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In this Guide
- Top HRMS Software
- Introduction and Criteria
- Our Reviews of the Top Vendors
- Benefits of the Top HRMS Software
- Pitfalls of Buying a Human Resource Management System
- How Are Most HR Management Solutions Priced?
- Key HRMS Software Features
- Questions to Keep in Mind When Demoing HRMS Software
- FAQs on Buying HRMS Software
- Final Advice on Buying HRMS software
Hand picked by our HR Technology experts after product testing, user research, and much debate - enjoy!
Are you in the market for a world-class HRMS to help your team streamline employee onboarding, payroll, benefits management, and talent acquisition? If that’s close to your case, this guide will allow you to identify the best human resources management systems. We’ll also look at the main benefits of this type of software, how to get internal buy-in from stakeholders, and much more.
But what do we mean by HRMS? And what sets it apart from an HRIS or an HCM? While many people have different definitions, we agree with Oracle NetSuite when they explain that an HRMS is the most complete form of HR software, being able to tackle just about any HR process within the employee lifecycle, including payroll.
So, through hours of research, we’ve rounded up the best HRMS software vendors based on their features for human resources management, as well as customer success, user experience, quality of support, implementation, etc. We’ve also tried to include a combination of companies focused on small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) as well as enterprises or mid-market businesses.
Our criteria: How we chose the best vendors
We take research seriously. To make sure we’re offering our readers the very best solutions in a given software category, we are methodical, rigorous, and expansive in our research. We consult with HR professionals, vendors, and industry experts. We cut through the noise to bring you a carefully curated list of vendors, along with other essential information, to help you find the right software platform for your business.
Here’s how we chose who makes the cut:
Product: We believe in gaining a comprehensive understanding of a product before we recommend it, so we start by getting to know the software. Whenever possible, we meet with a senior executive (CEO or Head of Product) for a demo and Q&A. We also test 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 go straight to the source and compile feedback on user experience. Real-world input supports our commitment to diligence in our software evaluation methods and the products we recommend. Keeping up with the everyday experience of HR pros also puts new vendors on our radar, and it keeps us close to our community so we can better connect the right products to the right people.
Financial metrics: We are certified finance nerds, so we use all the data we can get our hands on to make selections for our guides. We comb through data for concrete statistics like retention rates, growth, profitability, and scalability. We evaluate the bottom line of each product because we know making a software purchase can put your reputation on the line.
Best for a use case: Software is never a one-size-fits-all product. Sometimes the best solution is free or cheap. Other times it’s the one that is best for global companies or the one that’s sized right for early-stage startups. Keeping this in mind, we include solutions across the spectrum so our readers can find the best fit for their unique needs.
Here's more detail if you want to read more about how we research vendors. Our dedicated staff writers rely on hard data, impartial experts, and user feedback to ensure our reviews are helpful, truthful, and hopefully a pleasure to read!
Top HRMS Software
We track thousands of HR tech solutions, and these are the best HRMS software vendors for several business sizes and regions per our research and expert council as of 2023.
Why we love it
:
Paycor is a robust and data-centric HCM solution for leaders at U.S.-based companies who want their teams to save time on HR transactional tasks.
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Paycor
Review:
Aside from having automation and AI capabilities, Paycor stands out from most HCM vendors for having some of the most potent HR analytics out there. They provide a custom company dashboard that leaders can build out as they please, choosing from literally hundreds of reports such as headcount trends by employment time, projected headcount, and voluntary turnover by tenure, just to mention a few.
Further, some of their reports use secondary pools of data in order to provide benchmark analysis in real time. This effectively helps executives and HR leaders alike better understand their workforce and how their efforts stack up in comparison to similar companies.
Paycor
Customers:
Among the companies that use Paycor, you’ll find names such as Wendy’s, McDonald’s, Detroit Zoo, and remarkably, several sports teams such as the Cincinnati Bengals and the Chicago Fire.
Among the companies that use Paycor, you’ll find names such as Wendy’s, McDonald’s, Detroit Zoo, and, remarkably, several sports teams such as the Cincinnati Bengals and the Chicago Fire.
Paycor
Stats:
- Paycor is used by over 29,000 businesses
- Raised $270M in private equity during 2020
- Went public in July 2021, raising $426M in their IPO
- 2,080+ employees
- Founded in 1990
- Paycor is used by over 29,000 customers
- Raised $270M in private equity during 2020
- Went public in July 2021, raising $426M in their IPO
- 2080+ employees
- Founded in 1990
Paycor
Pricing:
Fees will vary depending on your number of employees and the modules you add.
Paycor's ACA Connect service is an add-on to their greater HR software. Therefore, you're paying for an entire HCM. The ACA is relevant only to companies with over 50 employees. This means you'll have to pay for their Mid-Market plan, which doesn't have listed prices online. You'll have to meet with their sales team to negotiate pricing. However, you do get the bonus of a free first three months.
Best For
Companies in the U.S. with up to 1,000 employees, mainly in manufacturing, healthcare, food and beverage, nonprofits, and professional sports organizations.
Why we love it
:
One of the top names in HR software, BambooHR is a flexible, user-friendly, and trustworthy HRMS with tons of features. These include an ATS, payroll, performance management, and much more.
- 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:
A notable thing about BambooHR is that they offer flexible plans and several iterations of their technology to fit your business. Their platform spans the entire employee lifecycle, as they also have recruiting and performance management in addition to the full HRMS functionality. Also included are numerous amenities like an app marketplace of HR and recruiting vendors that integrate with their system, an HR glossary, and occasional HR events.
Since payroll, performance management, time tracking, and even an ATS are offered as either optional add-ons or part of the Advantage plans, it is without a doubt a very complete Human Resources Management System.
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.
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
- 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.
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
:
Rippling is an HR management platform for everything between onboarding and offboarding, with a soothing design and great user experience.
- All-in-one platform for employee management + PEO services offered, and even a suite of other IT products
- With 500 integrations, it’s very likely that they integrate with other key tools from your tech stack.
- Very SMB-oriented, in case you’re a larger company.
- In some cases, you won't be able to use whatever benefit carriers you like and will have to choose from their partner ecosystem.
Rippling
Review:
Rippling is a relatively new company started by Zenefits alumni. They focus on helping small and medium organizations kill HR and IT busywork with one solution. An interesting thing about them is that they try to make their software easy to use and intuitive not just for HR professionals and recruiters but for the CEO, IT staff, and any team member who will interact with the product.
Their product falls in line with what you’d expect from a Silicon Valley-based startup: a great UI, eye-catching design, and fast performance. Notably, they also have over 500 integrations with everything from Slack to GitHub.
Rippling
Customers:
- Proxy
- Dwell
- Superhuman
- Expensify
- Checkr
Proxy, Dwell, Superhuman, Expensify, Checkr
Rippling
Stats:
- Named a “Next $1B Startup” by Forbes in early 2020
- Became an actual $1 billion startup just months after that mention, getting valued at $1.35 billion in August 2020
- Over 1,000 reviews on the main business software sites, all averaging 4.9 stars
- Over 1,000 reviews on the main business software sites, all averaging 4.9 stars
Rippling
Pricing:
Rippling’s pricing starts at $8 per month per user and will vary depending on which modules you’d like to use (or if you want the whole platform) and for how many people.
Rippling starts at $8 per month per user, but the final fee you pay will vary depending on which modules you'd like to use (or if you want the whole platform) and for how many people.
Best For
SMBs with a strong need for automation in HR processes
Why we love it
:
UZIO has a wide array of HRMS features and varied plans with real competitive prices. They let teams manage costs while enhancing the employee experience that's derived from all digital aspects of HR
UZIO
Review:
UZIO is an integrated, cloud-based platform for employers to manage HR, payroll, benefits, and more. Featuring automations for employee onboarding and offboarding, time tracking, compensation management, benefits administration, and tax administration, UZIO takes a great deal off your HR team’s plate — all while minimizing errors.
UZIO
Customers:
- Thomas Financial
- Smarter Benefits Solutions
UZIO
Stats:
UZIO
Pricing:
UZIO has four pricing plans that give users access to specific functions of the system. These plans are priced as follows:
- Payroll: $4.50 per employee per month plus $30 per month
- HRIS: $4.00 per employee per month
- Ben Admin (benefits administration): $4 per employee per month
- Time Tracking: $2 per employee per month
UZIO also has an All-in-One plan that users can buy to access all of the above and more. This plan is priced at $10 per employee per month plus $30 per month.
Best For:
HR teams looking for a cost-friendly solution with module-based pricing
Why we love it
:
Ceridian makes Dayforce, a modern cloud HR platform that can manage the entire employee lifecycle.
Ceridian
Review:
Although it’s labeled as an HCM, Dayforce by Ceridian also includes a comprehensive payroll tool. By combining core HR, benefits, workforce management, and talent management, Dayforce unifies data from all stages of the employee lifecycle for better decision making and data-driven insights.
In particular, Dayforce is built with a flexible rules engine that helps address complex regulatory requirements while providing real-time updates and calculations.
Ceridian
Customers:
- Guitar Center
- Danone
- Spirit Aerosystems
- El Pollo Loco
- Crescent Bank
Ceridian
Stats:
- Certified as a Great Place to Work in 2020
- 5,800+ employees
Best For:
Enterprises with over 1,000 employees.
Why we love it
:
SAP SuccessFactors is one of the big names in HR software. They’re currently pushing the boundaries of the HCM category itself, calling their product an HXM suite (for Human Experience Management).
SAP SuccessFactors
Review:
SAP is trying to transform traditional human capital management into a more employee-oriented endeavor. Through their HXM, they are trying to position the worker’s experience as the main filter for how companies engage with their people. Their product helps HR managers deliver experiences that resonate with employees while shaping their strategy.
Although not branded as an HRMS, SuccessFactors does cover all the features you’d expect from this category. This includes cloud payroll and benefits administration, even for a global workforce.
SAP SuccessFactors
Customers:
- American Airlines
- Ernst & Young
- Hero Group
- Terex
- Watco Companies
SAP SuccessFactors
Stats:
Best For:
Enterprises looking to improve UX
Why we love it
:
Namely is an all-in-one HR platform designed to be used by everyone and made specifically with mid-sized companies in mind.
- The majority of users are able to navigate Namely without any issues. They find the UI to be intuitive and clean, despite the fact that the platform has lots of features.
- Namely’s employee onboarding module gets a alot of praise from users. It features an easy-to-follow wizard, which helps new hires get on quickly and be clear on what they need to do.
- Besides the platform’s built in features for data management, recruiting, onboarding, time off tracking, payroll and benefits administration, there are also managed payroll and benefits administration services you can opt for to reduce the burden on your internal teams.
- Namely primarily operates in the U.S., which means if you’re looking for a global payroll and benefits provider, this platform isn’t for you.
- Though many praise the platform’s ease of use, it does take long to implement it. Namely’s own team says that an average implementation takes between 6-8 weeks.
- For a platform of Namely’s size, there currently aren’t any features that focus on employee development such as skill training, career pathing, succession planning etc.
- You’ll need to check beforehand if Namely can work with your existing benefits provider, if you have one. There have been a few reports (but not few enough to ignore) about Namely’s team convincing customers to change their benefits provider to providers that charged them more.
Namely
Review:
Namely is one of the best HR software solutions for the mid-market (from 50 employees to up to 1,000). 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 Namely has increased employee engagement for them.
- 72% say 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 for Namely 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:
Namely is a great HRMS for the mid-market (50-1,000 employees).
Why we love it
:
Zoho People is a complete solution for HR teams with very affordable or even free plans. They offer some of the most basic HR tools like time and attendance tracking and employee portal, to more complex ones like payroll management.
- 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:
As a software company that makes all sorts of business applications, it makes total sense that they’d offer a very complete cloud-based HRMS. Zoho People has an impressive list of features on each plan, so it’s hard to imagine HR teams at SMBs not finding everything they need here. This 360-degree HR solution is robust, user-friendly, and affordable.
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
:
Zenefits is a widely-known product for its ease-of-use and modern-looking UI. It's designed for SMBs and offers real competitive prices.
- 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 can take care of HR processes like onboarding, offboarding, benefits, payroll, performance reviews, and more. Their average customer size is just under 50 employees, which means that the user experience is thought out not only for human resources staff but to be easy and quick enough for managers or executives who need to take care of some HR tasks as well.
Zenefits
Customers:
- Quora
- Universal Group
- Asana
Zenefits
Stats:
- They claim their customers can save up to a full week of work using their tool.
- Their customers also spend up to 90% less time on payroll and benefits after moving to their platform.
- Many Zenefits customers spend 50% less time onboarding new employees.
Zenefits
Pricing:
Zenefits starts with the Essentials plan at $8 per month per employee. This includes all the core HR modules, time tracking and scheduling, integrations, and the mobile app. Those features are all included, plus other modules, as the plans go up in price. They also offer independent add-ons like payroll software for free, advisory services at $8 per month per employee, and benefits admin using your own broker at $5 per user per month.
Enterprise pricing is also available upon request.
Best For:
Entrepreneurs and mid-size businesses in the U.S.
Why we love it
:
Workday is one of the most popular people management software products out there specifically geared toward enterprises.
WorkDay
Review:
Workday is one of the best talent management systems and HRMS suites, particularly for large enterprises. Although it’s true that their reputation is not the best with users and the HR teams who have to implement the solution, if you’re in need of a product that can scale, checks the necessary IT and infosec boxes, and can be implemented across large global companies, Workday is a company worth looking into.
WorkDay
Customers:
- Quicken Loans
- AstraZeneca
- Target
- Dell
- Bank of America
- General Electric
- Patagonia
WorkDay
Stats:
- Used by over 45% of Fortune 500 companies
- Over 7,000 users as of 2022
WorkDay
Pricing:
The exact pricing details of Workday aren’t provided by the vendor, since they’ll likely tailor their offer to your business size and needs. They also don’t offer a free trial, but you can see the tool for yourself through their demo videos online.
Best For:
Large enterprises
Why we love it
:
UKG is the merger of Ultimate Software and Kronos. As such, it brings over 70 years of experience with HCM tech into the workforce management space. UKG Pro, their HRMS, offers features like people analytics, benefits administration, and payroll.
- 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 HRMS solution for midsize to large enterprise companies. Organizations like the Salvation Army and Sony Music use it to hire, onboard, pay, and manage employees. It also has features for performance management, engagement, succession planning, payroll, and ACA compliance, which eliminates the need to purchase additional products to fulfill such needs separately.
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
:
Oracle is one of the top names in IT. Their HCM, which can also process payroll, is popular among enterprises with more than 1,000 employees.
Oracle
Review:
Oracle’s human resources suite is built for the cloud and made for connecting every single HR process. It’s good for teams looking to have a single source of truth for HR data in order to improve decision making. Their product includes talent management, recruiting, workforce management, payroll, and HCM analytics.
Oracle
Customers:
- Axa
- Blackboard
- Deutsche Bahn
- Marriott
- Cisco
Oracle
Stats:
- 80% of product updates come from customer feedback
- 98% of roadmap commitments are met
Oracle
Pricing:
Oracle doesn’t provide pricing details for their HR suite up front. To get a quote, you’d have to request a demo, but they also offer interactive product tours you can take before chatting with a sales rep.
Best For:
Enterprises with over 1,000 employees in most parts of the world.
Benefits of the Top HRMS Software
While some people new to HR software think of an Human Resource Management Systems as little more than a database to keep track of essential employee records, these tools can offer much more nowadays. Here are the key benefits of using best-in-class human resource management software whether you're a small business or a Fortune 500 company:
- Better employee experience: The benefits of an HRMS don’t just fall on your business, but also on your employees. A user-friendly employee portal can allow your employees to review and update their info, navigate benefits options, and request time off. All of this can lead to increased employee satisfaction and engagement.
- Drive employee performance: Your HR system should actually drive employee performance through performance reviews, engagement surveys, performance management capabilities, and customizable integrations with other tools you use to build culture.
- Save time with automation: With the right HRMS, tasks like new employee onboarding, offboarding, benefits and payroll administration, and time tracking and attendance management, can all become quick and simple. For example, once they are set up, HR doesn’t have to spend tons of time each day maintaining or editing the system’s policies unless there are drastic changes that need to be made. In turn, with fewer operational tasks to manage, the HR department can focus their time and energy on more strategic initiatives. These can include optimizing employee lifetime value, lowering the turnover rate, and improving employee productivity and wellbeing.
- Increased compliance: Provided that you and your team are careful with the setup and initial data entry, an HRMS can greatly improve HR’s data accuracy. This would come in handy during EEOC audits, wrongful termination lawsuits, and all the other fun stuff that HR pros have to deal with. Also, since many tasks are automated, the right HR software can also avoid human input error. Lastly, some vendors even adapt to unforeseen circumstances like the pandemic and vaccine mandates, expanding their offering with immunization tracking and other safety and compliance tools, for example.
- A more organized HR department: If you’re starting from a handful of spreadsheets and manual processes, an HRMS eliminates the hassle of sifting through files to find the employee data that you need. Since many of these systems have searchable databases, you can easily access the information you need in seconds. Also, in the case of an HRMS, since it would also include payroll, the platform can become a one-stop-shop for all your employee info.
- HR intelligence: As any operation grows, it becomes increasingly important to analyze its data. An HRMS lets you create custom reports, making it easier for your HR and finance teams to analyze metrics like turnover rate, hiring costs, and employee engagement, as well as using that data to make more informed decisions.
- Workforce management: The HRMS vendors that are best-in-class HR technology companies will offer tools that help progressive HR departments with human capital management. For example, you will find employee engagement built right into many new human resource management software options, along with intuitive employee onboarding, easy-to-access payroll and benefits, mobile-first time tracking and attendance, and payroll management. All of this is done through a cloud-based offering that updates as new modules roll out.
- Streamline recruiting: Some HRMS platforms can also act as a lightweight ATS (and some have a full-fledged ATS built in). The recruiting features of an HRMS could let you collect resumes, review candidate info, and speed up employee onboarding and training, providing new hires with a seamless transition into your company. Custom workflows also help you ensure that no key steps or necessary documents are overlooked in the onboarding process.
Pitfalls of Buying a Human Resource Management System
The benefits of using HR management software are substantial, but there are many common mistakes made when buying and implementing a new tool that you should consider at every step of your search. We list them below along with ways to avoid them:
- Rushing the decision: Often teams get carried away by the look of an interface, good reviews, and functionality of a product while neglecting their needs. They then realize that their new, shiny tool is lacking a key feature when it’s too late. Design and reputation are important when vetting any software, but they must be considered at the service of a broader goal. Any software decision must be preceded by the proper identification of a team’s needs, past issues, the main concerns of the workforce, and the overall objectives of the company.
- Lack of awareness: This is probably not your case because you’re reading this, but some HR managers tend to choose a tool without fully understanding the kind of features available and what they do. It’s common for them to be looking for new software systems to address one or two major pain points without considering that the same decision could alleviate lots of other HR processes.
- Not consulting teammates: This can be disastrous when implementing HR software. Employees won’t need the same features as managers, and they’ll each weigh the importance of each feature differently. Checking with other employees in every department can be a painstaking process, even in a small business, but in the long run it’s worth it.
- Overlooking security and support: Just because there’s a budget constraint doesn’t mean these important aspects should be ignored in favor of whatever software can do the most for the least. Often, and particularly among the vendors we’ve selected for this guide, the handling of sensitive employee data and customer support can still be excellent. However, as with any other feature, it should be considered with your team’s particular needs in mind.
How Are Most HR Management Solutions Priced?
With most of the vendors listed on this roundup, pricing is on a per-user-per-month basis. Some of them will have an additional monthly base rate, and the majority of them will offer custom pricing based on your business’s needs. Some of them also offer independently priced add-ons, which is great for small businesses who want to pay only for the features they’ll actually use.
Now if you’d like to get a rough idea of what you can expect to budget based on your organization’s size, we’ve put together the following estimates taken from our own experience and conversations with our HR expert council:
Key HRMS Software Features
In order to build a list of requirements and use it effectively to evaluate vendors, it will help to know which are the key HRMS software features and how these can support your goals.
As mentioned at the beginning of this article, the key difference between an HRMS and HCM software and an HRIS is that an Human Resource Management System also includes payroll, budgeting, and time and labor management. Let’s look at each of these in more detail:
- Payroll: An HRMS is great for paying your employees in the same platform where all their other HR processes are handled. A regular payroll solution has features like automated deposits, pay slip generation, and calculation for vacation days, sick days, overtime, etc. Some of the vendors we mentioned here can help you pay people in several parts of the world, not just the U.S., but you can also look at our global payroll roundup if that’s important to you.
- Budgeting: Some of these systems also let you create and approve budgets for the entire Human Resources department. These can cover expenditures, adjust forecasts, and plan for future costs. Some of these may also provide a cost analysis overview, reporting, and integrations with some of the main accounting software.
- Time and labor management: This concept encompasses everything related with managing time for a workforce. A module with this name should support all types of time entry for employees, let you create time cards, calculate overtime, keep track of absences, and of course, integrate all this with the payroll system.
Questions to Keep in Mind When Demoing HRMS Software
As you start demoing various HRMS software solutions, it’s important to prepare and attend these meetings with some questions already in mind. These inquiries should aim to answer whether the solution in question will indeed address the main use cases and core needs you’re looking for.
Of course, the most concerning of these questions shouldn’t be saved for the demo at all, but rather handled prior through an email thread, for instance, so you won’t waste time on a demo if X or Y solution turns out to be incompatible with your core needs.
Further, the demo should also help check certain boxes that your internal stakeholders care about, such as integrations, security, data management, self-service portals, features, etc.
You should write down a list of those questions, share it with your team, and maybe have stakeholders add to it as well. While that list will be unique, here are some common questions when demoing an HRMS (Human Resource Management System) that should help get you started:
- What integrations are key for us? Does it integrate with ATS, payroll, or any other systems you might have that impact workforce management?
- Does this solution have single sign-on (SSO) capabilities?
- Are there multiple authorization levels for different types of users?
- Is there a maximum number of employees it will support across the workforce?
- What types of reporting capabilities does it have?
- Does it include features to help HR communicate with employees (i.e. mass emails, filtering messages by criteria)?
- What kind of tasks can we automate or streamline with this tool? How many hours can we expect to save doing so?
- How much technical training will be required?
- What kinds of technical support are provided?
- What recruiting capabilities are built in?
- Which HR processes will be automated?
- How will information be exchanged with carriers (for employee benefits)?
- Does it accommodate benefits carriers’ rules?
- How can we import employee data into this system? (API, Excel spreadsheets, employee records, other databases, and paper documents)
- What built-in security measures does it contain?
FAQs on Buying HRMS Software
Moving on, here are some of the most frequently asked questions from HR professionals when it comes to human capital management software:
What is the best HRMS system?
While some of the top vendors in HRMS software are UKG, SAP SuccessFactors, Namely, and Rippling, “the best” is really a matter of your business size and requirements. There are many HRMS vendors, out of which there are likely one or two that will align with what you’re looking for.
What is the difference between HCM, HRMS, and HRIS?
The main difference between HRIS, HRMS, and HCM is that the former two refer to a specific type of software, systems of information, as their names imply (human resource information system and human resource management system). HCM, on the other hand, stands for human capital management. This is a set of business practices around the acquisition, management, and optimization of a business’s workforce.
What is HCM software?
HCM software is a software tool that takes most features you would expect out of a labor management platform but builds it purposefully for the business practices that encompass human capital management. This software puts together widely varying features such as workforce planning, performance reviews, and employee onboarding in a single management platform where they can all help to generate insights that drive broader business decision making.
How come definitions of HCM, HRMS, and HRIS vary so much?
This is a good question precisely because the definition of each term varies widely from vendor to vendor, and among HR professionals as well. That being said, the differences between each software category are all about features and use cases. Most thought leadership indicates that HRIS is the most circumscribed type of solution, focusing on core HR needs. HRMS takes it up a notch in features, while still sticking to HR use cases, and HCM is about rounding up all those features with strategic planning for the business in mind, with the workforce as the main component to analyze and optimize.
Final Advice on Buying HRMS software
To wrap this up, we’ll assume you’ve read everything above and have a couple of vendors in mind to reach out to and book a demo with. To send you off to this part of the buying process, there’s one last piece of advice that can help a great deal when evaluating HRMS software providers.
These demos should revolve around your HR requirements, and you should try to avoid having one-size-fits-all demonstrations whenever possible. To do this, share your list of requirements and questions beforehand, asking them to show that specific functionality. Since reporting is such a big part of HR management these days, you could even give them data for them to run into the system.
This way, you and your team will get to truly see how much of a fit the tool is for you, as well as gauging other factors like intuitiveness and overall user experience. Couple this guide with our very own HR and recruitment software buying organizer and you’ll be on your way to find the perfect platform for your HR needs.
Top HRMS Software
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