# Small Improvements — Talent Management Small Improvements by Small Improvements Software GmbH holds a panel rating of 3/5 from 6 AI judges (category median 2/5), as of 2026-10-15. Provenance: EU-Made; sovereignty: not determined. - Vendor: Small Improvements Software GmbH (https://www.small-improvements.com) - Category: [Talent Management](https://whats-best.ai/software/talent-management.md) - Provenance (editorial classification): EU-Made - Canonical page: https://whats-best.ai/software/talent-management/small-improvements - Alternatives: https://whats-best.ai/software/talent-management/small-improvements/alternatives ([markdown](https://whats-best.ai/software/talent-management/small-improvements/alternatives.md)) - Data as of: 2026-10-20 · evaluated 2026-10-15 · oldest source captured 2026-10-13 **AI-generated.** Every score, rationale and verdict here is written by a panel of AI judges from public evidence — an analysis, not a hands-on test. Every fact quotes the vendor page it was read from. No score can be bought. How scores are made: https://whats-best.ai/methodology ## At a glance - Vendor: Small Improvements Software GmbH - Headquarters: Not stated on the vendor’s pages as of 13 Oct 2026 - Data hosting: Not stated on the vendor’s pages as of 13 Oct 2026 - Free plan: Not stated on the vendor’s pages as of 13 Oct 2026 - Starting price: “Small Improvements starts at $3 a month, per user.” (vendor’s words) [S2] ## The panel's verdict Small Improvements, a talent management platform from a vendor presenting as a Berlin company, targets organisations of 50 to 750 staff. The bench found it strongest at performance reviews and goals: performance review scores run 7-8, with calibration that tracks two rating versions, distributions by department, location and gender, and role-by-role permission documentation; goals and feedback scores run 7-8 on cascading objectives and a stored record that feeds the next review. It is weakest at pricing transparency, scored 1-2, with no public price figures, pricing basis, minimum term or VAT treatment, and at learning and development, scored 2-4, where the visible material is a nine-box and AI claims rather than learning paths, a skills framework or succession planning. Sovereignty scores 3-4: the platform is hosted by Google Ireland Ltd. in Dublin with an EU data center available, but no subprocessor list is published and where the AI features process is not stated. The judges scored consistently — no criterion spans more than two points — with codetermination and privacy at 4-6 and integrations and portability at 6-7. **Speaks for it:** - Calibration tracks both the pre-calibrated and final rating versions, with distributions cut by department, location and gender - Role-by-role permission documentation names who may view review content, and even HR Admins cannot access data above them in the hierarchy - A full XML export of the company database is usable to populate another system on exit, alongside per-feature ZIP exports - Objectives cascade from individual to company level, with Slack updates and stored notes that prepare the next formal review - A Swagger-documented REST API with revocable personal access tokens joins SSO, SFTP sync and CSV import **Held against it:** - No public price figures, pricing basis, minimum term or VAT treatment — the annual invoice is a sales conversation - Development stops at a nine-box, AI-surfaced training needs and an uploadable career matrix, with no public information on learning paths, a skills framework, an LMS or succession planning - No published subprocessor list — removal from related subprocessors requires contacting support — and no statement on where the AI features process or which provider runs them - HRIS integrations appear in the tier structure without a single named system, and no public information covers SCIM provisioning or webhooks - No public information on a minimum group size for confidential survey results or on retention settings for review data **Best for:** - You run a company of 50 to 750 staff and want calibrated review cycles with objectives cascading between them - You need a documented roles-and-permissions rulebook you can build a works agreement around - You want your data to leave with you — a full company database export usable to populate another system if you switch - Your team works in Slack and wants objective updates delivered into a channel in real time **Avoid if:** - You need a real development programme — skills frameworks, learning paths, course delivery or succession plans for key roles - You must compute your annual invoice from published prices before entering a sales process - You need a published subprocessor list and a named model provider for the AI features before employee data flows to them ## Scores by judge and criterion Scores out of 5, each judge scoring independently against the published rubric (v1). "n/r" = not rated: the vendor publishes no price. | Criterion | The Head of HR | The Managing Director | The People Analyst | The Works Council Member | The HR IT Integrator | The Skeptic | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Performance reviews & calibration | 4/5 | 4/5 | 4/5 | 4/5 | 3.5/5 | 4/5 | | Goals, OKRs & continuous feedback | 3.5/5 | 4/5 | 3.5/5 | 3.5/5 | 3.5/5 | 4/5 | | Learning, skills & succession | 1.5/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 | 1/5 | 2/5 | 1.5/5 | | Works council, visibility & AI disclosure | 3/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | 2/5 | | HRIS sync, integrations & data portability | 3.5/5 | 3.5/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | 3.5/5 | 3/5 | | European sovereignty | 1.5/5 | 2/5 | 1.5/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 | 1.5/5 | | Pricing transparency | 1/5 | 0.5/5 | 0.5/5 | 0.5/5 | 1/5 | 1/5 | | **Weighted verdict** | **3/5** | **3/5** | **3/5** | **2.5/5** | **3/5** | **2.5/5** | ### The judges - **The Head of HR** (v1.0): Runs the annual review cycle for four hundred people and has to defend every rating in it. Wants criteria fixed before the cycle starts, calibration across departments, reminders that chase managers so HR does not have to, and a review history the employee can see and sign. - **The Managing Director** (v1.0): Runs a sixty-person company without a talent team and wants goals everyone can see, regular one-to-ones that actually happen, and a yearly conversation that is prepared rather than improvised. Has no patience for a suite that needs a consultant before the first review goes out. - **The People Analyst** (v1.0): Owns the skills model, the succession bench and the training budget. Wants skills profiles with gaps against role requirements, learning tied to those gaps rather than to a course catalogue, talent reviews per key role, and data that can be exported and analysed outside the tool. - **The Works Council Member** (v1.0): Has to sign the works agreement before any of this goes live. Asks who can read a manager's private note, how small a team may be before survey results stop being anonymous, how long ratings are kept, and whether any AI feature summarises or scores colleagues without a human deciding. - **The HR IT Integrator** (v1.0): Connects the tool to the HR system and the identity provider and will be asked for the data when the contract ends. Wants org chart and manager relations synced from the HRIS, SSO and SCIM, a documented API, and a full export of reviews and goals rather than one PDF per person. - **The Skeptic** (v1.0): Has heard "high-performance culture", "bias-free reviews" and "AI-powered growth" from every vendor. Reads for the anonymity threshold behind the anonymous survey, what the AI review summary was built from, whether the "skills engine" is more than a tag list, and whether five years of reviews leave with the customer. ## European sovereignty — proven facts Built only from facts on the vendor's own pages; a dimension we could not prove is left open, never scored as zero. Headline: not determined. | Dimension | Finding | Points | Source | |---|---|---|---| | Legal entity | Not determined | — | — | | Ownership | Not determined | — | — | | Data residency | Not determined | — | — | | Subprocessors | Not determined | — | — | ## Key facts Each fact is the vendor's own statement, cited to the source page it was read from ([S*n*] → Sources). **Compliance** - Children protection: yes [S3] - DPA: yes · DocuSign [S11] - Encryption: yes [S3] - Pen testing: HackerOne · yes [S9] - Right to be forgotten: Small Improvements and subprocessors · 17 · yes [S11] - Security measures: yes [S3] - Trust center: security- and privacy-related processes and guidelines in trust center [S11] **Data** - Analytics merge revocation: yes [S3] - Cookie usage: yes · yes [S3] - Deletion admin: yes · yes [S11] - Export features: performance reviews · 360 feedback · objectives · 1:1 meetings · praise statistics · feedback requests · pulse surveys · directory · individual employee data [S12] - Export methods: multiple export methods per feature [S12] - Export xml: XML · GDPR data portability and deletion support · yes [S11] - Exports location: Settings > Latest Exports [S12] - GDPR rights: access (Art. 15) · rectification (Art. 16) · erasure (Art. 17) · restriction (Art. 18) · portability (Art. 20) · objection (Art. 21) · withdrawal of consent (Art. 7(3)) · complaint to supervisory authority (Art. 77) [S3] - Log retention: 7 [S3] - Newsletter double optin: yes [S3] - Xml delivery: ZIP files grouped by feature [S12] - Xml full export: full company database · yes [S12] - Xml migration use: yes [S12] - Xml settings location: Settings > Company Settings [S12] **Hosting** - Data centers: app (default) · eu [S13] - Platform host: Dublin, Ireland · Google Ireland Ltd. [S3] - Website hosting: external service provider (processor under Art. 28 GDPR) [S3] **Integrations** - API authentication: Bearer token in Authorization header [S13] - API documentation: Swagger [S13] - API request response time: 7 · 10 [S13] - API URL prefix: /api/v2 [S13] - CSV export: yes [S5] - CSV import: yes [S5] - Feature page: yes [S1] - Import templates: xlsx · csv [S5] - Personal access tokens: personal access tokens · yes [S13] - Rest API available: REST · yes [S13] - Security center: yes [S4] - Slack: Slack integration provides real-time objective updates and serves public objectives in a channel [S7] - Token display once: yes [S13] - Token management: yes · yes [S13] **Legal** - Address: Berlin · Rosa-Luxemburg-Straße 20 · Deutschland · 10178 [S4] - Company location: EU · Germany [S11] - Content responsible: Per Fragemann [S4] - Controller: Rosa-Luxemburg-Straße 20 10178 Berlin · Germany · Small Improvements Software GmbH [S3] - Entity name: Small Improvements Software GmbH [S4] - No profiling: no [S3] - Register: Amtsgericht Charlottenburg · HRB 134106 B [S4] - Social media facebook: yes · Meta Platforms Ireland Ltd. [S3] - Social media instagram: yes · Facebook Ireland / Instagram [S3] - Social media linkedin: yes · LinkedIn Inc. [S3] - Social media x: yes · Twitter International Unlimited Company [S3] - VAT id: DE277446114 [S4] **Pricing** - Elevate: annually · 9 · yes [S2] - Grow: annually · 6 · yes [S2] - Launch: annually · 3 · yes [S2] - Starting price: 3 [S2] - Trial: yes · yes [S1] - Trial: yes · 30 [S2] - Volume discounts: yes [S2] **Product** - Admin analytics: yes [S1] - Admin configuration: Admins can configure status field or completion percentage, public/private default, priority weighting [S7] - Admin limits: no [S10] - AI objectives coach: yes [S1] - Anytime feedback: yes [S1] - Article date: 2026-03-05 [S10] - Board summary charts: Shareable interactive summary charts for management [S6] - Bug count: 30 [S9] - Bulk rating update: yes [S5] - Calibration: Calibration via averages and distributions of ratings across departments, locations, genders [S6] - Calibration cycles: yes [S5] - Calibration rating visibility: no · yes [S5] - Calibration tab: yes · yes [S5] - Cascading objectives: Cascading objectives link individual Objectives to team, department, or company-wide Objectives [S7] - Cheatsheet 1on1: HR Admin · HR Assistant · HR Admin · HR Assistant · HR Admin · HR Assistant · HR Admin · HR Assistant [S10] - Cheatsheet 360: HR Admin · HR Admin · HR Assistant · HR Admin · HR Admin · HR Admin · HR Assistant [S10] - Cheatsheet anytime feedback: HR Admin · HR Assistant · HR Admin only if author grants visibility · HR Admin · HR Assistant · HR Admin · HR Assistant · HR Admin [S10] - Cheatsheet general admin: only if also Tech Admin · HR Admin · HR Assistant · only if also Tech Admin · HR Admin · HR Assistant · HR Admin · HR Admin · HR Assistant · HR Admin · HR Assistant · HR Admin · HR Assistant · HR Admin · HR Admin · HR Assistant · Tech Admi… [S10] - Cheatsheet objectives: HR Admin · HR Assistant · HR Admin · HR Assistant · HR Admin [S10] - Cheatsheet performance reviews: HR Admin · HR Admin · HR Admin · HR Assistant · HR Admin · HR Assistant · HR Admin [S10] - Cheatsheet praise: HR Admin · HR Assistant · HR Admin · HR Assistant · HR Admin · HR Admin · HR Assistant [S10] - Cheatsheet pulse surveys: HR Admin · HR Assistant · HR Admin · HR Assistant only for surveys they created [S10] - Cheatsheet user management: HR Admin · HR Assistant · HR Admin · HR Assistant · HR Admin · HR Assistant · HR Admin · HR Admin · HR Assistant · Tech Admin · HR Admin · HR Assistant · HR Admin · HR Admin · HR Assistant · Tech Admin · HR Admin · HR Assistant · Tech Admi… [S10] - Code ownership: Collective code ownership; every senior developer works on all parts of the codebase [S9] - Code review: All work via pull requests, code-reviewed before going live [S9] - Company reporting: Company-wide objective reporting by department, status, location [S7] - Customer data responsibility: customer [S3] - Customer selection policy: Reserves right to decline customers in industries such as gambling; assesses every case individually [S2] - Customization: yes · yes · yes [S1] - Cycle visibility supersedes: yes [S10] - Demo: Demo booking available [S7] - Deployment schedule: Auto-deploy to staging twice daily; senior devs can deploy to live Mon-Thu before 4pm [S9] - Elevate features: Everything in Grow · All features · All Integrations · All Customizations · Advanced Analytics [S2] - Export filters: department · team · location · manager [S5] - Feature list: Performance Reviews · 360 Degree Feedback · Feedback Requests · 1:1 Meetings · Goals and Objectives · Pulse Surveys · Praise · Integrations [S2] - Features: Performance Reviews · 360 Degree Feedback · Feedback Requests · 1:1 Meetings · Goals and Objectives · Pulse Surveys · Praise · Integrations [S4] - Feedback history: Notes, key milestones and peer insights are stored in one place to prepare future formal reviews and 360s [S8] - Feedback into action: Feedback-into-Action tool identifies themes in peer feedback and suggests objectives [S7] - Feedback request: Request Feedback feature lets users gather insights from peers [S8] - Finished writing indicator: yes [S5] - Frontend tech: Uses TanStack, Recharts, React, Java, Rspack [S9] - Grow features: Everything in Launch · 360º & Anytime Feedback · Essential Objectives · 1:1 Meetings · Pulse Surveys · Slack integration [S2] - HR admin 360 limitations: HR Admin access in 360 Feedback restricted by cycle visibility settings [S10] - HR admin objectives limitation: protected objectives of reporting line [S10] - HR admin performance limitation: managers' reviews [S10] - HR admin restriction: yes [S10] - HR admin scope: HR Admins administer feedback/review processes, change reporting structure, access confidential data such as performance review content for almost everyone [S10] - HR assistant reporting structure: no · yes [S10] - HR assistant scope: yes · no [S10] - Knowledge sharing: Weekly DevExchange knowledge-sharing sessions [S9] - Launch features: Essential Performance Reviews · Praise · Company Directory · HRIS integrations · Google Sign-in [S2] - Lost admin recovery: Contact support team if all admins have left the company [S10] - Meeting templates: Users can create company-level 1:1 meeting templates with custom talking points [S8] - Nine box: 9-box placements can be tied to performance reviews [S6] - Objective screen: Objective screen lets users describe desired outcomes, track key results, and update status [S7] - Objectives coach AI: AI-powered Objectives Coach suggests refinements to goals [S7] - Objectives integration: AI assists in turning review ideas into live Objectives [S6] - Objectives milestones: Objectives can define key milestones for a 30-60-90 day introductory period with an owner [S8] - Onboarding 1x1 objectives: 1:1 meeting templates and Objectives support new-hire onboarding with 30-60-90 day goals and continuous feedback [S8] - One on one meetings: yes · yes [S1] - Pager duty: yes [S9] - Permission management UI: Directory page > Edit Permissions dropdown [S10] - Platform modules: performance reviews · objectives · 1:1 meetings · pulse surveys · yes [S1] - Praise recognition: yes [S1] - Pre calibrated rating tracking: yes · yes [S5] - Product emails: Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR · yes [S3] - Progress grouping: Review progress groupable by location, entity or division [S6] - Pulse survey confidentiality: yes · yes · yes [S1] - Release notes: Public release notes published [S9] - Remote work: Remote team using Slack, GitHub, Linear, Zoom and pair programming [S9] - Review custom AI coaches: Custom AI Coaches with full control over prompts, uploadable policies/values/career matrix [S6] - Review cycle automation: yes · yes [S1] - Review dashboard: Review command center dashboard with charts, progress tracking, and review management [S6] - Role assignment rules: Super Users assign any role; HR Admins appoint HR Assistants and HR Admins [S10] - Self review permissions: Admins control self-assessment visibility, employee view of manager comments before finalization, indirect manager grace-period access [S6] - Super admin definition: HR Admin + Tech Admin [S10] - Super admin permissions: if enabled · yes · yes · yes [S10] - Super user minimum: 1 [S10] - Surveys integration: Pulse & Engagement Surveys available as companion feature [S6] - Target size: SMB · 750 · 50 [S1] - Team dashboard: Team dashboard to view colleagues' objectives and priorities [S7] - Team tenure: Core dev team members have 2-10 years tenure at Small Improvements [S9] - Tech admin scope: yes · yes · no [S10] 5 more facts on the canonical page: https://whats-best.ai/software/talent-management/small-improvements ## Questions ### Is Small Improvements European? Yes. whats-best.ai classifies Small Improvements as EU-Made. ### Where does Small Improvements store data? Not stated on the vendor’s pages as of 13 Oct 2026. ### Does Small Improvements have a free plan? Not stated on the vendor’s pages as of 13 Oct 2026. ### What are the best alternatives to Small Improvements? As of 15 Oct 2026, the panel rates [Culture Amp (3/5)](https://whats-best.ai/software/talent-management/culture-amp), [Leapsome (2.5/5)](https://whats-best.ai/software/talent-management/leapsome) and [Betterworks (2.5/5)](https://whats-best.ai/software/talent-management/betterworks) highest among the other 15 Talent Management products evaluated. Ratings that look equal are rounded to half stars; the order uses the unrounded rating, then the name. The highest-rated European alternative is [Leapsome](https://whats-best.ai/software/talent-management/leapsome) (EU-Made). Ratings are the AI panel’s opinion, formed from public evidence: [how scores are made](https://whats-best.ai/methodology#ordering). The full list, with European products first: [Small Improvements alternatives](https://whats-best.ai/software/talent-management/small-improvements/alternatives). ## What this page leaves out - 16 product facts could not be confirmed on the vendor’s page as captured and were left out of this page and of the panel’s material. - 5 integrations facts could not be confirmed on the vendor’s page as captured and were left out of this page and of the panel’s material. - 5 subprocessors facts could not be confirmed on the vendor’s page as captured and were left out of this page and of the panel’s material. - 2 compliance facts could not be confirmed on the vendor’s page as captured and were left out of this page and of the panel’s material. - 2 data facts could not be confirmed on the vendor’s page as captured and were left out of this page and of the panel’s material. - 1 pricing fact could not be confirmed on the vendor’s page as captured and was left out of this page and of the panel’s material. - 1 support fact could not be confirmed on the vendor’s page as captured and was left out of this page and of the panel’s material. - 1 sovereignty dimension could not be confirmed on the vendor’s own pages and is shown as unknown. - 6 of the readings below were written against an earlier fact sheet — a fact has been corrected, added or pulled since. Until the panel next runs on this product you are reading the older judgement. ## Sources - [S1] Vendor homepage: https://www.small-improvements.com/ (checked 2026-10-13) - [S2] Pricing page: https://www.small-improvements.com/pricing/ (checked 2026-10-13) - [S3] Privacy policy: https://www.small-improvements.com/privacy/ (checked 2026-10-13) - [S4] Legal notice: https://www.small-improvements.com/impressum/ (checked 2026-10-13) - [S5] Performance reviews & calibration — found from sitemap: https://intercomdocs.small-improvements.com/en/articles/13641946-performance-reviews-calibration-ratings (checked 2026-10-13) - [S6] Performance reviews & calibration — found from sitemap: https://www.small-improvements.com/features/performance-reviews/ (checked 2026-10-13) - [S7] Goals, OKRs & continuous feedback — found from sitemap: https://www.small-improvements.com/features/goals-objectives/ (checked 2026-10-13) - [S8] Goals, OKRs & continuous feedback — found from sitemap: https://intercomdocs.small-improvements.com/en/articles/9189789-1-1-meetings-objectives-onboarding-new-employees (checked 2026-10-13) - [S9] Learning, skills & succession — found from sitemap: https://www.small-improvements.com/company/development/ (checked 2026-10-13) - [S10] Works council, visibility & AI disclosure — found from sitemap: https://intercomdocs.small-improvements.com/en/articles/9146183-roles-and-permissions (checked 2026-10-13) - [S11] Works council, visibility & AI disclosure — found from sitemap: https://intercomdocs.small-improvements.com/en/articles/9146268-small-improvements-and-gdpr (checked 2026-10-13) - [S12] HRIS sync, integrations & data portability — found from sitemap: https://intercomdocs.small-improvements.com/en/articles/9522940-exports (checked 2026-10-13) - [S13] HRIS sync, integrations & data portability — found from sitemap: https://intercomdocs.small-improvements.com/en/articles/9151054-small-improvements-rest-api (checked 2026-10-13) --- Cite as: whats-best.ai, "Small Improvements — Talent Management", AI panel analysis, as of 2026-10-20. https://whats-best.ai/software/talent-management/small-improvements Corrections: https://whats-best.ai/correct/523?target=page