This AI-powered platform wants to overhaul your performance review process

• What's at Stake: Outdated review systems risk diminished engagement, talent loss, and misallocated compensation decisions.
• Expert Quote: Retrospective annual reviews fail to support improvement, warns Lana Peters, Klaar.
• Supporting Data: Gallup: nearly all HR leaders dissatisfied; only 20% of employees find reviews fair.
• Source: Bullets generated by AI with editorial review

Managing and addressing employee performance doesn't need to be a lengthy or complicated procedure, and is another area where technology and AI can smooth out the kinks. 

Nearly all HR and benefit leaders say they're dissatisfied with their current performance management systems, according to Gallup, pointing to tools that feel neither intuitive nor impactful. Employees share similar frustrations: Only one in five believe their performance reviews are fair or motivate them to improve. Klaar, an AI-powered performance management platform, created a solution designed to streamline the process and create a more effective experience for both managers and employees.

"When an organization is doing performance reviews once or twice a year, the work they're discussing has already been done," says Lana Peters, chief customer experience officer at Klaar. "It's more of a retrospective process, but that's not really helpful to the employees, the managers and certainly not helpful to the company." 

Read more: Why Meta's performance review process could be a warning for leaders

Unlike many performance management systems that require managers to juggle spreadsheets, documents and multiple tabs, Klaar consolidates everything in one place. The platform emphasizes continuous feedback and coaching throughout the whole year, ensuring employees and their managers are checking in regularly ahead of and after reviews. The goal is to give employees space to make meaningful adjustments before evaluations are set in stone.

The platform also uses AI to simplify much of the process. For example, it helps employees and their managers build personalized development plans based on specific pain points. Leveraging more tech, the platform also keeps employee data as subjective as possible, meaning that the results from annual reviews — such as promotions and raises — are based entirely on employees' progress, while avoiding any potential bias. 

"It pulls the information from the employee's flow of work and keeps track of the task they have completed in comparison to their goals," Peters says. "This way, managers can include data [the platform has collected] directly into the review without having to just apply it retrospectively." 

Investing in tools that make impactful change

Improving communication via systems and platforms will enhance employee engagement, productivity and the work experience overall. Having access to better insights on employee performance isn't just a solution for annual reviews — it can also help HR and benefit leaders better understand what kind of support or services are missing that could be improving outcomes.  

Read more: Strategies for cultivating a high-performing workforce

"[Managers] can look into specific projects and see the things that haven't been completed and follow up with employees about whether they have any questions, or ask what they need to complete [them]," Peters says. "It gives leaders the visibility to remove bottlenecks within the organization so that everything is working collectively." 

As HR and benefit leaders continue to find new ways to support and retain their workforce, Peters urges them to consider the potential positive impact of an effective and sustainable performance management solution. 

"It's important to invest in employees and managers," Peters says. "AI can help streamline these processes so that the folks who are growing and progressing have the support that they need to keep at it."