Armstrong reinvents performance: Configurable, predictive, and embedded in work

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Armstrong Fluid Technology has been a pioneer in intelligent fluid-flow solutions for more than 80 years. Headquartered in Toronto with operations across the globe, Armstrong is trusted for its engineering excellence and focus on sustainable growth. As the company scaled its teams and expanded its innovation footprint, leadership knew that people performance would be the next differentiator.

For Armstrong, this wasn’t about adding more process. It was about building a rhythm of performance that matched the pace of their global business.

“We wanted a performance platform that could evolve with our culture, not force us into a rigid system. Klaar gave us the clarity and configurability we needed — and the intelligence to see where to lean in before it was too late.”
— Monisha Tambay, Director of HR, Armstrong

Why not an HRIS? Why not a specialized tool?

Armstrong’s HR team could have enabled reviews and goals inside their HRIS, or adopted a specialized performance platform.

The HRIS option felt rigid and compliance-driven, offering check-the-box workflows but little room for cultural fit or agility. Specialized performance tools were more configurable, but they still focused on lagging indicators — reporting after the fact, rather than predicting what needed attention in real time.

Klaar was the only platform that offered both: the configurability of a dedicated system and the intelligence to predict outcomes before they slipped.

From manual to intelligent

Prior to Klaar, Armstrong’s performance reviews were largely manual, with goals tracked informally and reviews run through static forms. With Klaar, Armstrong adopted a unified, predictive system for Performance Reviews, Goals, Calibrations, 1:1s, and Engagement Surveys.

Engagement Surveys in particular became a game changer. By running lightweight, automated surveys, Armstrong’s HR team could listen to employee sentiment in real time, track how teams were feeling across geographies, and act quickly on feedback. Instead of waiting for annual engagement studies, they could now pulse-check the organization every month and tie insights directly into performance conversations.

Seamless integrations, zero disruption

Armstrong’s teams already relied on Jira and Salesforce to drive execution, and their HRIS for core HR. Klaar integrated seamlessly into this stack, auto-updating goals from existing business systems and embedding performance conversations into the flow of work. Managers didn’t need another login. Employees didn’t need retraining.

“Klaar didn’t feel like an HR tool. It felt like an extension of how we already work. That’s why adoption was so fast across engineering and business teams.”
— Ashish Gupta, Global Talent Lead, Armstrong

Performance that predicts outcomes

One of the biggest shifts for Armstrong’s leaders was moving from lagging indicators to predictive insights. Instead of waiting until review cycles to discover misaligned goals or stalled projects, leaders now see confidence scores in real time, with recommendations on where to intervene.

Coupled with the sentiment data from Engagement Surveys, this gave executives a 360° view of performance and culture — knowing not just what was on track, but also how employees were experiencing the journey.

Tangible business impact

At Armstrong, early results already show the impact of embedding performance into the flow of work:

• Review completion rates jumped to <placeholder: %> from manual baselines.
  
  
• Managers saved 10+ hours each during the review cycle, with reviews, goals, and 1:1s linked in a single screen.
  
  
• Goal update rates climbed to <placeholder: %> monthly, driving alignment across engineering and commercial teams.
  
  
• Engagement Surveys created a real-time feedback loop, surfacing sentiment trends and reducing blind spots in leadership decisions.
  
  
• Retention improved by <placeholder: %> as employees engaged more in feedback and growth conversations.
  
  
• Leadership decision-making accelerated, with predictive goals reducing surprises in quarterly reviews.
  
  

Performance as a rhythm, not a ritual

For Armstrong, Klaar isn’t just a system of record. It’s a living performance rhythm. Managers coach more. Employees update goals regularly. Leaders listen continuously. And performance no longer feels like a quarterly ritual — it’s simply how work gets done.

“Klaar helped us scale our culture of high performance, not change it. That’s what makes the biggest difference.”
— Monisha Tambay, Director of HR, Armstrong