11 Best HRMS Software Solutions in 2025
Our team of HR tech experts have demoed and tested dozens of Human Resource Management Software tools. Based on this research, we present our top HRMS picks along with their features, pricing, pros & cons, and more below.
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Top HRMS Software
Are you in the market for a world-class HRMS to streamline employee onboarding, payroll, benefits management, and talent acquisition? This guide will help you make a well-informed and confident selection (though, if you'd like personalized assistance, you can book a free call with an HR tech expert on our staff who can build a custom vendor shortlist for your organization). We are experts on HRMS software, and this guide provides a highly developed and unbiased appraisal of the HRMS options on the market. We’ll walk you through every step and help you avoid common mistakes. But before we get too deep, let’s define what “HRMS” means.
Sometimes, it helps to understand something by defining what it is not. An HRMS differs from a Human Resources Information System (HRIS) or Human Capital Management (HCM) software. The distinctions are nuanced because there are many overlapping features, and some vendors use this confusion to their advantage, claiming that their software is all three.
This guide defines HRMS software as a system designed to streamline HR administrative tasks like payroll and timekeeping, increase efficiency, reduce or eliminate manual tasks, and provide strategic insight through data analytics. An HRIS offers many of the same features, but the scope is restricted to data entry and basic processing of employee information. An HCM software is substantially dissimilar to both because it represents a fully integrated management philosophy.
We strongly advise you to move forward only when you understand the difference well enough to recognize when a vendor is stretching the truth. If it’s still a little fuzzy, this article on the difference between HCM, HRMS, and HRIS may help.
If you’re feeling confidwent in your understanding, then keep reading! Our product-by-product evaluation covers critical factors like customer success, user experience, support quality, and implementation.
How Did We Choose The Best HRMS?
Our experts conduct product demos with each vendor to choose the best HRMS, incorporate user research, and gather feedback from HR tech leaders. When judging HRMS software, we focus on three key areas: data management security, compliance and reporting, and employee experience.
Employee Data Management Security
Though known as “all-in-one” tools, the scope and scale of each HRMS system’s data management vary significantly, as does the dedication to security hygiene. Our top picks are security-focused companies with a good track record who use two-factor authentication, encryption, General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), and California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) compliance.
Compliance and Reporting
Recordkeeping and documentation are critical, so we chose HRMS software that offers various compliance and reporting features.
To make it onto this list, we require vendors to cover, at minimum, tax set-up and reporting, state and federal employment laws, wage and hour compliance, anti-discrimination and harassment prevention, and benefits regulations. Some tools below also offer global payroll and compliance features.
Employee Experience
As self-service options become more common in HRMS tools, the employee experience becomes more critical. In our experience, good UX/UI and overall ease of use are the most vital elements of this feature, keeping employee frustration low and data accuracy high.
Our mission is to make it easy for HR and TA teams to buy, implement, and love their new software. If you want to learn more about our methodology, we invite you to explore our article on editorial guidelines.
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Need Help? Talk to an HR Software Advisor!
Tell us more about your company & an HR Software Advisor will help you find the right software
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Deel
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Global teams big and small will appreciate a free HRMS that was built by a global team. Yes, their core HR solution is free, along with many useful modules like 1:1s, virtual networking, and pulse surveys.
PROS
- Unified platform for free HRIS and payroll services in over 100 countries and contractors in over 150 countries.
- Automated invoicing feature available in English for both companies and contractors or employees.
- Full in-house support from local country experts and a first response time of only 1.25 minutes.
- APIs and native integrations with over 100 popular HR tools.
- Self-service approach and tech-enabled features allow for quick and easy adoption.
- Excellent 24/7 customer service with fast onboarding (2-3 days) and local payroll experts in each jurisdiction.
- Deel HR is free for companies of all sizes.
- Seamless integration with platforms like QuickBooks, BambooHR, and Greenhouse, plus custom integration options.
- User-friendly, self-service features enable quick setup; identity verification often takes under 24 hours.
- Automated invoices simplify payments, provided they're in English.
CONS
- Not suitable for budget-conscious teams that don't hire internationally.
- Lacks advanced features found in more established HR solutions.
- Limited flexibility to change contracts or service agreements.
- Currently cannot generate invoices in languages other than English.
- Key features like onboarding automation are add-ons, which may increase costs.
- Limited flexibility in modifying contracts or service agreements; changes often require an addendum.
- Invoices cannot be generated in languages other than English.
Deel was originally a global payroll offering, that has since expanded their product to be a full-fledged HRMS. While it's probably best for global teams that have international colleagues, their functionality could also be used by companies operating in just one country.
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One of our favorite features of this HRMS is "connections" - a product where teammates can connect virtually to bond and learn more with one another. HR teams will also appreciate the onboarding workflows (including the ability to provision equipment globally!), background checks, remote location management, and perks.
35,000+ organizations have used Deel’s HR and payroll solutions, including Makerpad, Andela, and Brex.
Deel HR offers its HR services for free, but charges for its global payroll services, which start at $19 per month.
Best For
Deel HR is best for organizations that hire internationally.
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BambooHR
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BambooHR is a top-notch HR software known for its flexibility, user-friendliness, and reliability. It offers numerous features, including ATS, payroll, and performance management.
PROS
- Flexible packaging and custom pricing options based on user requirements
- Intuitive design ensures a user-friendly experience, simplifying HR processes for HR pros, managers, and the entire team.
- Regular updates and customer support, BambooHR continuously strives to enhance its offerings.
- Flexible packaging and custom pricing is the way they roll. You can pick out one or two packages and pick other modules as add-ons based on your needs.
- Very simple and straightforward tool, easy to use.
CONS
- The payroll functionality is limited to U.S. companies.
- Customer success hours only suitable for U.S. time zones
- Core HR tools must be purchased to use features like time & attendance, surveys, and performance assessment.
- Payroll is only available for US-based employees
- Customer support is only offered during US business hours.
- Some modules like time tracking, performance management, and surveys are only available as add-ons.
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BambooHR offers flexible plans and a comprehensive platform that covers the entire employee lifecycle with full HRMS functionality, including recruiting, performance management, and many more. The platform also provides an integrated app marketplace for HR and recruiting vendors and a handy Human Resources glossary.
Among the 20,000+ companies that use BambooHR, you’d find names like Quora, Universal Group, Reddit, Asana, Change.org, University of Maryland, Grammarly, Stance, Postmates, Wistia, the Jacksonville Jaguars, and ZipRecruiter.
Pricing is not disclosed upfront, but they do offer a free trial of their all-in-one software and then go out of their way to find a version that will suit you. Before they come up with a personalized quote that will align with your budget, however, they are also likely to extend your free trial upon request or even give you a free demo of the advanced features.
Best For
BambooHR is an excellent choice for companies seeking a highly customizable HR product with pricing options that accommodate their specific requirements. It is worth mentioning that it is favored by partially and fully remote teams.
We mainly used it for time tracking, sourcing, shortlisting, hiring, onboarding, and performance management. Besides, it has very good functionality for Compensation&Benefit and internal communication. There is no need to fill in the new hires' details manually, it is fully integrated with its ATS, and when we send out a job offer through the system the details of the new hire are automatically added. Moreover, we used it for birthday and tenure celebrations. We used Bamboohr for Engagement surveys as well. Last but not least, we customized and get periodical reports for various data that make sense for decision-making.
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Firstly, I like BambooHR for its simple and user-friendly Recruitment function. Secondly, it is a great system where you can keep all of the records, even it is possible to keep the terminated employees' details as well. Thirdly, I like it for its customizable reports. I think that there is still room for further improvement in supporting clients in the Learning&Development process.
We have been using BambooHR since 2020. The previous HRIS that we used had lots of issues that we were not able to solve as it was not possible to get an answer from the support team to our inquiries. Before choosing BambooHR we defined key criteria that would support the business and analyzed other available HRISs as well. Key benefits of BambooHR for our company are lots of functionalities that support the employee life cycle in the company; a user-friendly interface; friendly and prompt support team. It has very good functionality for welcoming new hires and sending a new hire welcome package to all personnel/users.
I think there is room for further development in the Training function. It would be great to integrate the system with one of the LMS platforms or develop its own. Moreover, I think that it would be great to receive some comments or follow-up messages from each user under each announcement sent through the platform. Besides, there is not any chat room for users. That is why the companies that use BambooHR use other tools for internal communication.
Simplicity, user-friendliness, and having more functions than others.
Clients that prefer user-friendly programs should choose BambooHR. It has a very good customer support team. They are always prompt and friendly. But they should keep in their mind that this tool doesn't provide in-house payroll management.
BambooHR has some great integrations (Slack, for instance) that allow me to see when my co-workers are out of the office or even celebrating an anniversary or birthday.
It is good for startups and small-size companies that use other tools for payroll, but need a user-friendly tool that is great for time tracking, recruitment, and performance management.
Big enterprises and global big companies that have many processes in HR
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Paylocity
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Paylocity's HRMS solution provides a host of features designed to support the full employee lifecycle. Its emphasis on automation, customization, and compliance makes it a compelling choice for organizations seeking to optimize their HR operations.
PROS
- Paylocity provides a comprehensive platform that streamlines the management of payroll, HR, benefits, and more.
- The UI is quite clean and easy to navigate. There’s lots of online help docs to guide you through it too.
- There’s a mobile app for both employees and managers that enhances accessibility and convenience.
- Paylocity’s customer support is highly rated for always being available to answer questions.
- Global payroll support for 100+ countries.
- Provides free and unlimited training modules on the website.
- Paylocity’s mobile app has a good UI and functionality
- The tool is easy to use for both employees and employers.
- Has 350+ pre-built integrations.
CONS
- Pricing isn’t publicly shared and there is no free trial or free plan available.
- There is a bit of a learning curve due to Paylocity's extensive feature set.
- Report customization could be improved.
- Undisclosed pricing.
- It doesn’t have a free trial or free plan.
- Support is available in English only.
- It isn’t the best solution for remote teams looking for a tool to manage payroll and benefits for their contractors.
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Beyond payroll solutions, Paylocity offers an all-in-one HR suite that simplifies the management of people data and processes. The platform particularly excels at information collection and task automation. With pre-built templates for common tasks like address changes and the ability to create custom workflows, Paylocity makes it easy to automate repetitive tasks and reduce administrative burden.
The platform is easily accessible both for employees and managers. There’s a self-service portal employees can log into either via desktop or mobile app and access all sorts of documents, request time off, update personal information, and collaborate with colleagues. Managers can also access the platform on desktop or mobile devices and benefit from full visibility into employee data, configure new positions, assign skills and certifications, predict vacancies, manage budgets, and more.
Compliance is another top priority for Paylocity, with an intuitive dashboard that provides quick access to crucial information such as work authorizations, EEO and FLSA compliance data, and industry news. For additional support, Paylocity's HR Edge service offers expert resources, including an account manager, to help minimize risk and implement best practices.
Lastly, Paylocity's powerful reporting and analytics capabilities allow you to gain valuable insights into your workforce. With real-time, visualized data, you can track key metrics, identify trends, improve HR strategies, and drive organizational success.
40,000+ businesses use Paylocity’s solutions including Weigel’s, ILC, Upward, and HMC.
The cost of Paylocity's services varies depending on the specific features required and the size of your organization. To obtain a personalized estimate, it's recommended to schedule a demonstration with their Sales team. This allows for a tailored discussion of your needs and a more accurate assessment of the associated costs.
Best For
Paylocity's solutions cater to businesses of all sizes across various industries, but their ideal target market comprises medium and large enterprises. These companies are best suited to fully utilize the platform's capabilities and leverage its benefits effectively.
When I utilized Paylocity, it helped me monitor staffing numbers across each cost center. It assisted in recruitment efforts by allowing me to track staff levels at each store and determine whether we were meeting our hiring targets. It also helped identify stores that required more recruiting efforts and facilitated meetings with store managers to discuss needs and create plans to meet set goals.
Paylocity was also used for payroll purposes. Reviewing the rates for each cost center helped determine competitive target rates for each role within the stores. Regarding payroll, it managed PTO accrual and ensured employees were paid correctly for the hours worked.
Paylocity offers many pre-loaded reports, which were useful for targeting specific metrics. The interface is user-friendly and has many valuable features. Having the opportunity to participate in a demo with a representative to walk through Paylocity’s functionality was extremely helpful. Additionally, the function that automatically posts new vacancies to multiple job sites, like Indeed and Monster, was very convenient.
Our company switched to Paylocity after acquiring another franchise. The acquired company already used Paylocity, and it was part of the contract that we would keep and integrate it with our existing employees. I have used it for about two years. However, there were numerous issues on payday, with several instances where paychecks were deposited into the wrong accounts.
While customer support was promised to be excellent, it was often difficult to find solutions when problems arose. The demo of the software was impressive, and the sales team did a great job, which is understandable why people might choose it, but the ongoing functionality can become frustrating when the same mistakes occur repeatedly.
Customer service frequently experienced turnover, making it difficult to find knowledgeable support, which was frustrating. Often, I found that I knew more than the representatives assisting me. We also encountered several instances where an employee’s pay was deposited into the wrong account, which was a significant concern that needed prompt resolution. Lastly, the frequent misalignment of cost centers was a constant issue, taking up a considerable amount of time to correct.
Paylocity has a very user-friendly interface compared to other tools I’ve used. The ability to provide demo training for onboarding new corporate individuals from other brands was a great advantage. However, once our account manager left, it became challenging to bring new users up to speed.
Consider your organization’s specific needs and take detailed notes during demos. Paylocity offers many training advantages, but it’s essential to have clear expectations of what you need from the tool.
Before I left the company, there was talk of introducing a texting feature, which seemed like a valuable addition.
I would recommend Paylocity for larger organizations. It offers a wide range of features that can be useful for payroll, onboarding, recruiting, labor management, and more.
Smaller organizations might benefit from using a more affordable alternative to Paylocity.
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Paycor
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Paycor is popular among small and medium-sized businesses across states for managing payroll, budgeting, and time and labor management. While the greatest strength of Paycor is payroll, the platform is also known for being a well-established HRMS with positive employee experience features and scalability.
PROS
- Paycor payroll solution and mobile app are both straightforward to use.
- Intuitive self-service employee portal.
- Offers multiple modules for small businesses and custom plans for teams with 50-1000 employees.
- Unlimited payrolls.
- Offers discounts frequently. Though not listed on their site, a free trial is available to those who contact the support team directly.
- On-demand pay is available for all plans.
- With the acquisition of the people development platform Verb, it has improved its employee learning experience.
- Paycor payroll solution and mobile app are both straightforward to use.
- Intuitive self-service employee portal.
- Offers multiple modules for small businesses and custom plans for teams with 50-1000 employees.
- Unlimited payrolls.
- Offers discounts frequently. Though not listed on their site, a free trial is available to those who contact the support team directly.
- On-demand pay is available for all plans.
- With the acquisition of the people development platform Verb, it has improved its employee learning experience.
CONS
- Undisclosed pricing.
- Customer support is reported to be slow at times.
- It is not a good fit for teams with 1000+ employees or those requiring advanced customization to meet their unique requirements.
- Undisclosed pricing.
- Customer support is reported to be slow at times.
- It is not a good fit for teams with 1000+ employees or those requiring advanced customization to meet their unique requirements.
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Aside from being one of the most well-established HRMS, Paycor stands out for its payroll capabilities. Running payroll on the platform is straightforward. We are a team with members of multiple contract types and nationalities, so we appreciate that it services both hourly workers and full-time employees, U.S.-based or otherwise.
The platform lets users choose their pay intervals (weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, etc.) and allows our team members to select their payment methods (on-demand pay, direct deposit, Paycor wallet). The best part is that these features, autorun, and off-cycle payroll runs are accessible to all users, including the Basic ones.
Self-service is another pro of Paycor. Through the portal, employees can access their onboarding, payroll, work schedules, and benefits enrollment (what could be better than autonomy?) They can also update their contact and banking information; then, notifications about changes are sent to admin users in real-time.
Paycor didn’t disappoint us with its latest mobile app version. It used to be very limited, but now we can access the whole self-service suite on mobile devices. Plus, all Paycor Scheduling subscriptions can access Team Chat — a real-time communication tool that lets members message individuals, groups, or channels within the app.
There are still parts we don’t like. While Paycor offers several support channels, the support team is sometimes slow to respond. We’d also love to see improvements in reporting and analytics. The lower-priced plans have minimal reporting capabilities, and even the enterprise plan users may still find the tool lacking.
Wendy’s, McDonald’s, Detroit Zoo, The Cincinnati Bengals, The YMCA.
Paycor doesn’t publish its pricing on the website. You need to get in touch with customer support to get a quote.
Best For
Small and medium-sized companies in the U.S. that are looking for a one-stop shop for their HR needs. Particularly, businesses in industries like manufacturing, healthcare, food and beverage, nonprofits, and professional sports organizations are likely to make the most out of Paycor’s features.
We use Paycor twice per month when payroll is due. They send reminders to make sure we don't forget to do the payroll as that would be terribly embarrassing if we missed a payroll. With many remote employees in different states, Paycor enables us to not have to research all of the various state tax laws. For that we are very thankful.
Easy to use. Keeps track of all state regulations and taxes. Provides solid customer assistance.
Paycor is an easy-to-use payroll solution for small businesses. Often, a small organization doesn't have a person who is dedicated to HR completely as they perform other duties. We wanted something that was easy to use and Paycor was.
Wish customer service got back to us quicker. Would like them to lower the price, although it is in line with others in the space. Would appreciate more proactive advice.
It has an easy-to-use and understandable interface.
Will it expand with you as your company expands? Do you need personal assistance?
It has continued to improve the product and keep abreast of the many disparate tax laws.
SMBs
I can't think of any.
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Rippling
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Rippling is a mighty HRMS solution for growing teams, ideally medium-sized, to handle payroll, budgeting, and time and labor management with efficiency and autonomy. The ability to integrate with 500+ apps makes Rippling a strong bet for teams looking to share data between all of their business software.
PROS
- Rippling provides an end-to-end HCM with great automation features.
- Supports both US payroll and global payroll in over 100 countries.
- Auto-translates receipt line items and converts their currencies for the reviewer.
- Robust integration capabilities.
- The benefits module enables users to collaborate with their preferred broker and choose from 4,000 options.
- Modules are available for individual purchase or as part of a suite, but the Core HR module is mandatory in any package.
- All-in-one platform for employee management + PEO services offered, and even a suite of other IT products
- With 500 integrations, it’s very likely that they integrate with other key tools from your tech stack.
- Operates globally with any currency
- Workflow automation
- Analytics opportunities
- Provides a holistic view of company outflows—headcount costs included
CONS
- Payroll automation not available.
- No complimentary trial.
- Support not provided 24/7, additional charges for phone support.
- Not suitable for businesses with 2,000+ employees.
- Total buy-in to Rippling is essential
- Very SMB-oriented, in case you’re a larger company.
- New features tend to be buggy in ways that tech teams are not accustomed to fixing
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Rippling has emerged as a leading HRMS platform, providing an extensive array of HR management functionalities.
Since its launch in 2016, it has continuously evolved to prioritize efficiency, autonomy, and a user-friendly interface.
Vox, Maximum Games, Superhuman, Compass Coffee, Highnoon.
Rippling pricing starts at $8 per employee per month. For a personalized quote, you need to reach out to their sales team.
Best For
Rippling is an excellent choice of an HRMS for US-based and international teams that don’t have more than 2,000 employees.
We use Rippling for all HR processes - hiring, onboarding, training, time and attendance, etc. We also use the pulse tool for surveys of our employees. We have built workflows to support onboarding and schedule management when someone takes time off. It's a daily tool for us.
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Rippling is quite comprehensive and has more functionality than other HRIS I have used, such as the pulse/survey tool right within the platform. It also integrates with Slack, so notifications and reports can be sent there. I like the workflow options as well, which allow you to set things up to launch when certain conditions are met, e.g. send an onboarding survey a month after start date.
We are a relatively new company and did not have an HRIS in place. After looking at a few we opted for Rippling because of the functionality it offered as well as integrations and automations. We have been using it for about 9 months.
Rippling has been around for a few years but it feels like they are still working out some bugs. There are certain things that just don't work the way you'd expect. We have recently implemented their global payroll app for our Canadian employees and it doesn't do things like break out vacation time, etc. It has a reporting function but it's a bit hard to get exactly what you're looking for and the charts that it creates don't always display information in the most relevant way.
Rippling is quite user-friendly in terms of interface. It has more functionality than others I've used and they're doing a great job figuring out how to incorporate integrations to make it really useful.
It's very good for US employees but is missing a few features for global payroll at this time. Best to understand how all modules are priced so you know what's worth implementing and don't end up paying for functions you don't use.
Rippling has taken suggestions when we've found things that could be improved or added (TBD if those things are implemented). They have added some features in the last few months so definitely seem to be continuing to grow the platform.
HR teams, I think it would be good for organizations with over 50 employees
Very small organizations, those primarily based outside the US
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Ceridian
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Ceridian makes Dayforce, a modern cloud HR platform that can manage the entire employee lifecycle.
PROS
CONS
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Although it’s labeled as an HCM, Dayforce by Ceridian also includes a comprehensive payroll tool. Dayforce integrates data from every stage of the employee lifecycle, empowering informed decision-making and data-backed insights.
Its flexible rules engine enables efficient handling of intricate regulatory demands, delivering real-time updates and calculations.
- Guitar Center
- Danone
- Spirit Aerosystems
- El Pollo Loco
- Crescent Bank
Pricing for the Dayforce HCM suite is not provided up front.
Best For
Enterprises with over 1,000 employees.
I was the Director - We used it for HRIS and Payroll Processing - I often completed payroll as a back-up to the Payroll Specialist.
One of the best features is its payroll interface. As the head of HR, payroll reported directly to me and I found it easy to train my team members on the system so that I had multiple back-ups for payroll processing. Another great feature is the reporting capabilities. Additionally, the employee life cycle was exceedingly easy to manage from recruitment to termination. This made it simple to keep track of employee information and make necessary updates in a timely manner.
It was in place when I arrived. It was purchased to manage the employee life cycle and process payroll.
There were data migration errors when the systems were updated that required manual fixes. In addition, we often had to remind them of minimum wage changes in differing cities within Washington state. Finally, we had to hire a full time HR analyst to ensure data integrity.
They are extremely user friendly and the fly out for earnings are really easy to use to catch errors before they happen.
Some items to think about how you will use it to ease the transactional work on our team and to make sure you purchase all of the modules you need. You may want to consider consolidating your Payroll and HR Analyst positions after implementation.
They update their systems and user interface proactively to keep up with regulation and mini-wage changes.
Healthcare
I think it would be good for all organizations - it's a robust product. I would recommend a less expensive product to smaller organizations
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Netchex
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Netchex stands out as an HRMS and payroll solution for small businesses in the US due to its comprehensive, integrated platform that supports the entire employee lifecycle. Their Core plan (mainly payroll) already offers some engagement and HR tools, and each plan throws more HRMS features into the mix.
PROS
- A La Carte Plan: For those looking for an HR and payroll tool, Netchex offers several options to tailor its offering to the exact needs of your organization. You basically start with the core package and add select features like the scheduling system and a recruiting tool—all with a custom pricing plan.
- User-friendly interface: Both administrators and employees find the system easy to use and navigate, which is essential for small businesses with limited HR staff.
- Comprehensive support: One of the things people praise the most is their award-winning customer service. Agents are available via phone, chat, or email, ensuring that small businesses receive the help they need when they need it.
- Advanced features: This includes recently added tools like AskHR for immediate employee support and Netchex AI for data analysis and insights.
- Grows with your team: With Netchex, it’s very easy to opt for a new plan and keep all your data in the same place even if you outgrow your current pricing plan. Other vendors require a switch to a new service in that kind of event.
- Dedicated support team: Netchex are note-worthy for their award-winning and often lauded customer service. It’s all US-based and provided in real-time through email, live chat, and phone calls.
- Pre-payroll reports: Allows for critical error checks before submission.
- Flexible payroll grid: Easy to make changes or correct errors on the fly.
- Versatile payment options: Includes paper checks, direct deposit, and pay cards.
CONS
- Payroll dependency: Users must utilize the payroll feature to access other functionalities, which may limit flexibility for businesses that do not need payroll services with their HR tool.
- No free trial: Potential users can't test the software without committing to a purchase, which could be a barrier for budget-conscious teams.
- Requirement of payroll: Users must use the payroll module to access other functionalities, so it wouldn’t work as stand-alone HR software.
- No free trial: Potential users can't test the software without committing to a purchase. The demo with a sales rep is the closest thing.
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Depending on the plan you pick, Netchex can be a fully-fledged HRMS platform tailored for small and mid-sized businesses. The payroll tool, which is their flagship product, is at the core of their offering. From there, they have slowly but surely expanded into all sorts of other HR workflows, from recruiting to performance management. Netchex also excels in employee engagement with features like Community, which encourages recognition and reward through a company forum.
Their system is truly capable of covering the entire employee life cycle. That said, smaller organizations can start with the Core module and grow from there according to their needs. Their software is well enough built (and all made in-house) to the extent that upgrading to another plan and enhancing the tool with more features is a very straightforward process. The product has always been made with smaller teams in mind, so it’s a tool that can grow with you.
Aside from how easy it is to use their product, one of our favorite things with Netchex is their customer support. They pride themselves on having very fast response times, and they have a skills-based approach to Customer Success. This means that, while you do get a dedicated customer representative, more tenured reps are ready to step in and tend to specific needs at any time.
Our only qualm about Netchex as an HRMS system is that the HR tools you might be looking for are not available as a stand-alone product. In other words, you have to use their payroll function in order for the whole system to work, but that’s very much in the spirit of what an HRMS is supposed to do (merge payroll and HR). If more on the lookout for a stand-alone HR tool, that would fall under the scope of a more basic HRIS.
Netchex’s HR software is used at companies like Xpressdocs, BK Corrosion, Regal Hospitality, and The Colony ER Hospital.
Netchex uses a Per Employee Per Month pricing model. Costs vary based on the number of employees and the specific features used. Detailed pricing information can be found on their pricing page.
Best For
Netchex is ideal for small businesses (50-500 employees), especially those in industries such as restaurants, hospitality, manufacturing, healthcare, professional services, and automotive.
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WorkDay
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Workday is a highly favored HRMS solution specifically designed for enterprises. It offers a single source of workforce administration, engagement, and compensation and benefits data. This approach caters to all worker types, including contingent workers, employees, contractors, and retirees, making it a versatile solution for managing diverse workforces.
PROS
- Workday configurable process flows make it easy to scale processes to a global level while adapting them to local requirements.
- Employee and Manager Self-Service
- AI-driven skills cloud helps identify workers with the skills gap.
- Has a mobile app.
- Provides phone support, email support, community, and live chat support.
- Compliance with SOC 2 Type 2 standards
- Accessible customer support from the community, live chat, and telephone.
- Compatible with 300 HR systems such as ERP/GL, CRM, HR, and PSA.
- Configurable dashboard with AI and ML-driven insights.
- Ability to maintain real-time alignment of budgets and workforce plans.
- SOC 2 Type 2 compliance.
CONS
- Lacks pricing transparency.
- No free trial.
- The implementation process can be very time-consuming (~5 months on average).
- The interface may pose challenges for new users, and training may be necessary to familiarize oneself with all product features.
- Their mobile app isn’t very user-friendly.
- Undisclosed pricing.
- No free trial for its talent management software.
- Time-consuming implementation period (average 4.5 months).
- Challenge navigating for first-time users may require training.
- Issues with logging in were reported by users.
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Workday stands out with its impressive adaptability to individual users. Leveraging machine learning, it offers tailored recommendations based on user roles, whether they are employees, contractors, managers, recruiting agencies, applicants, or retirees.
The tool is particularly well-suited for businesses with multiple global branches. It allows for global consistency while enabling customization of workflows to accommodate local differences, ensuring a seamless experience across the organization.
Workday's reporting capabilities are also noteworthy because they sync HR data with finance and integrate with various HR tools. This can be used for analytics that provides visibility into the workforce’s capabilities, making it easier to identify gaps and develop talent.
While Workday's HRMS suite is popular among large enterprises and global teams, the mobile app needs work. Both Android and iOS users have reported issues with the time clock system, frequent crashes, and sign-in problems. Workday's implementation process also has room for improvement, having received mixed reviews from users and HR teams.
Quicken Loans, AstraZeneca, Target, Dell, Bank of America.
The exact pricing details of Workday aren’t disclosed on the website. Contact Sales for a quote.
Best For
This platform is best for large, global organizations looking for an all-in-one tool. It offers insights into the workforce, fosters employee engagement, and facilitates adaptability to industry, situational, and regulatory changes.
I use Workday everyday. The key workflows I use Workday for are to manage all my open requisitions. I post jobs on Workday, disposition candidates and run daily reports on recruiting metrics per requisition. Workday does a good job with your dashboard. This screen will show all your open requisitions and any projects or timelines you choose to add. It is also very easy to add templates to Workday per requisition to help save time when you take action on a particular candidate. I initiate background checks, reference checks and offer letter proposals and submittals through Workday as well.
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I like that Workday can be your one stop shop for all HR and recruiting needs. It is easily customizable to your organizations preferences. I love the reporting capabilities that Workday can provide. I also like the main screen user interface. I think it is very user friendly and easy to learn.
My organization implemented Workday for the reporting and metrics functionalities. Workday is so robust and can do so much, especially for a big organization like the one I am in. The key benefits are that you can personalize Workday to your company's needs. There are no shortages of capabilities and functions Workday can serve. If you want recruitment metrics and reports, Workday is your tool. I have used Workday personally for 5 years in 2 different organizations. Both companies needed better reporting metrics around hiring and Workday solved these needs.
Workday can be a lot! It offers so many functions that it can get overwhelming. I have had candidates who have not liked the Workday experience when applying for a position. Workday's customer service has been weak at times and has not been the easiest to deal with.
WorkDay has a great brand name. Some of the largest and most profitable companies in the world use Workday which I think speaks for the brand itself. Workday’s functionalities can do so much more than a lot of their competitors. I have used similar tools and Workday by far has the largest arsenal of functionalities. You can utilize anything you decide you want to utilize and can offer almost everything from an HR, Recruiting, and Benefits standpoint.
Workday can be expensive. You get what you are paying for. If you want a complex product as a one stop shop then I would recommend Workday. I would figure out what you want your Workday to function as within your organization.
Workday has continuously made adjustments to the user interface to make it more user friendly. More training is always offered to new capabilities that are added monthly.
Very big organizations who want a system that can do a lot of different things. If you are an organization who has a high requisition load, a need for high level reporting, Workday would be a great fit.
I think Workday would not be beneficial to smaller companies and startups. I think a lot of the key functionalities would not be used and it would be a waste of money for your organization.
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SAP SuccessFactors
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SAP SuccessFactors is one of the big names in HR software. They’re currently pushing the boundaries of the HCM category itself, calling their product an HXM suite (for Human Experience Management).
PROS
CONS
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SAP is trying to transform traditional human capital management into a more employee-oriented endeavor. Through their HXM, they are trying to position the worker’s experience as the main filter for how companies engage with their people. Their product helps HR managers deliver experiences that resonate with employees while shaping their strategy.
Although not branded as an HRMS, SuccessFactors does cover all the features you’d expect from this category. This includes cloud payroll and benefits administration, even for a global workforce.
- American Airlines
- Ernst & Young
- Hero Group
- Terex
- Watco Companies
Pricing for SAP’s HXM suite is only available upon request.
Best For
Enterprises looking to improve UX
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UKG
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UKG is the merger of Ultimate Software and Kronos. As such, it brings more than 7 decades of experience with HCM tech into the workforce management space. UKG Pro, their HRMS, offers features like people analytics, benefits administration, and payroll.
PROS
- Leveraging years of experience in HCM and workforce management technology, UKG Pro and UKG Ready offer a comprehensive solution.
- By providing UKG Pro as an HRMS solution and UKG Ready for workforce management, you can access a range of features that address diverse HR requirements through a unified set of tools.
- You can configure user visibility within the system.
- The Ultimate Community provides on-demand information and networking opportunities for UKG Pro users.
- Includes an iOS app and an Android app for employees.
- Super robust product, packing years of experience with HCM and Workforce Management technology
- Since they offer UKG Pro for HRMS and UKG Ready for workforce management, you could arrive at a combination of products that suits many of your HR needs from the same set of tools.
CONS
- In comparison to more recent tools, both UKG Pro and UKG Ready might lack a clear focus or distinctive selling proposition tailored to specific types of businesses, meaning niche operations might find it challenging to adapt.
- The Android app has some issues with logging in.
- Not very budget-friendly with SMBs.
- All-in-one is not ideal for teams who require only a handful of specialized functionalities.
- Compared to newer tools, UKG Pro and UKG Ready tend to miss a unique selling point or a specific focus on a certain type of business. While they work great for bigger companies in all sorts of industries, very niche operations might have a hard time adapting to the tool.
- Similarly, UKG offers many solutions under one umbrella, so it's not the best fit if you're looking for only a handful of specific use cases.
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UKG offers a wealth of features and expertise to support the HR needs of large enterprises. From hiring and onboarding to performance management and succession planning, this platform aims to provide a holistic solution for HR needs. UKG has utilized its 70 years of experience in the field and companies' mergers to deliver such comprehensive solutions.
In addition to its wealth of features, we found the platform configurability and the outstanding support from the Ultimate Community to be particularly noteworthy aspects of our experience with UKG.
As administrators, we can control access to specific user groups. Tailored access is a significant advantage for teams prioritizing robust data security.
Although UKG's user interface boasts an attractive aesthetic, the plethora of features can be overwhelming. However, the Ultimate Community proved invaluable, providing access to loads of information and insights from previous conversations. The ability to ask questions and seek assistance from other users was also highly beneficial.
UKG exhibits noteworthy strengths, but we did encounter a few drawbacks during our assessment. Unlike newer specialized tools, it may lack the specificity needed by niche businesses. Furthermore, some users have reported issues logging into the Android app. Finally, this product is not priced for teams looking for a low-price solution.
Tesla, Marriott, Yamaha, Aramark, Puma, Sony Music, Samsung.
- Pricing for UKG is not disclosed on their website.
- Typically, the pricing is based on a per-employee-per-month model, with options for annual or monthly billing options.
- UKG Pro licenses generally start at around $600.00 per year for every 5 users. For an exact quote, please reach out to a sales representative.
Best For
UKG is an excellent choice for large companies operating in the Americas, EMEA, and Asia/Pacific regions, with a minimum employee count of 1000.
We use many of the UKG modules, but not all of them. At this time, we utilize Recruiting, Onboarding, Payroll, Benefits Administration, and Learning. We rely on the recruiting module to post jobs and source candidates. Using the recruiting module allows us to easily process new hires into onboarding. We process weekly and bi-monthly payrolls through three different operating companies. The benefits administration is used during open enrollment and new hire onboarding. We recently purchased the Learning system, so we haven't fully utilized that module yet.
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UKG is fairly user-friendly once you get used to the system. The recruiting module feeds into the onboarding, making hiring candidates simple. The community boards in UKG Community are very helpful when you're looking for tips and tricks on how to do something.
Our organization was looking for an HRIS as we were currently only using Ceridian for payroll. We purchased the UKG software about seven years ago. We were sold on the capabilities that were described to us during their sales pitch. The main objective was to streamline our HR processes and integrate various functions like recruiting, onboarding, payroll, benefits administration, and learning into one platform. Since implementing UKG, we have improved our HR efficiency and overall employee management.
Since it's a SAAS system, there is very limited customization despite what their sales team says. For example, we don't like to use the term "review," and their sales team said we could change that to "coaching," but we actually can't.
In the recruiting module, once a requisition is approved, you can't change the job title. For example, if we decided to upgrade an assistant manager role to a manager, we would need to put in a whole new requisition or change it on the back end once the employee is hired.
Time and Attendance can be a challenge depending on how you run your payroll. We've run into problems with showing the correct amount of PTO for our weekly payroll employees.
I've used SilkRoad for recruiting in previous organizations, and I definitely prefer that to the recruiting module in UKG. UKG doesn't let you save your view preferences, so every time you log in to look at jobs, you see everyone's jobs and not just yours.
Organizations need to think about how much customization they really need. If it's minimal, then UKG would be a good option. You should also consider your end user—tech-savvy employees will have little issues learning and navigating the system, while those who aren't as tech-savvy may struggle.
Yes, UKG makes updates based on customer feedback. For example, there used to be no option for new candidates to "sign and accept" their offer letter. Now there is.
UKG is good for a mid-size organization.
UKG would not be good for a large, complex organization.
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Zoho People
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Zoho People is a complete solution for HR teams that offers a free plan in addition to other affordable options. Their tool can take on basic HR tasks like time and attendance, performance assessment, learning and development, employee engagement, and payroll management.
PROS
- All core HR features in a single dashboard.
- A wide array of integrations.
- Available in multiple languages.
- Has a free version and a free trial.
- All core HR features in a single dashboard
- Wide array of integrations
- User-friendly UI, constantly updated
- Available in multiple languages
CONS
- Payroll function was found to be too simplistic for some teams.
- Mobile apps offer a scaled-down version of what’s available with the web version.
- Occasional reports of slow load times.
- Since they offer so many modules, some may be not as robust as other products that have been more specific about covering certain needs. For instance, some teams have found their payroll offering to be quite basic.
- Not all that’s available in the web platform is available in the app
- Some users reported that the platform can be slow to load every now and then.
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Overall, we were quite impressed with this tool. It’s built solid with smart features, and it scales well. The forever-free plan is a major plus, even with limitations around total users (the upper limit is five) and a scant 250MB of storage.
Zoho’s mobile apps offer on-the-go convenience, and the core HR functions are all in good working order.
One remarkable aspect is the Cases feature. This functionality empowers users to submit their support inquiries within designated HR categories, ensuring swift responses from dedicated agents. It's a straightforward and efficient solution that saves valuable time.
Equally impressive is Zoho People, which accomplishes two goals at once - fostering enhanced collaboration while bolstering security through its access control feature. Administrators are able to easily assign access permissions to members which enables both effective collaboration and robust security measures.
Announcements empowers managers to share vital company information using a wide range of content types, formatting choices, and location-specific visibility settings, ensuring that important announcements reach the right audience in the right way at the right time.
Our experience with the browser-based self-service feature was good. It provided a centralized platform for accessing employee records, leave management, timesheets, and policy documents. However, we had some challenges with the mobile app. There were occasional lags during check-ins and facial recognition processes, and certain tools, like payroll, were more basic functionally compared to other similar tools in this space. There have been user reports of loading delays, be we didn’t experience this.
This platform is a good place for a growing company to start, and this has been attested to by multiple users reporting that their team started with the free plan and grew into a higher tier.
ZPE Systems, Cloudfronts Technologies, Zomato, SpiceJet, Foresight CFO.
Zoho People has five plans:
- Free: up to 5 users and 250MB of storage.
- Essential HR: $1.25 per user per month when billed annually.
- Professional: $2 per user per month billed annually.
- Premium: $3 per user per month billed annually.
- Enterprise: $4.5 per user per month billed annually.
Best For
While Zoho offers custom pricing for organizations with over 500 employees, its existing feature sets are particularly well-suited for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs). The tool's multilingual capabilities enable it to cater to global teams effectively, ensuring seamless collaboration and communication across language barriers.
It offers several key workflows that we can leverage to enhance our HR operations.
- Employee On-boarding: Zoho People simplifies the onboarding process by automating tasks such as creating employee profiles, collecting necessary documents, and assigning onboarding tasks to relevant stakeholders.
- Time and Attendance Management: It enables accurate tracking of employee attendance, including clock-in/clock-out times, breaks, and leave requests.
- Leave Management: It ensures transparency in leave policies, simplifies the approval process, and maintains accurate leave records.
- Performance Management: It facilitates goal setting, performance evaluations, and feedback mechanisms. Managers can define objectives, track progress, conduct appraisals, etc.
- HR Analytics and Reporting: It allows us to generate reports on various HR metrics, such as employee attendance, leave utilization, performance ratings, and turnover rates. These insights enable data-driven decision-making and help identify areas for improvement.
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Pros -
- Comprehensive HR Management: It provides a centralized platform for managing all HR-related tasks, simplifying processes, and increasing efficiency.
- Mobile Accessibility: It offers a mobile app that enables employees and managers to access HR-related information and perform essential tasks on the go.
- Scalable and Customizable: It offers scalability, allowing us to accommodate our growing needs. It's highly customizable, and allows us to tailor the software to our specific HR workflows and requirements.
We majorly use it for attendance & leave management. Zoho People helps in keeping a track record of each & every employee. Other than that it provides Efficient HR Management, Employee Self-Service, seamless collaboration between HR teams and employees, Comprehensive Analysis of key HR metrics, etc. I personally have been using it for the past 1.6yr
- Customer Support Response Time: The support response time is slower. This affects the resolution of critical issues.
- Pricing Structure: The pricing structure is relatively higher compared to other HR management software options in the market.
- Learning Curve: It has certain features, which may require a learning curve for new users. Getting familiar with the platform and understanding its functionalities might take some time, particularly for users who are not familiar with HR management software tools.
I have used Workday HCM in the past and I feel ZOHO People is better as it provides better UI at a very cheaper price. It is not possible for small or mid-size organizations to afford workday
Following things should be kept in mind while deciding on such tools-
- Size of the organization
- Goals of the organization regarding growth & increase in team size in future
- Price of the product
- Number of users it allows to access
Zoho People has evolved in the following ways -
- Continuous Feature Enhancements: Zoho People has consistently improved its feature set based on user feedback and market trends. It has undergone regular updates and enhancements to offer new functionalities and improve the overall user experience.
- Mobile Accessibility: Recognizing the growing importance of mobile devices, Zoho People has expanded its mobile capabilities.
- Integration Capabilities: It has focused on integration with other Zoho applications, such as Zoho CRM, Zoho Recruit, and Zoho Analytics, to provide a comprehensive suite of tools for businesses.
- Automation and Workflow Customization: It has placed an emphasis on automation and workflow customization features. Users can define their own workflows, set up approval processes, and automate routine HR tasks.
- Self-Service Portals: It has expanded its self-service capabilities. The software offers self-service portals where employees can access their personal information, submit leave requests, manage time and attendance, view payslips, and collaborate with their teams.
IT companies
Academic Organizations like schools & colleges
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Namely
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Namely helps you streamline many of the day-to-day HR processes, including onboarding, attendance tracking, and performance management. It also packs a robust payroll and benefits administration module and reporting functionality that gives you insights into market trends.
PROS
- Namely’s UI is highly rated by users. It’s quite clean and easy to navigate despite how feature-rich Namely is.
- The employee onboarding module has an easy-to-use wizard that correctly guides new hires through the steps they need to complete and tasks they need to do.
- On top of the platform's built-in features for data management, recruiting, onboarding, time off tracking, payroll, and benefits administration, Namely offers managed payroll and benefits administration services in case you require more help.
- The majority of users are able to navigate Namely without any issues. They find the UI to be intuitive and clean, despite the fact that the platform has lots of features.
- Namely’s employee onboarding module gets a alot of praise from users. It features an easy-to-follow wizard, which helps new hires get on quickly and be clear on what they need to do.
- Besides the platform’s built in features for data management, recruiting, onboarding, time off tracking, payroll and benefits administration, there are also managed payroll and benefits administration services you can opt for to reduce the burden on your internal teams.
CONS
- Namely predominantly serves U.S.-based companies, which means it isn’t a good fit for companies that you need to pay and give benefits to employees in other countries.
- The implementation process can be lengthy, spanning a minimum of 6-8 weeks.
- For a platform as big as Namely, we were surprised by the lack of employee development features such as skill training, career pathing, succession planning, etc.
- Before buying Namely, you should verify whether it is compatible with your current benefits provider, as there have been a few instances reported where Namely’s team encouraged users to switch to other providers that cost more.
- Namely primarily operates in the U.S., which means if you’re looking for a global payroll and benefits provider, this platform isn’t for you.
- Though many praise the platform’s ease of use, it does take long to implement it. Namely’s own team says that an average implementation takes between 6-8 weeks.
- For a platform of Namely’s size, there currently aren’t any features that focus on employee development such as skill training, career pathing, succession planning etc.
- You’ll need to check beforehand if Namely can work with your existing benefits provider, if you have one. There have been a few reports (but not few enough to ignore) about Namely’s team convincing customers to change their benefits provider to providers that charged them more.
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Namely’s HRMS helps mid-market companies (50-1000 employees) manage several HR processes in one centralized location. For starters, it can help you store and organize your employees' info as your system of record (SOR). You can also use it to onboard new employees through an intuitive wizard and e-signatures, check and approve time-off requests, as well as customize and conduct performance reviews.
The platform has built-in features for payroll management and benefits administrations that you can use, or opt for Namely’s managed payroll and benefits services and have them take care of relevant processes on your behalf.
Namely is used by hundreds of businesses, including The Channel Company, Greenhouse, OneLogin, and MacStadium.
Namely doesn’t have fixed pricing plans. They like to tailor their offering according to each customer’s needs, and as such, each customer gets a unique quote. To learn more about Namely’s pricing and to get a quote, you can reach out to their Sales team.
Best For
Namely is a great HRMS for the mid-market (50-1,000 employees).
My team and I used Namely every day for all our cloud-based HRIS needs. We used Namely for benefits, time tracking, housing HR policy and personnel documents, and, of course, onboarding. Namely is a functional tool with easy-to-set-up workflows for forms and processes. Also a payroll company, Namely does it all. Functions like e-forms and documents, which required passing through multiple departments, were made easy by the workflows offered in this tool. 10/10.
I like the aesthetic of the site; it is fun to use and user-friendly. The mobile version is functional during onboarding, unlike many other systems that claim to be mobile-friendly; Namely actually is! I like how things flow and the ease of uploading and storing documents. I like that our people enjoy using Namely.
We selected Namely because we wanted a personalized solution fit for our unique needs. We were tired of the same old runaround with big companies like ADP and being passed from one department to another to solve a simple issue. My company needed a better user experience for us as administrators and for our employees. Our primary pain point was transitioning off of a full-service PEO and needing a personalized touch and a good bit of handholding during setup. I used Namely for one year, and the company I was with is still using the product.
During the merger with Prism, there were some system bugs, but those seemed to get sorted out after a month or so. At times, the chat or help function can be slow to use, and I had to restart a few chats, which did not make me happy at that time. That said, the Namely reps were always courteous and went above and beyond to help us. Since we had no appointed contact team, I was always talking to a new person, which can be challenging when working through a long-term project like multi-state payroll tax setup or complex benefits.
I like that Namely allows the HR team to drive the bus. If someone is not tech-savvy, Namely will not be the best tool for them. Namely stacks up against its competitors well, and I loved using the system! I’d use it again.
Before investing in this platform, determine if your HR team is at least moderately tech-savvy; if not, look elsewhere. Do you have under 500 employees? If yes, Namely can easily accommodate your group. Do you have at least one HR person on staff per 75-100 employees? If not, you should consider adding an admin. Namely is a great tool, but it doesn’t think for you. People still need to do the work, especially benefits and payroll-related tasks.
Yes, it has, and they are doing a good job adjusting to market needs. Namely is cutting-edge and definitely improving over time.
Namely is a great tool for small to mid-sized businesses.
Someone needing active handholding daily or a lot of tech support will not do well using Namely.
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Zenefits
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Zenefits is a widely-known HRMS for its ease of use and modern-looking UI. It's designed for SMBs and offers real competitive prices.
PROS
- Zenefits stands as one of the leading names in HR tech and payroll software for American SMBs.
- Easy-to-navigate UI.
- Provides mobile app with a feature-rich self-service for employees.
- Transparent and budget-friendly pricing.
- Offers a free trial.
- It’s one of the top names in HR tech and payroll software for American small businesses.
- Their platform is one of the best-looking and easiest to figure out among the sector.
- Zenefits can grow with you. Its pricing plans allow you to pay and tweak as you go, add certain modules when you need them, or get rid of them if you don’t.
CONS
- As oriented to small businesses as the tool is, it doesn’t offer custom plans for enterprises.
- No phone or dedicated account manager. Customer support can be hard to reach at times.
- Zenefits is oriented toward the US market, not a good option for teams with employees in other countries.
- As oriented to small businesses as the tool is, it doesn’t give you the chance to create a custom bundle of the services and/or modules you’d like to have. For instance, Zenefits does not offer a standalone ACA module. Therefore, you will need to purchase an entire HRIS plan if you want to access that offering.
- In addition, Zenefits focuses on small to mid sized companies. If you're an enterprise organization, you may want to consider another option.
- Zenefits is also rather focused on the US market at this point. So, if your team is mostly in another country and you need more of a local know-how, it might not be the best bet for certain modules like payroll and benefits.
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Zenefits is an awesome HRMS for startups and SMBs to manage their onboarding, offboarding and almost everything in between. In addition to its many features, the HR tool offers a budget-friendly pricing structure, plus a great UI. Zenefits' pricing starts at $8 per month per employee and covers a set of core features — time tracking and scheduling, integrations, and apps. The interface is designed to be simple and quick enough for managers, executives, and employees to get themselves familiar with the tool after a few minutes of navigating the tool.
Zenefits’ payroll and benefits can accommodate multiple requirements from users. The offerings are designed to work for not only full-time employees but part-timers, contractors, and freelancers. Users are given the flexibility to bring their broker to the system or choose from Zenefits’ benefits plans, which cover health insurance, HSA, FSA, commuter, 401k, and so on. However, as oriented to SMBs in the U.S. as the tool is, the payroll and benefits that Zenefits provides aren’t suitable for teams having employees outside of the country.
Quora, Universal Group, Reddit, Asana.
Zenefits offers three base plans with a free trial. Below is the pricing detail when billed annually:
- Essentials plan costs $8 per month per employee.
- Growth plan costs $16 per month per employee.
- Zen plan costs $21 per month per employee.
- Zenefits also provides add-ons for services like Payroll and Recruiting, which are priced at $5 per month per employee.
Best For
Entrepreneurs, startups, and SMBs businesses in the U.S. will likely take advantage of Zenefits’ HRMS offerings.
A major advantage was the self-service feature for onboarding. Before a new hire started, most onboarding tasks, such as I-9 and tax forms, were already completed. We heavily relied on Zenefits for employee data management. It helped us track changes in employee information, such as address updates and manager changes, as well as the reporting hierarchy through the organizational chart feature. It was also useful for document management.
As a school, we had to comply with the Department of Education's document management requirements, like teacher certifications and first aid & CPR. Automating notifications for expiring credentials was incredibly helpful. The second phase of integration occurred when we opted to replace ADP with Zenefits for payroll processing and time & attendance tracking.
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The time-off and scheduling features of Zenefits proved to be incredibly helpful. Before using Zenefits, coordinating time off and ensuring adequate coverage was a complex process, largely because it was managed by the HR team and then passed on to the managers.
The ability to allow managers to approve their team's time-off requests saved a lot of time. In addition, each professional, including teachers, paraprofessionals, and speech pathologists, had between 3-8 professional certifications that needed tracking.
Notifying, tracking, and following up with staff for updated certifications was very time-consuming. However, once we set up the notifications and employee self-service features, the process of tracking and ensuring compliance became much easier. It also allowed employees to upload their updated credentials.
Upon establishing the HR department, we only had ADP for payroll and employee tracking. Before introducing Zenefits, we expanded rapidly from 40 employees to over 100 within a few years. We initially managed everything manually via paper applications and Excel spreadsheets. Although Excel is beneficial for data management, it became increasingly difficult as the company grew.
Additionally, we had only two HR professionals, myself included. Tasks such as onboarding new employees, data management, payroll processing, and handling time-off requests became increasingly manual and time-consuming, detracting from our ability to focus on value-added activities. Over the past two years, automating many of these labor-intensive tasks has proven invaluable.
There is a lack of customization in reporting. Although the platform includes many preconfigured reports and templates, the ability to modify specific data points is somewhat limited.
The platform also has limited customization for the user interface and dashboards. You can change the layout, color schemes, branding, and hyperlinks on the user's homepage, but further customization is limited.
Onboarding and offboarding workflows have limitations. They follow pre-determined steps that align with a general process, but you can't make many modifications to these steps.
Suggestions for improvement include the ability to modify the tracking of onboarding task milestones, customize the onboarding workflows for different roles (e.g. teaching assistant vs. teacher), and add the ability to customize approval tasks when multiple supervisors need to approve a task or transaction.
Zenefits offers many benefits over other HRIS software, such as Workday. First, the cost is significantly lower and may be more appealing to smaller businesses with a limited budget. Second, if you don’t have a dedicated IT team, the implementation of Zenefits is significantly easier and may be more ideal for smaller HR departments. Third, while it may have some limitations relative to customizing workflows, it does significantly reduce the likelihood of running into challenges with workflow.
The pricing structure is a significant aspect to evaluate. The platform's cost hinges on a monthly or annual commitment and is determined per user. Furthermore, the expense of integrating additional features such as Learning Management Systems or Performance Management should be accounted for. Features like employee self-service might offset costs otherwise spent on a dedicated HR assistant managing data changes. Lastly, ensure the platform is user-friendly for both the end-user and administrator. This platform isn't overly complex and is suitable if your HR team includes a tech-savvy member.
Zenefits, once a standalone company, has been acquired by TriNet. This significant change in ownership has broadened the scope of what Zenefits can offer, particularly in terms of integrations with other platforms. The integrations now include prominent platforms like QuickBooks and 360 Learning, along with OKTA. These developments have enhanced the functionality and usability of Zenefits, making it a more versatile tool for businesses. Among these, the integration with OKTA has proven to be profoundly beneficial. OKTA is a platform that manages user access based on roles, a feature that has found applicability in a wide range of organizations. This has resulted in Zenefits becoming more scalable and adaptable, capable of meeting the needs of a wider array of businesses.
Zenefits is an outstanding choice for small to medium-sized businesses that are operating on a tight budget and can't afford to invest heavily in HRIS software. Furthermore, since TriNet acquired Zenefits, the PEO and HR outsourcing option can be very helpful for a company with a smaller/less sophisticated HR team. This can be an incredibly beneficial strategy, particularly for businesses that are in the growth phase.
Zenefits is relatively user-friendly, both in terms of integration and end-user experience. However, like any HRIS implementation, it requires significant time for planning, implementation, and training. Therefore, if you or your business can't dedicate the necessary time to work with the implementation team, I wouldn't recommend it.
Benefits of the Top HRMS Software
The evolution of Human Resource Management Systems has taken them from basic record-keeping tools (think PeopleSoft in 1987) to valuable strategic assets. In addition to the criteria mentioned above, take note of the key benefits below. Regardless of your industry, size, or location, each of the following are benefits you can expect from HRMS software.
Better employee experience: The benefits of a quality HRMS are directly enjoyed by your employees. For example, a user-friendly employee portal can allow employees to review and update their info, navigate benefits options, and request time off with ease in less time than through legacy systems and sometimes even from a mobile app. Of course, this can lead to increased employee satisfaction and engagement.
Drive employee performance: The best HRMS platforms can foster talent development through performance reviews, engagement surveys, performance management capabilities, and customizable integrations with other tools you use to build culture.
Save time with HR automation: A good HRMS can have a massive impact on efficiency. Automation can handle new employee onboarding, offboarding, benefits and payroll administration, time tracking, attendance management, and more. With fewer operational tasks, the HR department can focus its time and energy on more strategic initiatives like optimizing employee lifetime value, lowering the turnover rate, and improving employee productivity and well-being.
Increased compliance: Provided you and your team are careful with the setup and initial data entry, an HRMS can significantly improve HR’s data accuracy. A complete, accurate, and easy-to-access data collection means you can worry less about EEOC audits and wrongful termination lawsuits. If one of these worst-case scenarios actually occurs, you’ll be prepared.
These systems also help with HR’s adaptability to unforeseen circumstances. One clear example was the pandemic, where many of the top vendors in the US reacted to vaccine mandates by rapidly developing features to accommodate immunization tracking and other safety and compliance tools.
A more organized HR department: If your business, like many, started with a handful of spreadsheets and a patchwork of manual processes, an HRMS can help you graduate to a more refined set of procedures. An HRMS can substantially lighten your cognitive load by managing multiple interconnected employee info systems.
HR intelligence: As any operation grows, it becomes increasingly important to analyze its data. An HRMS lets you create custom reports, making it easier for your HR and finance teams to examine metrics like turnover rate, hiring costs, and employee engagement and use that data to make more informed decisions.
Workforce management: The best HRMS systems take a modern approach to workforce management by putting the employee experience front and center. You’ll find elements of employee engagement, like intuitive self-onboarding, easy-to-access payroll and benefits, mobile first-time tracking, smart scheduling, and payroll management, which are standard in top-tier HRMSs.
Streamline recruiting: It’s not unusual for HRMS platforms to include a lightweight Applicant Tracking System (ATS), but it is becoming common for a full-fledged ATS to be part of the standard HRMS package.
Hiring is a central element of workforce management, so if you’re already using an HRMS as an integrated information hub for employee data, it makes sense to use it to manage applicant info, too. The most advanced ATSs built into an HRMS can do everything from sourcing candidates, scheduling interviews, shortlisting or rejecting, and onboarding new employees to offboarding.
Pitfalls of Buying a Human Resource Management System
The rewards of implementing the right HRMS system are substantial, but so are the risks if you make the wrong choice. The information below is from our research of unhappy customers who bought the wrong software tool. We identified central themes across their experience, and after reading this list, you can avoid the common mistakes to watch out for.
Rushing the decision: The allure of an elegant interface, the appeal of innovative features, and the sentiment of a few glowing reviews are powerful forces. It’s easy to buy a product that doesn’t actually do what you need. We’ve all been there.
Design, feature set, and reputation are important when vetting any software, but they should not drive your decision. Make your choice with the company's overall objectives in mind. Budget ample time to identify your team’s requirements, past issues, and the primary goals you hope to achieve using HRMS software.
Lack of awareness: The fact that you’re reading this guide suggests you know the value of thorough research, but some busy HR pros lack the operational context needed to make the right choice. It’s common for these folks to limit their scope of research to one or two major pain points they experience personally. This, as you can imagine, usually ends badly.
Not consulting teammates: This can be disastrous when implementing HR software. Checking with employees in every department can be a painstaking process, even in a small business, but in the long run, it’s worth it. For more on this topic, read this article on getting buy-in from internal stakeholders.
Overlooking security and support: Security and support are not features where quality can be sacrificed for price. HRMS systems hold all your employee info, so choose a company that prioritizes security. Support is an element of security and a critical standalone feature. This is especially true during implementation when a few missteps during your initial setup can lead to big problems down the line.
How Are Most HR Management Solutions Priced?
With most of the vendors listed on this roundup, pricing is per user per month. Some have an additional monthly base rate, and most offer custom pricing based on your business’s needs. Some also offer independently priced add-ons, which is excellent for small businesses who want to pay only for the features they’ll actually use. Regardless of your business size or state of growth, you may find this ROI calculator helpful for setting your budget.
We've compiled the following estimates to offer a rough idea of what to budget based on your organization’s size. This data reflects the input of HR experts, both in-house and external, but be aware that these are rough estimates, and the proposals and quotes you get will vary.
Key HRMS Software Features
Knowing the key features of HRMSs and how they can support your goals is essential to finding the right software for your team.
At the beginning of this article, we covered the fundamental differences between HRMS, HRIS, and HCM platforms. We noted that, though many features overlap, contrasts in scope and philosophy made for clear distinctions between the three. Let’s look at each of these in more detail:
Employee Information Management: An HRIS is a secure database that serves as a single system of record for employee data, including personal details, job history, performance records, and benefits information.
Payroll: This is ubiquitous among HRMS platforms. Payroll features manage all aspects of payroll processing, including salary calculation, deductions, tax withholdings, calculation for PTO, sick days, overtime, and more. Time and attendance are adjacent features that contribute to accurate pay computation.
Some of the vendors mentioned in this list offer global payroll solutions, but if this feature is essential to run your business, we recommend reading our guide on global payroll.
Budgeting: Some HRIS platforms can help create budgets for the entire human resources department by integrating them with common accounting software. This can include expenditures, forecasts, and plans for future costs. Some also provide cost analysis overview and reporting features.
Performance Management: Many HRMS platforms support performance appraisal processes, goal setting, feedback collection, and performance review cycles. Best employee development practices are constantly evolving, and performance reviews are undergoing rigorous evaluation by HR thought leaders, so be sure the performance management features match your company’s talent development philosophy.
Compliance and Reporting: The compliance management and reporting functions record and synthesize information extracted from the numerous systems of record managed within the platform. The aggregated data is used as a precise record of regulatory compliance and to generate reports that can be evaluated for possible strategic insights.
Questions to Keep in Mind When Demoing HRMS Software Tools
Advanced preparation is the key to getting the most out of software demonstrations. Come prepared with questions that investigate each vendor’s approach to addressing the specific needs you’ve already identified.
Your demo questions should be a subset of the questions you have already asked. It’s common to exchange multiple emails leading up to a demo, so make the most of your time by getting the basics out of the way beforehand.
Keep your internal stakeholders in mind as you prepare. Ideally, they were directly involved, but short of that, be sure you have cultivated a cross-department understanding of what is essential across the org. Their needs should be reflected in your questions.
With your basic questions already answered and the best interest of all departments in mind, here are the must-ask questions for an HRMS product demo:
- Does it integrate with our current ATS, payroll, or any other systems you might have that impact workforce management?
- Does this solution have single sign-on (SSO) capabilities?
- Are there multiple authorization levels for different types of users?
- Is there a maximum number of employees it will support across the workforce?
- What types of reporting capabilities does it have?
- Does it include features to help HR communicate with employees (i.e., mass emails, internal chat, filtering messages by criteria)?
- What kind of tasks can we automate or streamline with this tool? How many hours can we expect to save doing so?
- How much technical training will be required?
- What kinds of technical support are provided?
- What recruiting capabilities are built in?
- How will information be exchanged with insurance brokers and carriers)?
- Does it accommodate benefits carriers’ rules?
- How can we import employee data into this system? (API, Excel spreadsheets, employee records, other databases, and paper documents)
- What built-in security measures does it contain?
We get a lot of positive feedback about this software buying organizer. Readers tell us it was a useful tool throughout the process, and in the end, they were thankful they’d used it from the beginning.
FAQs on Buying HRMS Software
These are the most frequently asked questions from HR professionals when it comes to human capital management software:
What is the best HRMS system?
The big names in HRMS software are UKG, SAP SuccessFactors, Namely, and Rippling, but are they really “the best”? The answer is yes and no.
Best can only be applied to one company at a time because no single HRMS platform is a universal fit for everyone. The wide range of HRMS platforms may seem unnecessary (or even overwhelming), but the variety represents the diversity in the businesses' needs.
What is the difference between HCM, HRMS, and HRIS?
The critical distinction between HRIS, HRMS, and HCM lies in their scope and focus. HRIS (Human Resource Information System) and HRMS (Human Resource Management System) are specific software types that focus on managing human resource information and processes, including payroll in the latter case. HCM, or Human Capital Management, encompasses a broader philosophy of business practices. It involves acquiring and optimizing a business's workforce and integrating strategic elements into managing human resources.
Why do definitions of HCM, HRMS, and HRIS vary so much?
There are many ways to answer this perfectly reasonable question, but the need for more consensus is primarily the result of two factors. First, an imprecise definition offers some wiggle room for vendors who claim their tool can do it all. Second, our approach to workforce management is shifting as technology and best practices evolve, so the categories are not fixed.
Despite this moving target, the distinctions primarily lie in their features, intended applications, and the philosophical framework behind each tool’s design. Generally, industry insights suggest that HRIS is the most narrowly defined solution, concentrating on essential HR functions. HRMS expands on this with broader features, still primarily within the HR domain. In contrast, HCM encompasses these features and extends further, incorporating strategic business planning to analyze and optimize the workforce as the key element.
Final Advice on Buying HRMS software
As we wrap up, let's assume you've absorbed the information above and identified a few potential vendors for scheduling demos. That’s just the first step, but it is the biggest one! If you were thorough and diligent from the beginning, you’ve set yourself up for an easier time reaching your goal. You’ve also become familiar with the general process we recommend for making all HR tech decisions.
Since you’ve identified your needs and have a comprehensive understanding of how different feature sets can meet them, fine-tuning your demos should be a breeze.
At this point, your knowledge far surpasses the average consumer. You speak the language of the HRMS vendor, so feel confident when you ask the person running your demo to focus on the relevant features you’ve identified.
You can even supply them with test data to use in the demonstration. This “test drive” approach will help you assess intuitiveness and overall user experience.
You’re already well on your way to bringing the best HRMS platform to your workplace! If you want to further your knowledge, you should read this article about the differences between HRIS, HCM, and HRMS, or you can focus your attention on this article covering the definition, features, and benefits of an HCM.
About Us
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- Our goal at SSR is to help HR and recruiting teams to find and buy the right software for their needs.
- Our site is free to use as some vendors will pay us for web traffic.
- SSR lists all companies we feel are top vendors - not just those who pay us - in our comprehensive directories full of the advice needed to make the right purchase decision for your HR team.