Best Talent Management System – Small Business

BambooHR:BambooHR’s pricing is simple. They offer a base package of $99/month for smaller companies of 12 employees or less. Once you hit 13 employees, the price changes to $8/employee/month. Somewhere between 50-100 employees, the price of BambooHR drops to $6/employee/month, and then for companies of 101+ employees, it drops further to $5.60/employee/month.

This results in annual prices around:

• 12 employees or less: $1,188 annually
• 13-49 employees: $96/employee per year = $1,248 for 13 people; $4,704 for 49 people
• 50-100 employees: $72/employee per year = $3,600 for 50 people annually; $7,200 for 100 people annually
• 101+ employees: $67.20/employee per year = $6,787.20 for 101 people

BambooHR invoices on a month-to-month basis and have no binding contract, which is a huge advantage over the commitment required by BirdDogHR and Namely.

Also, in the HR software space, the downside to BambooHR was their setup fee. Here, in talent management software, their setup fee is cheaper than BirdDogHR and Namely, and helped push it to our top choice. Their setup training module fee is $200 for companies of under 20 employees. Set up fees go up as employee numbers increase, and start at $1500 for companies of over 20 employees (up to $2000 if you have over 100).

BirdDogHR:BirdDogHRhas a confidential pricing system that we were able to see on our 3rd call towards the end of our research. We recommend that you go through the quoting process in order to learn what pricing is for your company. BirdDogHR also has setup, training and implementation fees built into its pricing, which it does by 1, 2 or 3 year long contracts. The reps said that nearly every client is on the 3 year contract because of the significant price break, which is nearly 30%, because it eliminates a ton of the annual repeating and set up fees. I was not made clear on how billing works though and how quickly you pay for the contract.

In the end BirdDogHR has comparable pricing to Namely if you sign a 3-year contract; if you do not sign that, then they are the most expensive system of our 3 talent management systems here.

Namely:Namely, similar to BirdDogHR, was not willing to give me many details on pricing. My 2 big takeaways from pricing were that:

1. Usually, the minimum bill per year is $15,000, but they can be slightly flexible around that (no details on how the billing actually works though)
2. The set up fee is one time and it’s $5,000.

When you start to do the math, $15,000 isn’t that bad. For example, for 35 employees, that’s a cost of $428/employee/year or only $36/employee/month. Since this also includes payroll, benefit provision, and all of the perks of talent management— it’s really not a bad deal for a growing company.

BambooHR:has a very easy setup process compared to Namely and BirdogHR. The system is simple to set up by one’s self, which is free, or you can pay for a quick start training course for $200 that includes homework and other interactive training.

When compared to Namely and BirdDogHR, BambooHR’s expectation of 2-4 weeks of implementation time is by far the shortest. The implementation price is also more reasonable than both of our other featured systems.

Here is a screenshot of what you see in BambooHR once you are set up:

BirdDogHR–After a 15 minute discovery call, I was then put on a 30 minute “get to know you” call with 2 BirdDog HR representatives. After this call, I was then finally set up on a 2-hour long talent management software demo (the 4 main segments can be done all in one call or piecemeal). There were 2 reps on my account working with me, and both were incredibly friendly and personable.

一旦我们完成了最后的演示,他们closed it with a proposal and timeline for implementation. They pride themselves on one of their main points as being quick to implement, and they claim that implementation and setup is 30 days or less per module, but since there are several modules, it is unclear how long it would take to implement the whole system. When I asked about this, it seems that it really does vary according to the reps by each company, so I think a safe range for implementation would be 90-180 days, which makes it much longer than BambooHR.

There are also several implementation charges with set up. While they waived one of them since I was asking about the whole package, they still have a significant amount of setup fees that makes BambooHR the clear budget winner.

Here is what you see when you log into the dashboard of BirdDogHR:

Namely, similar to BirdDogHR, also required a 3 step process in order to get to an actual demonstration of the software. This seemed to be a bit long-winded, especially since there is no free trial of the software, so you can’t just log in and play around to see how Namely works and if it naturally makes sense to you (like BambooHR’s free 2 weeks).

一旦我们完成了最后的演示,他们closed it with not even an official complete proposal or cost estimate. Implementation from a PEO to their system can take 3-4 months because of the benefits element; so for a company who is not with a PEO, it may be shorted. The reason for this longer implementation is that Namely is also a full HR solution and offers payroll and benefit services along with its talent management system.

There is also a one time charge of $5,000 for a setup fee, which is not horrible considering you are also getting payroll and benefits software.

Here is what you see when you log into the dashboard of Namely:

BambooHR:BambooHR has both an applicant tracking and recruitment software included with its package, which is the same as BirdDogHR. BambooHR’s system is complete enough to replace any ATS or recruitment software you already have, but they also integrate with a number of systems (see below)- so if you already use one you love, it might already be connected.

The way BambooHR recruiting and applicant tracking works is:

1. You can post job openings directly from inside the system.
2. Your jobs will then post to Glassdoor and Indeed, as well as social channels like Facebook, Twitter, and Google Plus
3. You can then add hiring managers to each job. The hiring managers then get “pinged” via email when an applicant is ready for them to view.
4. You can also email candidates through the system, save notes, and review them with a stars ranking system. This creates a nice record of communication, so, at-a-glance, you can see where candidates are in the process.
5. You can schedule interviews from the system.
6. You can send offer letters to potential new hires and have them e-signed and stored.

BambooHR also stores the candidates’ information so that say, if you wanted add another role that you filled 6 months prior, you could easily go search through the applicants and top candidates from the last hiring round.

BambooHR also integrates with 9 other companies in this space, including:

• CATS
• iApplicant
• Newton
• JazzHR
• ApplicantPro
• HiringThing
• Jobvite
• Greenhouse
• COMPAS

Here is a screenshot of the hiring dashboard with example jobs from the free trial:

BirdDogHR:BirdDogHR, like BambooHR, also has a complete ATS and recruitment software package as a part of its plan. Their plan has 4 components:

• Custom Careers Company Website (aka job posts embedded on your website with the code provided by BirdDogHR)
• Employee Referrals
• Job Boards
• Social Media Integration

To expand on the job boards included, while the names of the job boards were not disclosed, their reps told me that they “push out to all the usual free and small fee job boards” and include up to 350 of those in their systems. They also have paid options with several of the larger partners like LinkedIn. This is pretty similar to BambooHR, except it sounds like even more of an expansive reach, which can be a huge advantage if you have had a tough time recruiting for your small business.

The way BirdDogHR recruiting and applicant tracking works is:

1. You can post job openings directly from inside the system.
2. Your jobs will then post to job boards and your careers’ portal, plus any social media platforms you integrate to BirdDogHR. You can also send it to your employees to share with their networks.
3. Then, you can customize everything about the application process from the hiring managers involved to how candidates apply.
4. You can email, schedule interviews, and rank candidates in the system.
5. 你也可以添加在评估或背景checks/drug screening options, which are unique to BirdDogHR. This could make BirdDogHR a standout option for those businesses, like financial services, who require background checks.

Aside from the assessments and background checks/drug screens, BirdDogHR also has some add-on reporting elements that can be turned on or off depending on your company size, like Affirmative Action Planning and EEOC diversity tracking.

Namely:The one major weakness to Namely as a whole is their lack of recruiting and applicant tracking software included in their software package. However, we still included them in this buyer’s guide becausethey integrate with several top players在市场上也工作得很好with small businesses. They also have an open API, which is a fancy way of saying, even if your ATS and recruitment software isn’t on here, the softwares can probably “talk” to each other.

Namely integrates with 9 companies in this space, including:

• iCims
• JazzHR
• Jobvite
• Greenhouse
• Lever
• The Applicant Manager
• Workable
• Comeet
• JobScore

即没有任何意图s to expand into recruiting and applicant tracking; this could make it a deal-breaker for companies with high turnover or constant recruiting needs, making BambooHR or BirdDogHR a better fit.

BambooHR:BambooHR has a performance management system as an add on module at $1/extra per employee per month, which still makes it the budget buy over BirdDogHR and Namely. BambooHR’s performance module is very similar to both BirdDogHR’s and to Namely’s although their appearance is really different.

As you can see in the screenshot below, BambooHR makes it easy to set up performance management thanks to a simple timeline feature and other easy tools.

You can customize:

• Who is included in the performance management module
• You can then either turn on or off goals, peer feedback, and 360 reviews (aka self and manager assessment)
• You can then set the review schedule right from the get-go

The bottom part of the screen (which you can’t see in the screenshot) also lets you set up the broad template of organization-wide performance, which you can then customize for each person, which is similar to both BirdDogHR and Namely’s set up as well.

BambooHR also integrates with Bullseye Engagement and Performance Pro, in case you already work with one of them as your performance management provider.

Below is a screenshot on how you would set up the different facets of performance management for your team:

BirdDogHR:BirdDogHR has a thorough performance management module included in the software for no extra fee. The module includes:

• Unlimited performance management forms
• A competency library
• A customizable scoring scale
• The ability to do 360 reviews
• The ability for employees to do self reviews
• The ability to trigger probationary reviews for new employees
• 9 box grid evaluations, which are the “hot” performance ratings these days. They are like a visual concept of someone’s performance and are great for comparing employees.

Though we do not have any screenshots of the BirdDogHR performance management aspect, I can tell you that it appeared to be as easy to use as BambooHR. Their team was also willing to include setting up of the performance reviews and training for this module in the setup process.

Namely:Namely also has a complete performance management system, like the other 2 softwares do, included in its product. There is no fee for this product on top of the contract fees, and it is actually one of the original reasons Namely was created.

Namely’s performance management system includes:

• The ability to track skills, experience, learning, and certifications in employees’ profiles
• The ability to track OKRs, KPIS, values- whatever you want to call them- any form of goal setting works!
• Self reviews
• Manager only reviews
• Peer reviews
• 360 degree reviews

Similar to BirdDogHR, I do not have any screenshots of Namely’s performance management module. Namely’s performance management appeared to be easy to use and intuitive, as much so as BirdDogHR and BambooHR, for both the manager and employees.

BambooHR:BambooHR’s unique features are really driven by process and efficiency, which is their main premise to their entire system. These additional features include:

• Organizational charting is included
• BambooHR is multilingual with 7 languages and an employee can set their choice language
• Company assets tab, where you can track company equipment. This is super useful if you provide computers or other equipment to employees.
• You can create a custom workflows and approvals to save time on everything, from how to give a promotion to how to get approval for purchasing equipment.
• They have a great extensive reports dashboard, where you can also create custom reports as well.

BambooHR’s extra features would work really well for a tech company, or any company who really values time, efficiency, and process. It’s a system where you can set things up and forget, since they’ll run automatically.

BirdDogHR:BirdDogHR has also has a few unique additional features that work well for companies that need regular training – like a call center, large retailer, or manufacturing plant.

BirdDogHR’s additional features include:

• Employee Onboarding— complete with customizable steps, BirdDogHR has complete employee onboarding with document storage included.
• Ad Hoc Reporting— these can be customized, scheduled, and automatically sent via email to whoever needs them.
• Learning Management System— an add-on module that has 2 levels, one which includes 40 online courses and another with over 100 courses. BirdDogHR’s learning management is a great feature for businesses that require regular training or job diversification.
• Certification Management— if you have employees with licenses, you can program in their licenses and expiration dates- as well as reminders to renew them in advance.

Here is a sample of the employee onboarding steps that BirdDogHR takes care of:

Namely:If you are a business looking for an all-in-one HR solution, the additional features section is where Namely stands out over BambooHR and BirdDogHR. While the other two systems have useful additional features, Namely instead has crucial features like payroll and benefits.

The notable additional features of Namely are:

• Payroll Provider— Namely is a full service payroll and the filings with payroll are done in all 50 states.
• Benefit Provider— Namely is a full service benefits enrollment as an independent insurance broker.
• Employee Engagement— Namely has a Facebook-style feed that can be customized for every company and can be incredibly interactive for employees such as discussions, birthdays, and other styles of posts.
• Employee Onboarding— Namely’s onboarding is a template-driven process; you can set it and forget it. The system will run itself for new employees.

BambooHR:BambooHR’s customer support has phone support, email support and live chat support available from 8am – 6pm MST, Mon-Fri. Even though they do not work on weekends, I found the customer support at BambooHR to be excellent. The reviews around the web say the same about their customer service: above & beyond at all costs to make the customer happy.

BirdDogHR:One of the main points of BirdDogHR’s company motto isService. They try to have the epitome of customer service in a few different ways. First, you are assigned a dedicated Account Manager who can answer questions for you and always be your point of contact. Next, BirdDogHR’s customer services by phone and email is available from 8am – 5pm CST Monday-Friday, which is nearly the same as BambooHR’s.

BirdDogHR customer service folks all sit together in Iowa— so you’ll be talking to a real person who might even be sitting next to the person you spoke to last time. The company emphasized that their current customers appreciate this a lot and that communication between the reps on accounts is thorough. All research on the web points to the same.

Namely:Namely gets an edge on both BirdDogHR and BambooHR with its 24/7 email and phone customer support. Neither of the other 2 systems is available 24 hours per day, every day. This could be a big advantage for you if you have a complex schedule or if you know you will also be using it for payroll and benefits.While we didn’t have any exposure to customer service, the ratings online of their customer service are very good, similar to the other two softwares. They are efficient, easy to work with, and resolve your issues quickly, according to various review websites. This is not surprising since the people who did my setup and demo were also professional, friendly, and quick to resolve anything I wanted to know.