Choosing the best Performance Management Software

The Performance Management Software marketplace in the UK has become increasingly complex, and it can be hard to understand the differences between systems and whether these will translate into business benefits in reality. How do you judge whether marketing hype will turn into a good customer and user experience?

A decade of fluctuating HR priorities

Since Actus entered the UK performance management marketplace in 2012, user expectations around functionality and usability have changed. Much of this has been driven by our day-to-day experience using SMART phones (imagine going back to your 2012 device now!). Over the last decade HR priorities have oscillated between engagement, talent management and retention, diversity and inclusion and learning solutions. Most organisations are looking for a performance management system that can flexibly address all these needs over time. The key is understanding your initial priorities and selecting a solution that has the potential to evolve with you over time.

The impact of AI

This blog asks which is the best Performance Management Software for 2024 which means we can’t go further without considering the impact of cutting-edge technologies and AI (Artificial Intelligence) in particular. You only have to visit a few comparison sites or websites to see the term splashed on front pages – but how meaningful is it for you and should this play a part in your decision making?

Finally, how important is the human touch for you? As use of AI increases in the form of chatbots and self-service implementation, how important is it for you to be able to speak to an actual human being?

What does your business need culturally?

So, to understand what functionality in any system is a priority in 2024 and beyond it is helpful to start by thinking about our current and future business requirements. However, it is possibly more important to start by assessing the culture of your organisation and where you want it to go, with the help of any new system. If your business is high tech and fast moving, then performance management systems with gamification and jazzy interfaces are likely to be initially more attractive as long as you can maintain regular usage. On the other hand, if your culture is a little more traditional and you want to improve overall performance and talent management in a more measured way, it is important to look beyond the gimmicks to ensure that it can offer configurability, flexibility and support longer term performance management behaviours.

Think strategically about functionality

Most businesses make a software decision to address an immediate need and once that has been addressed a new one will arise next year and beyond. There are many benefits to working with a supplier who can provide additional functionality on the same platform to meet your requirements over the next 3-5 years. However, this can come with a caveat – many of the largest HRIS platforms have gone down this road by purchasing smaller businesses to build an overall software ecosystem. These solutions work OK for enterprise clients who can afford the high price tag and invest in customisation, but they can be cost prohibitive for small and medium sized businesses.

What’s best for medium and smaller businesses?

Medium sized businesses and growing smaller ones have similar needs to large enterprise but generally smaller wallets and faster changing HR priorities. This can result in chopping and changing between software systems or a disparate range of systems with overlap and no integrated reporting. The reporting wastes valuable HR time and switching systems wastes time and is costly.

Actus offers a complete performance, talent and learning platform

Actus has evolved over the past 12 years, starting with pure performance management and building out our own fully integrated talent, learning, compliance and feedback functionality. We also have API’s to link to payroll/HRIS systems. This means you can start with Actus as a software solution for your initial requirements with full confidence that this can evolve over time to address future strategic requirements with fully integrated add on modules and the same great customer service.

Why not take a quick look at the Actus system tour here:

3-Minute System Tour3

Why not book a free demo with one of our expert team who will walk you through the Actus software:

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