Human Resources

4 Best HR Tools for Effective Workforce Management

Saumya Srivastava profile picture
By Saumya Srivastava

Published
7 min read

HR software records employee data to assist in hiring, development, and retention.

As a human resource (HR) professional, you might have to juggle multiple tasks such as hiring the right candidate, processing payroll, or organizing on-the-job training. While multitasking between HR functions, you may make mistakes such as missing out on the right candidate or incorrectly calculating an employee’s pay. However, using HR software can help you manage all the tasks in an orderly fashion with on-time completion.

HR software tools assist in workforce management processes such as hiring, onboarding, performance management, training, and payroll management. The tool automates the process of capturing and storing employee records and information across different aspects of the employee lifecycle. Having a software solution can significantly reduce your time spent on manually managing routine tasks and identifying errors, letting you focus on improving the employee experience.

If you’re looking for solutions to streamline and simplify your day-to-day tasks, HR software is the answer. Here’s a list of the four best HR software tools (sorted alphabetically) based on user ratings and reviews from the HR industry. (Read the complete methodology here.)

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1. ADP Workforce Now: Features a single dashboard to manage all HR functions

ADP Workforce Now is a cloud-based HR tool that offers a single dashboard for all your employee management tasks such as payroll, time tracking, and benefits.

Using ADP Workforce Now's dashboard, you can add new employees to the payroll, manage employee documents, review tax forms, calculate paychecks, and more. In addition, the tool automatically updates employee data across various components of the employee lifecycle. This helps your HR team reduce the time spent on manually adding or editing employee information with reduced possibility of errors.

This HR management software also integrates with third-party applications such as employee resource planning (ERP) software, accounting tools, and learning management solutions (LMS). The integration allows you to churn out and manage enterprise-wide employee data without having to switch between different HR software or using multiple tools.

ADP Workforce Now offers email, help desk, chat, and 24/7 live representative support. The software has a mobile app for Android and iOS devices.

Key Features

  • Compensation management
  • Digital record keeping
  • Learning management
  • Performance management

Trial/Free Version

  • Free Trial
  • Free Version

Starting price

Available on quote

Device compatibility

Screenshots

ADP Workforce Now

Candidate profile in ADP Workforce Now

* Analysis accurate as of May 2022

2. Gusto: Offers full-service payroll management system

Gusto is an HR tool for all your payroll management needs such as tax e-filing, tracking the hours worked, calculating the employees’ pay, and managing benefits. In addition, it also helps maintain accuracy and compliance in payroll processes by tracking the changing tax laws and calculating taxes and other deductions from the employees’ pay.

Using Gusto, you can also take care of employee compensation needs such as medical reimbursement or insurance. The employee can apply for the same online by answering a few questions about the incident being claimed. These details sync with the third-party insurance provider app to facilitate the reimbursement on time.

As an HR and payroll software, Gusto allows access to employee behavior insights on factors including workforce costing, compensation benefits, and compliance by conducting feedback surveys. The feedback helps you get a better understanding of how the employees feel about the existing payroll processes and highlights any scope of improvement.

Gusto is web-based and offers email, help desk, chat, and phone support.

best functionality

Key Features

  • Applicant tracking system
  • Compensation management
  • Direct deposits
  • E-verification
  • Electronic forms
  • Employee engagement

Trial/Free Version

  • Free Trial
  • Free Version

Starting price

$39 per month

Device compatibility

Screenshots

Gusto

Candidate payroll in Gusto

* Analysis accurate as of May 2022

3. Kronos Workforce Central: Offers employee self-service portal

Kronos Workforce Central is a workforce management suite that offers a self-service portal, which allows employees to add, update, or check information such as leave balance, attendance, payslips, and reimbursement claims without having to reach out to the HR team. This helps you steer away from regular administrative work and focus on other value-adding HR functions.

Using Kronos Workforce Central’s timekeeping and tracking feature, you also get real-time alerts as to when an employee is reaching overtime or has exhausted the paid time off. Such insights help maintain accuracy in labor costing with fewer off-cycle paychecks and avoid wasteful payroll costs associated with errors and inflation in the employee work hours.

The data and analytics feature of the tool provides visibility into how your workforce is performing against the set goals and benchmarks. You can use such performance insights to build better work schedules for employees, enhance their productivity, and keep payroll costs in control.

Kronos Workforce Central offers email and phone support. The software has a mobile app for Android and iOS devices.

4. Paylocity: Offers custom corporate training courses

Paylocity is an HR solution that takes care of your employees’ needs right from hiring to their on-the-job training and development. The tool offers learning management solutions in addition to hiring, onboarding, and payroll processing. The LMS allows you to assign courses tailored to train employees on new skills, policies, products, and more.

Using Paylocity, you can select from a variety of course delivery methods for employees, including on-demand and webinars. It also offers pre-designed training modules on health and wellness, remote working, workplace inclusion, and more. You can also utilize its engagement and collaboration tools such as surveys and polls to build interest among employees.

Paylocity’s reporting and analytics feature helps you stay informed about employee attendance and performance. In addition, it offers peer collaboration features to increase employee engagement and productivity. The tool’s integrated dashboard allows you to connect its features with other third-party HR management tools and solutions. These include enterprise resource planning (ERP), employee benefits administration, performance management, and employee background verification.

Paylocity offers chat, email, and phone support. The software has a mobile app for Android and iOS devices.

Key Features

  • Applicant tracking system
  • Benefits management
  • Check printing
  • Compensation management
  • Compliance dashboard
  • Electronic form verification

Trial/Free Version

  • Free Trial
  • Free Version

Starting price

Available on quote

Device compatibility

Screenshots

Employee time sheet in Paylocity

* Analysis accurate as of May 2022

How to choose the best HR tools for your business

When looking for the best HR tools, here are some considerations to keep in mind:

  • Look for an employee self-service portal: A self-service portal allows employees to make changes to their employment details and daily schedule without depending on the HR manager. This saves you time and effort, which you can utilize for other value-adding tasks.

  • Assess the real-time alerts and updates feature: Information related to employee schedules such as attendance and leaves should be updated in real time for easy payroll management. In addition, you should be able to receive immediate alerts as to when an employee has reached overtime to cut wasteful payroll costs.

  • Look for e-filing and verification of forms: Downloading, filling, and uploading on-paper forms can be a hassle, especially with multiple forms required during the onboarding process. E-filing and verification of forms save time with a paperless process and reduce the likelihood of manual errors. Using the software, both you and the employee can fill and sign the forms via a computer or smartphone.

Common questions to ask while selecting HR software tools

Ask the software vendors the following questions related to your regular HR tasks to ensure buying one of the best HR tools for your organization's workforce management needs.

Does the software offer full-service payroll management?

The chosen HR software should address all the aspects of payroll such as tracking employee work hours, calculating taxes, e-filing, and managing benefits. Additionally, it should also offer editing capabilities during the documentation process to ensure error-free tax filing. The software should send alerts to both employees and the HR manager in case of data-validity issues such as incorrect employee information.

What type of employee training and development features are available?

Select an HR software solution that offers a self-service learning management system with a variety of training modules and delivery methods such as webinars and on-demand videos. The independence and flexibility will encourage continuous development as well as employee engagement. In addition, you should be able to assign and track training programs to assess the employees’ learning progress.

Does the software require third-party integration?

An ideal HR management software solution should address all your needs right from employee onboarding to offboarding. However, some software solutions that offer limited features allow application integration. Therefore, it is important to check the additional feature requirements as well as the available integration options. Some software vendors also provide a list of third-party applications they work well with.

How did we choose these products? We didn’t—you did

To find your ideal software match, you need information you can trust—so you can save time, stay on budget, and focus more energy on growing your business. It’s why we vet and verify all our user reviews and recommend only the tools endorsed by people like you.

In other words, our product recommendations are never bought or sold, or based on the opinion of a single individual—they’re chosen by your peers, reflecting the views and experiences of our independent base of software reviewers.

At Capterra, we objectively select, and rank products based on a methodology developed by our research team. Some vendors pay us when they receive web traffic, but this has no influence on our methodology.



Methodology

For this article, we selected the top 10 products from the 'Top Performers’ Quadrant’ in Capterra's Shortlist report for the human resource software category as of May 10, 2022. Read more about the Capterra Shortlist methodology here.

The final products selected had to meet the following criteria:

  1. Meet our market definition for human resource software: "Human resources (HR) software acts as the system of record for employee data. It helps HR leaders and personnel with the attraction, recruitment, management, engagement, and development of their employees."

  2. Have these core features as part of the HR software: employee database and reporting.

The “best functionality” tool is identified based on the highest user ratings for functionality that a vendor received based on publicly available reviews.

Disclaimer: We conducted this analysis based on reviews and ratings data as of May 10, 2022. In order to present the most up-to-date information, the product cards show real-time ratings. Please note that this means the ratings value in the product card may not reflect the ratings value at the time of analysis.


Looking for Human Resources software? Check out Capterra's list of the best Human Resources software solutions.

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About the Author

Saumya Srivastava profile picture

Saumya Srivastava is a writer at Capterra. She provides expert insights and helps small businesses identify the right software for their needs by conducting primary and secondary research and analyzing user sentiment. A postgraduate in mass communication, she has worked as a content creator for an educational website and an advertising agency. Her expertise lies in social media marketing and content strategy. When not working, she can be found meditating or spending time outdoors.

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