The Best HR Software List of 2023

Human resources are the backbone of any organization’s talent pool, especially those that are looking to optimize the efficiency of their staff. But HR professionals alone cannot keep up with the constant shift in business environments, talent development and staffing needs. That’s why many of them are dependent on using HR software to be as effective as possible.

In fact, statistics prove that 80% of businesses find HR software incredibly useful for finding and retaining talent, onboarding, tracking, and managing employee performance. [1] In this article, we will review the best HR software list of 2023, based on their features, benefits and setbacks, pricing, and customer review.

What Does an HR Software Do?

HR software is a tool designed to help you with various HR activities, such as hiring, paying, training, engaging, and evaluating employees. It stores and organizes employee information in a secure and accessible way.

With good HR software, you can:

• Improve communication by providing a centralized platform where all stakeholders can access information, share files, collaborate on projects, and communicate with one another in real-time. For example, an HR software with a communication and collaboration system can help you communicate with your colleagues from different offices by allowing you to see their schedule and availability, thereby giving you visibility on the best times or channels to communicate with them,
• Improve compliance by helping your organization manage employment laws, regulations, and policies. An HR software that has a compliance module as a feature can help you stay updated on the latest labor laws and regulations in different countries or regions, and alert you of any changes or violations. For example, HR software with a document management system can help you store and organize all your HR documents, such as contracts, forms, or certificates, in a secure and accessible way.
• Reduce administrative costs by streamlining and accelerating admin tasks, such as keeping track of employee information, payroll, scheduling and attendance, onboarding and training, and performance management. This way, you can automate and simplify your payroll process, such as calculating taxes, deductions, and bonuses, and generating pay slips and reports.
• Ensure consistency by automating and standardizing processes, such as recruitment, onboarding, performance management, and offboarding. For example, you can create and post job ads, screen and rank candidates, schedule interviews, and send offer letters with HR software.
• Deepen your data analysis by providing insights into key HR metrics and trends, such as employee engagement, productivity, turnover, profitability, innovation, and more. For example, HR software with an analytics system can help you collect and visualize data from various sources, such as surveys, feedback, performance reviews, and goals.

Factors To Consider When Choosing An HR Software

Choosing the best HR software is not easy. Different software may have different strengths and weaknesses. For example, some software may be good at recruiting while others may focus on performance management. Others might be good at tracking employee performance or have good pricing plans for small businesses. To avoid getting overwhelmed by the thousands of HR software out there and ensure that you purchase the right software, you need to:

• Have a clear idea of what you want to achieve with HR software. What functions and features do you need to support your HR processes and tasks? Do you need a system that can handle recruitment, payroll, performance management, employee engagement, or other tasks?
• Look at the costs and benefits of different HR software options and choose the one that offers the best value for your money. How much will the software save you in terms of time, resources, and efficiency? How will it improve your HR outcomes and performance?
• Also, consider software that offers reliable and responsive customer service and support. How quickly do they fix bugs and issues? Do they update and improve the software frequently? How accessible are they for questions and feedback?
• Consider software that can easily connect with other software applications, systems, or databases that you use for your HR processes. Also, think about how secure and reliable is the data transfer and synchronization, how flexible and customizable is the integration process.
• You also need to consider HR software that can work well with the recruitment software and ATS that you use, or that can replace them with better features and functionality. How compatible and interoperable are the different systems that you use for hiring and managing talent? How easy is it to move data and information between them? How consistent and seamless is the candidate and employee experience across them? For example, Manatal’s ATS integrates with many popular HR software.

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5 Best HR Software in the Market

1. Deel

Deel is a comprehensive HR platform that supports global teams of any scale, from small businesses to large corporations. Its features allow you to hire, pay, and manage your global team (150 countries) without dealing with local regulations, complex taxes, or international payroll issues.

Key features

• Onboard and off-board any type of worker using localized information. You can access localized information and guidance for each country to ensure compliance and avoid legal risks.
• Deel enables you to pay your workers in their preferred currency and method, such as bank transfer, PayPal, TransferWise, or Payoneer.
• With Deel, you can see visual reports of your headcount, hiring trends, diversity, and turnover. You can also download payroll reports for each pay period, country, or worker type. With this feature, you can monitor and analyze your global workforce data and performance, which can help you make informed decisions and improve your HR outcomes.
• Deel comes with a plugin for Slack that allows you to communicate and collaborate with your workers more effectively and efficiently, which can enhance your work culture and productivity. This plugin can also be used to send updates, announcements, surveys, polls, recognition, rewards, and more to your workers through Slack.

Pro

• Pay employees in 150+ currencies, including crypto.
• Helps you stay compliant with local laws and regulations in over 150 countries.
• The software covers up to $25,000 if a misclassification/legal case arises.
• Make use of advanced automation features to simplify your hiring and onboarding workflows, reducing the stress of dealing with overwhelming legal regulations abroad.

Cons

• It can be expensive, especially for those who use a lot of add-on services.
• Deel could improve its user interface and reporting features to make them more user-friendly and customizable.

Price

• Free plan for companies with less than 200 employees, with no recurring monthly cost.
• Contractor: $35 per contractor per month.
• Employee: $49 per employee per month.
• EOR: $599 per month without having to set up a legal entity in a new country.

Customer reviews/ratings

• G2: 4.6/5 (1,250+ reviews)
• Capterra: 4.7/5 (490+ reviews)

2. Workday

Workday is a cloud-based software that specializes in human capital management (HCM.) The software is designed for large sized companies. Workday also offers applications for financial management and enterprise resource planning (ERP) together with analytics that help you get insight into the performance and skills of your workforce, and streamline your HR processes.

Key Features

• Its most notable feature is its global force work management which allows you to manage and track your organization's workforce across different locations, languages, and currencies. This way, you can streamline your global operations, reduce costs and risks, and support your diverse and distributed teams.
• Workday also provides a comprehensive view of your employee’s skills, capabilities, and career aspirations. With this feature, you can identify skill gaps, develop talent pipelines, and foster career growth.
• It comes with informative org charts that allow you to give feedback or promotions right from the same drag-and-drop interface. This feature helps you to visualize your organizational structure, improve communication and collaboration, and plan for future scenarios.
• The software helps you deliver tailored employee experiences, suggest tasks, curate learning, and more with machine learning. As an HR Manager, you can use this feature to engage your employees, increase productivity and retention, and drive business outcomes.

Pros

• Workday is known for its ease of use and intuitive user interface. You can access all the features and data you need in one place, and customize your dashboard according to your preferences.
• Workday offers adequate integration with other third-party apps, such as Salesforce, Slack, Zoom, and more.
• Workday provides customer support via phone and online.

Cons

• The platform does not offer a free version or a free trial.

Price

The platform does not disclose its pricing publicly. Although it offers customized quotes based on the number of users, modules, and features required by each customer.

Customer reviews/ratings

• G2: 4/5 (1,290+ reviews)
• Capterra: 4.4/5 (1277+ reviews)

3. Gusto

Gusto is an online payroll software and HR administration platform for startups and small businesses. It takes the toughest parts of payroll processing and benefits administration off your hands. Gusto’s automated HR software makes it easy to build your dream team with no jumping between systems or compliance confusion.

Key features

• Gusto automates payroll calculations, tax filings, direct deposits, and more. It also integrates with accounting software.
• The software also helps you create and manage health, dental, vision, life, and retirement plans for your employees. It offers financial tools such as 401(k), HSA, FSA, and Gusto Wallet. This feature enables you to attract and retain talent, support your employees’ well-being, and comply with local laws and regulations.
• Gusto simplifies time tracking and scheduling with mobile apps, geolocation, overtime alerts, and project tracking making it easier for you as an HR manager to monitor and manage your employees’ hours, productivity, and attendance. 
• The software streamlines the hiring process with job postings, applicant tracking, offer letters, background checks, and app provisioning.

Pros

• Gusto makes payroll easy, from setup to onboarding/offboarding to paying employees.
• Gusto helps you develop and retain your talent with performance reviews, feedback surveys, learning courses, employee communications, and insights.
• Gusto offers transparent pricing and flexibility of three plans for changing needs. It also provides customer support via phone and online.

Cons

• Users have complained that the software does not offer invoicing or accounts receivable features. They have to use third-party apps for these functions.
• Gusto requires a lot of upfront manual data entry since users have to input employee information, benefits details, tax forms, etc. manually into the system.
• The software does not support international employee payroll.
• There have been reports of a lack or delay in response on their customer support side.

Price

• Simple: $40 per month plus $6 per person per month.
• Plus: $80 per month plus $6 per person per month.
• Premium: Contact Gusto.

Customer reviews/ratings

G2: 4/5 (1,420+reviews)

Capterra: 4.6/5 (3,807 reviews+ Reviews)

4. Namely

Namely is an HR software that provides a wide array of features making it an HRIS (Human Resources Information System.) These include automated payroll, benefits management, recruitment management and onboarding tools, scheduling tools, and templates for building content like an employee handbook or an offer letter.

Key features

• Namely can process payroll for employees in over 190 countries, with automatic tax filing and payment, direct deposit, and pay stubs.
• The software can help you design, enrol, and manage employee benefits plans, with support for health insurance, retirement plans, and wellness programs.
• It helps you stay compliant with local and federal laws and regulations, such as ACA, COBRA, EEOC, FLSA, etc.
• You can set goals, track progress, conduct reviews, and provide feedback to your employees, with features such as 360-degree feedback, peer recognition, and compensation management.

Pros

• Responsive and helpful customer support team that provides guidance and solutions.
• Namely offers a comprehensive solution that covers all aspects of HR management in one platform.
• The platform can also help you customize various aspects of the platform to suit your needs and preferences.

Cons

• Some users noted that Namely’s customer support is not available 24/7 or on weekends.
• Reporting features are limited or buggy, making it hard to generate or export custom reports.
• Users complained of glitches or delays that affected the software performance or functionality.

Price

Namely does not publish its pricing plan on its website. However, it stated that its pricing plan starts at $9 per employee per month.

Customer reviews/ratings

• G2: 3.9/5 (270+ reviews)
• Capterra: 4.2/5 (429+ reviews)

5. Connecteam

Connecteam is an HR and people management platform that is specifically designed for deskless workers, and hybrid or remote teams. It simplifies everyday work with deskless teams and keeps them connected, while also freeing up employees to be more productive, flexible, and happy. It offers various features for communication, operations, HR, and skills development.

Key features

• Connecteam allows you to track and manage employee work hours, with features such as GPS location, geofencing, overtime alerts, and more. This feature helps you save time and money by reducing the work it takes to calculate employee hours. It can also help you monitor employee attendance and location, prevent time theft and buddy punching, and comply with labour law.
• The software also allows you to create and assign shifts, send automatic reminders, handle shift changes, and more. This way, you can optimize your staff allocation, reduce scheduling errors and conflicts, improve employee satisfaction and flexibility, and enhance customer service.
• You can communicate with your team via chat, group messages, announcements, surveys, and more. This feature will help you improve team collaboration, engagement, and morale, keep everyone informed and aligned, collect feedback and suggestions, and resolve issues quickly
• With this software, you can ensure your employees follow the company policies and procedures, with features such as digital forms, checklists, and reports. This will help you reduce the risk of fines, penalties, lawsuits, or shutdowns due to non-compliance with laws and regulations.

Pros

• Connecteam has a responsive and helpful customer support team that provides guidance and solutions.
• The software has a mobile-friendly app that allows you to access the platform from anywhere.
• It has a modern and intuitive interface that makes it easy to use and navigate.
• Connecteam allows you to customize various aspects of the platform to suit their needs and preferences.

Cons

• Connecteam is sometimes slow or laggy, affecting its performance or functionality.
• The software has been said to have some limitations in its automation capabilities, such as sending notifications or reminders based on certain triggers or conditions.

Price

• The Small Business Plan: Free(Up to 10 users
• Basic plan: $29 per month (For the first 30 users)
• Advanced Plan: $49 per month (for the first 30 users)
• The Expert plan: $99 per month (for up to 30 users.)

Reviews and ratings

• G2: 4.3/5 (41+ reviews)
• Capterra: 4.8/5 (308+ reviews)

Conclusion

Whether it is talent management, payroll processing, or time and attendance tracking, our best HR software list have something for everyone’s needs; whether it is reliability or user-friendly tools for businesses of all sizes. By leveraging the HR software system that best suits your requirements, your organization can position itself for success in attracting, developing, and retaining top talent while increasing operational efficiency and effectiveness.

Citations

1. Forbes

2. Forbes