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PiiQ by Cornerstone

PiiQ by Cornerstone

Overview

What is PiiQ by Cornerstone?

Cornerstone’s PiiQ is an SMB offering formerly known as Sonar6. PiiQ is aimed at small-to-medium sized businesses and includes core learning management and performance management systems, including content creation, mobile accessibility, and in-product reporting.

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Recent Reviews

TrustRadius Insights

PiiQ by Cornerstone is a versatile performance management system that has been widely adopted across various organizations. Users have …
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Awards

Products that are considered exceptional by their customers based on a variety of criteria win TrustRadius awards. Learn more about the types of TrustRadius awards to make the best purchase decision. More about TrustRadius Awards

Popular Features

View all 10 features
  • Course catalog or library (11)
    6.8
    68%
  • Assignments (11)
    6.7
    67%
  • Learning content (11)
    6.6
    66%
  • Course authoring (11)
    6.0
    60%
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Pricing

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PiiQ Performance

$8.00

Cloud
per user per month

PiiQ Learning + Content

$8.00

Cloud
per user per month

PiiQ Learning + Content & Performance

$15.00

Cloud
per user per month

Entry-level set up fee?

  • $1,000 per installation
    Optional
For the latest information on pricing, visithttps://smb.cornerstoneondemand.com/pii…

Offerings

  • Free Trial
  • Free/Freemium Version
  • Premium Consulting/Integration Services
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Features

Learning Management

Features of LMS and LCMS systems, related to designing, administering, and consuming learning content in an educational, corporate, or on-the-job context.

6.6
Avg 8.2
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Product Details

What is PiiQ by Cornerstone?

PiiQ by Cornerstone is performance and learning management software designed for small to medium businesses (ideal for companies with fewer than 100 employees). The software drives employee engagement and productivity with its performance management tools and helps companies build a culture of continuous learning and development with a robust library of on-demand courses. The vendor’s value proposition is that managers can get up and running fast with the self-configurable and intuitive set-up.

PiiQ offers a suite of products; choose PiiQ Performance, PiiQ Learning, or both in one, simple platform.

PiiQ Performance:

  • Collaborative, continuous goal setting
  • Continuous feedback
  • Comprehensive, well-designed dashboards and reports to find hidden training needs, skill gaps, and struggling & outstanding employees
  • 9-box talent matrix graphs and employee profile
  • Easily configurable (no costly implementations!)
  • 360 reviews
  • Overall score & manager comments

PiiQ Learning:

  • Searchable library and self-registration
  • Compliance and training courses ranging from technical to soft skills
  • Ability to create your own courses
  • Reporting and insights dashboard
  • Mobile learning on the go
  • Learning Content through Cornerstone's Premier Content Partner, CyberU

PiiQ also offers a service and support team that aims to help businesses optimize the use of the products and enable success. Support ranges from immediate telephone support to full consulting packages – companies have the choice in how much they need.

PiiQ by Cornerstone Features

Learning Management Features

  • Supported: Course authoring
  • Supported: Course catalog or library
  • Supported: Player/Portal
  • Supported: Learning content
  • Supported: Mobile friendly
  • Supported: Progress tracking & certifications
  • Supported: Assignments
  • Supported: Compliance management
  • Supported: Learning administration
  • Supported: Learning reporting & analytics
  • Supported: eLearning
  • Supported: Micro-learning
  • Supported: Video learning

Additional Features

  • Supported: Goal Setting
  • Supported: Check-ins
  • Supported: 360 Feedback
  • Supported: 9-box Talent Matrix
  • Supported: Self-assessment
  • Supported: Manager Review
  • Supported: Competency Library

PiiQ by Cornerstone Screenshots

Screenshot of PiiQ Performance Employee ReviewScreenshot of PiiQ Learning on DevicesScreenshot of PiiQ Manager/Employee Check-insScreenshot of PiiQ 9-box Talent MatrixScreenshot of PiiQ Learning Publish New ContentScreenshot of PiiQ Learning Searchable Library & Self-registrationScreenshot of PiiQ Learning Assign, Track, & Monitor ProgressScreenshot of PiiQ Learning Employee Engagement

PiiQ by Cornerstone Videos

PiiQ by Cornerstone Overview
PiiQ Performance
PiiQ Learning

PiiQ by Cornerstone Technical Details

Deployment TypesSoftware as a Service (SaaS), Cloud, or Web-Based
Operating SystemsUnspecified
Mobile ApplicationNo
Supported CountriesUnited States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Hong Kong, England, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Germany, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Austria, Switzerland
Supported LanguagesEnglish

Frequently Asked Questions

Cornerstone’s PiiQ is an SMB offering formerly known as Sonar6. PiiQ is aimed at small-to-medium sized businesses and includes core learning management and performance management systems, including content creation, mobile accessibility, and in-product reporting.

Reviewsnap, Threads Culture, and Litmos are common alternatives for PiiQ by Cornerstone.

Reviewers rate Mobile friendly highest, with a score of 7.9.

The most common users of PiiQ by Cornerstone are from Mid-sized Companies (51-1,000 employees).
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Comparisons

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Reviews and Ratings

(64)

Community Insights

TrustRadius Insights are summaries of user sentiment data from TrustRadius reviews and, when necessary, 3rd-party data sources. Have feedback on this content? Let us know!

PiiQ by Cornerstone is a versatile performance management system that has been widely adopted across various organizations. Users have found value in using PiiQ for employee goal setting, periodic check-ins, and annual performance reviews. The software allows employees to draft their own goals and self-assessments, fostering trust and engagement with their managers and the company. The built-in 9-box analysis provides teams or departments with a useful context for development and training. PiiQ is not only used as a performance management SAAS across the entire enterprise in 22 states, but it is also utilized for providing required compliance courses such as workplace ethics, diversity, construction zone safety, and harassment prevention. Managers and trainers are mandated to take courses on topics such as coaching, approachability, performance appraisals, and leadership skills. PiiQ has been instrumental in helping organizations identify skill gaps among employees and provide new skills to reinforce desired performance results. It supports ongoing learning and development by offering access to e-learning solutions. Additionally, PiiQ is effective in conducting annual performance evaluations and implementing a formal review process that ensures a consistent evaluation of talent at the same time and in the same way. The software's global usage for annual performance reviews provides detailed analytical reports that can inform salary reviews and career advancement decisions. Users also benefit from PiiQ's regular tracking capabilities for monthly or quarterly progress updates, self-review processes, seeking 360 feedback, and aligning strategic goals between managers and employees. Furthermore, PiiQ acts as a communication vehicle to address engagement issues and support future actions to improve overall performance within the organization. With its user-friendly interface, PiiQ enables employees to strive for peak performance while supporting their career growth and learning journey. However, some users have experienced challenges with the latest upgrade of the software, finding it less user-friendly than expected. They reported difficulties in navigating changes to the setup process and terminating user accounts. Additionally, some users have expressed the need for a more mobile-friendly and simple system for administrators. Nonetheless, PiiQ has successfully transformed manual performance monitoring into a computerized system, improving effectiveness, transparency, and data collection for analysis. Overall, PiiQ by Cornerstone has become an indispensable tool for organizations seeking to optimize their performance management processes and drive better talent conversations and career growth.

Attribute Ratings

Reviews

(1-3 of 3)
Companies can't remove reviews or game the system. Here's why
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
We use the system for all of our office employees across the whole organization.It has helped us become more paperless by eliminating paper reviews. It also helped us to enable 360 performance reviews throughout the company.
  • Paperless performance reviews
  • 360 reviews
  • Easy end-user interface
  • Unable to use the performance system on iPad
  • Unable to work offline so data can be lost rather easily when not using a strong internet connection (airplane, wireless, etc)
The setup process is very customizable - there are so many features that can be turned on or off based on your company's culture and structure. Depending on how our current system is, it can either be recreated or start new with system defaults.
Learning Management
N/A
N/A
I wish I could give it a 10, but the inability to use on an iPad and the inadvertent loss of data when not using a super-strong internet connection has been an issue.
Customer support responses are always helpful, but often come 24 hours later. Sometimes issues are easily fixed (even though they can only be fixed by customer support.) I'm not sure if it is a time zone issue, or why the long lag.
400
All of our office employees including management use the system.
2
Our HR department (Manager and Assistant) manages all users. The HR Manager and HR VP work with department leaders to customize positions within the system to uniquely rate employees based on job functions.
No
  • Product Features
  • Product Usability
  • Product Reputation
  • Third-party Reviews
We were looking for something new and different that would completely redefine the performance review process and experience for our employees and supervisors. Our previous process was an onerous paper process and this online system was the complete opposite.
  • Vendor implemented
Yes
There was a lot of valuable time spent in customization of the product before implementation. Good user training material was provided as well.
Change management was minimal
No
  • It is easy to rate employees using the "sliders".
  • Nice reports available to compare employees within department teams and throughout the company.
No
Score 6 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
  • Really easy and straightforward to complete objectives and performance reviews. Anyone can figure this system out without referring to the manual!
  • Visual representation of performance (ex. sliding scale reviews, 9-box grid) is compelling and is a great snapshot of overall performance and objectives.
  • Overall comparisons between direct reports' performance reviews and objectives are easily accessible for managers
  • It's so easy to switch from the current performance appraisal period to older data for comparison
  • I really like how you can add Notes (qualitative data) easily to objectives and self-appraisals.
  • Setup and ongoing maintenance can be frustrating, needs more options for customization. We have to call their help line almost every day when we're setting up the system for the next appraisal period, and a lot of our requested features
  • Needs better user management, should be much more user-friendly, process on handling terminated employees doesn't make the most sense (ex. it's unfortunate that we have to pay an extra fee to download data if we would want to delete users in the system. I wish we would "hide" terminated/inactive employees so they don't show up with giant Xs across their chest - it's really weird and it looks like they're on a hit list.)
  • Reporting is very limited. If there is a manager with four direct reports and I, as an admin, want to see how much of each review the manager has completed so far, I can't. The numbers are only reported in the aggregate. If CSB added more in-depth reports, the system would be greatly improved.
  • I think it's silly that you need to click "Save" and that the data entered does not save automatically. I shouldn't have to remind employees to always click on "Save" every few minutes.
  • I wish the "Share" feature was more pronounced and obvious. This is probably the number one question we get - "how do I share my review with my manager?" Also, managers are never notified via e-mail upon successful completion of a self-appraisal. More notifications would be great and would remove lots of guesswork or missed time. We are on an extremely tight schedule for performance reviews and want to make sure people have enough time to complete the process.
  • It's ridiculous that Admins cannot download employee data and reviews directly from their Admin accounts. We shouldn't have to sign in as an employee's manager to read or download their reviews. Imagine doing this for 300+ employees.
I highly recommend CSB to any colleague who is currently working with a tedious performance management system or even worse, just paper. CSB is really easy to use from the end user perspective, and it takes all of the frustration out of completing reviews, which is great! The last thing that I want is to be forced to use a difficult system and take hours just to complete a self-appraisal and objectives. I was able to complete my own self-appraisal in CSB in a half hour.

Prior to CSB, our organization used another system (Halogen) which honestly took weeks to set up for mid-year and end-year reviews. It was an absolute nightmare. Then, from the employee perspective, it was also a nightmare to complete the review. Our employees and admins had terrible feedback on the system.

Since we had a terrible system to begin with (and only did paper reviews before that), CSB was a welcome upgrade!
  • Positive: CSB has made our performance appraisal process so much smoother and easier to manage. This is a huge plus. It used to take over a month and a half for the appraisal process to be completed because users didn't know how the system worked because our old system was not intuitive at all. Employees no longer cringe or run away when we mention performance reviews.
  • Negative: CSB does not integrate with our existing systems so there is no true "pay-for-performance" model set up currently. Data from CSB is such a pain to download so we don't use CSB for overall data reporting, only individual review reports, which isn't the most useful thing in the world.
300
All functions - Sales, Client Services, Planning, Technology, Product Development, HR/Finance/Legal, Operations
2
Requires patience and understanding of how CSB manages user data, set-up requirements. May have to call their support team on a regular basis when setting up the appraisal process.
  • Performance management (self-appraisals, mid-year, end-year reviews)
  • Objective setting
  • Employee documentation for their files
It's not that CSB isn't a decent performance management system, but we have decided to go with just one vendor (Workday) for an HRIS/performance management/payroll system so we can directly relate pay to performance. We are more interested in having just one system that "talks" to the other pieces instead of having to work with several vendors. It reduces the hassle of having to communicate with different support teams, having different contracts, and so on.
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
  • It takes a lot of the fear out of performance reviews. We were very liberal about the way we implemented performance reviews before. As we grew, we knew we needed to be more organized. We wanted something that fit our culture – simple to use – and not just something that someone would use twice a year, but would use in 1-1s. It's simpler than Success Factors and happens to have features we’re looking for.
  • The analytics are good and the graphical interface is engaging. The analytics allow you to benchmark employees against each other in a non-threatening way.
  • The way it saves data/changes is a little archaic. I have gotten complaints from people doing hours of work and losing it.
  • It could be more proactive in notifications. Notifications could be improved.
  • It could provide more direction for users to know when they are complete with a review. There’s no you’re done with this review. This is important for compliance reasons when you are trying to get through reviews. They do have an indicator of completeness for reviews, a progress bar for your whole team but not for individual reviews. I keep getting the question from my staff, am I done?
We did have some issues with browser support in IE in the beginning.
  • The thing we are trying to achieve is aligning the whole company to our annual operating plan goals. We took the plan and cascaded goals across the organization. What is measured improves.
  • We are finding there’s more clarity around how each person participates in the company goals.
  • Outside of sales where objectives were clear, the project managers, know how many clients they need to install in a certain time period, support reps understand that part of the company bonus is based on NPS (Net Promoter Score) and have specific goals around that. It aligns everyone on same set of goals and allows better tracking.
  • As a result, our install rate has improved. As a recurring revenue model we don’t recognize revenue until installed. We had an outage recently and NPS was skewed by that, so it’s unfair to tell on that metric.
There are not enough wizards to help people through the process. While the interface is non-threatening, people still need help in understanding what to do. There are 2 tabs on the top that could be combined into one.
We haven’t had to call support at all.
Success Factors: we thought they were good too, but were very expensive and overkill for what we wanted. It was not overly complicated but just too expensive. Taleo - We were in the midst of being acquired when we selected this tool. Our acquirer was at the time was on Taleo. We looked at that tool but it had a lot more functionality and complexity than we were looking for. Fairsail, British company. We looked at it as had integration with Salesforce. It seemed like a really good company, but did not have a lot of American companies as clients.
250
Individuals do self- assessments, and we encourage 360s.
0.25
3 people administer the system – me and 2 HR people. None of us are technical. For each of us it’s small fraction of our jobs. In total administration probably takes 0.25 FTE.
  • Talent/performance management - Sonar6 is a talent management/ performance management tool and is still separate from the rest of Cornerstone. We have not evaluated Cornerstone as a LMS.
If it was totally my decision. Because of the acquisition, it may not be my choice. The save issue is supposed to be fixed in next release. I am however not up to date on their road map since the Cornerstone acquisition and would have to be on board with it.
Were not using a performance management tool previously. We just had paper based processes.
  • Professional services company
Pendolino Group
I think we could have done a better job of rolling out the tool to our managers. We were under a tight timeline. In the training, we showed them everything and said go do it by this date. Looking back, I would have done it in pieces: for example, 2 weeks to write goals, 2 weeks to get sign-off from direct reports. I just let them go at it. Since then we’ve moved to agile development environment and are applying the technique to everything. In future would only do through change sprint. It is a big change I didn’t take it seriously enough. I had a team of 3 project managing. You need a champion from every department to make sure you’re getting it right and to make sure what’s happening is communicated. It’s not something you can do without input from department heads.
  • Online training
We bought training provided by 3rd party – it was fabulous.
No
So far 100%.
The saving process slows it down. It doesn’t auto save. If you leave a page, it will sometimes warn you, but not always. When you hit the save button, a window pops up that says creating/saving packets. It feels very archaic.
  • Salesforce.com
I would love if it integrated to Salesforce.com but it does not today. I would love for the goals that cascade from AOP are goals measured in Salesforce.com – revenue, installed, so when goals hit, there’s automation.
We were negotiating this while our acquisition was going on and so they were motivated to get the deal closed, so we got a great price. Their list price was very competitive. They slashed when the acquisition was occurring.
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