Looking for HRMS software? I’ve tested the top solutions on the market to determine which ones are truly the best.
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Published Date: September 19, 2024Table of contents
Not sure what kind of HR software you need? Explore our HR Software Guide for a complete list of options.
My top choices result from my extensive background in small and midsize business human resources (HR) administration and my deep understanding of HR software on the market today. After curating a comprehensive list of products to review, I leveraged user reviews, software specifications, free trials, demos, and knowledge bases to find products with top-tier HRMS features, like automations, customization, and support.
In other words, I picked my recommendations with your business concerns in mind.
Below is a breakdown of the criteria I used to judge each software. Each category also includes my expert score, which considers the effectiveness of that area based on my personal usage. As the market changes, I reevaluate my choices so you always receive the best insights for your purchasing decision.
Workforce management includes payroll, benefits administration, and time and scheduling features. Because these are some of the most critical functions of HR, workforce management is weighted the most at 22% of the platform’s overall score. The best software offers native functionality for all these modules and automations to reduce your HR team’s administrative loads.
How easy is the platform to use? Will it be able to grow with the company? What is the customer service like? And will employee data be safe? This category covers the solution’s intrinsic features and offerings, including how well it will integrate with your current tech stack. This category represents 20% of the platform’s total score.
Pricing accounts for 15% of the weighted score. Software with transparent pricing, scalable tiers, discounts, free trials, and free plans received the highest scores. I also considered each platform’s “value for money,” which determines whether the number of features in each price tier or module is competitive with other vendors in the space.
Core HR covers the basics of HR software, including its core HRIS and analytics functionality. Software with robust employee recordkeeping features, compliance, and customizable reports and dashboards earned the top marks. Core HR comprises 15% of the software’s total score.
Performance management accounts for 8% of the platform’s total score. Effective performance management tools are critical for developing more productive and motivated employees for established small and midsize businesses. I considered each solution’s performance appraisal customizations, goal tracking, peer feedback, and meeting management capabilities for my analysis.
As your company grows, you’ll need HR software with native recruitment features to address your talent needs. HR software with candidate sourcing, screening tools, and interview management scored the highest. I also considered capabilities like automated ATS pipeline movement and AI features in my expert score. Talent acquisition makes up 8% of the total score.
Employee relations comprise 7% of the software’s overall score and include employee engagement and communication features. Platforms capable of surveying and monitoring employee wellbeing scored best. I also examined whether the platforms offered internal communication functions, like company announcements and recognition features, to enhance the employee experience.
User reviews from third-party software platforms like Capterra, G2, and TrustRadius accounted for 5% of the software’s overall score. I focused on software that received at least 3.5 out of 5 stars on these sites. Because users have real-world experience with each platform, they played a significant role in narrowing down my list of top products to compare.
TechnologyAdvice is able to offer our services for free because some vendors may pay us for web traffic or other sales opportunities. Our mission is to help technology buyers make better purchasing decisions, so we provide you with information for all vendors — even those that don’t pay us.
Human resources management systems (HRMS) expand upon core human resources information systems (HRIS) through more extensive automations, workforce analytics, and customization. The best ones cover all these areas to support midsize businesses looking to attract and keep top talent for long-term business growth.
My top five choices below do just that plus offer unique capabilities to address the needs of your business.
If you need help determining what kind of HR software you need, learn more at How to Choose the Right HR Software for your Business.
Expert score
Best for
Starting price
Rippling
Best overallADP Workforce Now
Best for scalabilityBambooHR
Best for ease of use $250 per mo. for first 25 employees
UKG Ready
Best for customizationPaycor
Best for workforce development $99 per mo + $6 PEPM* The vendor’s pricing is quote-based; the prices in the chart are estimated based-on third-party sources and user reviews.
With a 3.92 out of 5 score, Rippling is the best HRMS overall because it balances advanced HR features geared toward growing businesses with an approachable, easy-to-navigate interface. You can customize workflows, approvals, access levels, reports, and analytics for more pointed insights into your company’s workforce to drive a more efficient, productive, and engaging company culture.
Your HR teams can also offload some of their more repetitive work, like training course assignments, document collection, and task follow-ups, by having Rippling automate it for you. Moreover, most of Rippling’s modules are robust for an all-in-one HR solution. Its payroll solution is particularly noteworthy since you take care of domestic and international pay within the same platform to speed up processing times.
Although Rippling has great integration options with Slack, Google Workspace, and Zoom, it’s not the best option for companies with primarily frontline workers. It does not support employee private messaging and shift scheduling, for example. Its mobile app also does not have nearly the same capabilities as its desktop counterpart, forcing on-the-go teams to manage functions like payroll in an office.
But if you already have third-party solutions for these areas, Rippling’s vast integration library and app management features make it the best choice for consolidating your tech stack.
Rippling is a comprehensive HR software with an IT-forward feature set and design. Unlike other HRMS, Rippling intentionally includes IT features, like app provisioning during new hire onboarding, to unify the company tech stack. Far from alienating HR professionals without IT backgrounds, these capabilities make Rippling more accessible to companies that need custom processes but lack in-house tech expertise.
Some of Rippling’s stand-out features, such as its Workflow Studio for in-app process automation, are advanced for a non-enterprise HR system. For example, you can send reports, schedule Google Calendar meetings, and even adjust employee paid time off (PTO) accruals based on almost any data attribute.
This is especially important when you have a company of over 250 employees but an HR department of two. Rippling can take care of the administrative side of HR, like sending new hire surveys or collecting policy acknowledgments, while your HR team of two works with managers and executives to improve employee experience and retention.
However, one drawback of Rippling is that it has a fast feature release schedule that can lead to a lack of refinement in existing modules. Major modules like its global payroll, recruiting, and performance management modules were released in 2022 and 2023 but fall behind some competitors.
For example, Rippling only supports payroll for 50 countries compared to the 70 or more for platforms like Deel. Recruiters still have to schedule interviews with candidates manually in its recruitment module. It doesn’t offer devices like physical time clocks or digital signage software for frontline teams. And, although Rippling is a major player in the PEO market, it lacks IRS and Employer Services Assurance Corporation (ESAC) certifications.
Even so, Rippling’s quick release schedule means you can access features that work natively with Rippling without relying on integrations. It also creates a more seamless experience than Paylocity and UKG, which rely on acquisitions and mergers for new features.
Rippling offers features to support businesses experiencing transition and, therefore, at greater risk for compliance errors. For example, Rippling comes standard with its Compliance 360 feature, which monitors processes within the platform and notifies you of potential global, federal, state, and municipal time and pay violations. This safeguards against labor law violations as you expand into unfamiliar states and territories.
Likewise, Rippling offers a flexible professional employer organization (PEO) service option, which adds worker classification monitoring to its Compliance 360 capabilities. This can help you reduce the risks associated with employee misclassification, including penalties, back pay, and tax violations. And, after you build out your HR team and don’t need Rippling’s PEO support anymore, you can “turn it off” directly within the platform without incurring a fee, switching systems, and losing data.
You can use Rippling’s Workflow Studio and approval workflows to manage your company risk further. Although it’s not the same as UKG Ready’s accident tracking feature, you can create custom fields that trigger workflows for collecting essential information with strict deadlines — like injury paperwork — timely. You can also save this data in the employee profile for recordkeeping and audit purposes.
Rippling’s report builder lets you build dynamic reports in real time without the need to run the reports or download them to an external spreadsheet software. Its reporting capabilities are also not isolated in various modules, so you don’t have to switch between modules to access payroll, benefits administration, performance management, or recruitment reports.
Instead, Rippling unites data from internal HR modules and some external integrations, like Jira. This means you can link information and draw conclusions from data you would otherwise have to manipulate off the platform manually.
For instance, you can gather usage reports for various apps through Rippling to determine their return on investment (ROI). You can even calculate the minutes employees spend in meetings to inform employee productivity during performance reviews. With this data, you can evaluate your organization’s risk for meeting fatigue and burnout.
Although Rippling lacks advanced report capabilities like ADP Workforce Now’s benchmarking and AI narrative descriptions, you can use Excel-like formulas and charts for more granular insights. It is also more approachable than UKG Ready, whose report-like interface takes time to understand.
Rippling starts at $8 per employee per month (PEPM). Depending on your business circumstances, it may also charge you an additional base fee per month, with most third-party sources stating the base price is $35 per month.
All customers start with Rippling’s base platform, Rippling Platform, which is its core human resources information system (HRIS). It includes main features like its Workflow Studio, Compliance 360, onboarding, and leave management modules. After purchasing a Rippling Platform plan, you can add on the modules you need from its HR, IT, or Finance clouds.
Rippling scored moderately well for pricing at 2.75 out of 5. Although it does provide a starting price for its platform, it does not share details on pricing for any of its modules. It also does not include a free trial or free plan, which can be a turn-off if you need to test specific features before purchasing, especially if those features are in modules outside Rippling Platform.
That said, Rippling shares similar pricing to competitors like TriNet HR Platform; it can even be cheaper than Gusto Simple if you have fewer than 20 employees and only need Rippling Platform. But this also means that the platform becomes significantly more expensive for the more tactical and analytics features that are hallmarks of HRMS, including workforce planning and performance management.
Below is an overview of the four different plans of Rippling Platform:
Rippling Platform
Core
Pro
Unlimited
Enterprise
Includes everything in Core, plus:
Includes everything in Pro, plus:
Includes everything in Unlimited, plus:
Additional modules
HR Cloud
IT Cloud
Finance Cloud
Additional services
Note: Rippling currently offers a one-month free subscription if you sign up within six weeks. This is subject to end anytime, so please check its website for the latest.
Get a bigger picture of its capabilities by checking out some of the resources below:
ADP Workforce Now comes in with a total score of 3.85. It impressed me for its sheer number of features that allow companies to digitize almost all of their HR processes.
What’s more, Workforce Now is the backbone platform for most of ADP’s other offerings, including its PEO product and global payroll add-on. Its other services, like EOR, HRO, tax, and unemployment claim services, mean that you can access the level of HR support you need during various stages of growth.
As a result, you can stay with one company as you scale, aiding in knowledge retention, data migration, and employee satisfaction and experience. This makes Workforce Now your best bet if you want support for more complex needs, like multiple entities, divisions, departments, and employee types.
Workforce Now is ADP’s mid-market HR and payroll product for businesses with 50 to 1,000 employees. Although ADP is well known for its payroll features, Workforce Now modules cover the complete employee life cycle with capabilities for strategic HR, like compensation management and DEI benchmarking.
In particular, ADP Workforce Now gives equal attention to the concerns of HR staff and individual contributors. Employees rate ADP’s Mobile Solutions, Workforce Now’s mobile app, a 4.4 and 4.7 on the Google Play and Apple App stores, respectively. Little things, like an “undo” button in the app to quickly fix an accidental punch-in and quick-access buttons for recent paychecks, benefits, and the staff directory, make it a straightforward tool for frontline employees.
Other employee-centric features include financial wellness tools like on-demand pay, discounts, and savings through ADP’s Wisely paycard and app. Onboarding from the employee side is also very appealing since you can customize the experience based on the new hire’s role and location.
For example, you can include a custom message from the new hire’s manager, welcome videos, interactive team profiles, and a map around their new office. The experience becomes less about completing mandatory paperwork, like the I-9 form, and more about providing a great first impression of your company.
Administrators also have access to many features and people data in Workforce Now. ADP’s payroll capabilities and compliance monitoring are particularly strong, with customizable elements to address more complex needs like shift differentials and tip credits.
Despite this, Workforce Now suffers from the issues of many legacy systems: a complicated system layout and an outdated appearance.
For example, it takes multiple clicks to hire an employee, requiring you to navigate to its HR dashboard, then its hiring and onboarding module, and finally, its various hiring workflows. This is before you even begin entering any new hire information. Compare this to Rippling, which has a handy add or remove employee button in its navigation side rail.
But Workforce Now is exceptionally feature-rich, especially for complex payroll and time clock needs, including support for certified payroll, check delivery, and geofencing. So, if you’re looking for a mainstay product with years of expertise, ADP is your best choice.
ADP is a long-standing company that has acquired or partnered with several companies to build its HRMS capabilities. Workforce Now integrates with nearly 500 products, including industry-specific ones like safety management programs for construction and POS systems for restaurants, retail, and hospitality. This means you can connect Workforce Now’s employee data and management features to the tools you already use to facilitate cross-system data flow while limiting double data entry.
ADP even offers standalone portions of its Workforce Now product, allowing you to extend the capabilities of your already existing systems without purchasing entirely new software. For example, if you like Bob’s employee engagement features but want Workforce Now’s payroll, you can embed Workforce Now into Bob’s Payroll Hub module. Similar capabilities exist for ADP’s compliance, tax, and global payroll products.
The one drawback is that connecting these products can create a clunky experience. For example, just pushing your payroll data into your accounting software’s general ledger (GL) in Workforce Now requires you to remember to do this manually after each payroll. Occasionally, modules open in other browser windows instead of happening seamlessly within one window. This can be frustrating, especially if you want a cleaner way to interact with your HR data.
Workforce Now offers advanced workforce analytics through its ADP DataCloud add-on. Here, you can access ADP’s dataset of over 30 million employees to compare your organization to others in your industry. You can even “mash up” or combine your people and financial data for more effective hiring and budgeting.
Workforce Now also uses narrative insights, or natural language descriptions of your workplace data, in its storyboards feature. ADP walks you through common questions, such as the cost of turnover and pay equity, in a more approachable manner than Rippling and UKG Ready. This makes addressing these issues faster since it requires much less manual data manipulation.
In particular, if you’re intentional about DEI initiatives in your company, Workforce Now’s DataCloud has some useful, pre-built tools to understand how your hiring and termination processes affect your diversity landscape. You can even monitor diversity in your organization’s leadership team over time to see if organizational strategies like DEI training and employee resource groups (ERGs) impact your business at its highest executive levels.
ADP does not disclose pricing for its Workforce Now product. Pricing depends on several factors, including headcount, modules needed, and the complexity of your payroll needs. Third-party sources indicate that ADP Workforce can cost anywhere between $18 and $27 PEPM, plus a percentage of your annual subscription cost for implementation.
Workforce Now received the same score as Rippling for pricing: 2.75. Like Rippling, it does not provide a free trial or free plan. But it frequently offers promotions and discounts, which can be attractive if you want to try the software at a reduced cost. Plus, all ADP Workforce Now plans have payroll as a standard feature.
However, other critical features, like benefits administration, leave management, and time tracking, are reserved for higher tiers, making it less likely you can operate with its lowest Select plan. Moreover, users note that ADP has a reputation for low starting prices but lots of service charges for things like garnishments, tax notice inquiries, and custom reports.
ADP also charges an administrative fee for every payroll you run, meaning it’s more expensive if you have multiple payroll schedules or run off-cycle payrolls for bonus checks or to fix payroll errors.
Workforce Now plans
Select
Plus
Premium
Includes everything in Select and:
Includes everything in Plus and:
Additional modules
If you’re interested in a scalable HRMS and want to dabble in AI for HR purposes, ADP released its new generative AI assistant in January 2024. The new tool draws on ADP’s huge compliance dataset plus your company data to help you complete payroll tasks plus proactively remind employees to submit timecards, complete paperwork, and answer common personnel questions.
As an HRMS buyer, the tool lets you use natural language to draft reports and create graphs for faster and more easily digestible insights into your workforce trends. All Workforce Now plans come with the tool, making it an attractive choice for your HR staff to speed up rote processes.
BambooHR is the easiest and most approachable platform on my list. Although it doesn’t have the customization options of UKG Ready, the automation capabilities of Rippling, or the global support of ADP, you’ll likely find BambooHR the better option if you want to implement an HR software solution quickly.
With an overall score of 3.75, BambooHR does well with automatic workflows, document modification and recordkeeping, and employee communication and engagement. BambooHR also includes an ATS in all plans, which most HRMS reserve for higher tiers. This means you can manage and track a basic candidate pipeline for more consistent hiring.
BambooHR is not the best, however, if you expect rapid growth. While it has all the features of a full-scale HRMS, it doesn’t have options for more specialized workflows. For example, BambooHR’s reporting and analytics are fine for most operations-focused HR teams, but you cannot create custom charts. This can be a major drawback for workforce and big-picture company planning.
Nevertheless, BambooHR is a great choice to reduce the amount of administrative work on your HR teams. Because it contains more tools in the realm of tactical HR, it’s a step above a simple HRIS with only recordkeeping and limited workflow automation.
BambooHR is a comprehensive HR software that stands out among users for its modern-looking interface that you can customize with your company colors and logo. But beyond looking nice, BambooHR is well-liked by employers and employees at SMBs because of its user-friendly interface and simple-to-use workflows.
In fact, BambooHR’s philosophy directly contradicts UKG Ready’s. Where UKG Ready aims to develop highly customized modules and settings to fit your company’s work cadences, BambooHR is more of a one-size-fits-all solution.
Workflows in BambooHR are mostly pre-built, with some ability to configure onboarding and offboarding depending on roles, departments, and locations. However, it cannot build workflows from scratch for various processes unique to your organization, such as disciplinary procedures, employee development plans, or safety tracking. Ad hoc workflow build functions, like Rippling’s Workflow Studio, are also nonexistent.
However, this makes BambooHR significantly more accessible than others on my shortlist. Fewer configuration options also mean it takes less time to start or complete HR processes, like adding a new employee, creating a job requisition, or requesting and giving feedback to peers. For example, BambooHR’s feedback workflow is only two questions long to encourage quicker and more frequent exchanges.
BambooHR is a good choice if you want access to strategic HR operations, like compensation banding, talent pools for candidate relationship management (CRM), and training assessments, without complicated implementation. You can also use BambooHR to develop good HR processes, like consistent onboarding cadences and double-blind assessments in performance reviews, if you don’t currently have a tried-and-true procedure.
The drawback is that BambooHR is not the most scalable platform. It doesn’t offer HRO services, support for international workforces, or highly customizable analytics. As a result, you’re likely to experience better success with BambooHR if you’re a small domestic company without significant expansion plans.
BambooHR operates much like internet browsers, such as Google Chrome and Apple Safari. Access to your account and other system settings are next to your Avatar in the top right corner. Meanwhile, tabs across the top house various HR operations, like recruitment, payroll, and reports. Entering any module opens up more features in subsequent tabs or a navigation sidebar.
Access to tabs, profile information, and settings change dynamically based on your security levels. You don’t have to flip between system administrator and employee views like in TriNet HR Platform or Gusto. Each feature also includes guided instructions to help start the process, reducing the need for in-depth training.
For example, adding a new access level in BambooHR is much easier than Rippling or BambooHR. BambooHR simply asks what you want employees to do and what you want employees to see when you make new access levels. It also uses IT jargon sparingly, making it easier for your HR team to configure.
BambooHR’s new employee community feature is a major step up from its previous announcements feature inside the “what’s happening” homepage widget. Employees and system administrators can now access a company newsfeed on their home dashboard.
Employee community houses company announcements, events, and peer-to-peer recognition. What’s great is that it operates similar to popular communication tools like Slack. Managers can create separate communication groups for messaging between their direct reports, while employees can create groups around various topics.
For example, employees can create a pet lover group dedicated to their furry, feathered, or scaly friends to find and relate to other staff with the same interest. Employee community also supports polls, emojis, GIFs, and replies for more engagement and fun. It even integrates with Slack, making it easier for HR and administrators to share information across all company channels.
However, because the feature is so new, expect initial bugs as BambooHR rolls out its capabilities to Pro plan subscribers. The module also has a different interface than the rest of BambooHR, creating a slightly disjointed experience.
That said, its data analytics and ability to collect confirmations that important company announcements were viewed and read are great ways for you to improve upon the efficiency and effectiveness of company communications.
BambooHR does not reveal starting pricing on its website, so you must contact its sales team for a customized quote. It also recently overhauled its pricing and subscription tiers.
BambooHR has two new subscription plans, Core and Pro, which replace its Essentials and Advantage plans. The new plans are positive changes since both offer more features to start. For example, BambooHR’s Core plan now includes onboarding, which its Essentials plan did not. This capability alone brings BambooHR on par with most HRIS and HRMS where basic recordkeeping and onboarding come standard.
Another great addition to its subscription plans is that BambooHR now includes its ATS in all tiers. This is a huge differentiator since access to recruitment features means more consistent and streamlined hiring to maintain proper staffing and encourage growth.
BambooHR follows a similar pricing model as before. If you have 25 employees or fewer, you pay a flat monthly price for either plan. If you have more than 25 employees, pricing changes to a PEPM model. BambooRH also offers volume discounts once you cross a particular headcount.
With these changes, BambooHR earned a 3 out of 5 for pricing, with its starting plan mirroring competitors like Rippling and TriNet HR Platform.
BambooHR Subscription Plans
Core*
Pro*
BambooHR Add-ons
* There is a one-time implementation fee for the Core and Pro plans and the Payroll add-on. If you have fewer than 25 employees, you can opt for the QuickStart implementation for a lower fee.
** Please note that additional factors, like the number of FEINs or states where you need payroll, can affect this price. Please contact BambooHR for specific pricing quotes.
Currently, BambooHR offers a 15% discount if you combine its payroll and benefits administration add-ons with its Core or Pro plans. Visit BambooHR below to learn more.
Besides being the best HR platform for small businesses, BambooHR is also in many of our other HR buyer’s guides. Check them out below:
UKG Ready impressed me with its ability to customize each module to suit your specific HR processes. This means you create a tailor-made HR system with operations that occur your way, compared to more pre-configured platforms like BambooHR.
UKG’s customization also improves collaboration and consistency across teams. For example, if you want hiring managers to quickly look into recruitment metrics like time-to-fill for one of your open positions, you don’t have to create or schedule reports for them. It’s just as simple as creating a report view, saving it, and placing it in a widget for them to see in real time.
Besides making it easier for employees to find the information they need, you can also control the experience of less tech-savvy employees. You can create dashboards, hide or limit access to various information, and improve the efficiency of common HR processes, like injury recordkeeping.
Despite UKG Ready’s score of 3.66, its customization comes at a price. Its complex UI can take some time to understand. If your business is smaller, UKG Ready might be overwhelming as a first-time HRMS. But if you’ve outgrown more simplistic HRMS options like Gusto or TriNet HR Platform, UKG Ready can create a more personalized experience for your increasingly diverse teams and business model.
Formerly Kronos Incorporated’s Workforce Ready, UKG Ready is UKG’s all-in-one small and midsize business (SMB) HR suite. Although small businesses can use UKG Ready, its rather complicated interface and feature set make it a better option for midsize companies needing more niche capabilities.
UKG Ready’s interface looks and functions much like a spreadsheet program. Modules like its employee roster, organizational chart, goal tracking, and ATS all use a configurable, report-like workspace for entering and viewing the data you need.
The benefit is that it is easy to manipulate and drill down to see the information you need at any time. But the drawback is that it takes significant time to build out each module how you want and train your staff on the program, compared to more plug-and-play options like BambooHR.
UKG Ready also rivals ADP Workforce Now when it comes to payroll and time-tracking capabilities. This includes services like certified payroll, check signing and delivery, and shift scheduling that major payroll competitors, like Gusto, don’t offer.
Yet, of particular interest for an HRMS buyer is UKG Ready’s surprisingly capable hiring module. While nowhere near standalone recruitment options, it does have many more features than most top HR systems with an internal ATS.
For example, résumé parsing, knockout questions, and text message communication are great tools for quickly sorting through candidates’ applications and starting conversations. It even includes characteristics typical of candidate relationship management (CRM) systems, such as career sites and applicant self-service.
Despite this, be prepared for a lengthy ramp-up time if you choose UKG Ready. Users note that implementation typically takes longer than most due to its high customizability and less-than-intuitive setup. You’ll also need to factor in system training for your middle managers. Yet, it might be a better choice than options like Namely, which cannot handle companies with multiple entities and competing workflows.
Unlike others in my roundup, with UKG Ready, you can customize every aspect of the system to meet your needs. Beyond attaching your company logo, you can add or remove widgets on your home screen to quickly access the data most important to you. Although BambooHR offers similar capabilities, its widgets are pre-built and limited in function.
By contrast, you can add quick access buttons to any module you want in UKG Ready’s start bar at the top of the screen and then add widgets that give you a small glimpse into your most pressing data. For example, a middle manager might customize their screen to see the attendance board and time statistics widgets to assess who is in or out.
Your HR team, on the other hand, may have their dashboard set up to view more strategic business needs, such as succession charts and frequently accessed reports. You can do this within every module, improving work efficiency since you only focus on the workflows you use most often and hide the rest.
UKG Ready collects and tracks multiple information on your people, including reports on employee usage, login, and even system preferences. Besides helping you improve the experience for your employees, it helps you in the event of audits. It also gives you insight into the platform’s ROI and security, which is especially important with an increased employee headcount.
UKG Ready’s report functionality is also noteworthy, competing against enterprise HR software like Workday. Because each module functions like a report, it’s easy to drill down to understand standard HR metrics like attrition, flight risks, and employee sentiment.
Pair this with its new generative AI assistant, UKG Bryte, and you can gather even more information on your company’s performance metrics, like turnover costs by location, equitable compensation management, and employee work-life balance. For growing businesses, this provides you with the data to ensure you’re keeping your employees happy and your business prepared for any transformational business changes, like expansion or restructuring.
Like many HR platforms targeting midsize businesses or larger, UKG Ready does not disclose its pricing. You will have to call their sales team for a custom quote. Third-party sources indicate that, depending on your employee headcount and the modules you need, pricing can range from $21 to $29 PEPM, putting it on par with ADP Workforce Now.
Because UKG Ready lacks transparency around pricing, implementation fees, discounts, and contracts, it earned the lowest pricing in my shortlist at only 0.38. UKG Ready has many features, but its modular structure can result in higher prices to start, especially compared to vendors that use tier HR pricing, like Gusto and BambooHR.
But UKG Ready’s customization can be very attractive, and you may want to pay more to develop a platform centered around your business’s unique processes. Most vendors with hidden pricing likely offer volume, annual, or industry-specific discounts, plus the ability to negotiate.
Below are the different modules that UKG Ready offers:
Paycor is an excellent choice to automate your core HR operations so you can focus on more meaningful workforce development. Except for UKG Ready, Paycor is the most feature-rich option for talent management. And even though UKG Ready has similar features, Paycor’s dashboard is more accessible for growing HR teams.
In particular, Paycor enables employees to manage their professional career goals. Managers can request employee feedback anytime to understand how to motivate their teams better and build psychological safety. Paycor also enables employees to take learning courses at their convenience to bolster their career advancement.
Paycor also provides opportunities for your teams to take action based on data insights. For example, skill assessments filter into performance review workflows to add context to employees’ successes and areas of opportunity during the review period.
However, Paycor only received a 3.63 score overall for its clunky system navigation. Its starting price is also off-putting, especially if you’re a small business or startup that wants to take advantage of the tactical advantages of an HRMS, like hiring and upskilling, despite your headcount.
Still, I’d recommend Paycor if you want to improve the employee experience. Employees can engage directly with each other in Paycor to foster a positive company culture. Meanwhile, on-demand pay gives employees access to their funds when needed and Paycor’s compensation management can minimize pay inequity. As a result, Paycor is a better choice if you want capabilities to increase employee retention while reducing manual HR operations.
Paycor may have started as a payroll-focused software solution but now includes features that approach a full human capital management (HCM) system. Although it doesn’t offer the global support of Rippling or ADP, like UKG Ready, it’s the best choice if you need tools for developing and retaining your workforce.
For example, Paycor includes dedicated modules, from leadership training to employee engagement surveys, company newsfeeds, and peer-to-peer recognition. These features allow you to take steps to address concerns based on insights from your people data, like burnout, attrition, and lack of DEI in the workplace. Its advanced analytics, such as resignation predictions, lets you take proactive measures to address turnover risk factors, like poor compensation, to increase the likelihood of keeping star employees.
Paycor is also quite robust when it comes to operational HR concerns. Its customizable pay grid allows you to change and add pay code columns and run off-cycle payrolls at will, giving you more freedom to run payroll based on your business needs. You can also work on pay periods months in advance for more strategic planning, such as determining the best time to pay discretionary holiday bonuses.
Paycor is also a strong solution for traditional operational needs, whether your workforce is in or out of an office. Advanced scheduling allows you to assign shifts based on employee availabilities and predicted labor needs. Its benefits advisor feature improves the employee experience during open enrollment by helping them determine the right benefits plans based on their circumstances. It also offers physical time clocks for your onsite employees.
However, Paycor, like UKG Ready and Paylocity, does not have the most modern appearance. Modules also have an inconsistent interface, meaning controls are in different locations than expected. Paycor houses module settings in various places, such as inside the module itself or on its navigation side rail. As a result, it takes longer to learn how to navigate and modify each module to your specific HR needs.
Still, a somewhat outdated appearance might be the least of your concerns, considering Paycor’s advanced payroll and workforce management features.
Paycor has an internal learning management system (LMS) and manager-specific training modules to support employees’ professional development. With Paycor’s LMS, administrators can create and assign training courses to employees based on their hire date or as needed. Employees can also enroll in courses to satisfy development plans or refresh their knowledge in certain areas.
Unlike BambooHR, course assignments do not have to revolve around your onboarding process. You can develop courses for company-specific processes, such as training around your company’s social media use. Paycor also has a special place to track certifications so you can ensure employees complete necessary courses before current certifications expire.
Paycor Paths is also a dedicated module for managers to improve their leadership effectiveness. Managers issue leadership surveys to their direct reports, and Paycor synthesizes responses into scores in various arenas, like recognition and performance reviews. Your managers can then use this information to take learning paths to improve their soft skills in areas like feedback and communication.
Although this doesn’t replace one-on-one coaching and mentoring, it does gives managers clearer insights into their strengths and weaknesses. Plus, instilling good managerial habits can help managers address their employees’ concerns more effectively to promote greater workplace satisfaction and productivity.
Paycor’s career management software allows you to measure employee competencies, pinpoint skill gaps, outline career paths, and solidify role responsibilities. Besides aiding employees in their professional development, you can use the tool for succession planning and providing transparent expectations for career advancement.
Employees can view their role profiles from their performance dashboards and assess their skill competencies. Managers can segment skills by different levels to better understand skill mastery and the employee’s readiness for new positions. They can also tie competencies to upcoming performance reviews to monitor their direct reports’ progress in developing their skills.
Paycor’s employee skill features are less advanced than those of HCM or standalone competency management software. For example, your HR staff has to set up skill competencies for each role based on your job descriptions or a Paycor template, which can be lengthy.
Its assessment feature is also somewhat subjective since managers and direct reports can only choose between “development,” “meeting expectations,” or “exceeding expectations” to evaluate each competency. This is instead of tying each skill to more objective evaluations, like assessment tests or LMS courses.
Nevertheless, Paycor’s skills assessments and new AI can help you understand the current strength of your workforce and suggest training opportunities for more targeted upskilling or recruitment initiatives.
