Top HR Tools
Key takeaways
- I look for a shared agenda, notes, or action items that carry forward.
- I file a product only when the cited page describes one of those.
- The plan question sits on the guide row, next to the pricing page and the date.
- A review cycle is not a 1:1, even when the same vendor sells both.
A 1:1 is a recurring meeting between a manager and one person. I file software when the cited page keeps a shared agenda, the notes, or the open items from one week to the next. A reminder with an empty page does not qualify, and a review form does not either.
The names that cleared that bar are on the 1:1 guide. 360 feedback is a different object: many raters, one cycle.
The thread is the feature
- AgendaBoth people can edit it
- NotesLast meeting is still there
- ActionsOpen items carry forward
I look for at least one of those three on the vendor page. If the page only says the manager and the employee should talk after a review, I do not invent a shared agenda. The product stays off the guide.
The rows I will point at
Lattice
15Five
Fellow
Culture Amp
Leapsome
The Lattice row is there because the 1:1 page says managers work with direct reports on meeting agendas, cadence, and action items. The pricing page says 1:1s are included with Performance, Goals and OKRs, or Engagement. The lowest of those published cards is Engagement at $4 per seat per month, and the minimum annual agreement is still $4,000.
The 15Five row is there because the product page says managers and their reports add agenda items during the week, and that talking points turn into action items. The pricing table marks 1-on-1 agendas, action items, and notes as included on Perform and Total Platform, not on Engage. Perform is $11 per user per month billed annually.
The Fellow row is there because the 1:1 page says both attendees can contribute to the agenda and the action items, collaborate on notes, and carry those action items to the next meeting. The pricing page lists Free at $0, Team at $7, Business at $15, and Enterprise at $25 per user per month billed annually. It does not say which plan includes that shared agenda.
The Culture Amp row is there because the 1-on-1 page says managers and employees plan 1-on-1s with shared agendas. I do not add notes or carried-forward actions. That page does not say them. The pricing FAQ says 1-on-1 conversations are included, and the page publishes no dollar amount.
The Leapsome row is there because the meetings page says participants can add talking points to a collaborative agenda, and that meeting notes and action items stay in an accessible history. The pricing page lists Meetings & instant feedback on Agentic HRIS Foundation and does not publish a separate meetings price. That card shows €0 per employee per month until December 31 when a Talent Suite module is purchased.
A 1:1 is not the review
Review cycles are scheduled and often calibrated. A 1:1 is the meeting between those cycles. Products on the performance guide can sell both. I still open the 1:1 row, not the review form, when the habit I want is the meeting. If the page I opened does not describe the agenda, the notes, or the carried-forward actions, the name is not in this essay.
The question I ask in the demo
I ask the seller to open last month's 1:1 and show the agenda both people can edit, or the notes, or the action items that are still open. I then check that screen against the row. If the quote is a plan the pricing page did not mark as included, I stop. The HRIS guide is the other place I look when the question is whether the employee record, not the meeting, is what I am buying.
