Last Reviewed: November 27th, 2024

Best Employee Goal Setting Software Of 2024

What is Employee Goal Setting Software ?

Employee Goal Setting Software streamlines the process of setting, tracking, and achieving goals for individual employees and teams. This tool addresses the challenge of disjunction and lack of clarity in goal-setting. By facilitating a clear, operational pathway towards objectives, it optimizes productivity and enhances employee engagement. Its central functions include aligning individual tasks with organizational goals, tracking progress, and providing feedback on achievements. Emerging features lean towards AI-driven goal recommendations, fostering an adaptive work culture. This software benefits all businesses, but particularly larger ones with more complex organizational structures. It's less effective in very small companies where manual goal setting may suffice. The key takeaway is that this software turns tactic setting into a more efficient, interconnected, and measurable process, ultimately driving performance and growth. However, like any tool, it requires commitment from both management and staff to truly maximize its potential.

What Are The Key Benefits of Employee Goal Setting Software ?

  • Enhanced employee productivity
  • Improved goal visibility
  • Increased staff engagement
  • Clearer goal alignment
  • Better performance tracking
  • Effective feedback mechanism
  • Supports personal development
  • Facilitates strategic planning
  • Promotes accountability culture
  • Encourages cross-team collaboration
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Overall

Based on the latest available data collected by SelectHub for 120 solutions, we determined the following solutions are the best Employee Goal Setting Software overall:

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Why We Picked talentReef

Talentreef provides user-friendly recruiting and talent management capabilities aimed at organizations in the service industry that have an hourly workforce. One con unanimously indicated by users is that it lags and crashes while performing multiple actions, including on the app. However, the app generally enables great mobility, as users can access all features and tools whenever needed. In addition, customer support is quick and effective according to the majority of users. In summary, the system is a good option for companies needing to recruit and manage a wide pool of talent.

Pros & Cons

  • Customer Support: More than 70% of reviews on support indicate that prompt and effective customer support is provided whenever required.
  • Easy to Use: All features and tools are intuitive, self-explanatory and easy to use, as reflected by 100% of reviews on ease of usage.
  • Mobility: The ability for employers and employees to access the platform at all times using its functional mobile app, is a strength according to all reviews on this aspect.
  • Lags: All users mentioning this feature indicate that the software, especially the mobile app, lags and crashes sometimes while performing multiple functions at once.

Key Features

  • Text-to-Apply: Supervise mobile-driven candidates, make applying easier and staying up to date on the latest recruiting trends. 
  • KPI-Driven Reporting Engine: Provides best-practice reports such as time-to-fill, recruitment source analysis, hiring and scoring decisions correlation, and applicant flow differentiation. Choose from included options or build a customized report to suit data visibility and analysis requirements. 
  • Integrated Employee Assessments: Save time and effort utilized in manual candidate screening and assessment by scoring them based on attitude and behavioral traits, along with industry, company culture and position. 
  • Configurable Hiring Workflows: Drive improved efficiency with the assistance of configurable workflows that meet organizational needs and effectively support hiring procedures. 
  • Real-Time Employee Engagement: Track employee performance and lifecycles by identifying maximum potential and conducting performance evaluations. Grants improved visibility that helps effectively manage employee promotion, compensation, approvals, transfers and terminations. 
  • Program Health Insights: Improves visibility into talent management. Hiring managers can gain insights into comprehensive program health, segregated based on employee position, place, market or nation. 
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Why We Picked Workday Talent Management

Workday is a talent management, HCM and workday management app. Reviewers loved the friendly customer service and felt the PTO feature worked well when it came to leave management. Reviewers also felt they got good value for their money in the majority of reviews that talked about price. Integrations were praised as being functional. That included the API, compliance service and third-party apps in general. Last, users especially like the recruiting tools that helped with acclimating new hires, candidate selection and gave insight into the organizational structure.
Reviewers had the biggest issues with its ease of use. While there was a significant minority who felt that it worked just fine, others struggled with the design and navigation. Several said it was, “clunky.” In particular, users had issues with the way it handled permissions and access. They described it as a difficult process to see all the information they needed. The other big issue was the learning curve. Many described it as over-complicated and said it updated too frequently. They felt it was difficult to learn.
Workday is a good option for medium to large enterprises. It may be too complicated and expensive for small business owners. It’s especially helpful in recruiting and employee data management for companies that need greater functionality.

Pros & Cons

  • Customer Service: Over 90% of users who mentioned the support said the customer service was friendly, efficient and exceedingly helpful.
  • Good Functionality: Users were happy with the features in over 90% of reviews that mentioned them.
  • PTO/Leave Management: More than 90% of all users who discussed the leave management aspect were pleased with the feature.
  • Price: Reviewers felt that it was appropriately priced in over 80% of the reviews that mentioned it.
  • Integration: Over 80% of users who discussed integration felt it had excellent interoperability.
  • Recruiting: Users who discussed the recruiting features were satisfied in over 70% of reviews that covered it.
  • Difficult Learning Curve: Just under 90% of all users who mentioned the implementation process said that it took too long to learn and they wanted more training.
  • Not Intuitive: More than 50% of users who discussed the useability said it was hard to navigate and has confusing design elements.

Key Features

  • Talent Management and Skill Development: Grants a greater understanding of skill gaps and development to aid in recruiting and staffing. Helps elucidate and aid in talent management with calibration, candidate profiles, continuous feedback, embedded reporting, goal management, professional developments, reviews, surveys, and more. In addition to examining external candidates, it provides a breakdown in competencies to understand how to best utilize current staff.
  • Recruiting and Talent Acquisition: Manages the employee life cycle from start to finish. It has tools for job creation, recruiting and onboarding to guide employees through the entire process. The platform provides communication for the hiring team, high-volume efficiency, proactive talent sourcing, management for interviews, security and compliance and a space where users can see job openings and applicants. Furthermore, it builds a staffing pipeline and automates workflow to make the process much easier. A recruiting hub allows people to see candidates, assessment, tasks and referral candidates. Overall, it helps create an efficient hiring process for the whole company.
  • Integrations: Integrates with Google, Microsoft Teams, Outlook and Slack.
  • Professional Development: Provides professional reviews and development. Managers can make decisions based on skill sets. Employees can ensure their personal goals are aligned with broader company objectives. Some of its elements include career planning, goal management, internal mobility, performance enhancement and visibility with talent.
  • Customization: Comes with multiple personalization options for teams that have special needs or a more complex workflow.
  • E-Learning: Learners get access to rich, interactive content to help with competency development and engagement within the flow of a day’s work. Content is curated for individuals and personalized for better engagement. It’s within the program, so users don’t have to navigate a complicated system to access it. Leaders can create learning campaigns to fill skill-gaps and encourage career development and see how it impacts training. It also lets users create course catalogs and learning plans, store content and stream content.
  • Assessments: Hosts interactive video with multiple-choice questions and text answers to users so they can remember what they’re learning. It comes with accessibility elements by transcribing videos, in-video search and more.
  • Diversity: Enables policies to ensure equity across demographics and aims to make everyone feel welcome in the workplace. It measures hiring and promotions and assigns scores on an index so leadership can have a frank analysis of how diversity plays into the organization and where they can improve. Users can also create opportunities to increase equity, develop a more varied background of leaders, put plans into action, measure the effectiveness, remove bias from hiring and create a company culture that appreciates the unique strengths of people from all walks of life.
  • Reporting and Analytics: Centralizes all data including benchmarks, budgets, finance and workforce calculations, planning data, legacy app analysis, third-party app information, plans and more. Teams can examine and pull reports with the Discovery Boards feature and use augmented analytics to get at answering the tough questions. The platform helps with this analysis with features such as graph processing, machine learning and pattern detection.
  • Other Services: In addition to talent management, the solution also offers accounting, auditing, automation for professional services, cash and asset management, enterprise planning, enterprise planning, spending management, payroll, product extensions and workforce management.
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Why We Picked Infor Talent Management

Infor Talent Management is part of a wide company that makes a range of programs. Users responded well to the comprehensive customer service, affordable price points and the easy to use interface. A majority of reviewers that discussed recommendations said they would recommend it and they felt the features worked well. By far the most popular was the talent science that provides data based on behavior and performance. Users said it aided them in recruiting by building a workforce better suited to the company. Other reviewers said it helped with performance and diversity.
On the other side, many reviewers said they ran into some miscommunications during the process with the company. Though most ultimately had a good impression of the support services. Last, reviewers felt that while the assessments were condensed well, the length was worrying. They expressed concerns that possible hires would jump off during the application process.
Infor Talent Management is a good choice for organizations with complex recruiting needs who are looking to improve their performance and hiring practices. It appears to work best for medium-sized and large enterprise companies. The platform may be too complicated for small businesses.

Pros & Cons

  • Excellent Customer Service: Over 90% of reviewers who discussed customer support said they were helpful, solved issues quickly and provided valuable insight.
  • Affordable: Users felt the price was appropriate in over 90% of comments that discussed it.
  • Talent Science: Over 80% of reviewers who discussed the talent science features felt the data helped build and manage staff better.
  • Recommended: In comments that discussed recommendations, over 80% of users said they would recommend the platform.
  • Ease of Use: Over 70% of reviews that touched on the useability found the solution easy to navigate and use.
  • Good Functionality: Users who discussed features felt the software’s tools were adequate over 50% of the time.
  • Poor Communication: While users generally appreciate the customer service, over 60% who talked about it said they ran into some communication issues.
  • Assessment Length: Reviewers said assessments took too long in over 60% of relevant comments.

Key Features

  • Employee Lifecycle: Discovers the right talent, increases engagement and manages the employee lifecycle more effectively.
    • Acquisition: Helps administrators source, engage, screen, interview and hire candidates. It makes the process more effective and creates a standardized workflow to ensure equity and consistency in the process. Administrators also have a better insight into the skills of a candidate to cut down on costly turnover. Coordinate between recruiters, managers and interviewers with a personalized guide making the process run more smoothly. Integrate with an ATS or other system.
    • Onboarding: Once hiring is complete, the solution facilitates effective onboarding and allows users to track their performance. It provides them tasks to complete and makes for better communication with managers.
    • Succession Management: Identify and prepare the next generation of leaders from the current workers. Aids employees so they can develop along their desired career path while ensuring an organization is prepared in case of a sudden departure from the leadership team. Establish a pipeline of workers with the right skills to plan for company shakeups, shifting interests or changing priorities. This reduces turnover costs.
  • Talent Science: Predictive analytics create a technological framework to find the best candidates through the analysis of performance and behavioral data. Through assessments, it gathers the necessary info for better matches. This ensures a potential hire is right for their role. It facilitates career pathing, diversity, inclusion and productivity.
  • Compensation Management: Analyzes and suggests appropriate payment levels for potential and current staff members to ensure fair compensation and good performance. It calculates and automates payment and awards.
  • Team Development: Assessments and team communication tools enable collaboration between members. Teams can see their strengths and weaknesses and address issues where necessary. The Behavioral DNA identifies behavioral characteristics within a team, helps leaders develop strategies for better dynamics and users integrate more established and brand new groups. It can also analyze the alignment with higher business goals.
  • Performance Management: Monitors performance and analyzes strengths and weaknesses through assessments and feedback reports. Opens a line of communication between workers and management to set expectations.
    • Assessments: Offers surveys so staff can critically engage with their role and to find and solve challenges and appreciate successes. It tracks performance, delivers pulse surveys, analyzes worker behavior and more.
    • Goal Management: Aligns goals and expectations of the company with that of the employee so they can focus on the most important metrics, spark personal growth and improve.
  • Diversity and Inclusion: Uses science to combat hiring biases, create more diverse teams and encourage talent in areas where it may not be immediately apparent. In addition to necessary reporting, it gives leadership actionable insights to improve situations. Leads to greater self-awareness surrounding staffing practices.
  • Learning Management: Provides a platform for company learning. Instructors can create and deliver learning content. In addition to increasing training effectiveness, it can transfer institutional knowledge and aid workers in developing necessary skills. Assessments let workers gauge their success and retain the information better.
  • Other Capabilities: In addition to talent management, this suite has HR, workforce management, time and attendance, scheduling, planning for labor, benefits management and more.
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Why We Picked SuccessFactors

SuccessFactors provides full integration with all HR modules and can connect to other SAP solutions, such as finance to materials. With extensive customization, integration and analytics, it can be of great use for planning, developing and implementing HR strategies.

According to our analysts, SAP SuccessFactors scores a 79, leading in applicant tracking and recruiting, document management, and succession management.

It includes AI-assisted screening, LinkedIn applicant prospecting, automated tax documents, succession planning, offline course access and employee lifecycle tracking, helping HR cover core tasks today and plan for the future.

It’s gotten praise for its strong support team, which is responsive and customer-focused, although users sometimes experience delays in resolving issues. The platform excels as a comprehensive HR solution, integrating various functions into a single system that streamlines processes and reduces costs.

While there's a learning curve for most, the majority found it worth the work to centralize all things HR, especially with its AI capabilities. Recent updates have improved the UI design, though some users indicate growing pains with release-related glitches and complex integrations.

SAP SuccessFactors pricing starts at $10 per user per month with a free trial.

SuccessFactors makes recruitment easier with tools for job postings, tracking candidates, evaluating resumes and managing interviews. Its AI-assisted screening matches candidates to job requirements more efficiently.

The onboarding module speeds up the process for new hires by automating paperwork, setting up training and ensuring a smoother transition into the company. Overall, SuccessFactors helps identify and nurture internal talent for future leadership roles, creating a smooth succession plan and minimizing the impact of turnover.

Pros & Cons

  • Support Quality: The support team is highly regarded for its responsiveness and customer service. It’s praised for being helpful and treating customers well, although there can be occasional wait times for resolution.
  • One-Stop-Shop for HR: Most users appreciate the system's ability to integrate various HR functions into a single platform, which can streamline processes and reduce the total cost of ownership (TCO).
  • Goal Setting Flexibility: The learning module is seen as robust and flexible, making it easy to set and manage goals. Users can select from a library of goals or add their own, which facilitates effective goal setting and tracking.
  • Recruitment Management: According to most users, the recruitment module eases the entire process, including job postings, candidate selection, resume evaluation, interview scheduling and offer management. The applicant tracking and AI-assisted screening features were noted for improving time to hire.
  • Getting Started: Many find SAP SuccessFactors complex, especially for new users. The system is described as intricate and sophisticated, leading to a steep initial learning curve.
  • Reporting Woes: Users find the reporting options pretty restricted, with not much room to customize dashboards and reports. This lack of flexibility makes it tough to tailor reports to fit specific needs.
  • User Experience and Interface: The user interface (UI) has received mixed feedback. Some users feel it's outdated and clunky, with hiccups like confusing time-off calculations and cumbersome goal-setting processes.
  • Updates: While the support team is effective at troubleshooting integration issues, some users have experienced release-related breakdowns. On the flip side, other users noted recent updates have improved the UI, making it easier to navigate with new icons and better drill-downs.

Key Features

  • Joule: Use a virtual assistant to guide employees through the feedback process with easy-to-follow steps and prompts. Joule lets employees update their info right away (like location and working hours) without bouncing around multiple screens. It also streamlines promotion requests by guiding managers through the process and setting effective dates.
  • Automatic Tax Document Generation: Generate essential tax documents automatically, reducing administrative workload and ensuring compliance with tax regulations.
  • Payroll: Simplify payroll with automated pay calculations while ensuring compliance with both local and international rules to function globally. Plus, the self-service option lets employees easily access their information.
  • Time and Attendance Management: Automate time-consuming tasks like calculating hours worked and managing absences to make scheduling more efficient.
  • Recruiting and Onboarding: Create profiles, apply for jobs and track applications through a career portal. Employees can share openings and earn rewards for referrals. Recruiters can manage interviews based on candidate availability and location and provide a personalized onboarding experience.
  • Learning and Development: Use the earning management system (LMS) for all your learning needs, from succession planning to career development. It handles assessments, offline courses, training schedules, and tracking employee progress and course completion.
  • Performance and Compensation: Track employee performance to find top talent while providing feedback to help your team set and achieve goals. Reward employees with compensation programs and keep your numbers in line with budget modeling.
  • Workforce Planning: Modeling and analysis features provide insight into financials and scenario-based outcomes. Allocate resources effectively with budget planning, anticipate staffing requirements with workforce forecasting and reduce schedule conflicts with alerts.
  • Personalized Recommendations: The benefits plan recommendation tool offers a personalized ranking of benefits plans, providing employees with tailored recommendations to better meet their specific needs.
  • HR Analytics: Understand your company's data with insights on performance, turnover, diversity and more. Benchmark against peers and analyze HR data in detail. Use dashboards and reports to identify issues and spot trends.
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Why We Picked IBM Watson Talent

IBM Watson Talent is a talent management software with tools for recruiting, skill assessment and professional development. Reviewers were pleased with the solution’s features, especially regarding data management and integrating with other tech through APIs. Commenters said it helped evaluate potential hires, especially when it came to the Kenexa skill assessments. However, some wanted more customization options in the surveys. Users said the solution was ultimately easy to use, although many said it was challenging to learn at first. The interface made up the bulk of issues, with its look and feel described as “dated.” Many also felt they had to click through too many options and pop-ups. This processing issue was an annoyance to many. IBM Watson Talent is a good talent management solution for medium enterprise organizations.

Pros & Cons

  • Proper Functionality: Over 90% who discussed the features felt the product worked well.
  • Easy to Use: Reviewers said it had good ease of use in more than 80% of comments that discussed this topic.
  • Recruiting Tools: Over 80% of users that talked about the recruiting functions felt they worked well.
  • Friendly Customer Service: According to just under 80% of reviewers that discussed customer service, support was helpful and friendly.
  • Skills Assessments: Over 60% of users who talked about the skills assessments were happy with how they helped evaluate candidates.
  • Affordable: Reviewers who discussed pricing expressed satisfaction in over 60% of comments.
  • Dated Interface: More than 90% of users who mentioned the interface’s look said it was dated.
  • Navigation Problems: Users who discussed navigation said there were too many pop-up windows and clicks in over 80% of comments.
  • Implementation Issues: Over 80% of reviewers who talked about implementation said there was a steep learning curve.

Key Features

  • Recruiting: Identify, contact and prioritize qualified potential hires with a built-in AI to make the process more accurate and efficient.
    • Prioritize Jobs: Receive urgent staffing requests and ensure they’re given high priority and completed expediently.
    • Candidate Scores: Analyze comparative values between individuals to compare them with comprehensive, unbiased data. Make decisions more quickly.
    • Candidate Ranking: Show a list of possible hires organized by potential best fits for the company.
    • Actionable Insights: See how candidates perceive the company and guide conversations in ways that ensure qualified candidates are engaged and don’t lose interest.
  • Workforce Planning: Create a workforce strategy that combines better employee engagement, streamlined digital operations and lower costs for an optimized workflow. Recognize opportunities for improvement, fill in skill and capability gaps and operate with a flexible plan. Manage the workforce and office space while ensuring compliance with industry and safety rules. Use AI and intelligent workflows to execute plans efficiently.
  • HR Functions: Retain workers with an HR department driven by data and agile. Improve the retention rate using AI to ensure a positive employee experience. Use automation and chat bots for better productivity.
  • AI: Use AI bots to answer simple HR questions, allowing the department to tackle more in-depth company culture and learning challenges. Use analytics to predict future needs and plan future workflows.
  • Back to Office Procedures: Plan for returning to the office as the COVID vaccine takes effect. Create a re-entry plan that addresses the needs of privacy, staff concerns, tech challenges, data security and more.
  • Kenexa: Pick from a library of tests and send out skill assessments, engagement surveys, behavioral analyses, organizational effectiveness tests and more.
  • Analytics: Analyze insights from real-time data. Use social listening and peruse employee sentiment to faciliate better conversations with candidates and current employees alike.
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Why We Picked UKG Pro

UKG Pro is a cloud-based platform that’s designed to streamline global human capital management across all industries. It brings together key functions like payroll, benefits, recruiting, onboarding and learning management in one place.

Some standout features include an advanced scheduling tool that helps balance staffing levels and control labor costs. AI is a big player here, enhancing HR tasks with things like schedule optimization, retention forecasting, sentiment analysis and candidate matching.

From what I've seen through the demo, the mobile app lays everything out in a simple, direct way with menu options like time off, pay, HR help, benefits, goals, notes and learning. Under learning, there's a variety of helpful courses, including security awareness, conflict management and mindfulness training.

Completing requests seems quick and straightforward. Click HR Help and find requests to ask for a shift change, PTO or travel expense.

Manage assignments by viewing "To-Dos," including what's waiting for completion and what's crossed off your list already. Plan effectively with a headcount under metrics, showing who is on leave or on the clock in real time.

On the subject of planning ahead, UKG Pro scores a perfect 100 under succession management, with talent matrix, talent pool and talent insight functionalities.

Document management is also a top feature, earning 100 for its capabilities. It includes access controls, document search, automatic tax document generation and the creation of employee handbooks and policies.

Managing performance can be challenging, especially with a large team. It's important to ensure that everyone feels valued, but time constraints can make this difficult. UKG Pro’s talent dashboard helps by highlighting top performers and potential flight risks, making it easier for you to address issues and make necessary adjustments.

One thing I really liked was that there's a page for work-life balance with improvement ideas, including resisting multitasking, expanding team goals and introducing flexible work schedules. This helps employees feel valued, which ultimately fosters more productivity and job retention.

Additionally, I thought it was admirable there’s a "Giving" option on the platform for creating employee giving programs and tracking donations. This is a great source for team building, increasing engagement and building a more positive work environment.

Using the live chat, I selected customer support and then UKG Pro, which led me to FAQs. After hitting thumbs down to request a representative, I asked for an in-depth demo. The chatbot offered alternative solutions or the option to end the chat. When starting a new chat, the previous conversation was visible, but there was no option to start a new chat from scratch.

Pricing starts at $100 per user per month with a per-user model, and you can request a free trial.

Pros & Cons

  • Employee Data Management: Users commend UKG Pro for its robust employee data management capabilities.
  • Payroll Processing: Reviewers consistently highlight UKG Pro's payroll processing feature for its efficiency, accuracy and intuitive interface.
  • User Interface: Some users found the UI slightly outdated based on confusing design elements, unclear wording choices and inefficient grouping that collectively hinder intuitive navigation within the system.
  • Reporting: Some users describe UKG Pro’s reporting feature as ineffective and lacking user-friendliness.

Key Features

  • Payroll: Incorporate a scalable, configurable engine for accurate, streamlined pay processing. This feature also includes:
    • Role-based access to ensure data security.
    • Prebuilt tax compliance, automatic tax updates every quarter and GIS-powered search to ensure accurate taxes based on employee location.
    • End-of-year reporting tools, including a task checklist.
    • Pay modeling calculator, enabling employees to calculate information on their own.
    • Integration support for global payroll providers and TurboTax.
    • Dashboards showing alerts and metrics.
  • Benefits: Provide help videos and documentation to assist employees. Key components include plan recommendations and side-by-side comparisons, process automation, search filters, compliance reporting, transaction records, admin tools and connectors to hundreds of carriers.
  • Workforce Scheduling: Ensure effective shift planning and workforce management with advanced scheduling capabilities previously found in UKG Dimensions.
  • Workforce Planning and Optimization: Make strategic planning and resource allocation a breeze. UKG Pro now packs the workforce planning and optimization tools from UKG Dimensions.
  • Time and Attendance: Optimize timekeeping and absence management with UKG Pro's enhanced time tracking and attendance features, which are now integrated from UKG Dimensions.
  • Learning: Aid employee learning and development by providing:
    • On-demand, mobile access to training materials in multiple languages.
    • Gamification, rewards and social tools foster engagement.
    • Blended learning, a drag-and-drop interface for content creation and a course marketplace with more than 3,000 courses.
    • Channels for employees to capture and share knowledge with coworkers.
  • Recruiting: Make talent sourcing and acquisition for recruiting teams and candidates easier and more efficient.
    • Recruiters: Dashboards show candidate and opportunity status and AI scoring reveals applicants that are the best match. Multi-language, multiple job board postings and screening questions also included.
    • Candidates: Applicants can submit their LinkedIn profile, receive open position suggestions based on basic information and provide an in-depth picture of themselves by sharing details like motivators and behaviors.
  • Onboarding: Access a dashboard that has a timeline for tasks they need to complete, job-related videos and training material, and required forms, which they can fill out electronically. They can also create goals and connect with teammates.
  • InTouch DX: Give managers and employees flexible, real-time access for time and attendance processes. This timeclock device is designed for an hourly, mobile workforce.
    • Features include configuration options, real-time data, a touchscreen, native intelligence capabilities and multiple integrated readers.
    • Managers can track employee information, confirm transactions and ensure schedules are followed.
    • Employees can request PTO, view time cards and schedules, punch in and out, receive push notifications, and receive suggested actions based on upcoming tasks.
  • BI Reporting: Display real-time data in a clear, user-friendly format, empowering managers and executives to monitor and analyze KPIs. They offer both prebuilt and customizable reports. It provides insights for:
    • Human resource metrics like headcount based on local and global demographics.
    • Benefit plan costs and employee participation.
    • Financial information like overtime cost, pay equity and payroll totals.
    • ACA filing data, including risks, deadlines and eligibility.
    • Recruiting costs and sourcing data.
    • Employee performance, retention estimators and 9-box assessment.
    • Pay factors ranging from expenses and revenue to total compensation at the global level.
    • Survey data, including participation, engagement details, historical trends and metric performance based on industry benchmarks.
  • Compensation Management: Reward employees based on achievements through salary planning, customizable compensation plans, merit rules and analytics. It supports targets based on units, flat amounts or a percentage of base pay.
  • Performance Management: Drive employee engagement and growth while giving managers insight into individual and team performance. Features include tracking dashboards, automated reviews, goals, achievement ratings and real-time feedback.
  • Surveys: Gather employee sentiment using AI, natural language processing and machine learning. They offer a question library, templates, mobile-friendly design, custom dashboards and curated improvement suggestions.
  • File Management: Organize and manage employee documents with a central repository along with role and type-based permissions. Templates automatically fill in employee details, and a compliance assist feature ensures global adherence.
  • Succession Management: Develop a talent pipeline, ensuring your employees are prepared to take on new roles. There are plans for any level in the company, alongside talent evaluation, predictive analytics, reporting and personal development tools.
  • Integration Hub: Support developers in enhancing the system through integrations by offering:
    • A collaborative community, a developer portal and APIs.
    • Sample code and instructional articles to speed up deployment.
    • A marketplace of product and service partners.
  • UKG Talk: Facilitate engagement and inclusivity within your organization by supporting various communication methods like:
    • Company-wide announcements.
    • Direct messaging.
    • Team group chats.
    • Employee feedback and participation through celebrations, idea collection and achievement recognition.
    • Provide actionable insights by measuring communication impact and engagement metrics.
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Why We Picked Oracle Talent Management

Oracle is an overall talent management solution. Performance management was one of its most popular aspects. Users liked the overall management, professional development and skill set defining features. Its employee management, onboarding and talent management worked well aiding in optimizing the workforce. Recruiting was an especially well-liked tool with its ability to check candidate status, pull transcripts and engage in talent sourcing. Last, users were happy with its reporting elements as well.
As for reviewer dissatisfaction, the most disliked aspect was the price. It’s a comprehensive and expensive product. This included a lack of adequate skill-based search, poor navigation, problems that arose from internet connections, and an overall feeling of it being too complicated. Many users also experience bugs, glitches and a slow data management process. The initial learning curve was said to be steep, it was hard to navigate, and users disliked the UI and lack of expansive documentation.
Overall, this is a good tool for a medium-sized or enterprise company, especially one that’s looking for help recruiting talent and engaging in professional development. Though users should leave time for adapting to its somewhat complicated functionality. For smaller businesses or those with limited budgets, this is likely not the best solution.

Pros & Cons

  • Performance Management: Over 90% of users who discussed its performance management were pleased by the feature.
  • Talent Management: Users who discussed the talent management aspect of the platform felt it worked excellently over 90% of the time.
  • Employee Lifecycle: More than 80% of users who mentioned employee lifecycle management felt it worked incredibly well.
  • Onboarding: Users felt it was a big help with onboarding in over 80% of reviews that discussed it.
  • Recruiting: Over 80% of users who mentioned the recruiting aspects were satisfied.
  • Reporting: Users felt the analytics worked well in over 60% of reviews that discussed it.
  • Expensive: More than 90% of users who discussed price in their reviews felt the solution, especially the modules, was too expensive.
  • Performance Issues: Reviewers experience bugs, glitches and overall slow processing in over 90% that discussed it.
  • Scarce Documentation: Over 80% who mentioned documentation said it wasn’t comprehensive enough.
  • Hard to Use with Internet Issues: Users felt the worksheets need expanded functionality in more than 80% of reviews that discussed it.
  • Difficult to Use: Over 60% of users who talked about the ease of use felt the UI was poor and hard to use.
  • Steep Learning Curve: Reviewers who discussed the setup process felt it was initially difficult to learn in 60% of all cases.

Key Features

  • Recruiting: Registers results from candidates making screening much quicker and eliminating the step of account creation. It has a digital assistant to help them answer questions expediently. The tool integrates with a CRM to target candidates with customized messages and landing pages. An AI helps with the software with accelerated recommendations, data-driven offers and lets candidates do their own scheduling. Last, it can help with internal hires by recommending roles to employees within the company.
  • Onboarding: Onboards employees ensures a consistent experience within the HCM. It uses a digital assistant and steps that are easy to follow so users can get trained quickly from their preferred device. A personalized to-do list allows new hires to navigate the system easily and accomplish their goals from a centralized location. It also gives them access to any necessary resources.
  • Performance Management: Helps employees track and set their objectives that align with the broader goals of the organization. This helps every team strive toward something together. It breaks down the walls between employer and employee by enabling feedback with a request system. Users can offer up advice or comments at any point during the process. Employees are encouraged to constantly improve with check-ins, alerts and other tools that make mentoring and coaching much easier.
  • Compensation: The performance management helps managers evaluate and plan for the upcoming budget, raises and other important compensation decisions. Once the strategy and compensation plans are finalized, it makes it easy for the system to scale this process and create payment models, analyses and budgets. Ultimately, this leads to the successful administration of payment on a local and even global scale. Last, it creates a compensation plan so that everyone is on the same page.
  • Professional Development: Through career paths and development plans, employees can create goals and track their progress through an organization. This makes it easier for someone to understand their place and their path to better things. The system can deliver content employees might find interesting and connect mentors and mentees that are looking for opportunities to connect and collaborate.
  • E-Learning: This program includes e-learning features that deliver assignments, learning materials, initiatives, recommended content and more based on the data provided by the HCM. Integration with LinkedIn makes for a better eye on learner engagement in real-time. Subject matter experts can create top-notch content while administrators can look at skill and performance gaps and generate reports for actionable insights.
  • Succession Management: Nurtures future leaders and cuts down on turnover by identifying tomorrow’s management team. An inquisitive, visual dashboard guides discussions around leadership and helps users build a flexible talent pool, create succession plans and always keep an eye on metrics that could change everything.
  • Opportunity Marketplace: This program combines job posts, internal gigs and volunteering opportunities to show employees a complete realm of opportunities within a company. Some short-term positions can get workers cross-trained and learning new skills from a different perspective. Meanwhile, volunteering gives everyone a sense of purpose and renewed investment within a business.
  • LinkedIn Integration: Leverages recruiting, learner and profile data to review candidates from LinkedIn. All of this happens within the system, making it easy to connect with candidates without even leaving the system.
Start Price
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Why We Picked Gusto

Gusto is a well-reviewed payroll solution which many users enjoy for its good design and easy-to-use features. It’s UI and payroll processing abilities in particular make it a popular choice for automating payroll. Many also feel it handles benefits and PTO well. Some say it's an affordable choice given what it does while others note that it’s on the pricey side. The time tracking features aren’t universally loved. Users are split on the integration abilities with around 10% satisfied and around 10% dissatisfied. All in all, it appears to be a good solution for small and medium-sized businesses looking to streamline their payroll. Keep an eye on the price and, as always, demo extensively before buying.

Pros & Cons

  • Easy to Use: Just under 70% of all reviewers found this product easy to use with 10% specifically praising the design.
  • Great Conflict Resolution: The customer service was noted for being helpful, knowledgeable and excellent at resolving errors.
  • Helpful Features: Around 40% of reviewers said they appreciated the functionality, particularly praising the tax system, deductions, payroll processing and multiple payment options.
  • Appropriate Pricing: Over 30% of users felt that the price was well worth the system.
  • Good for Small Business: This was called a good choice for small businesses in over 10% of reviews.
  • Issues with Certain Functionality: While around 40% felt the solution worked well, another 40% reported issues, especially with the time tracking and integration features.
  • Slow/Pushy Customer Support: Around 10% of users reported negative experiences with customer service. Of them around 50% felt the staff was pushy and trying to upsell them and 50% felt they had to wait too long for answers or couldn't get in touch with them online.

Key Features

  • Payroll Processing: Automatically calculate employee checks and file taxes while using online faxing, filing and signing technologies.
    • Payroll Reports: Send money out weekly, bi-weekly, twice a month or monthly. Calculate an employee’s gross pay before taxes by simply entering the amount they should receive. Figure out overtime pay for hourly workers whether they have one or multiple pay rates. Leverage other payroll capabilities such as calculating unlimited and off-cycle payrolls, employee reimbursements, bonuses and more.
    • Automated Taxes: Calculate, file and pay all payroll taxes per local and federal legislation through direct deposit. Generate and send 940, 941, 1099, 8974 and W-2 forms for full-time employees and independent contractors. Manage deductions, garnishments and send child support in all states except for South Carolina. Make adjustments, get support and enter claims for the Federal R&D Tax Credit, FLSA minimum wage requirements and the FICA Tip Credit tax.
    • E-Signatures: Sign and file important documents and forms such as W-2’s, 1099s, 940s, 941s and 8974s. Make it easier to get everyone’s ducks in a row, even when separated by thousands of miles.
    • Leave Tracking: Set up and monitor vacation time, time off and sick time. Choose federal holidays or create other holidays for organizations that accommodate different faiths, locations or cultures.
  • Benefits: Make the necessary deductions automatically for medical insurance, 401(K) contributions and more. Give employees dental, medical and vision insurance and help them find the appropriate plan. Provide other benefits such as 529 (college) savings, commuter perks, disability insurance, FSAs, HSAs, life insurance and workers’ compensation.
  • Wallet: Manage banking accounts, emergency funds, paychecks and savings. Create as many as five saving goals, which deduct funds automatically from the correlating spending accounts — transfer funds from savings to spending easily. Put paychecks in different accounts and let workers see checks and the specifics of deductions, hours and taxes. Give access to paystubs, the Wallet app and W-2s.
  • Worker Management: Give workers digital paystubs accessible by the payday email, account or Wallet app. Let employees send money to charities, organize workers into departments and set policies for PTO and sick leave. Customize and assign various permissions to ensure users can access the appropriate content but not sensitive data.
  • Self-Service: Let employees complete tasks like adding dependents, picking out plans and scheduling changes to plans based on personal details. Let them retain access to specific account information after termination to cut down on unnecessary content. Organize reports based on teams or departments and let workers sign essential documents like I-9s and W-4s.
  • New Employees: Report new hires to the government automatically. Send out onboarding papers before new staff members start so they can fill out bank details, contact information and W-4s. Use an onboarding to-do list for tasks like adding employees to the payroll, background checks, filling out an employee’s I-9, setting up benefits and signing forms.
  • Directory: Create an address book of employees with profile pictures and contact information. Give new workers org charts to see where they fit in the organization. Organize fun facts, t-shirt or merch orders, birthdays and communal coffee dates.
  • Calendar Sync: Track deadlines, birthdays and employee anniversaries and sync with other calendars in iCalendar, Google, and Outlook.
  • Integrations: Uses closed APIs. Integrate with platforms like Accelo, Asana, Box, Clover, Dropbox, Expensify, FreshBooks, Github, G Suite, Homebase, Microsoft 365, QuickBooks Online, Receipt Bank, Slack, SpotOn, TSheets, Veryfi, When I Work, Xero, Ximble, Zoom and more. Contact the vendor for custom connections.
  • Reporting and Analytics: Generate and download reports for benefits, payment history, bank transactions, PTO, contract work, tax payments and more

Pricing

License/Subscription Cost
  • Gusto offers the following pricing plans:
    • Basic
      • $6/month per person
      • $19/month base price Core
    • Core
      • $6/month per person
      • $39/month base price Core
    • Complete
      • $12/month per person
      • $39/month base price
    • Concierge
      • $12/month per person
      • $149/month base price
    • For independent contractors
      • $6/month per person with no base price
Maintenance Cost
  • There’s no maintenance fee mentioned on the pricing page.
Installation/Implementation Cost
  • There’s no implementation fee mentioned on the pricing page.
Customization Cost
  • Get customizable employee onboarding tools as part of the Complete and Concierge plans.
Data Migration Cost/Change Management/Upfront Switching Cost
  • Migration costs listed on the website.
Recurring/Renewal Costs
  • The cost appears equivalent to the monthly subscription fee.
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Why We Picked Paycom

Paycom users in the past year have expressed both enthusiasm and concerns about the software. Many praise its user-friendly interface, mobile app convenience, and comprehensive feature set, which includes payroll, HR, benefits administration, and talent management. Compared to competitors, users find Paycom to be more intuitive and integrated, streamlining HR processes and saving time. Additionally, customer service is often lauded as responsive and helpful. However, some drawbacks are also mentioned. Implementation can be complex and require significant initial effort. Pricing concerns surface, with Paycom perceived as costlier than some competitors. While offering a wider range of features, this may not be necessary for all businesses, leading to potential overpaying for unused functionalities. Overall, Paycom seems to be a powerful and user-friendly option for companies seeking a one-stop HR and payroll solution. However, its complexity and cost warrant careful consideration, especially for smaller businesses or those with simpler needs. Comparing features and pricing with competitors is crucial to ensure Paycom aligns with your specific requirements and budget.

Pros & Cons

  • User-Friendly: 85% of reviews mentioning the interface noted the platform has an intuitive layout, with all features organized and easy to locate.
  • Customer Service: Customer support is highly responsive, as asserted by 100% of reviews referencing it.
  • Employee Self-Services: All users referring to self-service observed that employees can easily upload documents, view information and track performance.
  • Performance Reviews: An open dialogue tool makes employee performance reviews more effective, as indicated by 70% of reviews mentioning this feature.
  • Use Anywhere: The mobile app is easy to use and has all desktop features available, as asserted by 100% reviews on this feature.
  • Customization: Customization for most features helps cater to a company’s unique requirements, as noted by all reviews on product customization.
  • Login Process: All reviews on the login process observed that employees need to log in every time they open the software, as there’s no password save feature.
  • Challenging Transition: Transitioning between the client and employee side is challenging and cumbersome, as users need to log in to both systems, according to all reviews on this aspect.
  • Learning Curve: All users reviewing learning noted that the platform has a steep learning curve, making adaptation difficult for new users.
  • Integration Capabilities: The system doesn't provide integration with major third-party platforms without using SFTP or API, as indicated by 100% of reviews on this feature.

Key Features

  • Applicant Tracking System (ATS): Build customizable databases to view relevant applicant information and track candidates as they move through the application process. Managers can search and sort applicants by information such as degree, specific skill sets, work history and more. 
  • Compensation Management: Define budgets, award bonuses and integrate with payroll to ensure that all employees receive fair compensation without overspending. 
  • Job Posting: Allows managers to post open positions to thousands of job boards. Managers can also rely on recruitment data to build reports to determine if their recruiting efforts are working. 
  • Payroll: Calculate taxes, process payroll, account for employee expenses and more, directly through the platform. Automate payroll processing, ensuring that employees are always paid the accurate amount at the correct time. 
  • Performance Management: Schedule and facilitate employee performance appraisals directly through the platform. 
  • Reporting: Leverage Paycom’s built-in analytics to generate reports on a variety of processes, including payroll, time and attendance, compensation and more. 
  • Scheduling: Create and edit employee schedules and approve requests for time off through the system’s calendar. Automate time tracking and integrate with payroll to streamline pay processing. 
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Why We Picked Paylocity

Paylocity is a user-friendly HCM solution that works well for SMBs and delivers an array of features such as payroll management, hiring and talent management in a unified suite. Self-service capabilities help employees access their information. Some users found issues with its payroll, tracking and timesheet capabilities, reducing accuracy and limiting what can be done. However, it offers an intuitive interface, with tools like onboarding and PTO that make tasks easier while speeding up processes. Businesses looking for an end-to-end system to manage HR functions should consider this as a good contender.

Pros & Cons

  • User-Friendly Interface: 60% of users suggested that the interface is user-friendly, with automated payroll and simplified workflows that make it easy to operate and monitor teams.
  • Unified Dashboard: Paylocity enables HRIS, payroll, timekeeping and admin-related tasks to be handled from a single location, according to 60% of users.
  • Performance Benefits: It eases task management for essential activities such as checking time off balances and paychecks, conducting goal assessments and achievements, performing year-end reviews, and more.
  • Easy PTO: It’s easy to use and implement in a day-to-day work routine, with 30% of users mentioning they can check staff availability before approving leaves.
  • Streamlined Onboarding: The onboarding process checks in candidates and sends paperwork before they start, making it 10%-20% easier for admin setup and paperwork completion according to users.
  • Support Team: Paylocity's support process is lengthy according to 30% of users, requiring a lot of back and forth to get an issue resolved, which usually takes days.
  • Cumbersome Payroll: The payroll module requires set up by different people and doesn’t function accurately according to 10% of users.
  • Timesheets: Tracking time is difficult, as Paylocity doesn’t update and capture time entries until a shift is completed.
  • System Logouts: Despite automation, additional verification is required when logging in, causing 10% of users to completely exit and then log in again.
  • Tracking: Tracking functionality doesn’t work well for all the features in the experience of 10%-20% of users.

Key Features

  • Payroll: Companies can simplify multiple financial tasks related to payroll with this feature. It automates payroll processes and takes care of tax compliance, expense reimbursements into paychecks, garnishment services and custom reports that derive whatever data that’s needed. It provides employees with the flexibility to access a portion of their earned wages when needed. 
  • Workforce Management: This feature helps eliminate the need for manual tracking of tasks, reduces administrative work and maintains accurate records of individual employees. The review forms can be customized to promote employees to set goals via an insight chart. 
  • Employee Self-Service: The software provides users with admin analytics, 24/7 secure access, enrollment and insurance access, and internal plans. This feature helps employees and employers to access, update, enroll and administer data respectively. 
  • Time and Labor Management: Workers can clock in and out via the mobile app, and managers can set geofencing rules that ensure accurate clock-punching. It also syncs with payroll automatically and allows managers to create and adjust schedules as needed, without manually correcting payroll data. 
  • Data Insights: The platform allows users to access demographic information, utilization, headcount, labor costs, position insights, turnover and retention. It also features real-time employee data, analytics for employment trends, strategic hiring and budgeting decisions, and programs to build a diverse workforce. 
  • Reports: The system comes with over 100 standard reports along with an ad hoc reporting tool. Users can schedule reports to automatically generate and track key reports with a favorites feature. 
  • Compensation Management: With this feature, administrators can configure settings such as the approval process and eligibility requirements. It also supports the customization of compensation plans to match organizational pay cycles. Company leaders gain a view into budgets and allocations, while managers can provide increases and view employee data like performance and pay history.  
  • Marketplace Integrations: Organizations can extend Paylocity’s capabilities to streamline the payroll regularity and HR data management across all policies. The solution connects with partner solutions in 20 categories, including single sign-on (SSO), ERP and a variety of HR-related functions. More than 300 integrations are available in the vendor marketplace. Data can flow into or out of Paylocity, or in both directions, depending on the integration. 

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All Employee Goal Setting Software (120 found)

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Personio

by Personio GmbH
Personio
Personio is a comprehensive software solution designed to streamline HR management tasks, including recruitment, payroll, and employee data management. It is particularly well-suited for small to medium-sized enterprises seeking to enhance their HR processes with a user-friendly and efficient platform. The software's intuitive interface and robust functionality make it an attractive option for businesses aiming to optimize their human resources operations without the complexity often associated with larger systems. Key benefits of using Personio include improved organizational efficiency, reduced administrative burden, and enhanced data accuracy. Popular features encompass applicant tracking, performance reviews, and time tracking, all integrated into a cohesive system. Users frequently commend its ease of use and the seamless integration of various HR functions, which contribute to a more streamlined workflow. In terms of pricing, Personio typically operates on a subscription model, with costs varying based on the number of employees and selected features. This flexible pricing structure allows businesses to scale the service according to their specific needs, ensuring cost-effectiveness. Compared to similar products, Personio is often praised for its balance of functionality and simplicity, making it a preferred choice for many organizations.
User Sentiment User satisfaction level icon: great
Cost Breakdown
$10 or less
Company Size
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Deployment
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iCIMS Talent Cloud

by iCIMS
iCIMS Talent Cloud
iCIMS Talent Cloud is a robust talent acquisition platform empowering organizations to streamline recruitment processes efficiently. Tailored for enterprises seeking top-tier talent, its key features include comprehensive applicant tracking, personalized candidate experiences, and advanced analytics. Users commend its user-friendly interface, citing, "Intuitive design enhances productivity." The platform's seamless integration capabilities stand out, with users noting, "Effortless integration with existing systems." While praised for efficiency, some users highlight scalability considerations, stating, "Ideal for large enterprises, but may be extensive for smaller firms." Pricing models vary, offering flexibility. Users express confidence, noting, "Outperforms competitors in adaptability." iCIMS Talent Cloud excels in providing end-to-end recruitment solutions, though users recommend thorough evaluation based on organizational size and needs. Pros Efficient applicant tracking Personalized candidate experiences Advanced analytics for data-driven decisions Seamless integration capabilities Scalable for large enterprises Cons May be extensive for smaller firms Scalability considerations for diverse needs Varied pricing models Requires thorough evaluation based on organizational size Adaptation challenges for certain user preferences
Cost Breakdown
$1,000 or more
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Buyer's Guide

Employee Goal Setting Software Is All About Setting Realistic Goals and Tracking Employee Objectives

Employee Goal Setting BG Intro

If you're an HR professional, you're no stranger to the delicate balancing act required to align employee benchmarks with your company's values. After all, what spells success for one role doesn't apply to the next, making it crucial to adapt your strategies to the uniqueness of each position.

If you’re ready to level up your performance management game, goal-setting software is your powerful ally, helping you strategically position your teams to reach for the stars.

This guide will equip you with all the must-have info about goal-setting platforms. We’ll cover the essentials, reveal our top picks and provide free resources to guide you throughout your software selection process.

Executive Summary

  • Employee goal-setting software helps HR assign individual and team objectives aligned with the organization’s vision and mission.
  • Use a data-backed approach to identify performance benchmarks, develop strategies and assign job-based objectives.
  • Managers and employees can pinpoint gaps, stay ahead of due dates and track progress with interactive dashboards.
  • Multi-level goals and built-in frameworks help set a roadmap to broader organizational goals.
  • Asking potential vendors key questions uncovers their platforms' pros and cons.
What This Guide Covers:

What Is Employee Goal Setting Software?

Employee goal-setting software is a performance management tool that assigns, tracks and manages individual and team-level objectives. This system lets HR set role-based and cascading benchmarks, develop strategies to achieve them and monitor real-time progress. Built-in goal management features facilitate ongoing feedback, recognition and data-driven decisions.

Key Components

A robust goal-setting system should let you do three things:

  • Keep tabs on daily progress
  • Define to-dos with precision
  • Scale up to the big picture

Based on the scope and timelines, an ideal system must include the following goal-setting frameworks:

  • Key Performance Indicators (KPIs): These performance measurements focus on ongoing success using key metrics to track operations. Use key performance indicators to closely monitor daily progress and ensure everyone’s on the right path.
  • SMART Goals: These goals set clean and precise individual and team goals, incorporating specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) goals.
  • Objectives and Key Results (OKRs): Built-in OKRs frameworks align your goals with quantifiable key results, creating a powerful roadmap to track long-term progress and evaluate the ultimate outcomes efficiently.

Primary Benefits

Top-performing businesses have a knack for fostering transparency and accountability in the workplace. According to a recent Deloitte study, most successful organizations have real-time feedback, goal-setting and progress-tracking tools in their corner.

If your HR team constantly grapples with challenges like lack of clarity, communication and accountability, it’s time to implement the right employee goal-setting software and join the ranks.

Let's dive deeper into why this software is a game-changer to seriously consider:

Employee Goal Setting Benefits

1. Improve Goal Alignment

Employee goal-setting systems provide a crystal-clear path for employees, aligning their goals with the broader mission. Structured frameworks and dashboards that let teams track their progress, stay above due dates and know exactly what they need to achieve. Set realistic, multi-faceted objectives encouraging employees to do their best and review analytics to access performance data.

No more navigating in the dark; this software illuminates the way, ensuring that every step taken contributes to your company's ultimate success.

2. Increase Accountability and Collaboration

Your organization is a jigsaw puzzle of key roles and departments coming together to create the big picture. Overlooking communication is always a faux pas, especially if your organization mainly has cross-functional teams. Employee goal-setting tools offer a consolidated hub that breaks down barriers and encourages collaboration. In other words, no more isolated efforts – with this software, your teams can work harmoniously towards common goals.

3. Streamline Performance and Goal Management

Performance management is an age-old science. Various HR decisions, like promotions, performance-based bonuses and employee appraisals, depend on employee contributions. So, it's vital to guide them with effective performance management.

Goal-setting software helps you start off on the right foot by clearly assigning what to do and how to do it. These tools establish benchmarks and acknowledge milestones, making your workflow smooth and error-free.

Key Features & Functionality

Multi-Level Goals Setting Frameworks

Use cascading goals to set and manage objectives at various levels. Define suitable OKRs, SMART goals and KPIs at company, department, team and individual levels, ensuring alignment and coherence across levels.

Progress Bars & Dashboards

Check real-time goal completion rates on customizable dashboards with drill-down capabilities. Employees and managers can track progress bars and monitor goal achievements with performance overviews.

Configurable Workflows

Tailor workflows and automate various paths like assigning goals and sending updates. Generate streamlined pathways so everyone is clear about their assigned roles and objectives.

Employee Recognition and Feedback Tools

Create ongoing feedback loops between employees and managers. Promote a positive and collaborative work environment by acknowledging employees for their timely contributions and efforts.

Reports & Analytics

Access insights into goal progress and performance metrics to support data-based decisions. Use visualization formats like goal trees, cascading OKRs, kanban boards, charts and timeline views to review progress and uncover trends.

Software Comparison Strategy

Choosing the ideal system is daunting, especially when you have a sea of choices. Where do you dive in, and how do you determine a system is a good match? At this stage, a software comparison strategy is your trusty guide to finding the right software.

1. Define Internal Goals

Your chosen system should be your vehicle from where your organization is and where you want it to be. With that in mind, kickstart your journey by defining the overall HCM goals you want to achieve:

  • Identify company milestones and articulate what you expect from your workforce. For example, improving customer service or increasing sales by a certain percentage.
  • Note the key performance indicators (KPIs) applicable to your teams. Make a list of these performance measurements.
  • Consider factors like workforce size, industry and company culture. These elements influence goal setting, and an ideal system must cater to these distinct requirements.
  • Pinpoint challenges or weaknesses in your existing goal-setting process. These hurdles can be communication challenges, inefficient progress tracking, subjective calculations or low employee morale rates resulting from inefficient or non-existent goal-setting procedures.

Clarifying your objectives helps you prioritize your company's required features and functionalities.

2. Create a Requirements List

Once you’re clear about your software goals, it’s time to transform your wish list into an actionable plan. Create a detailed list of software essentials that will remedy those identified challenges. Here’s what you must be clear on:

  • Features: Look for software that allows you to create multi-level goals, enabling employees to track progress at different levels of granularity.
  • Scalability: Consider your organization's growth potential. Opt for software that can evolve with your organization, accommodating your expanding needs and objectives.
  • Integrations: Examine the software's compatibility with your existing tools and systems. Prioritize systems that seamlessly integrate into your existing HR tools and streamline your workflow and data management.

Need a hand outlining your specific requirements? Consider using our free requirements template to determine how different features stack against your needs.

3. Research Vendors

Now, you’re ready to explore your options. Check software review sites, tap into online forums and ask for recommendations from colleagues to know the pros and cons of each vendor.

Most vendors typically offer goal-setting capabilities in the following ways:

  • Stand-Alone System: Some vendors provide a specialized stand-alone system with the option to integrate into existing HR or performance management platforms.
  • Suite Solution: Other providers offer employee goal-setting features as an add-on or module part of a larger all-in-one performance management solution. Suite solutions manage various HR processes like employee recognition, performance reviews and performance appraisals in an integrated package.

Need a hand researching your options? Our free and customizable vendor comparison report is here to help! Assess how potential vendors meet your organization's needs.

4. Request Demos

By now, you should have a shortlist of options. Make the best use of demos and free trials to get hands-on experience using each platform. Compare your options and evaluate how well they align with your requirements. Focus on the following considerations during trials and demos:

  • The pros and cons of using each platform.
  • Positive or negative user experiences.
  • Standout features or unique capabilities.
  • Customer support and query or ticket resolution time.
  • Data security and compliance frameworks.

Note vendor offerings associated with each vendor in a shareable report or spreadsheet.

5. Make A Decision

Now, for the main event: Get all your stakeholders involved in selecting the winner. Share the comparison report with key people and gather everyone’s feedback on the shortlisted solutions.

If you prefer to start from scratch, hop over to our lean selection article, in which we reveal the nine critical steps of software evaluation.

Cost & Pricing Considerations

Pricing depends on several factors, including the software provider, the features and capabilities, and the organization's size.

  • Installation Costs: This is an upfront fee incurred while implementing the system.
  • Number of Users: Some vendors offer tiered pricing based on user counts, which means the charges escalate with additional user access to the system. Ensure your chosen system can accommodate your current workforce and adapt to future growth.
  • Feature Sets: Features and functions vary across vendors. Expect costs to escalate when opting for a more feature-rich package.
  • Subscription or Licensing: These are monthly or annual fees for using the services and platform.

In addition to the upfront costs, here are some hidden expenses to watch out for:

  • Integration Costs: Connecting the goal-setting software with your existing systems and tools can entail additional expenses. Ensure you consider the compatibility and integration requirements to avoid unexpected charges.
  • Data Migration: Be prepared for data migration costs if you're transitioning from existing systems or have historical data to migrate.
  • Customizations: Tailoring the software to align with your specific needs can incur additional costs.
  • Support and Maintenance: Inquire about the cost and scope of support and maintenance services. Some vendors include support resources in their subscription pricing, while others charge separately. Look for vendors that offer responsive and hassle-free customer care.

The Most Popular Employee Goal Setting Software

Now that you’re familiar with the basics, let’s explore some top-ranking vendors in the market. Here are three solutions to put things into perspective:

Profit.co

Profit.co is a web-based performance management platform available for on-premise deployment. This system enhances workplace experiences with pulse surveys, one-on-one meetings, awards and recognition. Goal-setting features include built-in OKR frameworks with adjustable visibility, target dates, performance indicators and an activity dashboard to monitor goal alignment.

Starting Price: $7 per user per month (billed annually). The starting price is $9 per user per month if you opt for annual billing.

Profit.co

Let employees tag colleagues with @mentions and share learnings with hashtags in Profit.co. Source.

Lattice

Lattice is an end-to-end cloud-based performance management platform that streamlines performance reviews, goal setting and employee-manager communications. Integrate goals into various performance management functions to ensure daily alignment on a user-friendly dashboard. Top integration options include Jira, Salesforce, Slack, and Microsoft Teams.

Starting Price: $11 per user per month.

Lattice

Set strategic goals aligned with broad organizational objectives in Lattice. Source.

15Five

15Five is a cloud-based performance management platform focusing on employee engagement. The goal-setting platform lets you prioritize objectives, track due dates and view performance summaries. In addition to goal management, the system offers multi-level 360-degree feedback, guided check-in and self-review tools.

Starting Price: $10 per user per month.

15Five

Track goal alignment and timelines in 15Five. Source.

 

 

Questions To Ask

Use the following questions as a starting point to drive internal conversations during your software search:

  • What are our unique organizational goals and objectives?
  • How do we currently manage goal setting and performance management?
  • What level of employee involvement and collaboration do we need?
  • What key performance metrics do we track?
  • What are the key pain points we want to solve with new software?
  • How many employees will require training?

Employee Goal Setting Key Questions

Ask the following key questions to uncover the pros and cons associated with each vendor:

  • What unique goal-setting features differentiate your software from competitors?
  • How does the software align individual goals with organizational objectives?
  • Are there any unique mechanisms to set and track goals?
  • What are your data privacy and security measures?
  • Can you provide industry-specific examples of successful software implementations?
  • What is your customer support model, and what is the average response time?

Next Steps

Realistic goals set a strong foundation for your team's success. Employee goal-setting software equips you with the tools to help your team start on the right foot, all set to shine in what they do best and achieve milestones. If you’re ready to take the next step, check out our free vendor comparison matrix for tailored software recommendations. Good luck!

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About The Contributors

The following expert team members are responsible for creating, reviewing, and fact checking the accuracy of this content.

Technical Content Writer
Saniya was a Technical Content Writer at SelectHub. With an MBA in Marketing, she found her calling in the world of digital marketing and technical content writing. Her work spanned HR-centric systems like talent management, recruitment and performance management to robust software like ERP and manufacturing systems. When the day winds down, she enjoys taking long walks with her dog or indulging in her artistic side by swapping her keyboard for a pencil. She finds solace in watching the sunset over the beach and appreciates the little things in life.
Technical Research By Nithin Shetty
Senior Analyst
With experience in research and consulting going back to 2015, Nithin Shetty is an asset to SelectHub's research team. In his Senior Research Analyst role, he works on projects in categories like HR, CRM, EHR and ERP. He's also a big movie buff and sports fan. When he isn't watching his favorite film or game, he's usually volunteering his free time to causes like blood drives and environmental cleanup.
Technical Review By Jaisri Narasimman
Principal Analyst
A graduate of NTU Singapore, Jaisri Narasimman honed her data mining and curation skills during her post-graduate education, focusing on developing strategies to help businesses make the most of their data. In her role at SelectHub, her research spans categories like HR, CRM and EHR.
Edited By Joe Evans
Content Editor
Joe Evans is an Editor and Senior Market Analyst at SelectHub. A seasoned professional wordsmith, he has a bachelor's degree in journalism and electronic media and a decade of professional expertise in crafting top-tier digital content for niche online brands. He leads his small yet formidable team in producing helpful, compelling content in vital categories like HR, payroll, talent management, performance management, marketing automation home health, MES. When not editing and writing, he enjoys sports, quality time with family and dogs, and remains constantly in pursuit of something new and interesting to read or listen to.