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Our criteria: How we chose the best vendors
We take our research seriously and want to make sure we are presenting our readers with the very best solutions in a given software category. Here's how we select vendors to be in our buyer guides:
- Product: We want to have a deep understanding of a vendor's product before recommending it. This usually means getting a demo by a senior executive (their CEO, head of product, etc), and/or using the product ourselves to make sure it has a solid UI, intuitive workflows, and the features to make it a best in class offering.
- User feedback: We do our best to understand what users say when they experience this product. User input allows us to accomplish a more thorough due diligence of products, put new vendors on our radar, and generally make sure we are presenting the right products to our readers.
- Financial metrics: We are very much finance nerds and so use a product's retention rates, growth, profitability, and scale to understand whether or not it is truly best in class.
- Best for a use case: Sometimes the best solution is the cheapest, the best tool for international companies, or the best for startups. We try to include a diversity of solutions so that our readers can find the tool that is best for what they need.
Here's more detail if you want to read further on how we research vendors.
In this guide you'll find
- Top Employee Management Software
- Key Features of Employee Management Software
- Common Mistakes Made When Buying Employee Management Software
- Pricing Models of Employee Management Software
- Benefits of Using Employee Management Software
- Questions to Ask During Your Employee Management Software Demos
- Implementing an Employee Management Software
- Employee Management Software FAQ
- Final Thoughts
Whether you’re a small business or large company, you can benefit from a best-in-class employee management solution to easily store and retrieve employee data, track time and attendance, manage leave requests, schedule shifts, monitor performance, and much more. When such tasks are automated, you can save money, boost productivity, and increase employee satisfaction.
Convinced but not sure where to start? Look no further than this guide. Read on for a breakdown of everything you need to know about employee management software, including the best vendors, key features, benefits, pricing details, and more considerations to help you in your selection process.
Featured in
Top Employee Management Software
We track thousands of HR Tech solutions. Here are the best employee management software as of 2022.
Why we love it
:
Core solution for HR teams looking for an affordable or even free tool to manage their workforce. It features modules for core employee management activities like database keeping and scaling, self-service portal, permission controls, and more.
- All core HR features in a single dashboard
- Wide array of integrations
- User-friendly UI, constantly updated
- Available in multiple languages
- All core HR features in a single dashboard
- Wide array of integrations
- User-friendly UI, constantly updated
- Available in multiple languages
- Since they offer so many modules, some may be not as robust as other products that have been more specific about covering certain needs. For instance, some teams have found their payroll offering to be quite basic.
- Not all that’s available in the web platform is available in the app
- Some users reported that the platform can be slow to load every now and then.
- Since they offer so many modules, some may be not as robust as other products that have been more specific about covering certain needs. For instance, some teams have found their payroll offering to be quite basic.
- Not all that’s available in the web platform is available in the app
- Some users reported that the platform can be slow to load every now and then.
Zoho People
Review:
Zoho people is a 360-degree HR solution that can automate your HR processes while you take care of your employees. From hiring, onboarding, and attendance management to time tracking and appraisals, Zoho People has got all of your employee management needs covered.
Zoho People
Customers:
Some of the companies that use Zoho people are ZPE Systems, Cloudfronts Technologies, Zomato, SpiceJet, and Foresight CFO.
Zoho People
Stats:
- Over 40 integrated applications
Zoho People
Pricing:
Zoho People is free for up to 5 users. After that, it has 4 plans that are priced as follows:
- Essential HR: $1.25/user/month billed annually
- Professional: $2/user/month billed annually
- Premium: $3/user/month billed annually
- Enterprise: $4.5/user/month billed annually
Best For:
Zoho People has plans for many sorts of organizations, even offering custom pricing for those with more than 500 employees. The product is affordable enough to be used by small businesses and robust enough to handle the complex and scalable needs of large companies. Even the more expensive Zoho People plans can check all the HRMS boxes without breaking the bank.
Why we love it
:
Workday is robust and quite comprehensive. It can cover all of your HR and payroll needs without needing to combine it with other tech solutions.
WorkDay
Review:
Despite mixed reviews on the user-friendliness of Workday from teams that have implemented it, it is still a robust provider of a wide range of Finance, HR, and Planning solutions, made specifically with enterprises in mind. So if you’re looking for an all-in-one solution that can easily scale, checks the necessary data compliance measures, and can be implemented across large global companies, Workday is worth checking out.
WorkDay
Customers:
- Target
- Patagonia
- Bank of America
WorkDay
Stats:
- Used by over 45% of the Fortune 500
- Over 7,000 customers
WorkDay
Pricing:
The pricing of Workday’s solutions isn’t disclosed on their website. Contact their sales team to get a custom quote.
Best For:
Large-sized companies and enterprises.
Why we love it
:
Namely is an all-in-one HR platform that's made specifically with mid-sized companies in mind, but can be used all businesses, regardless of size and industry.
Namely
Review:
Namely has quickly become one of the best HR software solutions for the mid-market (from 50 employees to up to a thousand). Their modern, employee-friendly software sees nearly 80% of employees log in each month. Plus, their software saves their clients an average of 11 hours each week through automation and integrations which provides a strong ROI for overworked HR teams.
Namely
Customers:
- Greenhouse
- MacStadium
- Life is Good
- OneLogin
Namely
Stats:
- 75% of their customers say that Namely has increased employee engagement for them.
- 72% say that the platform has made them more productive.
- They claim that their average clients save about 11 hours per week using Namely.
Namely
Pricing:
Custom pricing is available upon request of a demo. It will vary depending on which package you choose. They start with a basic HR package and then sell extensions or enhanced services for things like payroll solutions and employee benefits.
Best For:
Mid-sized companies across different verticals.
Why we love it
:
With over 20,000 active clients and 1.8 million employee users, BambooHR is a top provider in the HR tech space. Their Employee Management features include time & attendance, leave requests, and employee wellbeing tools.
- Flexible packaging and custom pricing is the way they roll. You can pick out one or two packages and pick other modules as add-ons based on your needs.
- Very simple and straightforward tool, easy to use.
- Flexible packaging and custom pricing is the way they roll. You can pick out one or two packages and pick other modules as add-ons based on your needs.
- Very simple and straightforward tool, easy to use.
- Payroll is only available for US-based employees
- Customer support is only offered during US business hours.
- Some modules like time tracking, performance management, and surveys are only available as add-ons.
- Payroll is only available for US-based employees
- Customer support is only offered during US business hours.
- Some modules like time tracking, performance management, and surveys are only available as add-ons.
BambooHR
Review:
Here’s a company that is a must-consider when it comes to various types of HR tech, including, of course, employee management systems. BambooHR is a well-known vendor in this space, with a host of HR tools to help companies manage employees throughout their lifecycle, from hiring and onboarding, to payroll and day-to-day management.Of course, employee management tools like time tracking and a performance module are available, but only offered as add-ons within one of the HRIS plans.
BambooHR
Customers:
Among the 20,000+ companies that use BambooHR, you’d find names like Quora, Universal Group, Reddit, Asana, Change.org, University of Maryland, Grammarly, Stance, Postmates, Wistia, the Jacksonville Jaguars, and ZipRecruiter.
BambooHR
Stats:
- Over 20,000 active client organizations
- Millions of employees active on their system
- 45,000+ new hires onboarded per month, on average
BambooHR
Pricing:
Pricing is not disclosed upfront, but they do offer a free trial of their all-in-one software and then go out of their way to find a version that will suit you. Before they come up with a personalized quote that will align with your budget, however, they are also likely to extend your free trial upon request or even give you a free demo of the advanced features.
Best For:
BambooHR is a good fit for companies looking for a very customizable HR product, with pricing that reflects their needs. It’s also popular among teams that are partially or even fully remote.
Why we love it
:
Zenefits is a great option for small businesses looking for a robust, all-in-one HR, payroll, and benefits management system without breaking the bank.
- It’s one of the top names in HR tech and payroll software for American small businesses.
- Their platform is one of the best-looking and easiest to figure out among the sector.
- Zenefits can grow with you. Its pricing plans allow you to pay and tweak as you go, add certain modules when you need them, or get rid of them if you don’t.
- As oriented to small businesses as the tool is, it doesn’t give you the chance to create a custom bundle of the services and/or modules you’d like to have. For instance, Zenefits does not offer a standalone ACA module. Therefore, you will need to purchase an entire HRIS plan if you want to access that offering.
- In addition, Zenefits focuses on small to mid sized companies. If you're an enterprise organization, you may want to consider another option.
- Zenefits is also rather focused on the US market at this point. So, if your team is mostly in another country and you need more of a local know-how, it might not be the best bet for certain modules like payroll and benefits.
Zenefits
Review:
Zenefits automates several human resources tasks and functions like onboarding and payroll. What makes it noteworthy is that it is specifically made with small businesses in mind. So if you're a small business owner that needs a comprehensive HR product but can’t afford an HCM suite, or if your HR department is rather thin, Zenefits is definitely worth considering.
Zenefits
Customers:
- Coney Island Prep
- MeUndies
- FireClay Tile
- Impact
- Goals for Autism
Zenefits
Stats:
- 11k businesses and nonprofits trust Zenefits
- 400k employees empowered through Zenefits
- 50+ tech partners integrated with Zenefits
Zenefits
Pricing:
- Essentials: This plan costs $8 per employee per month and packs all of Zenefits’ core HR features, employee time and scheduling tools, 3rd party integrations, as well as access to Zenefits’ mobile app.
- Growth: This plan costs $14 per employee per month and includes all of the features under the Essentials plan, plus compensation and performance management tools.
- Zen: This plan costs $21 per employee per month and includes all of the features under the Growth plan, plus tools and services for employee well-being tracking, employee engagement surveys, as well as access to Zenefits’ People Hub, where employees and admins can communicate and collaborate directly in their HR system of record.
In addition to the above, Zenefits offers the following add‑ons that can go on top of any of its base plans:
- Payroll: $6 per employee per month.
- Advisory services: $8 per employee per month.
- Benefits administration (with your own broker): $5 per employee per month.
Best For:
Small businesses looking for an all-in-one HR, time tracking, payroll, and benefits administration platform.
Why we love it
:
Kissflow Digital Workplace gives you all the tools you need to optimize, manage, and track all of your work. It has five core modules to handle any type of work that moves your way: processes, projects, cases, datasets, and collaboration.
kissflow
Review:
Kissflow is designed for both managers and their employees. It lets individuals know exactly what tasks are assigned to them and lets them track work as it moves along a flow. It allows team leaders to create and control codeless workflows and forms. It helps the entire organization digitize their work and creates an operational system of record to know the status of what work was completed.
kissflow
Customers:
- Domino’s
- Pepsi
- Sears
- Hubspot
- Casio
kissflow
Stats:
Over 10,000 customers trust Kissflow
kissflow
Pricing:
- Basic: $16/user/month (Starts at 10 Users)
- Advanced: $22/user/month (Starts at 10 Users)
- Fully Loaded: $30* /user/month (Starts at 50 Users)
Best For:
Kissflow has plans for companies of different sizes.
Why we love it
:
15Five is backed by science. The platform claims to be aligned to the latest positive psychology research, promising to help you improve engagement and performance, and overall, create teams that thrive at work.
15five
Review:
15five
Customers:
- Hubspot
- Capital One
- Spotify
- Pendo
- Credit Karma
15five
Stats:
- 15Five was founded in 2011 and has been used by over 2,000 customers.
- 15Five has 3 different survey templates and 120 questions to choose from.
15five
Pricing:
- Basic: This Basic plan is ideal for small companies that want to understand the true pulse of their organization with regular check-ins and guided 1-on-1s, and show meaningful appreciation when it matters most using High Fives (public recognition). This plan costs $7/per user per month when billed annually.
- Plus: The Plus plan is 15Five’s recommended plan for teams and organizations that want to take performance to the next level with OKRs, 360° performance reviews, employee engagement surveys, HRIS integrations, and deeper reporting. This plan costs $14 per user per month when billed annually.
- Performance: With the Performance plan, you can get everything 15Five has to offer, from its platform to services and consulting - tailored to meet the needs of larger teams. Contact 15Five’s sales team to get a detailed price quote for the Performance plan.
Best For:
Businesses of all sizes across different industries.
Why we love it
:
With a user-friendly interface, Gusto is a tool for onboarding, time-tracking, payroll, benefits administration, and more.
Gusto
Review:
Formerly known as ZenPayroll, Gusto started out as a payroll software vendor marketed mainly towards small businesses. It has since added features for hiring, onboarding, time-tracking as well as benefits administration, making it worth considering if you’re looking for a system to manage your employees.
Gusto
Customers:
- American Canning
- Matchless Builds
- Citizen Pilates
Gusto
Stats:
- Used by over 100,000 small businesses
- Three out of four customers say Gusto makes compliance easier
- 90% of customers found switching to Gusto to be simple
Gusto
Pricing:
Gusto’s Core plan is $6 per month per person, plus a $39 monthly base fee. It includes payroll, employee benefits, employee self-service portal, workers comp administration, onboarding tools, and much more. If you need to upgrade, their Complete plan is $12 per user per month.
Gusto Concierge is also $12 per user per month, but the monthly base fee is $149. Lastly, if you haven’t hired W-2 employees yet, they have a Contractor plan that’s $6 user/month with no monthly base fee.
Best For:
Small to mid-sized businesses
Why we love it
:
From paying your employees to managing them, developing them, and everything in between, UKG Pro is a robust HRMS suite that can cover all of your people management needs.
- Super robust product, packing years of experience with HCM and Workforce Management technology
- Since they offer UKG Pro for HRMS and UKG Ready for workforce management, you could arrive at a combination of products that suits many of your HR needs from the same set of tools.
- Super robust product, packing years of experience with HCM and Workforce Management technology
- Since they offer UKG Pro for HRMS and UKG Ready for workforce management, you could arrive at a combination of products that suits many of your HR needs from the same set of tools.
- Compared to newer tools, UKG Pro and UKG Ready tend to miss a unique selling point or a specific focus on a certain type of business. While they work great for bigger companies in all sorts of industries, very niche operations might have a hard time adapting to the tool.
- Similarly, UKG offers many solutions under one umbrella, so it's not the best fit if you're looking for only a handful of specific use cases.
- Compared to newer tools, UKG Pro and UKG Ready tend to miss a unique selling point or a specific focus on a certain type of business. While they work great for bigger companies in all sorts of industries, very niche operations might have a hard time adapting to the tool.
- Similarly, UKG offers many solutions under one umbrella, so it's not the best fit if you're looking for only a handful of specific use cases.
UKG
Review:
UKG Pro is a comprehensive employee management solution for midsize to large enterprise companies. HR departments at companies like MGM Grand and the Miami Dolphins use it to hire, onboard, pay, and manage employees. It also has features for performance management, engagement, and succession planning. Naturally, this eliminates the need to purchase additional products to fulfill such needs separately.
This is especially true since the company also offers UKG Ready, a workforce management solution developed from Kronos (which was one of the top time and attendance tools for years). This adds features like time and attendance, scheduling, and ACA compliance into the broader UKG offering.
UKG
Customers:
Through the years, UKG has been trusted by organizations like Tesla, Marriott, Yamaha, Aramark, Puma, Sony Music, Samsung, Mammoth, Temple University, MGM Grand, The YMCA, The Salvation Army, and Feeding America.
UKG
Stats:
- Ranked #6 on Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work for list
- Valued at $22 billion after the merger
- Included on Glassdoor’s 2020 Best Places to Work ranking
- Named as a Magic Quadrant Leader 2021 in Cloud HCM Suites by Garner, for the fifth consecutive year
- Customers include more than half of the Fortune 1000 listed companies
- Handling over 51 million People records in the cloud
- Generating an estimated $3 billion in revenue per year
- Customers in 165 countries
- A customer base of more than 50,000 businesses and 3.2 million users
- UKG Pro customers on average get an ROI of $3.88 on each dollar invested
- Consistent 96% customer retention
- 12,000+ employees
UKG
Pricing:
Pricing for UKG Pro is not available on their website. However, it is usually on a per-employee-per-month basis, either billed annually or monthly. You’d need to contact a sales representative for an accurate quote. However, our research has shown that licenses tend to start at $600.00 per year for every 5 users.
Best For:
UKG Pro is mainly marketed toward companies with more than 100 employees. That being said, their software is used in all kinds of industries. Smaller teams looking for an HCM-based approach to workforce management can also do a lot with the software.
Why we love it
:
Leapsome is highly flexible; you can quickly set up a review process from their best-practice templates and frameworks as well as build on their existing surveys and questionnaires developed by psychologists - or simply customize everything yourself.
Leapsome
Review:
With easy onboarding, customizable performance reviews, employee training, recognition, and engagement option as well as goals and OKRs management, Leapsome has everything you need for you to manage your employees, listen to their feedback and keep them happy and productive.
Leapsome
Customers:
- Mercedes-Benz
- Spotify
- Trivago
- Eventim
- Babbel
- Plus Dental
Leapsome
Stats:
- More than 1.2m unique pieces of feedback are shared across the Leapsome platform
- 99% customer satisfaction for interactions with Leapsome’s success team
Leapsome
Pricing:
Leapsome’s pricing depends on the number of your employees, the modules you want to use, and the length of your contract. Its modular pricing starts from $7 per user per month when billed annually. To get a detailed quote, contact Leapsome’s sales team. You can also test out Leapsome free of charge for a full 14 days - no credit card required.
Best For:
Leapsome can be used by companies of all sizes across different verticals.
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Final Thoughts
No matter what industry you’re in and regardless of the size of your company, an employee management system is quite useful to streamline different functions across your HR department and beyond. All of the solutions we’ve listed in this guide would make a great addition to your tech stack. All you have to do is:
- Align with your HR, Finance, and other team managers regarding their needs and expectations before selecting a product;
- Carefully consider those needs as well as your budget and choose a product that meets them;
- Request a trial account to test the platform’s features first-hand;
- Schedule demo sessions with different vendors to get all of your questions answered.
Thanks for reading our guide on employee management software. We constantly review the top software vendors in the HR space. If you’re new to HR tech and want to learn more, we recommend you start by checking out our top HRIS, payroll, and benefits administration vendor recommendations.
Top Employee Management Software
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