If you have multiple workflows that need to be streamlined, a full HR suite might be a better fit for your business. HR management software systems are robust solutions that can streamline everything from recruiting and onboarding to managing benefits - and everything else in between. To determine which requirements your business will set, you need to ask yourself and your internal stakeholders a series of questions to truly understand what kind of system you need.
The next step will include direct engagement with vendors. Your selection team has hopefully come up with a group of vendors that will form part of your final selection pool. Before taking this step, the following points should be individually considered by your team before moving onto the next step of vendor engagement. These steps, taken together, can be looked at as a decision-making process for vendors:.
Software configurations are industry specific, therefore vendors must be well versed on industry regulations, best practices, legal requirements and union regulations. With so many different software to choose from, do some research to see how long your vendor has been in business and what their future looks like.
Much of the content that they provide with the software is legal in nature and will require ongoing updating to ensure it is relevant. A vendor should offer a significant level of service and support post-purchase. Organizations with a larger workforce have serious responsibilities to their employees.
If your payroll data has errors and cannot be submitted for processing, your vendor must be prepared to step in and resolve the problem. Make sure you have obtained and verified vendor references that are specific to your industry before seriously considering a business relationship with that vendor. This is an investment that will be in place for a significant length of time, hence the importance of taking your time to choose wisely. Selecting the right workforce management software to meet your needs can be a daunting task.
Defining your own list of requirements is the best way to determine what capabilities you truly need from a system and can even help you discover which category of solutions you should consider. Or, take a look at our comparison guide which breaks down the features and benefits of leading platforms on the market.
Workforce Suite, formerly known as EmpCenter, is a full-service suite from Workforce Software that provides a variety of HR software, designed to meet the needs of businesses of all sizes. With buying options specific to businesses in 10 different industries, Workforce Software caters to organizations with a variety of needs. By utilizing features such as time and attendance, labor scheduling and labor analytics users can streamline their HR processes and facilitate interactions between managers and employees.
Managers are able to collect, track and analyze data to recognize trends within the company and improve existing business practices. Managers can leverage its functionalities to streamline workflows and gain insights into progress of specific tasks. With high-level overviews of work processes and employee performance, managers are able to forecast future business needs and generate efficient schedules.
There are also integration options for businesses with more comprehensive needs. Paylocity is an all-in-one cloud payroll solution that enables organizations of every size to execute administrative tasks such as talent acquisition, time and labor management, and other core processes. Its functionality includes multiple configuration options that allow companies to customize according to their needs. It contains robust security measures such as encryption, real-time backups and secure data centers.
It also has a user-friendly mobile app that is compatible with both iOS and Android devices. SAP SuccessFactors Workforce Planning is a people management solution that helps managers plan goals and ensure objectives alignment with the business strategy.
It also helps improve efficiency and productivity across the workforce. It combines strategic planning capabilities with headcount planning, enabling businesses to create a roadmap. Some of the core capabilities include forecasting, financial modeling, risk analysis, strategy bank and workforce planning. Aladtec is a cloud-based software suite designed to manage complex workflows for public safety and large-scale enterprises.
It offers staff scheduling and employee management to organizations and businesses that operate around-the-clock. It streamlines and automates crucial HR tasks, like shift management and staff scheduling.
It provides an integrated online setup for shift scheduling, attendance, payroll reporting, tracking certifications, document management, file storage, compliance management and more. Aspect Workforce Management provides solutions designed for call centers to forecast and plan staffing needs in advance. Using it enables companies to ensure accurate workforce availability in real time for seamless enterprise management.
Users can also leverage it for scheduling and tracking to ensure that the right level of expertise is available on time. Features include scheduling, analytics, forecasts and automation. Synerion offers a full-service suite and standalone modules to meet a variety of HR needs. Companies can leverage it to manage workforce activities such as scheduling, monitoring time and attendance, generating reports and more. Two package options are available to cater to businesses of different sizes, enabling easy management of the workforce.
It also offers labor costing, time clocks, reporting and analytics, timesheets and more. JDA Workforce Management helps users to strategically plan how to best utilize team members based on their strengths and weaknesses. It's able to assist with labor planning, budgeting, scheduling and task management along with a variety of other vital tasks. The WFM system comes fully equipped with mobile capabilities that benefit the entire team. Individual employees are able to utilize mobile tools that will help increase their work productivity and help them to provide a better customer experience.
Oracle Workforce Management is a web-based solution that helps managers align business strategies and workforce plans. It automates the process of time and attendance recordkeeping and also offers forecasting of workload demand and labor. Users can leverage it for creating a safer workplace, ensuring accurate time and data entry, managing workforce schedules, and more.
Users have access to a broad range of features and additional integrations to complete a variety of core human resources tasks. Facilitating management of both full- and part-time employees as well as hourly or salaried employees, it is customizable to meet the specific needs of any business.
Users have the option to start with the full deployment of modules or begin with a single module and build from there. SumTotal is a configurable, unified platform that enables businesses to attract, build and retain talent. Its modules deliver capabilities for talent acquisition, talent development, learning management, talent management and workforce management. Cloud-based and on-premise deployment is available, and it can be used on smartphones or tablets.
Five9 is a cloud contact center solution to facilitate customer engagement globally. It helps enhance agent and supervisor productivity, increase revenue, and improve the customer experience.
Along with simplifying the complexities of a contact center, it also reduces the cost of on-premises maintenance. Other offerings include historical dashboards, agent scripting, web callback, speech-enabled IVR, pre-built CRM integrations and more.
NOVAtime is a full-service workforce management software designed to automate core human resources tasks. Suitable for businesses of all sizes, it comprises multiple functionalities that work together to meet a variety of needs. Each of these functionalities can also act as stand-alone options for businesses in search of more targeted task automation without the need for integrative capabilities.
Meta4 is a unified cloud-based software that provides HCM, talent management, compensation and workforce management services. Designed to address both local and global needs for companies of all sizes, it manages the complete HR cycle, from payroll and personnel administration to global talent management. Infor CloudSuite Workforce Management is a cloud-based labor management software designed to meet the needs of businesses of all sizes.
It helps businesses ensure regulatory and legislative compliance, reduce labor costs and boost employee performance. It facilitates time and attendance tracking, schedule building and provides managers with insights into overall business performance. Managers can leverage the software to optimize core HR processes and manage all team members, conveniently through a single interface.
Boomr is a time tracking solution for businesses of all sizes. It is web-based, with mobile support for Android and iOS. It allows for shift scheduling, employee monitoring and project tracking.
It is highly integrable, enabling external payroll, HR and productivity management. Automation tools can automate processes like time off accrual tracking. It works for businesses with multiple locations and varying job sites, with multiple office support options and live GPS tracking.
Skedulo Deskless Productivity Cloud is designed to help manage workers, whether they are based at a single, fixed site or are mobile. It streamlines scheduling, performance evaluations and other similar tasks to provide insights into productivity and improve efficiency.
It fosters communication between team members at every level, helping to ensure that employees and managers are always aware of changes. By automating and streamlining essential tasks, the software increases productivity and efficiency as well as fosters a positive environment for both workers and business clients.
Workforce Dimensions now known as UKG Dimensions helps automate and streamline important processes like scheduling, payroll, compensation management and timekeeping. Integration, a mobile app and artificial intelligence support streamlined operations. Reports, data collection, talent acquisition and performance management are some of the core features offered. Payserv supports and develops employees with robust management features provided by its Workforcethrive software. Users can securely access their information from any internet-enabled device through a simplified, single source.
It connects critical processes like payroll and time management to optimize daily operations. It is designed to serve medium to large-sized businesses and supports human capital management, scheduling, employee performance and more.
It can also help users stay compliant with various benefits guidelines. It is available through a cloud-based deployment strategy. With a range of HR products, SmartLinx provides users with capabilities that can either function individually or integrate to work together as a full suite.
By focusing on people management, it helps users to optimize workflows and boost workplace productivity and efficiency. Some of its capabilities include time and attendance, payroll and scheduling. ADP Workforce Now provides a comprehensive suite of tools that help organizations handle payroll, time and attendance, talent management, benefits administration, and other HR processes.
The modules enable organizations to efficiently manage the complexities of the employee lifecycle. The cloud-based platform is best suited for midsized and enterprise organizations with 50 employees or more. Built on a single, configurable database, the software facilitates data syncing across different components to reduce manual entry and data errors. Embedded with protective layers such as physical security, intelligent detection, fraud defense and other mechanisms, the HRM system also provides enhanced security and data privacy.
ATOSS assists businesses in cloud-based management of their workforces. It allows businesses to forecast and plan for unforeseen circumstances like changes in the demand for and availability of personnel.
Suitable for companies of all sizes in most industries, it aims to align demand and cost-based personnel availability with requirements for efficiency.
Its main attributes include forecasting, capacity planning, scheduling, self services and more. Ecotime, designed by Huntington Business Systems, serves businesses of all sizes and was designed to be scalable to meet the needs of growing businesses. It streamlines and automates a variety of core HR tasks, including scheduling and reporting.
Integrative capabilities allow managers to customize the software to meet the unique needs of the business. Streamlining workflows can result in reduced labor costs, increased employee satisfaction and more informed decision making.
Push Operations is a cloud-based solution that enables organizations to manage a workforce. It automates payroll, time and attendance, scheduling, reporting, tip management and more for improved efficiency and reduced labor costs. Users can manage shifts, access reports in real time and seamlessly communicate.
It also offers flexible access on mobile devices, integrations and features that aid compliance. Humanity is a cloud-based workforce management solution that manages project schedules, payroll and documentation. Organizations can access actionable data to optimize staffing based on employee skill set, staff availability and historical sales and sales forecasts. Strategy mapping software resolves the age-old tensions between HR and leadership.
A strategy map aims to build a graphical strategy representation that can be used to communicate and align every one of your employees as a crucial contributor to the organization strategy.
It can guarantee clarity, connectedness, and communication between what the organization needs and HR. The solution takes both soft skills and behavioral competencies into consideration. It uses data-driven results to ensure you identify emerging leaders and make the best predictive hiring decisions. Best of all — TalenX puts your business right at the very center and helps you strategize your workforce to meet your organizational goals.
Also known as the performance and potential matrix, the 9-Box grid is a highly effective visual tool used to help assess talent in organizations. In an organization and within a department, each employee is mapped within one of nine boxes along an X and Y-axis.
The box assesses employees on two dimensions — past performance and future potential. To use this grid, the team leader rates each member of their team and places them in a 9-Box grid. The X-axis, which consists of three boxes along the horizontal line, assesses leadership performance. The Y-axis, which consists of three boxes along the vertical line, assesses potential performance.
A combination of the X and Y-axis results in a box within the grid where the employee is placed. The 9-Box grid is a top-rated performance management tool because it is simple but extremely effective. It can be used to plan employee development, identify potential leaders, and top performers, and plan organizational improvement.
Quite similar to the 9-Box grid is TalenX. Today, HR dashboards play a critical role in data-driven HR departments. Apart from providing stakeholders with an overview of crucial information, the HR dashboard also provides HR personnel with quick insights to make essential talent management decisions.
The good news is that the latest HR software systems are made up of dashboards that are easy to discern. Some HR dashboards include:. We take this into account when writing our reviews. Homebase is one of the best free employee scheduling software solutions on the market. From retailers to caterers, it helps business owners come up with schedules that work both for them and their employees.
With a simple drop-and-drag interface, you can quickly create a timetable for the following week or a specific employee. Team communication is made easy with the free app, which lets you send unlimited texts and emails without paying a dime.
Homebase also boasts a time-tracker that will further help you manage your staff. The software is available in three languages: English, Spanish and French.
With this free employee scheduling program, you can organize your team within one location, regardless of how many employees you have. Commonly used by retailers, restaurateurs, and fitness trainers, this software lets you create daily, weekly, and monthly timetables. You also have the option to build your schedule by department, role, or employee.
By allowing this much flexibility in schedule creation, Homebase really stands out from the competition. Once you create a weekly timetable, you can store it as a template and reuse it for the next week. Naturally, you can also make adjustments to that template. But the fact you can come back to it as a starting point is a huge time-saver. Homebase is very simple to navigate, from the sign-up process to managing shift swaps. You can create your account with just a few clicks by entering your personal and professional information.
If you use a POS system or payroll software , this is even easier — you can just import a file with employee data. Creating your first weekly timetable using this employee scheduling tool will be a breeze thanks to the drop-and-drag menu. You and your entire team will be on the same page in no time. Informing your staff of their working hours is hassle-free with Homebase. As soon as you create the timetable, you can send it to employees as a text or email via the app.
You can choose to message only your managers, the entire team, just the people working today, or any of your coworkers directly. A feature of this shift scheduling freeware that your team members will love is setting their availability in advance. This will save you a lot of back-and-forth with your employees, who will ultimately be much happier with their schedule.
The designers behind Homebase have really gone out of their way to streamline the staff-management process. You probably know how annoying it is to send a timetable to a worker and never hear back from them. Its time clock feature also makes it an attendance-tracking tool that eliminates the need for paper time cards.
After you install the Homebase app, every computer, phone, tablet, and even POS system becomes a timeclock.
All the data collected is stored in the cloud and can be imported into your payroll software. Since Homebase was designed with restaurateurs and retailers in mind, it also integrates with POS systems like Square and Lightspeed.
You can browse the Homebase app to find industry-tested job descriptions for the most common positions, or write your own. Post the add on Facebook, Google, GlassDoor, or your company website. As applications start coming in, manage them all in your hiring dashboard.
The free version of Homebase is packed with useful features other companies charge for. With some competitors, you need to pay a monthly fee to be able to plan shifts far ahead or when your workforce exceeds a certain number of employees. With this payment plan — called the Essentials package — you also get more advanced messaging tools, visibility into employee performance, and advanced scheduling features. With the Plus plan, you can control the cost of labor with forecasts, policies, and alerts.
You can also count on Homebase to send you notifications so that you stay compliant with local laws. According to Homebase reviews written by users, the support team is very friendly and helpful. With an unlimited number of both workers and locations, Sling employee schedule maker is another great option for managers of large, decentralized teams.
This program, available as both a web application and a mobile app, gives competitors a run for their money, since it also boasts unlimited long-term planning. It has a 4. This employee schedule app is free, yet fully functional. Employees love it because it provides a simple method of communication with their superiors, be it about available hours, time off, or job locations.
Similarly, managers praise it because it enables them to make schedule changes on the go. Those with the paid version share positive reviews about the time clock feature, regardless of their position in the team. Workers are happy they can clock in from their phones, while business owners appreciate the fact they can export that data to a payroll system. You can sign up for this team scheduling software free version on the Sling website in just a few easy steps. Your name, email address, and business name will suffice.
When you sign up for the free version, you get access to all the paid features for 14 days. Tech-savvy business managers find Sling to be very intuitive, with a minimal learning curve. There are dozens of explanatory articles, videos, and demos in the Help Center. The articles are backed with screen captures to provide complete clarity. This can be very time-consuming for business owners with large teams.
You can also send timecards created on Square to Sling. This allows you to compare scheduled and actual hours and costs, or export timesheets to be used in your payroll system. In addition to the Square integration, Sling can be synced with Google Calendar. Regrettably, this is available only on the paid plans. It should be noted that other work scheduling software solutions on our list provide a wider selection of integration options. In case you encounter any issues while using this free employee scheduling program you can get in touch with customer support representatives in a number of ways.
The quickest option is via live chat, which is accessible from your Sling online account and mobile app. If you are managing a large team over multiple locations, then Sling is definitely an option worth considering. This work scheduling freeware offers everything you need to create timetables far in advance across as many sites as you need, with detailed notes and instructions. It also facilitates internal communication with the free app. Moving from the free option to the Premium plan unlocks time tracking, labor cost management, and budgeting.
If you have a smaller team in a single location, you could get some of these features for free with Homebase. It includes all the previously mentioned features, plus centralized time clock, PTO tracking, and reports. This scheduling program has no limitations regarding users and locations. That makes it extremely appealing to those coordinating teams of college professors and student tutors giving lessons throughout a college campus, or for restaurateurs who employ hourly staff in chain restaurants.
You have the option of color-coding employees or positions so you can create a timetable in which you can distinguish shifts at a glance. After you create a schedule, you can send it to all your employees with a single click. This is a much simpler solution than texting each worker or putting up a printed timetable on the newsboard.
Sling lets you copy schedule templates so you never have to create the same timetable twice. If any changes occur, you can make the necessary adjustments and notify your co-workers via the Sling app. When you want to revise a schedule, you can filter it by employee name, position, location, group, or shift hours.
This free workforce scheduling software is on par with major competitors when it comes to facilitating team communication. Apart from allowing employees to set their availability, it also lets you give your staff even more autonomy by creating open shifts. Send out a notification with details about the shift, like time and location, to all the workers with the right skillset and assign it to whoever replies first. Shift notifications are an amazing automatic tool that reduces absenteeism and tardiness.
Sling reviews left by hourly workers from the catering industry emphasize how helpful this feature is. Workforce management in the hospitality sector can be a highly complex process.
For instance, running a restaurant involves grappling with everything from shift scheduling to sick days and time-off requests. Enter 7shifts — a free employee work scheduler specifically designed for restaurants. While the free plan can satisfy all of your core scheduling needs, it can only be used for up to ten employees and one location.
The more advanced features are reserved for paid plans. The schedules are created on a weekly basis. This free employee schedule builder relies on a drag-and-drop system, further streamlining the whole process. The software automatically checks the availability of employees for a particular shift, relieving you of the burden of having to do it manually.
This is made possible by the integrated Time Off Requests system that managers use to approve vacations and track sick days. This free employee scheduling software comes with a number of other impressive features including the labor compliance tracker. It alerts you about any overtime, split shifts, or labor compliance issues, which lower your labor costs by helping you avoid any unnecessary premiums or penalties.
Once you complete the online scheduling, all relevant employees are immediately notified via the mobile app. If the schedule is updated at any point, the workers are notified of the changes. Quick and effective communication with both employees and other managers is crucial when running a restaurant. Aside from notifying employees about their schedules, 7shifts has an embedded messaging system that allows you to chat directly with your workforce. Furthermore, you can send announcements to the entire team, which is really useful when you need to share quick updates like menu changes or promotions.
Through the 7shifts free staff scheduling app, you can also set customizable tasks for the whole shift or for individual employees. This helps them keep track of all their assignments. Employees can then mark tasks as completed, which gives you a better idea of the level of productivity.
Meanwhile, the Manager Log Book guarantees a secure line of communication between you and your managers, assistant managers and admins. You can use this tool to keep all of your managers informed of any promotions and other changes in the company. Employees can leave anonymous feedback through the staff scheduling app at the end of each shift, allowing you to keep track of any problems and get a sense of employee satisfaction.
The app has several major functions. The first is creating and publishing schedules on the go for any of your locations. The employee scheduling app also notifies workers when a schedule is published or updated. This eliminates the possibility of employees not knowing their schedules since they receive notifications on their phone.
Furthermore, you can choose to send automatic shift reminders to workers through the application. Employees can also request a shift trade with their coworkers through the app.
In addition, the free work scheduling app allows you to track basic attendance metrics in real-time as well as survey workers for COVID symptoms ahead of their shifts. You can also contact customer support through email, live chat, or by phone. Unfortunately, this form of assistance is reserved for customers using paid plans. Comp is the free plan and covers your basic scheduling needs. The plan gives you access to scheduling, an app, rudimentary clock features, time off requests, checks for COVID symptoms, basic reporting, and the employee engagement dashboard.
The money buys you advanced reporting capabilities, SMS notifications for employees, live support, POS system integration, payroll integration as well as a slew of other workforce management and business analytics features.
One of the more prominent features that the monthly schedule maker offers with this plan is the machine learning Auto-Scheduler, which automatically creates schedules based on labor targets and projected sales.
The first thing we must tell you here is that this free employee scheduling software is only free for 14 days. If you decide to go with When I Work as your scheduler of choice, you will be pleasantly surprised by how much just a couple of taps can accomplish. You can create and manage all schedules on the go with this employee scheduling app , but we recommend completing the initial setup from your desktop, as a larger screen will significantly speed up the process.
Creating a work schedule is a piece of cake, as the UI is beautifully - and intuitively! To create a new work schedule , type in its name, maximum available hours, and location or address. Adding employees, locations, and shifts is a similar process, and it takes just a couple of clicks with When I Work employee scheduling.
You can also import a CSV employee database to speed things up. After the basics, you can also set up automatic scheduling, too. When I Work excels on this front. Onboarding is streamlined by allowing managers to invite employees to the app - no more collecting phone numbers and worrying about keeping them safe with this staff scheduling app.