Lattice Frequently Asked Questions

Once a manager has clarified expectations, offered consistent feedback, and provided support, yet performance is not improving, coaching may have run its course. Give it time, LaFranchi notes, but after four weeks of focused coaching with no improvement, a more formal intervention, like a PIP, may be warranted.

“PIPs are really when there is either a significant portion of their role that they're unable to fulfill to expectation and/or it's at a point where these issues have been discussed [through] feedback, but they're not changing,” Pieczonka said.

Violations can lead to disciplinary action, ranging from a warning to termination, depending on the severity of the offense and its impact on the company. Refer to the company’s employee handbook for further information about disciplinary actions.

There are three primary types of matrix organizational structures: weak, balanced, and strong. In a weak matrix, functional managers retain most authority; in a balanced matrix, authority is shared between functional and project managers; and in a strong matrix, project managers take the lead on execution and decision-making.

Tracking eNPS gives organizations a clear view of employee satisfaction and engagement levels. It helps HR teams pinpoint issues, improve retention, and build a stronger organizational culture by addressing employee concerns proactively.

One of the most common mistakes is framing your purchase around the features you think you need, rather than the business problems you’re trying to solve. Some teams also treat HR software as an HR-only tool — which causes broader integration and data fragmentation challenges when other stakeholders, like finance and IT, use different software for mutual processes like payroll or onboarding.

Companies also often choose systems that solve their organization’s current problems, but don’t flex as the organization evolves.

Businesses commonly conduct audits following certain triggers like rapid growth or downsizing, recurring compliance or data issues, inconsistent people processes, low manager effectiveness scores, or outdated HR technology. They can use the audit’s insights to improve efficiency and scalability as the business evolves.

Three of the most common areas of improvement include communication skills, time management, and collaboration. These skills directly impact workplace relationships, productivity, and team dynamics. Managers should always identify specific areas of improvement using performance data and analytics to tailor them to each employee.

Lattice provides access to best-in-class compensation benchmarks, powered by Mercer, allowing organizations to make fair and informed decisions that optimize their budget when hiring new talent or adjusting employee pay.

Transparency, support, feedback, and freedom of expression all help establish psychological safety at work. During one-on-one sessions, show that you can act on feedback, admit mistakes, and ask thoughtful questions. Over time, a predictable one-on-one structure, documented action items, and ongoing dialogue make one-on-ones feel less like evaluations and more like an ongoing, respectful working partnership.

If selected for the program, you will join relevant training sessions with your cohort. The 30-150 minute sessions, along with assessments, aim to help People Leaders apply their expertise with Lattice customers. These sessions are required for certification.

Lattice's compensation management tools cover the full cycle of pay decisions. Teams can access salary benchmarking powered by Mercer data, build and visualize compensation bands, run merit and bonus cycles, analyze pay equity across teams and demographics, and generate shareable compensation statements for employees. Everything lives in one place, connected to performance and engagement data, so leaders can make pay decisions with full context rather than in isolation.

Lattice's IDPs consist of two main features: Growth Areas and Career Vision. Growth Areas allow employees to focus on short-term development goals, while Career Vision exercises help in planning long-term career aspirations.

Relationships that involve emotional intimacy, financial interdependence, or personal time spent together outside work that could impact objectivity or workplace dynamics.

The Lattice MCP Server is designed so that connecting an AI tool never widens user access to Lattice data. It uses the same login, the same permissions, and the same boundaries you already have in the Lattice UI. Lattice MCP will first be able to pull context from performance reviews, 1:1s, feedback, goals, and weekly updates.

It means your personal information (e.g., resume, contact info) is protected. You can request to see, update, or delete your data at any time, and we won’t share it without a valid reason or your consent.

Switching from working in spreadsheets to compensation software is going to be a real change for your team — but the right provider should make this process easy.

Spreadsheets involve a lot of manual data — likely with inconsistencies and errors that accumulate over time. When implementing compensation management tools, your provider will typically need to map and clean your pay data, set up your system and pay processes, and connect in other HR tools.

Managers will adopt new software if they see how it can make them better at their jobs. They need to be clear on how the platform will help them with key tasks like running more effective 1:1s, give more relevant and personalized feedback and track progress. Simplicity and ease of use is crucial. Your people management software needs to fit easily into existing HR processes, and integrate well with existing tools like Slack and HRIS systems.

For example, Lattice supports managers with Lattice Habits to integrate people management into their daily routines with:

• Structured 1:1s and feedback tools
• Clear goal tracking and visibility
• Actionable insights from engagement data

Combined with leadership buy-in and lightweight training, this makes it easy for managers to build better habits—not just complete tasks.

Name, preferred name, email, job title, start date, department, and manager, plus fields like birthdate and gender that stay private to admins. That means reviews, goals, and comp cycles in Lattice always run on accurate, current people data.

Lattice's employee engagement solutions include pulse surveys, onboarding and exit surveys, eNPS measurement, and engagement benchmarking powered by Mercer data. AI-powered analysis surfaces key drivers and recommended actions from survey results, helping HR teams understand not just what employees feel but why, and what to do about it.

Lattice Performance includes a comprehensive suite of tools, including performance reviews, succession planning, performance improvement plans, real-time feedback, and 1:1 meeting management to help organizations foster a high-performance culture.

Once a compensation cycle is closed, Lattice enables organizations to customize and share compensation statements via managers or directly to employees, fostering pay transparency and clear communication regarding compensation changes.

Lattice provides tools to configure, collaborate, and manage the entire compensation cycle in one, always up-to-date place. This includes setting increase targets, distributing budgets, providing raise guidance, and customizing compensation statements.

Lattice facilitates peer-to-peer feedback with tools for sharing praise, providing suggestions, and gathering feedback from colleagues. These tools encourage collaboration and help employees build stronger working relationships​​.

Lattice offers customizable templates, automated workflows, personalized permissions, and real-time analytics to streamline the performance review process.

Lattice includes tools for customizable update prompts, real-time progress tracking, sentiment analysis, and seamless integrations with Slack, Teams, and email. These features make it easy to encourage consistent updates and simplify review processes.

Lattice's talent reviews tool includes features such as customizable review templates, nine-box grids, integration with performance and engagement data, and tools for tracking succession planning and talent readiness​​.

Midsize businesses need HR software that can grow as they scale, and that is easy for employees to use. It’s also critical for leadership to have access to team sentiment, engagement, and performance analytics to make important business decisions. Commonly needed features include ways to make managers more effective, to manage performance and talent reviews, and to measure and improve employee engagement.

Key features include survey capabilities, templates, and employee recognition. Integration with communication tools, analytics for data-driven insights, and customizable dashboards are other common features in employee engagement software.

When you’re prioritizing features, Anderson suggests thinking across the entire employee lifecycle, from onboarding for new hires to offboarding. It all should live in one place and support the way work gets done.

The first priority, she said, is streamlining the most frequent high-volume tasks while making core HR processes, such as reviews, one‑on‑ones, reporting, and employee development, more consistent and visible. Start with a platform that solves your most pressing people problems first before implementing other capabilities.

For example, perhaps your organization has trouble retaining new employees. “Maybe you have a lot of turnover because of the industry you're in, and your onboarding process is all very paper driven right now and very manual,” she said. “Can you find [a people management system] that is going to create an onboarding checklist for you?”

HR or Legal will review the situation and may implement a mitigation plan (e.g., removing you from a decision-making role). You’ll be kept informed of the outcome.

HR will assess whether any changes are needed to minimize conflict (e.g., a change in reporting lines). All decisions are made with fairness and privacy in mind.

HR or another designated team will investigate the report discreetly and thoroughly. This may involve interviewing witnesses, reviewing communications, and consulting with legal or external authorities if needed. You will be informed of the outcome and any necessary follow-up actions.