Rave ReviewsAutomation can earn you two thumbs up at employee evaluation time.

Erin O'Leary-Rallis knew employees should get regular performance reviews, but it wasn't happening for the 20 employees at Nittany Embroidery. "We've grown quite a bit, and things have gotten increasingly difficult to manage in terms of human resources," says O'Leary-Rallis, 40, who co-founded the State College, Pennsylvania, screen-printing and logo company in 1998. As Nittany Embroidery grew to $2.25 million in annual sales, reviews typically happened only when someone asked for a raise or announced they were leaving. "It's not a good way to do business, and we knew that," says O'Leary-Rallis.