10 Best HCM Software To Manage Your HR Needs in One Place

• It is easy to use, allowing users to quickly become proficient without extensive training.
• The setup process is simple, ensuring a hassle-free installation.
• It offers a variety of features, providing flexibility for different HR needs.

One of the key issues we aimed to address was the need for better support for our internal team. We required a system that would provide reliable assistance whenever needed.

Previously, we used ADP, which offered various features, but its customer service was lacking. This often left our team feeling frustrated, especially during critical times when timely support was essential.

In contrast, BambooHR made it easy to get assistance and resolve issues quickly. Their responsive customer support significantly improved our experience, allowing us to navigate challenges more efficiently. Additionally, the platform was simple to install and use, with an intuitive interface that helped our team transition smoothly.

• Many useful features require additional payments, which can increase costs.
• The billing structure works well for smaller organizations but may become expensive as employee counts grow.

I find BambooHR to be more intuitive and accessible than other HR platforms, which can often feel clunky or overly complex. Its user-friendly interface allows me to work more efficiently with fewer obstacles, making the overall experience more enjoyable.

The number of employees in an organization is a key consideration, as pricing can increase significantly with a larger workforce. It’s also important to assess which features are necessary and which ones can be omitted to manage costs effectively. Identifying essential tools ahead of time can help keep monthly expenses reasonable.

BambooHR has continuously improved by listening to user feedback and adding features that enhance usability and efficiency. These updates have made the platform even more valuable for HR teams.

BambooHR is ideal for HR professionals and organizations looking to streamline recruitment, improve employee engagement, and manage workforce operations efficiently.

• Our employees find their interface user-friendly
• Employment taxes are filed without any effort from us (the employer)
• It's one of the only HR software suites that has functionality for hourly employees

We bought Paycor when we needed a payroll solution that would work with employees in multiple states. Paycor allows us to process multi-state payroll, and they file the necessary taxes in each state and municipality.

We decided on Paycor for these reasons, and our staff found the UI to be the easiest to navigate. We have been using the platform for 4 years.

A great many things, unfortunately.

• Support is practically non-existent
• The payroll workflow is jumbled and doesn't make sense. Instead of a seamless flow in which you approve time card and move on to payroll in the same workflow, you do these things separately
• Their punch clock isn't very intelligent. I have to manually fix several punches a week that shouldn't have been allowed in the first place (e.g. an employee has two punch-in records in a row, with no punch-out record in between)
• There are a lot of reports, which is great. But, ironically, I can never find a report for what I need.
• It's impossible to manage what I would consider basic configurations. For example, our office manager retired last year, but she remains the manager for all employees in Paycor because the setting cannot be changed, even though her Paycor employee profile is no longer active
• Did I mention that support doesn't exist? Send in a ticket and you're unlikely to get a response.

The biggest difference we found is that Paycor has functionality (or modules) for a wide variety of employment situations. In our case, it was one of the only suites that could accommodate hourly employees, meaning it has punch clock and scheduling features.

My staff believes their UI is better, too. However, I don't believe that to be the case from an employer standpoint.

Firstly, if needed, are you prepared to wait for a response from support that may never come? Because that is a reality of Paycor.

Secondly, what functionality do you need? There are a lot of HR suites, and Paycor was our choice because it had functionality that many others did not. If you don't need time management (punch clock) or scheduling, then you should take the time to compare all of your options. Paycor may not be right for you.

Thirdly is the cost. In our second year, they changed their entire price structure. They gave us 30 days' notice. Our monthly costs went up, but we could do little as it takes many months to evaluate other options and several more months to facilitate the migration. The point being, we were stuck and had to deal with the rate change.

I would say very little during the four years we have used Paycor. They've made some UI changes but nothing impactful.

I am sure there is a scenario in which Paycor is a suitable solution for companies of all sizes. Their suite has a lot to offer and can accommodate a variety of employment situations. That said, based on my experience, I wouldn't think Paycor is best suited for companies with many employees. I have a hard enough time managing five employees in Paycor.

Rippling centralizes the majority of the HR processes (+ Finance and IT, if you chose) that would otherwise be spread across multiple systems. For example, our company’s flex benefits, COBRA, and ACA were either managed with a carrier outside of our broker or manually by us and now Rippling handles the administration of all these areas in consolidation with our other health insurance benefits.

The strength of Rippling’s integration library allows for consistent and regular communication to and from Rippling for processes that are not directly managed within the system. For example, prior to Rippling, we manually onboarded and offboarded employees to/from Guideline. With Rippling, the systems speak to each other and manage the employee’s lifecycle with our company-sponsored 401k.

A highly beneficial aspect of Rippling is the workflow feature. Workflows have allowed us to set up Rippling in a way that allows it to speak within the system, initiate processes, and communicate to people/external systems. Rippling is a high-tech HRIS and a constantly progressing platform that meets the needs of today’s operations teams (HR, IT, Finance included).

We selected Rippling to implement a strong HRIS while centralizing other HR operations. By implementing Rippling, we were able to solve and improve several areas. First, we consolidated historical employee data from three to four different platforms into one, allowing us to use Rippling reporting to provide company trends. Second, we simplified benefits administration by transferring health insurance, Flex Benefits, COBRA, and ACA management to the Rippling platform. Third, Rippling offers a cleaner, more centralized, and highly integrated solution for our HRIS needs. I have been actively using Rippling for six months.

Rippling is a complex system. For it to be fully functional to the best of its ability it needs to be given the time to implement and set up in great detail. Knowing this, the implementation should have been much more hands-on. I’d recommend that whoever is leading the implementation internally has experience with other systems, so they know what to look for.

Rippling does not have an employee “notes” section. As the place I rely on for the most up-to-date employee job and personal information, it is missing the ability to keep it up to date with employee relations information directly in their profile. This is a feature I have experience with in other HRIS’s and is a missed opportunity in the Rippling platform.

Unlike BambooHR, a competitor, Rippling does not offer a “missing data” report. To find out who within the company is missing information, we will have to discover it when it is flagged during another unrelated process. I think this puts us at risk if we are unknowingly missing key information or signatures from any employee.

Rippling is a fully functional operations system with a large integration library. It provides HR with the necessary tools and offers Finance and IT tools. Incorporating various clouds and add-ons allows Rippling to carry an administrative weight heavier than its competitors.

Rippling is a complex system, so you should be prepared to invest time and attention to building a strong foundation during the implementation process. It can do a lot, but it needs to be built on the backend for the front end to function at its best. Since many tools within Rippling rely on one another, approach it with a big-picture philosophy for your organization’s intentions. Be clear about what you need during the discovery process, as Rippling has many features, but not all may be necessary for your company.

Rippling continues to introduce small improvements to existing features and entire tools, like performance reviews, and exclusive highly functional built-in integrations, like Carta. These developments are likely to continue as Rippling gains popularity in HR and Finance.

Rippling is highly flexible and can be strong for a wide range of companies. It can suit new startup companies (less than 50 employees) but may be best for 70+ and growing SMBs.

I loved that the platform reached our global audience and that our employees could manage their own data in the system. I also liked the reporting functions and how easy it was to make benefit changes in the system from an administrative view.

We chose Ceridian because it was one of the only systems that had the global support we needed. We needed a robust system that would allow our employees to manage their data in the US, EMEA, Canada and Mexico, as well as hone into reporting functions easily for our COE. I used Ceridian for almost 4 years, managing benefits, reporting, and employee data. I trained my team how to use it, so they could emulate this training at their respective locations.

Ceridian is not the most user-friendly interface. It is not impossible to use, but for anyone who struggles with tech, it can be a challenge. Companies with large populations may also find it easy to get analysis paralysis, as all of the reports can be overwhelming and hard to sort through. Lastly, it only gets easier with practice, so if you are not on this platform often it will not get easier to navigate. One truly must familiarize themselves with it in order to understand how to navigate it.

What sets Ceridian apart is its global capability and reporting functionality. I have yet to come across another platform that can store the amount of data this can and pull it together in the same way Ceridian can.

The size and location of their organization/employees, data analytics, user interface and price.

I think they are trying to make a dashboard more user-friendly but otherwise, I think they know their strength and lean into that.

Large global organizations

Everything can be found in one place for timekeeping for employees. Supervisor and Employees can maintain timecards at ease. It integrates with other systems and there are minimal hiccups with the transfer of data. It’s not complex so it’s easy to use and makes it very easy to train others in the system.

I used Oracle working at Scripps health. We had over 5000 employees and the ATS system worked best for a larger group of employees. It flows well without issues for time keeping purposes and integrates smoothly within Lawson. The customer service is lacking but the product can get the job done for large corporations.

Lag time when multiple users are using it. Customer Service is non responsive and hard to get in touch; therefore, problems are never resolved.

It’s not much different except that the navigation is easier and so it is user friendly for new managers and HR professionals.

It’s great for larger corporations. If you have a smaller corporation you should do your research to make sure that you are not over paying for the system or may want to do comparisons to other ATS systems.

Overtime the system has improved by becoming smooth and fluid with few hiccups. It allows the process to flow better

Large corporations

User-friendly interface: Workday's clean and intuitive design makes it easy for users to navigate and find the information they need.

Scalability: This makes it an ideal solution for growing businesses that require additional functionality over time. As a company expands or needs change, Workday can be customized to meet those evolving requirements.

‍Seamless integration: Workday offers robust integration capabilities with various third-party applications, ensuring a smooth flow of data across different systems. This compatibility with other software tools enables organizations to maintain a connected ecosystem, streamlining processes and reducing the need for manual data entry or reconciliation.

My organization was 10k plus employees and our old HRIS system was dated and clunky. I used it for approximately 2 years. We needed better self-service for not only employees but for managers as well with built-in approval processes. Additionally, we were looking for a tool that could handle the complex requirements of our global workforce, including compliance with local labor laws and regulations. Our previous system didn't have robust reporting capabilities, and it was challenging to extract useful data for analysis. Furthermore, it made it easier to manage employee data and processes across multiple systems. It also provided built-in compliance features, ensuring that we were meeting legal requirements in all countries where we had operations.

Cost: The investment in Workday is substantial, and not a good option for smaller companies.

Learning curve: While Workday's user interface is intuitive, the platform's extensive features may require some time to master. Adequate training and onboarding are essential for users to get the most out of the software.

‍Limited customization: Workday offers a wide range of built-in features and functionalities, but it may not be the best fit for organizations with highly specific or unique requirements.

While Workday has a long list of impressive companies that utilize their system I find SAP SuccessFactors does just as much and for slightly cheaper.

Functionality: Determine the features and capabilities that are most important to your organization. Consider aspects such as human resources, payroll, talent acquisition, time and attendance, performance management, financial management, and analytics. Ensure the tool you choose covers the required functionalities or can be easily integrated with other systems to create a comprehensive solution.

Scalability: Assess whether the tool can grow and adapt to your organization's changing needs. A scalable solution will allow you to add or modify features as your business evolves, ensuring long-term viability.

Integration: Examine the tool's ability to integrate with existing systems and third-party applications. Seamless integration is essential for streamlining processes and reducing the need for manual data entry or reconciliation.

‍User experience: Evaluate the tool's user interface and overall usability. An intuitive and user-friendly design will encourage adoption and make it easier for employees to effectively use the platform.

They have expanded product offerings and made some user experience enhancements.

Enterprise with large (1000k+) and global employees.

It makes training compliance much easier for us. It is good for large enterprise environments. It is highly customizable.

My organization bought SAP-Success Factors to use as an LMS tool. We've been using it for about 4 years. Prior to using SAP-Success Factors, getting our large pool of employees to complete mandatory training was difficult. Now we can create our own training content and manage its delivery much more easily. It also allows us to track compliance on training more easily.

It can be difficult to get the support we need from our SAP representative quickly. It is so customizable that it can be difficult to predict the effect of small changes to the software. The integration with reporting can be slow.

Success Factors is very robust and highly customizable, and that differentiates them from competitors.

You should consider the cost, and it can be prohibitive for smaller organizations. It is also so customizable that you will need someone on staff to become an expert to really use it to its fullest. It's also good to consider if you actually need a product this customizable or whether something more plug-and-play would work better for you.

We are constantly meeting with our SAP rep to tweak our setup. They are willing to work with us on this, but it is sometimes a lengthy process.

Success Factors is great for a large enterprise-level organization that needs highly customizable software.

I appreciate how easy it is to complete the I-9 verification process through UKG. Employee communications are streamlined and can be sent to targeted audiences using employee attributes. The survey tool comes with survey templates that are easy to modify for our needs.

It was important to have a tool that could easily allow us to conduct and track performance reviews, manage employee grievances or corrective actions, collect and submit government-required information (EEOC), automate onboarding, and conduct I-9 verification. We lacked a way to track HR-related requests, identify who was responsible for addressing them, and monitor how long it took HR to respond. We did not have an easy way to track or schedule people-related communications. Our employees had to go to multiple areas to access people-related information. UKG addressed all of these needs and more. I have used UKG for more than a year now.

It is not easy to modify certain areas of UKG to fit our needs. UKG is designed to be very standardized and somewhat basic, which can be a problem for companies that need a more agile system. The survey tool is a bit clunky, and the data reporting is harder than I would like it to be. Reports from the system in general are difficult to run. Responses to issues or needs are sometimes lacking.

UKG is a great mid-range tool. It provides enough flexibility and automation to be helpful but isn’t overwhelming in its offerings either.

Evaluate what systems you wish to link to UKG. Some of these are easy and some are not. Make sure you understand your HR workflows and the gaps you’re trying to fill. This will make the startup process with UKG much smoother.

We are relatively new in our use of the tool, so its evolution over time is not yet obvious.

UKG is perfect for small, medium, or large organizations that would benefit from automation, templates, and a ticketing system.

I liked Sage People because of the simplicity of managing time card data. It is a very user-friendly system for beginners to learn and navigate. The seamless connectivity with our accounting software was also a major plus.

We acquired Sage People long before I was employed, so I can’t speak to the specific issues that needed to be solved before deciding to use it. We were previously happy with Sage 100 as our primary finance management service, which is how we came to learn about Sage People. I believe a primary reason for adopting it was to reduce paper consumption. We had previously tracked everything in employee folders, which grew beyond our storage capacity. I'm also sure it was intended to make it easier to manage a growing business with a rapidly increasing employee population.

Sage People felt a little dated for our growing business, not allowing for much customization in reporting. There was no employee self-service function, which required our HR department to handle all issues related to timekeeping, PTO, and many other things. We felt like we were outgrowing Sage People and ultimately looked for something that allowed us to manage talent digitally, including training, performance discussions, and employee reviews.

Sage People was a basic and cost-friendly alternative to many other HRIS systems on the market. For those that don’t need many plug-ins, it is a wonderful tool.

When looking to buy Sage People, the primary considerations should be how many functions you are looking for in an HRIS system. For companies that primarily need help with recruiting and talent acquisition, Sage People may not be ideal, as it has limited compatibility with other programs we use often for recruiting. Consider the size of your business as well—Sage People is well-suited for a mid-sized business with around 200-1,000 employees.

Sage People has definitely improved the user-friendliness of its interface and added some functionality that most HR departments look for in an HRIS.

I think Sage People is useful for small corporate offices or organizations managing a small workforce of labor-intensive personnel.