Betterworks vs. Workday Talent Management

Workday was built to manage your workforce

Betterworks was built to drive their performance

Workday gives enterprises a trusted foundation for workforce data, payroll, and governance. Betterworks adds the purpose-built performance layer that helps leaders turn that foundation into stronger execution, more effective managers, and better talent decisions — without replacing Workday.

Book a demo Take a tour

Over two million employees run performance on Betterworks

4.5 on Gartner

Trusted for the data. Avoided for the work.

The old way

Workday earns its trust as the system of record

Payroll, workforce data, compliance, all in one platform. But performance
is one module within that suite, and teams often run into cumbersome 
workflows, limited flexibility, and workarounds outside the system — 
leaving managers less engaged and leaders with less insight for 
talent decisions.

The Betterworks way

Betterworks was built for one job

Making performance a program people actually use. It connects goals to the work people are doing, gives managers richer context for coaching, and turns ongoing performance signals into better talent decisions — and it all sits on top of Workday, so the system of record doesn't change, only what happens inside the performance process does.

Where Betterworks leads

Four places the difference shows up

Calibration that doesn't need a two-day spreadsheet sprint

Workday Talent Management supports calibration, but teams often describe doing the real evaluation outside the system first — including in spreadsheets — because the process is tied to rigid cycles and system constraints. That means more manual work for HR and a less complete picture for leaders making talent decisions.

Why Betterworks

Betterworks makes calibration evidence-based, bringing goals, performance history, and talent context directly into the process. Calibration is also decoupled from review cycles — run it any time, in any box configuration, with 25+ configurable fields and a full audit log — so nobody's rebuilding the picture in a spreadsheet afterward.

Explore Calibration

85%

OKR adoption in the first 45 days

Goal progress that doesn't wait on a second integration

Workday Talent Management supports structured, cascading goals, but automatic progress tracking from the tools where work actually happens can require a separate product like WorkBoard, or a custom build.

Why Betterworks

Goals are Betterworks' founding product — OKRs, SMART goals, or a custom methodology, with progress tracked automatically from Jira, Asana, Salesforce, and Google Sheets. AI Goal Assist drafts suggested goals from your own org data, no add-on required.

Explore Goals & OKRs

AI built for performance, not the whole HR suite

Workday is investing broadly in AI across HR, Finance, and IT, but that breadth doesn't necessarily translate into deeper support for the moments that shape employee performance.

Why Betterworks

Betterworks' AI has one job: performance. Goal AI Assist generates role-specific goal suggestions from your own org data. Skills are recommended based on real work and feedback. MCP brings performance data into the AI tools people already use every day. And these are just a few of the capabilities built to help employees and managers drive better performance all year long.

Explore AI for HR

Own your performance program without waiting on IT

In Workday Talent Management, changes to performance programs can require HRIS expertise, tickets, and technical support — slowing down HR teams that want to own their own programs and easily adapt processes as the business changes.

Why Betterworks

Betterworks gives HR and talent teams direct control over the programs they run, from review cycles and templates to flexible calibration and reporting. Teams can make changes quickly, test what works, and continuously improve performance without turning every update into an HRIS project.

Explore Performance Management

How Betterworks compares to Workday Talent Management

Betterworks

vs

Workday Talent Management

Goals & OKRs

Betterworks

Full support
AI-assisted goals; automated progress tracking via Jira, Asana, Salesforce, Sheets, and more

Workday Talent Management

Full support
Structured, cascading goals; automated progress tracking appears to require a separate product (e.g. WorkBoard)

Calibration

Betterworks

Full support
Runs on its own schedule — any time, any box config, 25+ fields, full audit trail, results sync to the talent profile

Workday Talent Management

Full support
9-box Talent Review module tied to review cycles; configuration limits and admin complexity

Feedback

Betterworks

Full support
Give feedback via Betterworks or through Slack, Teams, Gmail, and Outlook; feeds AI summaries and reviews

Workday Talent Management

Full support
Anytime feedback available, adoption limited by UX friction and unreliable notifications

Conversations & reviews

Betterworks

Full support
Scheduled and anytime conversations tied to goals, feedback, and calibration in one view

Workday Talent Management

Full support
Customizable templates; rigid workflows and limits on rating-fields

AI for performance

Betterworks

Full support
Goal Assist, Writing Assist, Feedback Summary, Performance Summary — private LLM, opt-in

Workday Talent Management

Full support
Sana's performance-specific capabilities unconfirmed from field; deeper features require Full Suite tier

Reporting & insights

Betterworks

Full support
Manager Insights dashboard (13 metrics), self-serve, no IT ticket required

Workday Talent Management

Full support
Strong HRIS-wide reporting; custom performance reports typically need HRIS/IT support

Flow-of-work integrations

Betterworks

Full support
Slack, Teams, Gmail, Outlook for feedback, goals, and recognition

Workday Talent Management

Full support
Limited performance-specific capabilities

Skills intelligence

Betterworks

Full support
AI-inferred from goals, feedback, and 1:1s; manager verification workflow

Workday Talent Management

Full support
Skills Cloud infers skills, but field reports cite adoption challenges from setup burden

Career development & mobility

Betterworks

Limited support
Succession planning and IDPs; Career Pathing on roadmap (Winter 2027)

Workday Talent Management

Limited support
Career Hub, Talent Marketplace, Learning, succession planning

Engagement surveys

Betterworks

Full support
Pulse, lifecycle, and eNPS surveys built in

Workday Talent Management

Full support
Workday Peakon Employee Voice — dedicated, research-backed engagement product
Full
Limited
Not available

Trusted by enterprise teams turning
performance into impact

Leading organizations use Betterworks to connect goals, feedback, skills, and talent intelligence — helping HR leaders improve alignment, support managers, and make better decisions.

“Partnering with Betterworks has allowed us to enable year-round performance conversations with our workforce. A dynamic platform where we can modify goals, track progress, and get feedback on a regular basis.”

Humera Shahid

VP of Talent Development, Intuit

“Betterworks is helping us build a culture of regular 1:1 conversations, ongoing feedback and recognition, and goals aligned to our common objectives”

Dolça Freixes Pascual

Talent & Culture Advisor, Ferrer

“Betterworks has helped define employee-manager expectations on both business and behavioral outcomes, leading to increased efficiency and engagement, stronger collaboration, and higher morale.”

Sanjana Sambantham

HR Application Specialist, Collinson

“We wanted to ensure there is transparency, visibility, and alignment across the firm for all the big, audacious goals that matter to us, and we realized that Betterworks is one of the best platforms that can help us turn this philosophy into reality for our employees.”

Vincy Philip

Vice President, Organization Design & Talent Development, Arcesium

98%

completion rates for reviews

“The partnership was very clear, right from the first person I spoke with. There’s a whole team working together to help us succeed — and that’s been true from the support we received through integration to the support we receive today from our client success manager.”

Andrea Malec

Manager of Talent Management and Development, The Driving Force Group of Companies

88%

Employee Role Clarity

“The Betterworks platform has given us the tools to streamline engagement, and it doesn’t feel like a chore. Employees can come in, get it done, and move on knowing that they’ve done what they needed to do to the right level.”

Matthew Meech

Talent Development Manager, LivePerson

75%

Faster Feedback Delivery

“Betterworks has helped us see where we are in relation to our goals, pressure ourselves to think differently, and to be honest with ourselves. …Betterworks helped show us we were not where we needed to be, and more importantly, to understand why we were not there. ”

Mónica Monserrat Cabrera Solís

Manager of Corporate Strategy, Grupo Posadas

97%

OKR Adoption

Experts along the way

Named experts, not a help center. For every customer.

Every Betterworks customer gets a named Program Architect and a designated CSM — with a custom SOW, defined success metrics, and executive business reviews built in from day one.

Our implementation team includes organizational psychologists and change management specialists averaging 10+ years of experience, with 2 months of hypercare support standard after go-live.

Implementation isn't a handoff. It's the start of an ongoing partnership.

90+

Implementation NPS Score

14+

Average years of HR experience on the implementation team

187,000

Largest employee count implemented

See how Customer Success and Implementation work

Everything Integrated

No need to rip and replace

Already running Workday for HCM, payroll, or workforce operations? Betterworks integrates directly with Workday, so it stays your system of record while Betterworks becomes the dedicated performance layer on top of it.

  • Pre-built, bi-directional Workday integration

  • Goals, feedback, and calibration outcomes sync back to the employee record

  • No disruption to Workday's role as your governed system of record

See all integrations

Ready to get started?

Connect with a Betterworks Expert

We can help your organization drive business impact through performance.

Talk to an expert

Self-guided product tour

See how Betterworks connects goals, feedback, skills, and talent intelligence.

Take a tour

Frequently asked questions (FAQs)

Is Workday good for performance management?

Workday is an excellent enterprise system of record with broad HCM and talent capabilities. Organizations on Workday often find that the performance module comes bundled in but doesn't drive the manager behavior, adoption, or talent visibility they need — which is where a dedicated performance platform comes in.

What's the best Workday Talent Management alternative for performance management?

Betterworks is the strongest option for organizations that want to keep Workday as their system of record while running performance on a purpose-built platform — with flexible calibration, connected goals, and AI built specifically for the performance workflow.

Can Betterworks work alongside Workday?

Yes. Betterworks integrates directly with Workday, so you don't have to choose between them. Workday remains your governed system of record for HR, payroll, and workforce data, while Betterworks becomes your dedicated performance and talent intelligence layer.

How is Betterworks different from Workday's Talent Management suite?

Workday Talent Management spans the full talent lifecycle — recruiting, onboarding, skills, learning, career development, and performance — as part of one HCM platform. Betterworks is narrower by design: it's focused specifically on making performance and talent decisions better, with the depth in goals, feedback, calibration, and talent intelligence that a broader suite doesn't always prioritize.

Does Betterworks replace Workday?

Not as your HRIS. Most organizations keep Workday as their system of record for employee data, payroll, and workforce operations, while using Betterworks to run performance. Betterworks becomes the dedicated layer for goals, feedback, reviews, calibration, and talent intelligence — with key data syncing back to Workday.

Is Betterworks built for enterprise organizations?

Yes. Betterworks supports mid-market and enterprise organizations, including the largest and most complex global workforces, with role-based access, localization in 29 languages, and enterprise-grade security.

Does Betterworks offer skills, career development, or succession planning like Workday Talent Management?

Betterworks includes AI-powered skills intelligence, calibration, and succession planning, with development capabilities continuing to expand. Workday offers a broader ecosystem for career mobility, learning, and skills marketplaces, while Betterworks focuses on connecting skills and development directly to goals, feedback, coaching, and talent decisions.