Trakstar is a star!!

Since installation we have drastically improved the consistency and timeliness of staff reviews. Also love the goals and objectives.

Pros

Customer service/support is great. I haven’t had many issues, but when I did support was fast and even followed up a day later to make sure things were still fine. My issues were user related. The software is solid!

Cons

The reporting is a bit limited. Might be nice to have the ability to create some customized reports.

Easy to use performance management system

Overall, I think it's a great system and so much better than the one we had before. As mentioned, it's easy to use and to navigate, and the customer service team is very quick to respond to any questions. As an administrator, I love being able to log in as others in order to see what they're seeing - it makes my life easier.

Pros

The best feature about this software is its ease of use. A few of our employees aren't very technologically-minded, and they have no problem navigating the system and completing their reviews. It's simple and straightforward and offers a lot of flexibility.

Cons

We're just starting to use the Goals portion of the software, and, as a company, we're a bit on the conservative side, and we'd rather not have the employees be able to create their own measurements. It's great to have that feature, but there should also be a way to turn it off if we don't want it.

Bad - Horrible UI/UX that you will pay for over and over again

Lot of issues here that I want to point out with this software: 1) This software does not do corrective actions or Performance Improvement Plans, they try to tell you that it does in the sales presentations, but this software does not do it. They will tell you about a work around, but it is so complex and contrived that your managers will never use it, I promise. 2) We were trying to get the software to allow us to do a 6 month check-in, so essentially our managers would be able to meet with our employees halfway to their annual review and check in to see how they were coming along, not to be rated, but just a checkup to see how things were going. Sounds easy, right? Well, you'd be wrong on that too, and so was I. They launched into a super complex work around, which again was way more complex than any of my managers would ever need or be able to use. 3) Whenever I first looked at signing up to use this software, I liked the seemingly easy and simple to use interface that I had seen on demos and on videos on youtube. I thought, well, it's just about loading in positions and job data, then I should be off and running with this system. Well, their estimate for getting setup is typically at least 3 months, that should tell you something. I thought that they would just be doing a lot of hand holding, turns out that what they were really doing is making up for a poor UI and UX in their system. It is next to impossible to anticipate where to go, what to click, etc. They try to make up for it with their training, but it just seemed to frustrate me more that they wouldn't fix the clear weaknesses and complexness of their interface to suit the customer. They would rather spend an hour training you on how to do something super complex, and oh, by the way, if you mention to them that something is complex, unnecessary, or just plain not intuitive, instead of take the feedback, they actually get defensive and back up their reasoning for doing whatever they are doing in a totally illogical and contrived way. They need to take a page from Google and Apple and go back to the drawing board with their system and design something from the ground up that is EASY TO USE. 4) Scoring for employees is extremely complex and contrived, just ask them to show it to you in the sales process, you will see I could write more, but I ran out of room, check out JuvodHR if you are looking for a better solution, that's where I went.

Pros

Not really much to like, to be quite honest

Cons

5) There is this wonderful background jobs pop-up that pops up every time that you do ANYTHING in the application, I'm serious. You have to dismiss it manually every time, it is ridiculous, unnecessary, and very annoying. 6) There is no simple way to have them tie any type of notes or issues with an employee back to a part of their job description that it is supposed to match. Which, is really the basis of why you are keeping records for corrective actions, notices, etc, to protect yourself from an employee if you have to terminate for performance based reasons/issues. 7) If you have employees who don't sit at a desk or have their own computer, this system is not for you. It does not offer you a way to accommodate those employees. Again, they will talk about a solution or work around, but again, don't be fooled, they have no solution here either.

Awesome Software - We absolutely love Trakstar

Personally, I love Trakstar considering my several involvement as the lead HR Manager responsible for PMS. It was an easy sell to the Senior Management Team because it ticked all need boxes we had identified. The customization and integration process was a breeze, the account officer took a lot of the burden off us. Then transitioning the employees went smoothly, including the training. Our account officer worked so well with us and was willing to conduct trainings as early as 5am Eastern, considering the time difference between the US and our country offices in West Africa and Europe. She really appreciated her flexibility. As an administrator, I can tell you how effortless it is to assist employees, resolves issues, monitor the process, review reports and all required responsibilities. As a employee and a user, my appraisal was effortless. The reviews we have received from employees have been great, my manager is soo pleased with the system and feedback from the [SENSITIVE CONTENT HIDDEN] "I have never enjoyed appraisals as much as I am right now with Trakstar".

Pros

The flexibility of Trakstar to mirror the organization's current performance appraisal process was what sold us. We were able to adapt the software to fit our needs and the ease of use is absolutely great.

Cons

I honestly find it difficult to identity what I like least about this software. Compared to the previous software we used for Performance Appraisal, Trakstar is absolutely wonderful. It met all our software needs; the pricing was very reasonable, and the transition was effortless. From the sales agent to the account officer, we have had an awesome experience.

Higher Educational - Trakstar Review

The Customer Service experience is the best. They are very responsive by both phone and email.

Pros

The ease of use is the best feature of the software.

Cons

The goals - we had to do a work around and are using "measurements," and although this works, it makes it a little touchy when it comes to referring new users to the Trakstar support pages.