’s fast-paced work environment, especially for hybrid teams who need constant connection and alignment.

Core features of CPM software

Core features include one-on-one meeting agendas, goal  tracking and instant feedback channels. These tools are built for agility, helping teams adapt to changing priorities and providing managers with a constant pulse on team performance and morale. Using a mid-year performance check-in template is a great way to start adopting this mindset, even before you have the software.

Elevate your performance management with Employment Hero

The way we measure, manage and inspire performance has changed and so have the tools that make it possible. Annual reviews and outdated systems no longer cut it in a world where teams need to stay connected, motivated and aligned in real time. To truly unlock your people’s potential, you need the best performance management software on your side. Which is where Employment Hero comes in.

But our Employment OS is more than just the best performance management software, it’s an all-in-one platform that supports the entire employee lifecycle. Our platform empowers your business to grow smarter. From goal tracking and real-time feedback to hiring top talent, onboarding new employees, managing complex payroll, supporting compliance and more.

One system, everything employment.