Top 10 Things to Look for in a Performance Appraisal System

1. Strategic Goal Alignment.

Performance appraisal software should help manage the paper flow, and it should reach for the loftier goal of aligning individual goals to the organization’s strategic goals. Look for a system that allows you to connect individual efforts with the organization’s strategy. This will make goals more relevant and provide meaningful connections between employee tasks and the big picture.

2. SMART Goals.

A performance management system should allow managers and employees to gracefully add SMART goals to the Appraisal document. The software interface should allow for the addition of time frames, percent complete, task lists and email reminders—and the ability for both managers and employees to participate in goals setting, if desired. For managers with multiple direct reports, the ability to cascade SMART goals will help managers save time by entering data only once, promoting system adoption.