TalenTeam isn’t just fast, they really understand our business. Their deep expertise and collaborative approach help us shape better requirements and get solutions that actually fit.
Comprehensive suite covering every step of the skills transformation journey.
TalenTeam isn’t just fast, they really understand our business. Their deep expertise and collaborative approach help us shape better requirements and get solutions that actually fit.
There is no company success without people. People who feel engaged and valued and have clear career goals perform better than those who don’t. Offering flexibility and transparency, besides other benefits, is key to employees' performance. It’s clear that employee performance tracking is no longer just part of the HR process but is essential for business outcomes.
Numerous factors affect employees' performance, as Gallup highlighted that global employee engagement fell to 21% in 2024, costing the world economy an estimated $438 billion in lost productivity. Employees who don’t feel engaged are less productive. When employees don’t have clear direction in their career, they don’t receive regular feedback or support, their productivity is low, and their performance becomes hard to track.
The trick is to find the right balance between performance tracking and trust. Sometimes tracking employees' performance can put too much pressure on them and risk causing even more damage to their performance. If performance tracking is done well, it gives essential KPIs to managers and HR teams, so they can make better decisions and push the business forward.
Knowing how to balance performance tracking with employee satisfaction is the key. Having access to the right tools that help you create and follow a system is essential.
If you are an organisation ready to give up manual reviews, disconnected feedback processes and messy spreadsheets, you are probably more than ready to sign up for SAP SuccessFactors Performance & Goals.
This employee performance tracking software helps you have a more structured approach. It helps you align on goals, track your feedback so you can continuously be on top of it, helps you set up performance reviews, and make data-driven decisions.
Applying different methods based on the role, team structure, business goals, and maturity of the organisation is the way to go.
So what are the best methods to track performance and create real value?
1. Set up KPIs and performance metrics.
Key performance indicators, or KPIs, are measurable values that show whether an employee is meeting expected outcomes. Different teams have different KPIs; for example, a sales team goal might be generating revenue, and a customer support team might have a goal of response time or problem resolution rate and more.
Setting up KPIs is fundamental, as the performance will not be based only on personal opinion but especially on previously agreed criteria.
2. OKRs and goal tracking
Objectives and Key Results, or OKRs, help connect individual work to wider business priorities. An objective describes what the employee or team wants to achieve, while key results define how success will be measured.
OKRs are especially useful in fast-moving organisations where priorities change throughout the year. They help employees understand not only what they are doing but also why it matters.
3. Regular 1:1 meetings
One-to-one meetings are one of the most effective ways to track employee performance without making the process feel mechanical. Having a regular 1:1 is essential to keep track of progress and priorities and help prevent performance issues.
1:1 meetings are even more valuable for remote workers and roles where performance is not always visible in a dashboard.
4. 360-degree feedback
A 360-degree feedback gathers input from multiple sources, including managers, peers, direct reports, and sometimes customers or stakeholders. It is useful for evaluating behaviours that are difficult to capture through metrics alone, such as collaboration, communication, leadership, and problem-solving.
This method works well for leadership development and promotion decisions because it provides a broader view of how an employee works with others.
5. Self-assessments
Self-assessments happen before a formal performance review. It’s not only a way to prepare the employees for the review but more of a pure reflection on their goals, achievements and overall performance. The self-assessment helps employees and managers have a proper conversation based on specific data and projects rather than being a one-way evaluation.
6. Project management and task data
Project management tools (e.g., Monday.com) can help track deadlines, task ownership, workload, and delivery progress. Imagine different teams, such as marketing or consulting, where multiple tasks are part of the same projects.
7. Peer feedback
Collecting feedback from peers is also another good method to better understand employees' contributions to the team functioning. Often some behaviours, such as supporting others, resolving conflicts, etc., are seen by colleagues rather than from managers.
8. Customer or stakeholder feedback
Customer feedback is also important and offers employees and managers a better understanding of their work impact.
It includes customer satisfaction scores, service ratings, stakeholder surveys, or qualitative comments.
Customer feedback offers more than the regular performance review; this is assessed by externals and has a more objective focus.
Remote and hybrid work have changed how organisations monitor employee performance. It’s no longer about relying on physical presence but more on actual performance, which includes clarity, communication and transparency.
Employees need clear goals and regular check-ins. Managers need visibility into progress without pressuring the employees. There is a trend where online availability is considered productivity, but that’s a mistake. There are different cases where the employee spends less time online and delivers more and better than the employee who is always showing online.
This is why organisations should prioritise outcomes over activities. Instead of asking, “Was this person online?” managers should ask, “Were the right priorities completed to the expected standard?”
Remote team reviewing employee performance goals and project progress
Finding the right performance tracking tool is not just about having a digital tool but more about something that makes the performance process easier and more useful.
So, what should you look for in a performance tracking tool?
Goal setting and alignment: The tool should allow managers, HR and employees to set up goals for easy tracking.
Continuous feedback: Performance should happen throughout the year, not just during the yearly review.
Review cycle management: HR teams should be able to manage appraisal forms, workflows, approvals, calibration, and completion tracking.
Analytics and reporting: This is especially important for leaders that need to see the progress, trends and skills so they can take any action needed.
Integration with HR systems: Performance data is more valuable when connected to learning, compensation, succession, workforce planning, and core HR.
Ease of use: Employees and managers will not adopt a system that is difficult to update or understand.
Scalability: Mid-sized and enterprise organisations need tools that work across departments, regions, job families, and compliance requirements.
|
Tool |
Best For |
|
SAP SuccessFactors Performance & Goals |
Mid-sized and enterprise organisations needing structured performance management |
|
Workday performance management |
Large organisations already using Workday HCM |
|
15Five |
Continuous feedback and manager check-ins |
|
Lattice |
Performance reviews, engagement, and people development |
|
Culture amp |
Engagement-led performance and feedback |
|
BambooHR performance management |
Small to mid-sized businesses using BambooHR |
If you are wondering what you should track when doing a performance review, here are some key metrics you can’t miss:
SAP SuccessFactors Performance & Goals gives organisations a structured way to manage teams' performance in different departments and regions.
With SAP SuccessFactors Performance & Goals, you have a clear system that helps you align on goals, have continuous performance conversations and make the right talent decisions.
As teams expand, employee performance tracking becomes harder to manage, but things change with SAP SuccessFactors Performance & Goals. Now managers can have more meaningful conversations based on real and well-organised data.
If you are already using the SAP SuccessFactors suite, this is even better for us, as the performance data is connected to other modules such as learning, compensation, etc.
The best solution would be to work with a special SAP partner like TalenTeam that helps you find the right solution for you, not just another implementation. You will have a proper guide around your system data and receive continuous support.
SAP SuccessFactors Performance and Goals for employee performance tracking
Employee performance tracking is more important than ever. Through a performance review you can make sure that:
1. Employee and company goals are aligned.
Employees who understand how their goals are important for company growth can decide what to give priority to.
For example, a marketing manager can shift campaign priorities.
2. Skill gaps are identified, and employees can grow.
Knowing what skills are lacking is important in order to take action and allow employees to perform better and grow.
Knowing where the skills gaps are helps to understand and build more targeted training to make sure that the lack of skills is covered.
3. Employees receive the right compensation.
Knowing each employee's performance is essential to make the right compensation decisions, such as salaries, raises, bonuses, etc.
In this way there is less risk of bias, and employees are more satisfied with the outcomes if based on their clear performance data.
4. Workforce decisions are based on data, not guesses.
Without the right data, it is hard to understand if there are any other issues related not necessarily to the employee's performance.
For example, if an employee leaves and from their performance data we can see they are higher performers, it’s probably time to look into internal causes for that employee to quit. Things like managers' behaviours, toxic culture, etc., might be some of the things HR should investigate.
5. A succession planning strategy is in place.
Continuous performance tracking helps you prevent gaps when high-role employees leave. Knowing who is ready to take on a new role is way more essential than we think.
If your organisation is still relying on spreadsheets, inconsistent review cycles, or disconnected feedback processes, TalenTeam can help you explore whether SAP SuccessFactors Performance & Goals is the right fit.
Speak to our SAP SuccessFactors specialists to understand how you can build a more structured, scalable, and people-focused performance management process.
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