When choosing your employee appraisal management software, should you buy a specialist, stand-alone employee appraisal software system, or should you just settle for the make-do appraisal system, included within your generalist HR software system?
Answer: Don’t be tempted by the seeming convenience of a one-stop-shop generalized HR system, as it will most likely deliver a much lower ROI than a standalone employee appraisal software tool.
Why?
Well, a generalist HR software has traditionally acted as more of a static, electronic filing cabinet, which was adequate at the transition point from paper to digitized HR. However, as the HR profession itself has started to specialize- creating its own distinct HR professional area in performance enhancement- it is demanding more sophisticated, responsive and customizable appraisal software that offers a 360-degree feedback on a continuous basis.
Many generalist HR systems have struggled to evolve and still offer quite static, insular and out-dated appraisal processes, built around the woefully inadequate, one-to-one annual review format and have themselves become inadequate as a result. These legacy generalist HR systems – where the employee appraisal module is more an afterthought – are designed to be updated once a year and can’t process cutting edge, 360 degrees, continuous feed-back style reviews effectively.
As a result, a second generation of specialist employee appraisal software applications have entered the market to meet this demand. They are purpose-built to meet the modern demands of employee performance management which mean they offer 360 degree feedback on a continuous basis – and provide a much better ROI
So, if you want to be delivering world-class, cutting edge performance management that will optimize performance, you’ll want to invest in a stand-alone employee appraisal software application, in addition to your HR database.