Are you looking to get straight to the solution? The most efficient HR software that works for the majority of individuals is Gusto.
The people who work there love it for a myriad different reasons. However, some specific reasons are enough to make them be miserable: not getting the opportunity to earn a salary, receiving no acknowledgement, or not seeing a lucrative future for themselves from their workstation.
The most effective human resource (HR) software will help to complete your routine tasks effortlessly. Paychecks are sent out and time off time is recorded and trains are running at a time and with less effort.
This makes the complicated business’s human aspect more predictable. Performance reviews are initiated automatically and employees are allowed to take part in expanding their role in an organization for the years to be.
My personal opinion I believe that there’s no time too late to start using HR software. It’s definitely not too late.
If you’re a five-person business which will continue to be the same, it’s fine to make use of spreadsheets if you don’t like the effort. I’d be awestruck to find out that you actually saved money by calculating the amount of amount of time you’re spending.
If you have more than 10 people you’ll be the hero if you choose an HR system that actually performs.
Don’t take it all from me. We spoke with 10 active customers and new buyers from HR applications, which includes the ones we’ve examined here. They shared exactly how much time they’d saved and how thankful they were for switching to the software.
Digitalizing HR for the first time will require some work. Moving from the old HR software isn’t going to necessarily be “fun.” However, no one I spoke with would want to be willing to go back to how things were prior to getting installed with the best solution.
Continue reading to learn more about the top HR software, its capabilities in real-world situations and how you can decide the one that will suit your business best.
The 5 Top HR Software Choices
Five of the best tools that you can employ today to increase efficiency and make your office look as a place that is more enjoyable to work in:
- Gusto is ideal for the first 50 hires
- Also known as is ideal for companies that have outgrown their basic HR tools
- BambooHR – The best support for a small internal team
- Zenefits Best for HR professionals who are hands-on
- Freshteam The best option for reducing the time required to find a new employee
As you will see, I’ve endorsed each of the options for a specific customer or business. In the reviews to follow, I’ll provide the reasons we’ve made these recommendations based on our research as well as interviews.
There’s plenty to learn regarding HR. However, you are aware of what your organization demands more than anyone else. You are aware of the obstacles.
My reviews will help you understand what HR functions each platform is able to assist with, and the perspective of live user interviews can help you gain an idea of whether each succeeds.
I’ve ended the article with a methodological explanation of the ranking and a short practical section that will assist you in determining what products are best suited to your requirements.
1 – Gusto — Best for Your First 50 Hires
Gusto is all small or startup companies requires for HR software in 2021. Users love it, and administrators do not have much to think about, and it’s at a cost that’s within the budget of even the most modest of business.
I would highly recommend it to anyone who do not possess an HR department. Anyone with no HR experience is capable of acting as a competent manager in Gusto.
All we talked to reported that the process was fast and easy. The only thing you need to have for the technology infrastructures is internet access.
The platform is constantly expanding as well as adding features but it has been incredibly easy to use for all employees. It could be a bit inadequate for the requirements of large corporations but it’s enough for a start-up or small-sized businesses.
Here’s a brief overview of the HR issues Gusto will be able to handle:
- Employee database
- Payroll
- Administration of benefits
- Onboarding
- Time off for management
- Time and attendance
Everything is handled via Gusto. Gusto platform. You don’t have to integrate any tools or sign up for multiple accounts to keep track of time, track PTO or change an employee’s address. Actually, the majority of administrators just approve any changes employees are able to make themselves.
Gusto is essentially integrates your employees by itself and collects all important tax and verification documents. Employees don’t need to download an app in order to accept an offer, Gusto has that baked into the software.
People aren’t scared of Gusto in any way. People we spoke to reported that their employees could complete almost everything independently.
When they sign in using their desktop or mobile application, employees are provided with the most user-friendly interface, and have access to a wealth of self-help tools.
“I actually had reallyno complaints regarding this,” said the founder of a marketing agency with nine employees. There were many complaints about their previous system, which they described as “not as user-friendly” and “a bit more difficult to navigate.”
With Gusto He said, “It’s been way better than I expected in the way the portal for employees.”
Gusto is a warm and welcoming point of becoming funny. There’s a dancing piggybank and plenty of high-fives on the internet to complete an annual enrollment. However, those tasks are extremely crucial (ask anyone who was absent from the window for open enrollment) and the advantages of an HR platform that is as engaging as Gusto cannot be overstated.
According to a restaurant owner that the basic design of the platforms allows staff to ask questions on their own.
“You will be able to get all the information you need without needing to move an alert up the chain” the man said. “That’s will save the time managers normally need to manage each week.”
It’s not just about making ways to improve efficiency. The restaurateur has experienced an increase in turnover blaming Gusto as a factor in the high retention of employees.
“They appreciate the fact that, if there’s any issue, it’s quickly sorted out and dealt with,” he said. The errors are rare and infrequent. “It creates an extremely steady, stable environment, even in the current political environment.”
Backends are as effective as the front. There is no formal HR expertise to start your own business. Gusto will guide on the nuts and bolts of HR, even sending out the occasional reminder.
“I am actually working with someone coming in this morning,” the restaurateur said when he spoke to us. “And the fact is that, without making a note or any other arrangement Gusto said”Hey, once she arrives we’ll go ahead and finish the I9 in a way that you don’t have to think about it.'”
Without Gusto the man said it was unlikely he’d make the move until his accountant contacted him at the final minute. He’d have to call his new employee at a random time to make sure she was able to get her first pay check. It’s all about avoiding a negative first impression.
The reimbursement process is an easy task. You can schedule recurring reimbursements, make bulk edits to edit a large number of them of them at once. You can also even make your own reimbursements with an employee who was required to make an expense on their own card.
“They can send us the receipt” stated the founder “[andit’s boom! we’ll reimburse them. It’s easy and nice.”
One reason why a lot of people opted for Gusto was the time tracking capabilities. It was initially a desktop-only application but now you are able to check in and out via the application it’s a great advancement.
A manager who used the system explained to us that it does not require any formal education, “maybe two to three minutes for someone who hasn’t experienced the system previously.” She was very pleased with the capability to make edits quickly and also that every edit was tracked.
Risks to Running HR using Gusto
Gusto is amazing at what it does however, there are certain HR-related tasks it can’t manage. In the near future I would like to have more built-in tools to assist with hiring, managing performance and other such things to be included.
In the meantime, you’ll need to rely on integrations in order to enhance the functionality of Gusto. If you’re a business owner who knows that they need more than Gusto can provide by itself is a good idea to think about whether they’ll be in a position to centralize HR functions for their employees and department.
It is possible that you will need to add more tools to an ever-growing array of tools. I’m not saying that it’s an excellent solution on its own but there are methods to manage the HR aspects under one roof. Namely, Zenefits, and even BambooHR in a certain degree.
However, this wasn’t a major necessity for the majority of people I spoke to. They generally had less than 50 employees. Gusto’s capacity to manage the basics of back office work was more than sufficient.
“If I were to try to be truly hard,” said one user trying to think of a critique of the site “some report types are difficult to locate and they’re certainly not attractive.”
For some others I spoke to the lack of reports and insufficient performance management could have rendered Gusto an unreliable choice. In general, however, the users I spoke with were from larger firms or at companies who had grown more complex, with fewer employees.
A typical business just beginning out isn’t going to be able to exceed Gusto’s limitations in the initial couple of years. If they need to leave they’ll be switching to a system that wouldn’t have made sense to make the initial few dozen employees.
Gusto Pricing
There are three packages available by Gusto along with additional packages for items such as Workers Compensation Insurance , 401(k) plans as well as other plans. Each package comes with an initial price, as well as the cost per person:
- Core — $39 per month + $6 per person
- Complete — $39 per month + $12 per person
- Concierge — $149 per month + $12 per person
Core is excellent for the price as it covers benefits, payroll administration, as well as Gusto’s top-of-the-line Self-Service portal for employees. One thing that it doesn’t provide the issue of PTO policies. If you’re an very small firm, this might suffice.
Upgrade Complete Complete provides you with PTO, on boarding tools and more efficient reporting and organizational tools that are crucial when you have more than a few employees.
Even if you think that you can manage using one of the other plans, my suggestion would be to go with the Concierge plan. You will get a dedicated customer service rep telephone service, as well as numerous other HR tools to aid you in your journey. Also, you will have access to experts from the domain of tax law, compliance, as well as employee relations.
Yes, there is a big increase in the monthly cost when compared to Complete, however the extra customer service is worth it for those who are just starting out.
There are many ways to bungle the most basic HR duties at the start of a new business. I can confirm that by sharing my personal knowledge. Receiving timely responses can help avoid fines, pay-day problems and also save you the time of doing things in the correct way.
We have found many reviews about Gusto’s customer support in public reviews. Many people were extremely unhappy. However, in our interviews we only met happy customers.
“They respond to you very quickly,” said one user of Gusto’s customer support team.
Another woman said she would like Gusto’s customer care could handle all of her needs.
“Every time I’ve faced an issue or have been in confusion,” she said, “they have been extremely patient and supportive.”
The simplest explanation is that they received top customer service on The Concierge Plan. I suggest you take advantage of it, also, unless you’ve got the experience in-house to handle thorny problems by yourself.
Why We Ranked Gusto at 1
The HR software isn’t able to solve small-scale business issues as easily as Gusto does. It takes care of the fundamentals of benefits, payroll, as well as HR management. All this is organized into a system that is easy for admins and employees to learn.
Although it may have some limitations that could irritate mid-sized businesses, companies who are just starting out won’t to have any issues. Each service Gusto offers is sufficient for your initial 50 or so employees.
“Honestly it was mind-blowing,” said one small business owner. “Having had really difficult payroll cycles in the past in which I have many data entry sources all over the world it was amazing to suddenly be like, ‘Oh you know that? It’s okay.'”
The bottom of the line The bottom line is that small and startups firms are ideal to use Gusto.
2 – Namely the Best Human Resources Software to use for Mid-Sized Companies
This is my top pick for those who want to expand their business beyond the limits of small businesses. At this point they might have been able to cope with a range of tools for managing different HR-related tasks. This is a lot more difficult and scaling up with this setup will be a pain.
With Namely, businesses that have outgrown small-business solutions aren’t required to replace the gap with a different tool, or wait for an enterprise-level solution that’s seven times more than they’re paying today.
“We simply needed a platform that would simplify the process,” the CEO of 200 people said to me “but the platform also had to be efficient.”
There were four different systems before they switched to Namely.
“Managing the various systems was an entire job in it,” he said. The system went from four to one Namely and he claimed that “it completely handled everything.”
In a glance Namely gives tools to help:
- Employee database
- Payroll
- Administration of benefits
- Time off for management
- Onboarding
- Time and attendance
- Management of performance
- Recruitment and tracking of applicants
- News feeds from companies
This has a greater scope than many of these other systems I’ve mentioned. It gives you more flexibility as well as the flexibility to personalize each of them.
For instance, Bamboo HR provides fairly pre-designed reviews of performance, BambooHR allows you to create custom fields and generate reports for every metric you can track.
In addition to the pre-built dashboards along with point-in time reporting and the capability to create customized reports, Namely offers your leadership and managers an enlightened overview of the events happening within your company.
Although this may require more analytically savvy than a small business with 10 employees requires, midsize companies need the same level of visibility.
What I loved the most was the fact that this level of detail was not at the expense of simplicity for administration or access to employees.
The CEO stated that there was hardly any need for training for his team to be ready to use the system. The only thing his team did was to ensure the data they needed was transferred.
“It’s simply a matter of flipping your switch, and you’re done,” he said.
The CEO realized that his company has saved hundreds of hours per year through simplifying the open enrollment process.
“It was very simple, because once the customer goes to one locationand everything is completed.” Prior to this it would take up to four hours to finish a task that took just 10 minutes to complete. Namely.
I’m not going to linger on how Namely is able to meet the HR core problems, just be aware that it really does exceptionally well.
Instead, I’d like to examine the areas where it differs from other solutions that are lighter mostly in the quality of the reports and performance reviews.
The director of operations of an organization of 50 employees really enjoyed the ability to write reports for whatever she wanted to and also make the reports available to other managers.
“It’s simple to drop and drag, add fields, delete fields that are duplicated, and then modify the report,” the woman said.
As an HR professional who has worked on various platforms throughout time, she appreciated the ease of which she didn’t have contact customer support customize her settings.
“Namely is it really simple,” she said. “I do not really require their help. It’s just that maybe twice every year, I ask to them for help.”
The CEO’s flexible reporting was essential to his plan to encourage equity, diversity and inclusion within the workplace. For the business as a the whole, Namely allowed him to see exactly where the company is in terms of demographics, and to make the necessary changes when it comes to recruiting.
“The data have been extremely beneficial for the human part of our company,” he said.
Whatever your hiring preferences, Namely makes onboarding and self-management for new hires an easy task.
“It’s an excellent impression to make with new hires,” a director of human resources said to me. She noticed that employees could assist themselves with no difficulty This meant that they weren’t going to her office for changing addresses or for any other routine tasks.
The users were content with the performance management tools.
It’s not like you’re sending simple employee surveys or templated reviews. Rather, it can you record the information you require and then it’s tracked automatically and accessible to employees as well as managers.
“It included a great goal-setting feature that cascaded over time and automatically pulled those goals at the annual review,” the director of operations said.
This made the entire review process “transparent throughout the organization,” and allowed the goals of employees to be aligned with the goals of the company and team.
Transitioning out of the initial stage of startup required us to talk with the CEO we spoke with to identify an online platform that could provide administrators with the tools necessary to help employees build and keep the best talent.
“Namely was able to perform all the functions we needed,” he said, and “scratched the itching on so many various items.”
From in-depth performance monitoring and reporting to helping you improve recruitment and development of employees Namely can help your HR functions get out of the shallow end of early and small enterprises and join the rest of your operations within the bustling waters of the mid-sized world.
“As we grew, and the business became more complicated,” the CEO realized, “you just have to ensure that people are taken care of.”
I’m only scratching the surface However, these examples illustrate the gap in what one can accomplish using Namely and the less powerful capabilities of something similar to Gusto.
Risks associated with running HR by naming
Namely will work great for companies that have rapid growth however it’s not really designed for more than 1,000 employees. The company is clearly dedicated to the “midsize” segment. It would be an inconvenience to quit the company simply because you’ve outgrown it.
“It’s ideal for us and we’ll continue to expand from this,” said the CEO who is home to around 250 people working for him currently.
He didn’t worry about Namely being a waste of time since he believes the company will not exceed 500 employees within the next 10 years. However, he wasn’t certain that Namely could perform as well at the scale of an enterprise.
Some users reported that the process of reviewing performance might be “a somewhat awkward.” The process of entering information into the system when reviewing for instance, often requires additional clicks. Then you’re getting lost in the details.
“It’s not that it’s bad,” one user said, “It’s just not as simple as I believe it is.”
It wasn’t universal however, as another person was very strict about expectations regarding performance management, and was completely content.
One thing that can cause a skepticism for new HR professionals is the fact that they need to send instances to customer service and you aren’t able to contact them via phone. The majority of users who we spoke to were pleased with the response time and the quality of service even though it’s a ticket-based system.
“They’re extremely communicative,” said one user. They never relied on support, however, “it’s nice when we contact them, and we get quick responses or they reply in real time.”
The majority of people we spoke to had the exact situation, and had only needed customer support on occasion.
It’s not an accident that the majority of those Namely users we talked to had HR experts. The CEO was no longer responsible for all HR-related day-today duties, but he’d also been the one who recognized the need, recognized Namely and advocated for its use.
I’m not sure Namely would have been easy to set up or would have required such minimal instruction if a person who was new to HR was running the show. In various other systems, I have spoken with many founders and owners, those who run HR due to necessity , not by design. For example, I wouldn’t be a preference for them.
While it’s a great choice for small businesses that are in the process of moving to mid-sized, it may not be the best software for you to reach this level.
Namely, Pricing
It is necessary to contact the company to inquire about pricing However, the entire system is built on an HR Foundations base software that is a robust HRIS.
Then, you can further extend the software by buying any (or all) of HR complete extensions. In working with Namely the software, you’ll be able to create a customized package that is suited to your needs Be aware the fact that HR Fundamentals does not include the most important components, such as Payroll and Benefits Administration.
Outsource your payroll and benefits tasks through the Enhanced Services.
There aren’t any pricing levels that are compatible with Namely. It’s not a superior version simply due to the fact that you pay more. If you have paid for a particular service, there is no need to upgrade in order to gain access to an extra feature.
The Reasons We Ranked at 2?
Namely is a great HR software that is ideal for businesses which are seeking to accomplish more than what the basic platforms can do, yet remain user-friendly for employees and employers alike.
It’s more comprehensive and flexible, giving midsize companies the tools needed to boost visibility and grow talents within an ever-growing business.
Zenefits is a different alternative for businesses that are in this situation, however Namely certainly has the edge in terms of a simpler implementation and better customer support.
“It actually works as they claim,” said the CEO.
The bottom the bottom line is that it gives mid-sized firms the power they require without the hassles, expensive costs or the clunky interfaces that are found in similarly robust HR software.
3 – BambooHR The Best Support for a Small In-House Team
BambooHR is an excellent choice for HR departments that rely on paper records or don’t like using their HR system of choice.
BambooHR provides greater flexibility than Gusto and I believe it is more suitable for companies that are starting from scratch. The administrative teams who have worked to reviewing performance or recruiting are able to manage all of it from BambooHR while Gusto users must depend on integrations, should they be there are.
BambooHR provides these HR-related bases within its platform:
- Employee database
- Payroll
- Administration of benefits
- Onboarding
- Time and attendance
- Time off from management
- Recruitment and tracking of applicants
- Performance Management
What we found in our investigation was that a few tools aren’t as feature-rich as people would like, yet it does the basics well.
We talked to an HR manager of the church that has 70 employees. Since they are a non-profit organization it has some unique taxes and payroll rules. She was concerned about the implementation process and whether there could be problems, but switching into BambooHR “has been a wonderful experience.”
So far, she has said she has saved 15 to 20 hours per week using the system they used prior to.
In synchronizing payroll and onboarding, as an example allows the system to recognize different staff categories.
“If one is a fifth grader or more, they should have this particularbenefit package given out,” she said. “Or classes threes and fours are able to clock in, so we can attach the various steps of time keeping in addition.”
BambooHR’s integrated applicant tracking system (ATS) stands up with other standalone software such as Freshteam. If you’re a part of more than just one HR employee there are way more holes that applicants could get through.
BambooHR removes the guesswork out of ensuring that recruitment is done correctly. It allows you to loop in anyone and set their permissions and also receive input from all stakeholders, without any mistakenly deleting records.
There are integrations with the major job boards and social networks. All of this information is stored in one pipeline. Although users complained about the lack of reports for performance management with BambooHR but they didn’t share similar concerns with the ATS.
What really set BambooHR apart from the rest was the phone service that comes in the BambooHR Advantage Plans.
“I always talk to a person,” said one HR manager. Most of the time, she would wait up to three or two minutes “but they’re typically right. It’s a extremely knowledgeable and helpful staff.”
This kind of service can be extremely valuable, particularly for teams with a small size who face different challenges while their business expands.
Employing employees from the new state or on top of their benefit can be extremely difficult. Becoming aware of mistakes that could be discovered after a few months in an audit just a phone call can be extremely important.
The employees seem to love the app, too. One HR manager we spoke to said that 90% of the tasks her employees have to accomplish can be done through the application. The application has advanced over the 4 years that she’s been using the app.
The more employees are able to handle themselves the less calls they have to call their HR department. There is no need to be distracted from screening candidates to answer a simple W2 query ever again.
Risks to Running HR using BambooHR
Bamboo can do the basics very well. While it does offer lots of flexibility but it’s not as deep same depth as other choices such as Namely.
It is possible that you will have a hard time being able to replicate the entire process completely because certain elements of BambooHR are fairly standard.
This could make for an improved system than you were using before, or it could be a hassle. One HR manager we spoke to, who was considering BambooHR however, chose to stick with Namely was unhappy with the amount of questions you can ask about an evaluation of performance.
Another BambooHR user we spoke to said she was tempted to change due to the insufficient reports. One instance she noted was the inability to obtain Finance team members a financial report that had the information they required.
The end result was that she stayed with BambooHR. The alternative system they tried was more robust for reporting, however, her employees were not happy with the interface and didn’t want to have to do with it.
It is possible to reach the limits of BambooHR when you are running an elaborate performance review system or require a deeper dive in your analytics. The compromise is a simple system that unifies all HR functions for small-sized businesses.
One area we noticed many complaints in public reviews was about payroll. In our conversations we found out how this issue was resolved but a large portion reviews are still available.
Previously, BambooHR used an integration with Execupy and Execupy, and it appears that there were lots of issues. In the present, Bamboo employs TRAX payroll, and it’s proving to work more efficiently to BambooHR users.
One of our users who has been using BambooHR through the entire transition reported that they don’t have errors in their payroll, while the previous payroll processing system experienced constant problems.
BambooHR Pricing
It is necessary contact BambooHR to inquire about pricing, however they provide two clear-cut plans as well as a variety of additional options.
Its Essentials package is appropriately called, and provides your back office with everything it requires to remain well-organized.
It’s a basic option that acts as a single source for information about employees. In contrast to Gusto’s basic plan it comes with PTO administration, and might be of interest for those searching for an HRIS with a basic structure that can address the need that has been lingering for a long time.
I strongly suggest I highly recommend the Advantage plan to any business who hires frequently. It includes ATS and onboarding tools, as well as capture of e-signatures, and the ability to build custom workflows. Smaller teams can check every box faster.
The additional features are payroll, Time Tracking as well as performance management. They are all full-services that include all the options without having to completely upgrade your plan.
Therefore, BambooHR has a lot of flexibility, however, you could also pay for what you require.
The Reason we ranked BambooHR at #3
We have rated BambooHR highly for its ease of use to employees and centralizes an array of HR-related tasks on one platform. Small and mid-sized businesses which don’t require particularly complex approval workflows, reporting or other performance management tools will find all the features they require.
“It’s an extremely simple but well-informed system,” said one satisfied BambooHR user. It simplified her tasks for her and assisted employees in navigating their own.
As with Gusto, BambooHR is an simple platform that is easy to use and implement. BambooHR will be more suitable for businesses who want to integrate the process of recruiting and tracking applicants.
The bottom line is that BambooHR can be a fantastic tool to empower the small group. They’ll be able coordinate HR throughout the employee’s life-cycle, from the initial meeting with strangers at an employment board to the time that someone is offboarding after being in the company for many years.
4 – Zenefits : Great for hands-on HR Administrators
Zenefits provides administrators with more freedom to manage HR in the way they prefer. The downside, however, is that Zenefits will take longer to be launched than other small-business HR software.
It’s still a user-friendly tool for staff, however there’s a higher learning curve for administrators.
For organizations with highly skilled HR professionals The extra effort required to start getting Zenefits on the right track will be worth it. Your HR team can take on a an active part in employee development and give much more precise information to management than they could have with something similar to Gusto.
You are free to modify the platform to suit your specific business. Gather whatever information you need to build your performance evaluation process from scratch. You don’t have to fit your business into a template for general use.
Look at the areas of HR where Zenefits can aid or enhance your capabilities:
- Employee database
- Payroll
- Administration of benefits
- Onboarding
- Time off for management
- Time and attendance
- Management of performance
- Well-being management
- People Hub (social network)
There’s nothing left to be found on the platform, and you can expand its capabilities by integrating it with the recruitment, verification, and accounting software, and more.
One person I spoke to utilized Zenefits for a number of years when working at a payroll firm. “You can utilize it as an all-in-one system,” they told me, “or you can take parts.”
It’s obvious that they didn’t require payroll however, it was very well for other things.
The problem is that Zenefits does not let you choose the specific services you require. You’ll be able to choose between basic packages as well as a few add-ons. But the people I spoke with were able to make the right choice for their needs.
A HR Manager we talked to employed Zenefits at three distinct organizations, all with positive results.
“It is what makes my job so much simpler,” she said. She currently supervises little less than 50 employees. She describes herself as an “HR department with one employee,” the HR manager really liked the ease with which Zenefits made administration easier.
Employees are accountable to enter their personal information at the process of onboarding. The employee must go through it one time, and after that it “feeds into these different locations effortlessly, all at the same time.”
Instead of manually entering employee information in multiple systems, Zenefits provides a consistent system of record. “It is a simple system that eliminates mistakes and also saves hours,” she said.
There are plenty of similarities to Gusto and BambooHR however the main distinction is Zenefits is a lot more able to collect and report on data.
“You can add custom fields within an employee’s profiling,” one VP of Operations informed us. “And so long as there’s a field Zenefits will track it.”
That is you can choose which important metrics you’d like to monitor.
For those who are new with HR’s capabilities, added capabilities could be unnecessary or even overwhelming. However, when used by an experienced administrator, Zenefits can have a more impact on the development of employees as well as workplace cultures than less specialized alternatives.
Instead of fitting the performance reviews into a survey or template rather than putting together the types of questions you’d like.
“Maybe it’s a multiple-choice or an essay question or a yes/no question,” said one HR manager. There’s a lot of freedom, but you can pick from pre-designed review templates for supervisor and peer reviews, if you’d like.
It is possible to set goals and let employees set their own goals. Everything is accessible to managers, who are able plan review times and monitor progress towards individual as well as team and corporate goals.
All performance data is recorded and any other factors you’ve chosen to include can be reported. Employees are able to fill out reviews directly from their account all of which are incorporated into one continuous report.
Managers also have tools that facilitate one-on-one meetings with direct reporting. All of these things can accomplish on various platforms. But it usually requires integration with software.
Zenefits is effective since employees aren’t scared of it. The process of completing a performance review is simple, and they are able to do it wherever they like via the mobile application. The director of operations was impressed with that “autonomy” that her staff enjoyed that was vital in their willingness and ability to invest in the platform.
As with other platforms that are user-friendly, Zenefits excels at getting employees to complete everyday tasks independently. It also gives them the access People Hub, a 21st century company intranet that works as a social feed. The employees will see new projects there and administrators can then communicate with specific departments or teams.
There’s an array of methods HR can make use of Zenefits to assist their organization flourish. I’ve only covered the options available. If the limitations of lighter tools cause you to worry, I’d suggest having a look at Zenefits.
The potential drawbacks of running HR using Zenefits
Although I would say that almost anyone can get started with HR using Gusto, Zenefits works better when it is administered by HR professionals.
“It’s very beneficial for people who know the ropes,” said one HR manager who has been using Zenefits for more than seven years. It took a while to figure out her ways around, and even at present, “I’m still learning so much.”
Since you have more to accomplish, it’s likely to take longer to master. This shouldn’t be an issue for those with HR professionals who are experienced in their ranks however, for new administrators I’d like to think about whether the greater control will be worth the possible issues they’ll face in the back.
Nobody was happy with the amount of duration it took to set up Zenefits.
“It’s the same as when you get your kitchen renovated,” one user said of their experience “Whatever the contractor says to you, make sure to double it.”
The user who was a fan of the platform, however the integrations and the implementation were “not as easy as it was the user had hoped.”
A different user stated, “It’s so simplified once you’ve integrated everything However, you need to take the time to.”
This is the case with any software, however with options such as Gusto and BambooHR with their easy-to-use deployment actually seems to live up to the expectations, you need to be certain that you’re willing to go that extra mile.
The investment in Zenefits is an investment worth considering for businesses that need precise reporting and monitoring of performance. However, if it’s not an issue alternative options may be as effective, but and with less anxiety.
The issue that complicates the situation more is the fact the fact that Zenefits customer service isn’t an absolute delight for many of the customers we spoke with. One person had no problems however, the other users were able to report extremely slow response times. A period of two to three weeks is common for normal issues However, urgent issues could take up to 24 hours.
One HR manager explained to us they were charged late charges due to an Zenefits mistake and the absence of prompt assistance. In this instance, Zenefits “ate the late fees for us” since it was their fault. “So I think this is an example of a good customer service” she said “It’s only the turnaround time which is a bit slow.”
Another customer really needed assistance with tax credits for pandemics, but she was unable to reach out to Zenefits until she left an unhappy review online. It shouldn’t take long for Zenefits to respond.
If you’re a company that doesn’t have an abundance of internal HR expertise, Zenefits lack of support is something to be thinking about. There are ways to prepare and get around it but you’re better off using BambooHR if your goal is to be simple or in the case of an extensive set of features.
Zenefits Pricing
Zenefits provides three plans. The cost is all-inclusive and charged per employee every month. It is possible to save by purchasing a year’s membership instead of paying per month. The annual costs for the various plans are:
- Essentials — $8/month per person
- Growth — $14/month per person
- Zen — – $21/month per user
Payroll services is available to anyone’s plan for just $6 per month for each employee. Other options include HR advisory services as well as benefits administration through your broker of choice. If you choose to work with one of Zenefits brokers the benefits administration is included when you sign up for an annual plan.
The Essentials plan is a solid HRIS. It includes all PTO and onboarding options which aren’t included in Gusto’s basic plans. Zenefits also comes with an in-built time and attendance tracker in the entry-level plan that is a top feature available on virtually every other platform.
Growth comes with the performance management features people have been raving about in the past, and more tools for reporting on payroll as well as compensation administration.
Zenplan is a new initiative. Zenplan provides more arrows to the arsenal of company leaders and administrators seeking to promote a more active workplace culture. There’s a social network for the company (People Hub) which allows employees to post announcements, major achievements and the important work to be completed. Additionally, you’ll have instruments for conducting employee surveys and for promoting wellbeing.
I strongly suggest looking into Zenefits Premium plans in case have problems in cohesion within your workplace. These tools can aid remote employees equally as those working who work in the same office.
“We have to pay for it, and it’s expensive,” said one user who was a fan of the platform. “But when we considered the cost we’re paying an additional company for payroll, accounting, tax and other items, it was a simple decision even considering the expense.”
Zenefits Why We Ranked It at 4
Zenefits is a great option to employees, and it can be empowering for administrators, but it is important be aware of managing change and ensure that your team is ready for the challenge.
There is a lot more control over the data you can monitor than simpler systems, but it also comes with a more difficult administration learning curve and a more complex implementation.
I highly would recommend it to companies that have at minimum one person who has HR experience on their team. Their presence can ease the compromises you need to make when it comes to the deployment process and also with support. Once you’ve got your system up and up and running they’ll be able make the most of the full toolkit.
We gave it a lower score than Namely that also offers a great depth in the way it is implemented and customer service was more highly rated by people we spoke to.
“It’s incredible interface.” One user said, “I just think that users should approach it with less realistic expectation than the one Zenefits provides.”
The bottom conclusion If you’re planning to make HR a priority, Zenefits will help you to go beyond the scope of other platforms that are user-friendly however, you must be ready to perform many of the troubleshooting tasks by yourself.
5 – Freshteam The best way to cut down on time to Employ
If you’ve got your basic HR tasks in order but are looking to enhance hiring processes, Freshteam is one of the first options you need to explore.
This is unique among my suggestions because it doesn’t consolidate all your HR functions. There isn’t a built-in solution to manage managing benefits or payroll such as.
The reason Freshteam was selected is because it integrates an essential HR information system (HRIS) with a robust application and recruitment application system (ATS).
For some businesses it’s all the centralization they’ll need. Perhaps they’ve had their the benefits and pay stowed away for a long time so they don’t need to change all of it up to begin hiring more effectively.
Here are the major areas that the Fresh team platform is able to cover:
- Employee database
- Tracking applicants and recruiting
- Onboarding
- Time off for management
As you can see the software is focused on screening, recruiting as well as onboarding and managing talent after you’ve signed the contract.
According to the creator of an accounting software firm which employed Freshteam, “There are only two or three use-cases that can be handled and the best part is that they handle them efficiently.”
The platform can be extended but all integrations are for hiring. There is no way to tie to accounting software for instance however you’ll be able to connect Freshteam with a variety of calendars as well as job boards and video conferencing software as well as assessment websites.
Additionally, you’ll be able to design a brand-new career website that is attractive on mobile devices. It’s also possible to make a careers tab for your company’s Facebook page.
Do you use LinkedIn and Indeed? ZipRecruiter? Freshteam is compatible with them, as well. You’ll always know where you came across candidates and follow them through your hiring procedure.
Create custom workflows to guide candidates through each step. Review resumes, add tags to the profiles of candidates and sync your inbox and plan emails to be sent out when they are appropriate.
There are many ways to simplify the hiring process. While the interface is simple to use but it’s not so pre-designed to prevent teams from working according to their own preferences.
It’s also easy to inform candidates of where they’re in the process by using simple automated processes that can be triggered at specific dates.
All this data is tied to an employee database. You can use it to manage PTO and create org charts as well as manage the entire employee record. Employees can upload their own documents onto the system, allowing HR to simply send out a reminder instead of having to search for employees.
From onboarding until offboarding, your managers approve employee information without having to enter it by themselves.
“Their onboarding process is excellent,” said one user. “We employ a lot of short-term freelancers and interns. In those instances it’s really helpful to have an onboarding checklist as well as offboarding checklist.”
Freshteam is ideal for individuals who are looking to improve their recruitment efforts as well as centralize the basic administration of their employees.
A very content Freshteam user said, “We never wanted a complex and complicated system, therefore it met our needs perfectly.”
Risks to Running HR in conjunction with Freshteam
It’s not a product that can be used to manage all HR functions in one place which is why I wouldn’t suggest it for that. It’s ideal for onboarding, recruiting, and for handling the basic aspects of employee records, such as the tracking of PTO.
If you’re looking to combine time tracking and payroll, this isn’t the best solution.
You’ll be able get reports but they’re limited due to the fact that a lot HR doesn’t fall under the Freshteam under the Freshteam umbrella. “I I would prefer they had more payroll-related information however, they don’t,” said one user.
There are no disadvantages to using Freshteam in its current form but it isn’t able to extend its capabilities. Yes, it’s part Freshworks. Freshworks platform but the other tools focus on providing sales, CRM, and customer service solutions.
It isn’t possible to build an entire HR solution beginning with Freshteam as your starting point. According to one user, “If business owners are seeking a complete solution that incorporates payroll accounting and other related functions and more, then Freshteam might not be the right choice for the job.”
Freshteam Pricing
Freshteam provides the free forever plan, which is valid for three job announcements as well as three paid plans with three levels. Each comes with a starting price and a per-user cost:
- Growth — $59 per month + $1 per person
- Pro — $99 per month + $2 per person
- Enterprise — $169 per month + $4 per person
The cost is slightly higher when you decide to pay monthly instead of signing a contract for an annual period.
This growth plan can only be used for 20 job advertisements and includes the majority of the features that I’ve discussed in the review.
It is essential to study the terms carefully, since there is a precise division of what you can accomplish on each platform. For Growth For instance you’re limited to two policies on time off that are specific to your organization.
The most important information is in the system, but you could encounter limitations in your ability to handle a variety of different roles for employees or create complex workflows.
Smaller businesses with only one office should be fine with Growth However, when you have offices spread across multiple locations You may want to upgrade.
In Pro it’s possible to have more freedom in what you can alter. You can post as many as 100 job advertisements and access hiring through social media.
The ability to customize job descriptions and employee accounts also offers an additional free-wheeling. You have the ability to customize unlimited PTO policies, work-week settings holiday calendars, as well as other such.
Enterprise plans include an account representative who is dedicated to your account and tools to manage recruiting on a large scale. Create as many kinds of checklists for onboarding as you want and fill your own role-based user profiles to make sure that your employees only have access to specific information.
Why Freshteam ranked us at 5
Freshteam is an application that we believe that a large number of HR teams will discover efficient for recruiting and onboarding. As an ATS as well as a basic HRIS, it ticks all the boxes. However, those looking to streamline their HR system must consider alternatives.
If you’re a small-sized business with no the HR program and getting suitable candidates is a struggle So, why not try out Freshteam for free forever? Freshteam?
Businesses that are satisfied with their current HR procedures, but require something that can boost the hiring process can also benefit from Freshteam. It won’t be necessary to come up with a new idea to find the best system for tracking candidates.
The bottom conclusion: Freshteam is a effective tool to assist in finding highly skilled employees, and controlling them once they’re hired. It’s not an all-in one HR system however, it’s not pretending to be.
How Do We Choose Which HR Software to Check?
You don’t need to be an HR professional to make an informed choice about the software your company requires. It’s probably helpful but these reviews could provide a useful guide for anyone looking to purchase an HR system for the very first time.
Our team focuses on solutions that can be used by small – to midsize companies. Enterprise HR software buyers have to obtain references from other companies within their field, and have an extensive procurement process ahead of them and there’s no way that we can reach out to those buyers except in the most general manner.
When it comes to HR software for small businesses there’s still an array of choices. We narrowed the list down to programs that centralize HR in a way that is meaningful.
Our company has found that the ability to have benefits, payroll and administration basics within the same system has been a huge benefit. It’s saved everyone a lot of energy and time. No more having to log in to multiple accounts to complete minor tasks.
Therefore, we have left out a lot of excellent payroll solutions that are standalone, Human Resource Information Systems (HRIS) as well as other options that could be excellent, but must be integrated into an existing technology stack.
However, there was one exception that is intriguing We narrowed our selection of top contenders to manage today’s most important HR tasks in a single platform. This for us meant:
- Employee database
- Onboarding
- Payroll
- Benefits Administration
- Tax and Compliance
Our top choices have strengths in certain specific areas over others however the core HR function is well-covered. Things such as PTO and managing employment documents and distributing checks on time, you’re covered in any of these areas.
If a certain program is exceptional or is limited in a way that frustrates me I’ve criticized it in the review.
We also considered products that do more than HR basics You’ll see that a lot of our recommendations could also include:
- Time and Attendance
- Applicant Tracking
- Recruiting
- Performance Management
There is no need to utilize (or be charged for) every one or any of the above services. The providers offer a variety of packages, or totally customized setups to provide you with the services you require.
If you require additional services, you are able to integrate them into the central system. You’re not trying to find various software programs to work with each other or discovering that you must switch to a new HR program ( oh, the horror!) because you need to conduct reviews of performance.
It’s not difficult to find an organization that provides the right set of products, and I’ve provided a common list of the services each company can offer. This will help since terminology can differ in each company, and one’s hiring and management services are different from the other.
But you must go beyond checking the appropriate boxes. Quality of every one one of those services is important. How are they used in real-life?
To find out more, we spoke to those who are currently using the software at present. They’ve invested their personal data, paychecks and lots of their time into these programs.
Demonstrating platforms is an excellent idea to demonstrate a proof of the concept, but we wanted to know what people’s opinions are about relying on these platforms three, four, or even five years from now. That’s the thing that matters, and that’s what we tried to learn.
How We Examined Each HR Software
In the span of three weeks The Quick Sprout team identified active users of the HR software in different sectors and sizes of companies. After contacting them and verifying that the user had been an active participant of the software at an actual company We arranged for a brief interview with them to discuss their experiences.
Conversations were varied. We spoke to offices managers, entrepreneurs who are solo founders and VPs who double as HR departments of their own. Some of them owned stores, while others had offices of 40,70 or 400 employees.
They did not all face the same issues. I had to consider everything we learned from our research team and put it into perspective.
Of course, anyone who made the transition from pen and paper systems to BambooHR is delighted with their experience. Their “flawless” rating is highly valuable however it’s not a comparison of apples to apples with the critiques from experienced HR managers. They had more nuanced expectations and needs.
What I’m trying to convey is that you can’t evaluate HR software using the same standard. All consistent metrics are thrown out when you examine how each feature functions for different sizes of companies and different industries with various types of employees.
How do you assess your alternatives?
After speaking with a number of users who are active and analyzing their comments their final verdict was in the degree to which the product was able to meet their expectations. Did the software for HR really affect their company in line with the guidelines that was set by the service provider?
What merits a high ranking in my book has been captured perfect by an executive who’s been using Namely for just a little more than an entire year. “They did not oversell or make promises,” he said. “And the promises they claimed they would to keep in this system is exactly what’s been happening.”
The standards we used in our reviews came from every service. What are they promising that the user experience will look like?
When we spoke to people who use this program today we can gain an accurate understanding of how these programs measure against their marketing copy. And now you can too.
What We Learned When Choosing the Top HR Software?
After weeks of study and hours of conversations I needed to boil down our findings to something that people could make use of to help them frame their decisions.
Below, you’ll find six crucial points to consider.
The first four will prove to be beneficial for those seeking to complete the essential HR needs.
The final two sections discuss a few of the extra features and features that are included in the top-quality HR Software plans.
I would recommend that you read the entire document, even if you only need the basic HR features.
Employing money for HR Pay Dividends
The first thing we realized was that cost matters much less than acquiring an item that actually performs. Any savings you can get through incorporating your HR in an affordable option is likely be gone in the event of an issue.
The founder we spoke to had a serious issue by this method.
“Here’s the place I made a huge mistake,” he said. “I had been thinking: ‘Why don’t we simply go with the least expensive thing that will meet our needs and will work for us?'”
It was true, and his team ran into problems with all aspects of their work.
Payroll mistakes along with the confusion of state tax and local taxes and surprise fines for issues that he believed were being handled. The company eventually was shut down which forced him to change at the midpoint of the year.
This is a nightmare scenario, however, focusing too much on the price of a product can deter the owner to buying an item that actually will perform.
“I did all this to save $100 dollars per month or whatever it was,” that same founder stated. “It was a massive distraction.”
However, the flip side is that Gusto is being paid a reasonable sum for Gusto and his issues have been solved. He conducted a back-of the-envelope calculations during our conversation and concluded that Gusto will save his company about $300 each month. They pay less for Gusto.
There is no doubt that you can find less expensive HR software than the one I’ve suggested. It’s best to be careful and keep in mind that a high-quality, fully-functional software like Gusto will make a profit through reductions in time and effort.
“If we didn’t pay the cost of these services, we’d need to look for something else,” the founder said. They wouldn’t be able to handle the HR and payroll themselves. “It is far too complicated and complex, making tax payments. This would require a lot of effort.”
In a larger firm in which the software is priced at over 300 dollars per month, savings using the right software are more significant.
A CEO conducted study of the time taken to complete Namely and discovered that open enrollment decreased from taking the users 4 hours to complete to only 10 minutes.
The amount of time spent with their previous method is “immense,” and it was so difficult to have to go through the process each fall with a staff of a hundred. The cost wasn’t much lower than what they had in place, however this little improvement has saved hundreds of hours throughout the company each year.
I’ve included a few affordable HR options, like Gusto, Zenefits, and Freshteam however, not due to their cost. These are great all-around platforms that could provide a great value because their software is elegant than systems which were created in the age of paper.
Smaller and newer companies can benefit from the ease of these platforms and may lower costs than the amount they’re spending on human resources right currently.
Giving Control to Employees Gives Administrators an opportunity to take a break
From onboarding to retirement you can allow employees to take control of their HR matters that previously required an office call. They can simply sign in to an internet-based portal or mobile application and take charge of their own business including pay leave, changes to address benefits as well as contributions.
I wanted to know how many employees were benefitting from this control.
In the end, the more your employees are able to handle independently and independently, the less time you spend on regular paperwork. All of the paperwork is stored in one system, and the administrators can authorize that PTO by a single click. You’ll not have to look up an employee’s W-2 again.
The smallest of things take up lots of time.
“So suppose the employee requested an exact copy of their check to give to their landlord” an operations director explained, while describing their previous system. “They would need to visit us, and we generate the document manually then we mail the copy for them.”
This system worked for 10 people, but when they got older She said it was difficult to manage.
With Zenefits she was awed by how much “autonomy” employees were required to alter their settings in the application. “It is beneficial for HR from an HR perspective in that we don’t need to enter ourselves and complete all the work.”
To achieve this win/win situation The interface must be easily accessible. Do not underestimate the importance of employee involvement when it comes to HR software. The more employees can manage by themselves the better off they’ll be, and the less work your HR employees must do.
The onboarding process is a major factor in the beginning of this symbiotic partnership to the software for HR.
A HR manager, who was using BambooHR for her nonprofit organization of 70 people was contemplating switching to a different program that offered more comprehensive reporting. The new software did not have BambooHR’s warm and welcoming style however.
It was “the aesthetic aspect,” she said, in addition to the app’s less user-friendly design, that caused them to stop the application because “our employees were extremely dissatisfied with the app.”
A restaurant owner using Gusto on two of his restaurants was of the opinion that “the convenience for those who are new or trying to get used to the new environment,” actually played a factor to his poor turnover.
Restaurants have been very unstable since the outbreak. Gusto and his team are extremely grateful for the “consistent and steady environment” Gusto provides on the side.
The 21st century workforce is beginning to anticipate 24/7, anytime access to their account such as HR. Utilize cloud-based software to ensure that your connection and data are protected by the provider. The most effective HR software will allow you to advance and save valuable hours of admin time.
Customer Support must be reliable
What kind of help will you get to receive in with the implementation of your new HR software? If you are looking for alternatives you’ll see lots of “stress-free” as well as “simple” transitions that are advertised.
In the case of Gusto and Namely it’s the exact feedback from users. One Gusto user has told us, he worried about the pain he hoped to feel when making the transition to a different system “and there was none.”
A user named with more than 200 people within his organization has described an “really amazing” implementation. It took “very very little time for initialization” and the change “was effortless when it was first started and embraced.”
He said that the simplicity of the platform — both the backend and frontend, making it simple for users to learn.
“There was no training at all,” he said. “Well I’m not going to say completely but it was almost all training.”
BambooHR and Freshteams were both greeted with similar, but not as much reviews from users on how simple the deployment process was.
With Zenefits however, on the other hand, users have reported that the implementation process was more time-consuming as opposed to what they’d been informed. One woman reported an “difficult” change that required lots of manual entry. The process actually extended their start date to January 1 which is definitely not the best thing.
I’d suggest that you dedicate some of your brainpower for change management, regardless of what strategy you choose to implement. You should have a planin place, and you definitely shouldn’t change your mind in mid-year. If you have to, make the switch to the new quarter in order to reduce the amount of historical data you’ll need to manage.
However, customer service can’t disappear out of the picture after you’ve made your payment while their team of sales has moved to new prospects. If you’ve got a burning tax concern, it’s not going to be put off.
Although the platforms I’ve suggested provide admins and employees access to tons of data, it is important to note that there may be a few HR-related questions that must be referred to customer service.
BambooHR and Namely truly excelled in Our research as well as interviews. The majority of other platforms were good (this aspect is crucial) however, BambooHR and Namely were distinct by their uniqueness.
BambooHR’s Advantage plans, you have access to telephone assistance. Based on what we’ve found through the course of our investigation, it seems to be the authentic service. The HR manager we spoke to was able to contact the person within a few minutes on every occasion.
If you’re limited to the submission of tickets for customer service, such as you do with Zenefits this can cause you to slow down.
“They can solve problems,” said one user of Zenefits support. “Resolutions are offered and responses are provided. But the timeframe is a bit slow.”
Namely was notable for its speedy response time despite it being a ticketed system. A head of HR who has used Namely for a long time said its customer care was quite good, although sometimes she felt that she was able to know more than the person at the other end.
She explained that now that your tickets will be automatically routed to agents who are the most knowledgeable about the system “So this has certainly increased in the course of the course of time.”
Be aware that the outstanding customer service is usually available with premium plans. BambooHR’s Essentials package, for instance does not include the incredible telephone support that I’ve just mentioned. Gusto is similar, in that the more expensive Concierge plan has the sole option with support via live chat by HR experts.
This brings us back to the concept that spending a little extra to have assistance via phone and a dedicated rep or on-demand HR advisors could save your company a significant amount of money as well as time and anxiety.
I strongly recommend this approach if your organization does not have HR in-house expertise to recognize the unexpected challenges that come to them. Businesses with a well-trained department aren’t likely to be affected as much by the slow responses.
Payroll Should Not Be a Stressor
I did not encounter any customers who experienced issues with their tax and payroll reports with this HR system I examined. Zero. This applies to those with employees who are located in several states and people who have used time tracking functions.
If you’re having any issues at all with payroll issues in HR, I’d highly suggest looking into any of the possibilities I have listed. You’ll outsource all tax-related headaches each pay period.
One Gusto user shared how reassuring the experience was “be certain that everyone’s taken care of so that you’re not rushing around in the middle of the night to make sure everyone has their money on Friday.”
Gusto provides a great deal of flexibility. You can make payroll as often as you want, and set up two, four, or even next-day deposit. Employees can use the download Gusto Wallet, a digital bank app that allows them to gain access to their income and manage their finances.
The reporting in Gusto is not as powerful as it is with Zenefits or specifically. There are pre-built reports for 16 as well as three different types of custom reports that you can create by yourself. If you’re looking to provide the financial department’s breakdown of the payroll process in relation to other areas of your business, Gusto might fall short.
BambooHR is more robust in its reporting capabilities than Gusto However, it was a place where users faced limits. BambooHR allows you to create and automate your own workflows using BambooHR which will make it easier to streamline the process of managing payroll.
For basic payrolls, Gusto is as easy as it can get. If you require more reports or workflow requirements Other choices might be better suited to your needs.
Examine the Depth of Performance Management
Are you planning to give your employees a chance to develop their careers, rather than just the opportunity to get a job? Do they have a vision of a future in your business or is promotion and raises something that happen whenever they happen?
At this time, I’ve concentrated on the aspects of HR software that are essential to all kind of buyer. The last two points focus on the functionality that is vital to companies trying to make the next move.
“We were a young business that had grown to an appropriate degree of maturity,” an executive who changed to Namely informed us. According to him they had to begin giving people a better treatment. “So in the past year, we’ve been very focused in setting goals for individuals and goals.” According to the employee, Namely provided everything they required to make it easier for employees to take part to participate.
If you are a firm believer in evaluations of employee performance, feedback from employees and would like to present the information in a thorough way, I’d suggest Namely or Zenefits. These platforms let you be in control.
A HR director who utilized Namely stated that she was extremely pleased with the ability of Namely to help the performance review process a map for their work environment. “Our capability to ask questions on our core values and then automatically record the individual’s annual goals for the current year” was among the main reasons she picked Namely.
“It contains all the levels of approval that I would like,” she said, from managers, employees to the manager’s supervisor. Everybody is automatically notified and she is able to look up reports to check the distributions.
“I didn’t need to think about trying to alter our process to accommodate the system. It was a system that could have been adapted to our needs,” she said.
BambooHR and in particular Gusto offer a smaller toolset. Freshteam isn’t able to manage performance in any way.
I talked to one BambooHR client, for example who wanted greater control over the template for performance reviews.
“It’s very small,” she said, noting the inability to change the basic questions or include more than four additional questions.
Take a look at the comments we received from an executive vice president of Operations who utilized Zenefits extensively to conduct performance reviews.
“I believe it’s fantastic,” she said. “You can design different types of questions. It could be multiple choice, or perhaps it’s an essay, a yes or no. You are able to ask the number of questions you like.”
However, BambooHR offers a variety of different options for gathering information, establish goals and measure the performance. Gusto is only available for employee surveys. While they can be useful in gaining a better understanding of where employees are but no of the Gusto users I spoke to attempted to do anything major with the management of performance.
Performance management may not be the same for every business. If it’s crucial to you, look for an HR application that allows you to build an effective performance management program that you’re looking for.
In the attempt to fit into lighter options won’t work particularly at a large scale.
Improve Built-In Reporting to Meet Your Needs
What control do you have over what your platform is tracking? From the data you’ve decided to collect what kind of reports do you have access to?
My recommendations provide a variety of report customization options: From the canned reports of Gusto and Freshteam and the more flexible reporting available in BambooHR, to the completely customizable indicators that are available in Zenefits and Namely
This is crucial when companies have to adhere to unusual regulations, are expected to be audited, or have objectives that require more complicated reports than what the most basic tools can provide.
“One of my main subjects is diversity, equity and inclusion” an executive who utilizes Namely said to me. “We can look at the numbers,” he said, “So even if we’re trying our best to make our company more diverse, are we being successful or not?”
As he had centralized all HR functions to Namely the business was able to determine the current trends in their demographics and change their recruiting strategies accordingly.
“It’s so simple to see it in a single snapshot and then I can begin making decisions based on the information,” he said.
Another user of Namely was satisfied by the analytics for HR aiding her in answering questions regarding affirmative actions and benefits. The user could access any details about her employees, at any time point within a matter of minutes. When it came to something like a 401(k) as well as an EEOC audit the information was extremely valuable.
Zenefits allows you to create custom fields for the areas you require them including employee profiles, tables and review of performance.
As one user pointed out, “As long as there’s any field available, Zenefits will report on it.” This gives you the of the wheel in terms of reporting.
Keep in mind that the most technical reports will require some time to setup. Gusto offers a few reports capabilities, but it’s not difficult to pull a summary of employees and costing report of the workforce or begin digging into the different aspects of payroll.
For the majority of people we spoke with Gusto’s reports were all they required. They were not expecting or requiring any additional customization.
BambooHR lets you make a little more, you can even make specific fields, reports and forms. Additionally, since it has an ATS as well as other features for managing performance that allow you to have greater insight into employee development and hiring as well as identifying the blind spot for Gusto.
But the people who we spoke with weren’t totally by the ability to record unique information within BambooHR. One office manager mentioned they were considering switching to HR software to have the ability to download various types of reports. However, she pointed out that there’s much more flexibility since BambooHR has been redesigned to use the TRAX payroll.
For many businesses those who use canned reports like Gusto, BambooHR, and Freshteams (if you’re solely focused on recruitment) are plenty. If you’re certain that you require more options for reports or to record specific information then you’ll benefit more from Zenefits and Namely. They offer more robust reporting capabilities that perform better in more intricate compliance needs or workplace initiatives.
Conclusion
Make your goals high and don’t compromise. It’s the perfect time to look at HR applications.
My top choices simplify the process of small-scale HR and payroll for small businesses to a level that’s almost impossible to distinguish from the slow and heavy systems that it was replacing. Here’s a quick overview of the top HR software available currently available:
- Gusto is ideal for the first 50 hires
- Specifically is ideal for companies that have outgrown their basic HR tools
- BambooHR – The best support available for small teams in-house
- Zenefits is a great choice for experienced administrators
- Freshteam The best option for reducing the time it takes to find a new employee
My suggestions are the result of speaking to users on how the software affects their businesses at the moment. They’re combining the many tools they require to manage HR, which is saving everyone a lot of time and also providing the management with invaluable insight on how they can grow the most.
If you’re looking for an additional service that can accomplish a particular HR job, Freshteam can help with recruitment and management of employees. Also, you should check the rest of my articles on human resources and human resources, which covers several specific uses-case tools, such as:
