Sage HR, Lattice and 15Five for company goals: pros, cons and an alternative
Performance management tools set goals for people. Clearahead sets one goal for the company and finds what’s in the way
The short answer
Sage HR, Lattice and 15Five are people tools: performance reviews, 1:1s, feedback, engagement and individual or team goals, with Sage HR adding core HR such as leave and records. Clearahead isn’t an HR tool. It holds one company goal, the constraints holding it back and the moves that clear them, with AI keeping it current. If you need to manage and develop people, use a performance management tool. If you need the company aligned on what’s in the way of the goal, use Clearahead. Most growing companies will eventually want both.
Weighing up other options too? See OKR alternatives compared.
What are performance management tools?
Performance management tools help companies manage, develop and assess their people. The details vary, but most include performance reviews, 1:1 meetings, feedback, engagement surveys and goals, which can usually be set for individuals, teams and the company, often as OKRs. Three names come up often with growing companies:
- Sage HR is HR software for small businesses. Alongside core HR such as leave and people records, its performance module includes goals or OKRs at individual, team and company level, 1:1 meetings with templates, 360 feedback and surveys.
- Lattice is a people platform focused on performance reviews, goals, manager check-ins and engagement, often used by mid-sized and larger teams.
- 15Five is built around frequent check-ins, with OKRs, goals, reviews and engagement tools.
Others take a different starting point. Zensai builds performance, goals and learning into Microsoft Teams, and LutherOne starts from engagement surveys and people analytics. We’ve compared each in full.
Where they came from
For decades, performance management meant the annual review: a form, a rating and a conversation once a year. Over the 2010s, many companies moved to lighter, more frequent check-ins, and a new generation of software grew up to support them, bringing goals, feedback and 1:1s into one place.
Sage HR began as CakeHR, a London-based cloud HR platform for small businesses, which Sage acquired in 2019. Lattice and 15Five both grew out of the shift to continuous performance management. Goals became part of these tools because managers needed something to review people against.
Sage HR, Lattice and 15Five pros and cons
What Sage HR, Lattice and 15Five do well, and where they struggle.
Where Sage HR, Lattice and 15Five shine
- They give managers a structure for 1:1s, feedback and reviews.
- Goals can be set at individual, team and company level, often as OKRs.
- Engagement surveys and check-ins help spot people problems early.
- Sage HR adds core HR, such as leave and people records, for small businesses.
- They create a record of performance that helps with promotions and pay.
Where Sage HR, Lattice and 15Five struggle
- Goals in an HR tool tend to become individual targets tied to reviews, so people set safe ones.
- Company goals are often one feature among many, not the centre of the tool.
- They show whether people hit their goals, not what’s holding the company goal back.
- Goal updates often happen around review time rather than as the work moves.
- They’re built for HR and managers, not for the whole company to work in daily.
Sage HR, Lattice and 15Five vs Clearahead: side by side
| Sage HR, Lattice and 15Five | Clearahead | |
|---|---|---|
| What they are | HR and performance management: reviews, 1:1s, feedback, engagement and goals | Software for one company goal: the constraints holding it back and the moves that clear them |
| Examples | Sage HR (formerly CakeHR), Lattice, 15Five | Clearahead |
| Whose goals | Individuals and teams, often rolling up to the company | The company: one goal per workspace, worked on by everyone |
| The question it answers | How are our people performing and developing? | What is holding the goal back, and who is clearing it? |
| Keeping it current | Check-ins and updates, often around reviews and 1:1s | Owners tell AJ in a sentence; AJ updates the model and logs the evidence |
| People features | Reviews, 360 feedback, 1:1s, surveys, recognition | None. Owners on every move and three roles in the app |
| Cost | Usually priced per employee; see each vendor | Free for up to 3 people and 1 workspace; £297/month or £2,997/year for the whole company |
How they differ from Clearahead in practice
The overlap between these tools and Clearahead is one word: goals. But they mean different things by it.
People's goals, or the company's goal
In a performance tool, goals are mostly about people: what each person or team will achieve, and how they'll be assessed on it. In Clearahead, there's one goal per workspace, and it belongs to the company. Everyone works on it together: heads of department own the constraints, their teams own the moves, and advisers and the board follow along as Viewers.
Targets, or what's in the way
Performance goals measure whether someone hit their target. Clearahead is built on the Theory of Constraints, so it asks a different question: what's holding the company goal back? Those constraints sit in the order your team chooses, each with moves, owners and evidence.
Reviewed, or honest
When goals are tied to reviews, people tend to set ones they know they'll hit and report progress carefully. Clearahead isn't connected to anyone's review. Owners tell AJ, the AI inside Clearahead, in a sentence when a move starts, gets stuck or finishes, and "stuck" is useful information, not a black mark. AJ writes This week from AJ, with up to three things that need a decision.
What Clearahead doesn't do
Clearahead has no reviews, 1:1s, feedback, engagement surveys, recognition, HR records or leave management. If you need any of those, you need a people tool, and Clearahead won't replace it.
Should you choose Sage HR, Lattice and 15Five or Clearahead?
Choose Sage HR, Lattice and 15Five if
- You need performance reviews, 1:1s, feedback or engagement surveys.
- You want individual goals as part of how people are developed and assessed.
- You need core HR such as leave and records, which Sage HR covers for small businesses.
- Your biggest challenge is managing and growing people.
Choose Clearahead if
- Your challenge is a company goal that keeps slipping, not individual performance.
- You want goals that aren’t tied to reviews, so people are honest about what’s in the way.
- You need the whole company working on the same goal, not each person on their own.
- You want AI to keep the picture current, not a quarterly goal update before reviews.
Our honest read
These aren't really competitors; they're neighbours. A growing company needs a way to manage and develop its people, and Sage HR, Lattice and 15Five each do that well for different sizes of team.
Where companies come unstuck is using the goals feature in an HR tool as the way to run the company's priorities. Individual targets, reviewed quarterly, don't tell you what's holding the company back. Keep your people tool for people, and use Clearahead for the goal everyone is working towards. We've written about why that shared goal matters in Built for the whole company.
Questions about Sage HR, Lattice and 15Five
Is Clearahead an alternative to Sage HR, Lattice or 15Five?
No, not really. Those are people tools, and Clearahead has no reviews, 1:1s, feedback or HR records. Clearahead is an alternative only to using their goals feature to run the company’s priorities.
Can you use a performance management tool and Clearahead together?
Yes, and it often works well. Keep reviews, 1:1s and development in your HR tool. Run the company goal in Clearahead. Keeping the company goal separate from individual reviews also means people are more honest about what’s in the way.
Is Sage HR the same as CakeHR?
Yes. Sage acquired CakeHR, a cloud HR platform for small businesses, in 2019, and it became Sage HR.