7 Performance Management Tools You Need to Try in 2026
Jan 14, 2026
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7
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AI Summary by Fellow
Performance reviews shouldn't be a memory test. Yet every review cycle, managers scramble to recall six months of conversations, defaulting to whatever happened in the last few weeks. The result? Vague feedback, recency bias, and employees who feel unseen.
The problem isn't that managers don't care—it's that human memory simply can't retain the specifics of dozens of 1:1s, team meetings, and project discussions. But those conversations contain exactly what you need: specific examples of growth, contributions, challenges overcome, and commitments made.
What if you could search every conversation you've had with a direct report and surface exactly what you need for their review?
With an AI meeting assistant like Fellow that captures and organizes your meetings, you can write performance reviews backed by real evidence, not fuzzy recollections. Start your free trial →
Why do performance reviews lack specific examples?
The biggest complaint employees have about performance reviews is that they're too vague. Statements like "good job this quarter" or "needs to communicate better" don't help anyone grow. But the root cause isn't lazy managers—it's a fundamental limitation of how we store and retrieve information.
Consider what a typical manager experiences during a review cycle:
20+ 1:1 meetings per direct report over six months
Dozens of team meetings where contributions happen
Countless Slack conversations, project updates, and decisions
Feedback given in the moment that's never documented
By the time reviews come around, most of this context has faded. Managers default to recency bias—overweighting the last few weeks—or rely on a handful of memorable moments that may not represent the full picture.
The traditional solution has been to "take better notes" or "keep a running document." But this creates additional work that rarely gets done consistently, and it still depends on the manager remembering to document things in the moment.
How meeting intelligence transforms performance reviews
Meeting intelligence is the practice of automatically capturing, transcribing, and making searchable every conversation across your organization. When applied to performance reviews, it eliminates the memory problem entirely.
Instead of trying to recall what happened, you can search. Instead of vague impressions, you have transcripts. Instead of recency bias, you have six months of documented conversations at your fingertips.
Here's what this looks like in practice:
Every 1:1 is captured automatically — No more relying on hastily scribbled notes. The full conversation is transcribed and stored.
Team meetings become searchable records — When a direct report contributes to a project discussion or presents their work, that moment is preserved.
Action items and commitments are tracked — You can see what someone committed to and whether they delivered.
You can query across all conversations — Ask questions like "What did Jordan accomplish in Q3?" or "What feedback did I give about the product launch?" and get answers from your actual meetings.
Fellow captures your 1:1s and team meetings across Zoom, Google Meet, Teams, and even in-person conversations—then makes them searchable with Ask Fellow.
Top 7 tools for better performance reviews
The best performance review process combines two things: a structured workflow for conducting reviews, and rich context about what actually happened during the review period. Here are seven tools that address different parts of this equation.
1. Fellow
Best for: Managers who want searchable context from every 1:1 and meeting to write evidence-based reviews
Fellow is a secure AI meeting assistant that captures conversations across Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, in-person meetings, and Slack huddles—then makes them searchable across your entire organization.
What makes Fellow uniquely valuable for performance reviews is Ask Fellow, which lets you query months of conversations with natural language. Ask "What did Maria accomplish in Q3?" or "What feedback did I give about the infrastructure project?" and get answers pulled directly from your meeting transcripts.
Fellow also tracks action items with owners and due dates, so you can assess follow-through objectively. With SOC 2 Type II certification, HIPAA compliance, and a commitment to never training on customer data, Fellow meets enterprise security requirements for sensitive performance conversations.
Key features:
Ask Fellow: Query across all your meetings with natural language
Automatic capture across all major platforms (with or without bots)
Action item tracking with accountability
Recording library searchable by person, topic, or date
50+ native integrations plus 8,000+ apps via Zapier and n8n
Price: Starts at $7 per user per month. See all plans →
2. BambooHR
Best for: Small to mid-sized companies wanting an all-in-one HR platform with built-in performance reviews
BambooHR is a comprehensive HR management platform that includes performance management as one of its core modules. It's designed to handle the entire employee lifecycle—from hiring through offboarding—with performance reviews integrated into the broader HR workflow.
BambooHR's performance review features include customizable review cycles, peer feedback collection, and goal tracking. The platform generates performance reports that compare employees across the organization and track progress over time. Managers can add notes directly into employee records, creating a historical log of feedback and achievements.
The strength of BambooHR is its integration of performance data with other HR functions like compensation, time-off tracking, and employee records. This makes it easier to connect performance outcomes to HR decisions.
Key features:
Customizable performance review cycles
360-degree peer feedback collection
Performance comparison reports
Goal setting and tracking
Integrated with broader HR management functions
Price: Contact for a custom quote based on company size.
3. Lattice
Best for: Growing companies that want a dedicated performance management platform with OKR integration
Lattice is a purpose-built people management platform that combines performance reviews, goal management, employee engagement, and career development into a unified system. It's particularly strong for organizations that use OKRs (Objectives and Key Results) and want tight integration between goals and performance evaluations.
Lattice enables continuous feedback through its praise and feedback features, so performance conversations happen throughout the year—not just during formal review cycles. The platform supports multiple review types including manager reviews, self-assessments, peer reviews, and upward feedback.
The analytics capabilities in Lattice help HR teams identify performance trends, calibrate ratings across teams, and spot high performers or flight risks. It also includes engagement surveys and 1:1 meeting tools, though these don't include the AI-powered searchability of dedicated meeting assistants.
Key features:
OKR and goal management with performance integration
Continuous feedback and recognition tools
Multiple review formats (360, self-assessment, upward)
Performance analytics and calibration tools
Employee engagement surveys
Price: Starts at $11 per user per month for the performance module.
4. 15Five
Best for: Teams focused on continuous performance management and weekly check-ins
15Five takes a continuous approach to performance management, built around the idea that weekly check-ins and ongoing feedback lead to better outcomes than annual reviews alone. The platform is named after its core feature: a 15-minute weekly check-in that takes 5 minutes for managers to review.
The weekly check-ins prompt employees to share wins, challenges, and priorities—creating a regular cadence of documented updates that managers can reference during formal reviews. 15Five also includes OKR tracking, 1:1 meeting agendas, and recognition features.
For performance reviews specifically, 15Five offers customizable review cycles with self-assessments, manager assessments, and peer feedback. The platform surfaces insights from weekly check-ins to help managers write more informed reviews.
Key features:
Weekly check-in prompts for continuous documentation
OKR and goal tracking
1:1 meeting agenda templates
Customizable review cycles
Recognition and high-five features
Price: Starts at $4 per user per month for the Engage tier; performance features require higher tiers.
5. Culture Amp
Best for: Enterprise organizations prioritizing employee engagement data alongside performance
Culture Amp combines employee engagement surveys with performance management, positioning itself as an "employee experience platform." The philosophy is that performance should be understood in the context of engagement, belonging, and overall employee sentiment.
The platform offers flexible performance review cycles with calibration tools that help ensure fairness across teams and departments. Culture Amp's strength is its research-backed approach—templates and questions are designed based on organizational psychology research.
Culture Amp's analytics are particularly robust, allowing HR teams to segment performance data by engagement levels, demographics, and other factors. This can surface insights like whether high performers are at risk of burnout or whether certain teams have calibration issues.
Key features:
Research-backed review templates
Calibration and fairness tools
Deep integration between engagement and performance data
Skills-focused development planning
Robust analytics and benchmarking
Price: Contact for enterprise pricing.
6. Leapsome
Best for: Companies wanting a unified platform for goals, reviews, engagement, and learning
Leapsome is an all-in-one people enablement platform that covers performance reviews, goal management, engagement surveys, 1:1 meetings, and learning. The platform emphasizes the connection between continuous feedback and formal performance cycles.
Leapsome's review features include customizable templates, multiple feedback sources, and competency frameworks that can be tailored to different roles. The platform also offers "instant feedback" features for real-time recognition and coaching moments.
One differentiating feature is Leapsome's learning module, which connects performance gaps to development content. If a review identifies a skill gap, managers can assign relevant learning paths directly from the platform.
Key features:
Customizable competency frameworks
Instant feedback and recognition
Goal and OKR management
Integrated learning and development
Meeting management with agenda templates
Price: Contact for pricing based on modules and company size.
7. PerformYard
Best for: Organizations wanting a flexible, straightforward performance review tool without unnecessary complexity
PerformYard focuses specifically on performance management without trying to be a full HR suite. This makes it a good fit for organizations that already have an HRIS and want a dedicated, flexible tool for reviews and goals.
The platform supports various review formats—annual reviews, project-based reviews, continuous feedback—and lets organizations design their own review forms and cycles. PerformYard emphasizes simplicity in its user experience, with automated reminders keeping review cycles on track.
Each customer gets a dedicated customer success manager, which can be valuable for organizations implementing performance management processes for the first time or overhauling existing ones.
Key features:
Flexible review cycle design
Multiple review formats supported
Goal setting and tracking
Automated email reminders
Dedicated customer success manager
Price: From $5 per user per month.
How to choose the right combination of tools
The most effective performance review process often combines two types of tools:
Tool type | What it provides | Examples |
|---|---|---|
Meeting intelligence | Searchable context from 1:1s and team meetings; evidence for reviews | Fellow |
Performance management platform | Review workflows, goal tracking, peer feedback collection, calibration | BambooHR, Lattice, 15Five, Culture Amp, Leapsome, PerformYard |
If you only use a performance management platform, you'll have a structured review process but still struggle to remember specific examples from the past six months.
If you only use meeting intelligence, you'll have rich context but may lack the formal workflow for conducting and calibrating reviews across your organization.
The combination gives you both: the evidence base from your actual conversations, and the structure to turn that evidence into fair, actionable reviews.
Fellow integrates with many performance management platforms and HR tools through its 50+ native integrations and connections to 8,000+ apps via Zapier and n8n.
How to use meeting intelligence to write better reviews
Once you have your meetings captured and searchable, here's how to apply this to the review process:
Step 1: Query for achievements and contributions
Start by searching for what your direct report accomplished. Use queries like:
"What did [name] ship or deliver in Q3?"
"Show me [name]'s contributions to [project name]"
"What results did [name] present in team meetings?"
This surfaces specific accomplishments you might have forgotten—complete with the context of how they discussed the work.
Step 2: Review feedback given throughout the period
Search for feedback conversations to ensure your review reflects the full arc of the review period:
"What feedback did I give [name] about [topic]?"
"Show me discussions about [name]'s growth areas"
"What did we discuss in 1:1s about [specific skill]?"
This helps you track whether someone acted on previous feedback and ensures you're not surprising them with issues you never raised.
Step 3: Find specific quotes and examples
The difference between a vague review and an impactful one is specificity. Search for memorable moments:
"When did [name] demonstrate leadership?"
"Show me times [name] helped other team members"
"What challenges did [name] navigate?"
Pull direct quotes and specific situations rather than generalizations. "In our March 1:1, you mentioned that coordinating the cross-functional launch was the hardest thing you'd done—and you delivered it successfully" lands differently than "good at cross-functional work."
Step 4: Verify commitments and follow-through
Use action item tracking to assess reliability and accountability:
"What did [name] commit to in 1:1s?"
"Show me [name]'s action items from the last quarter"
This gives you evidence-based insight into follow-through, which is difficult to assess from memory alone.
Factors to consider when choosing performance tools
Usability
Select tools with clean interfaces that your managers will actually use. The best features don't matter if adoption is low. Look for strong onboarding resources, customer support, and intuitive design.
Security and compliance
Performance data is sensitive. For meeting intelligence tools, look for SOC 2 Type II certification, HIPAA compliance (if you're in healthcare), GDPR compliance, and explicit policies on data usage. Fellow, for example, never trains AI models on customer data and offers privacy controls with permission-based access.
Integration capabilities
Your performance tools should connect to your existing stack—HRIS, project management, communication platforms. Fellow offers 50+ native integrations plus an API and MCP Server for custom workflows.
Feedback features
Look for tools that enable continuous feedback, not just annual review cycles. The combination of real-time feedback (captured in meeting intelligence) and structured feedback collection (in your performance platform) creates the most complete picture.
Analytics and reporting
Consider what insights you need at the organizational level—calibration reports, performance trends, goal completion rates. Performance platforms typically excel here, while meeting intelligence provides the qualitative context behind the numbers.
Frequently asked questions
How do I find specific examples for performance reviews?
Use an AI meeting assistant to capture and make searchable your 1:1s and team meetings throughout the review period. Tools like Fellow let you query your meetings with natural language—for example, "What did Sarah accomplish on the infrastructure project?"—and surface specific conversations, quotes, and decisions. This eliminates the recency bias that comes from relying on memory.
What is meeting intelligence?
Meeting intelligence refers to AI-powered tools that automatically capture, transcribe, and organize meetings so teams can search conversations, extract insights, and take action based on what was discussed. Unlike basic recording tools, meeting intelligence platforms like Fellow let you query across all your meetings—not just access individual files.
Can I use AI to help write performance reviews?
Yes. AI meeting assistants capture conversations throughout the review period, then let you search for achievements, feedback given, and specific examples. Some tools can even generate summaries of key discussion points for each direct report. This makes reviews more accurate and reduces the time spent trying to recall what happened.
Is it secure to record 1:1s for performance review purposes?
Enterprise-grade AI meeting assistants like Fellow are designed for sensitive conversations. Look for SOC 2 Type II certification, HIPAA and GDPR compliance, and explicit policies that customer data isn't used for AI training. Fellow also offers privacy controls with permission-based access aligned to organizational roles—so only authorized people can access specific recordings.
How far back can I search for meeting context?
This depends on your tool and plan. Fellow maintains a searchable recording library of all captured meetings, so you can query conversations from the entire review period—whether that's six months, a year, or longer. This eliminates the recency bias that plagues memory-based reviews.
What's the difference between meeting intelligence and performance management software?
Meeting intelligence (like Fellow) captures the raw context—your actual conversations, decisions, and feedback given in meetings. Performance management software (like Lattice, 15Five, or BambooHR) provides the workflow—review templates, goal tracking, peer feedback collection, and calibration tools. The most effective approach combines both: rich context from your meetings, structured into a formal review process.
Stop relying on memory for performance reviews
Every 1:1 you have contains insights about your direct report's growth, contributions, and challenges. Every team meeting captures moments of collaboration and achievement. Without a way to search this context, it disappears—and your performance reviews suffer.
Fellow captures conversations across Zoom, Google Meet, Teams, in-person meetings, and Slack huddles, then makes them searchable with Ask Fellow. Query months of 1:1s to find specific examples. Surface feedback you gave throughout the period. Write reviews grounded in evidence, not guesswork.
Teams at Shopify, HubSpot, Vidyard, and Motive use Fellow to make their meetings—and their performance processes—more effective. See customer stories →
Your meetings already contain what you need for better reviews. Fellow helps you find it.
Record, transcribe and summarize every meeting with the only AI meeting assistant built from the ground up with privacy and security in mind.
