Strategic human resource management (HRM) is a proactive, future-oriented HR practice in which HR leadership develops and taps into current workforce talent to help a company achieve its broader business goals.

Being strategic about the strengths of a company’s people—and the rich skill sets and backgrounds they bring to the workplace—requires an understanding of how a company currently manages human resources and how they can be better leveraged to accomplish a goal. With a solid understanding of current HR management and a future state, a human resource strategy serves as a roadmap for how to get to the goal.

See also: Human Resources (HR) Software Guide

What is strategic human resource management?

Strategic human resource management is an approach to maximize the value that employees bring to an organization. In order to leverage a workforce in the most optimal way, companies need a human resources strategy.

A human resources strategy outlines how HR will develop and tap into employee strengths to add value and contribute to a company’s broader goals. Each company’s strategy will look different depending on the company size, industry, culture, goals, and current strengths and weaknesses.

What are the benefits of a human resources strategy?

Depending on the strategic emphasis, a company can reap the following benefits from an HR strategy:

• Orientation: A strategy provides a sense of direction and includes milestones and built-in accountability.
• Higher Morale: Having a people-centric plan that management, HR, and employees support has positive downstream effects on employee satisfaction, performance, and workplace culture.
• Stakeholder Empowerment: An actionable plan creates a sense of purpose, ownership, and responsibility for stakeholders at all levels. Empowerment boosts engagement which increases the chances of success.
• Better Retention: An HR strategy provides direction which, in turn, brings about a cohesive, more engaged workplace culture that employees want to be a part of. When employees want to stay, reduced turnover means decreased hiring expenditure.
• Preparation and Resilience: When HR has a strategy in place, it minimizes the chances of business disruption that can arise as a result of skills gaps or staffing shortages.

How to create a human resources strategy

Look at current business and HR data

Get a sense of the business’s current circumstances, pain points, and opportunities by first looking at current business data. Business intelligence software like Qlik or Tableau provide comprehensive as well as drill-down insights for points of improvement.

Read more: Qlik vs Tableau: BI Software Comparison

Compare comprehensive business data to HR-specific data from the human resources information system (HRIS) to identify points of overlap where HR can support and directly impact the company’s overarching goals.

For example, HR metrics that have ripple effects on the rest of the company include:

• Turnover rate, employee performance, and compensation strategy all impact finance.
• Employee performance, skills, gaps, and time to hire all impact if and how things get done, from day-to-day tasks to lofty initiatives.
• Skills gaps, time to hire, average employee tenure, and average time to promotion impact employee morale and company culture.
• Feedback about the workplace culture from exit interviews, pulse surveys, or reviews is a barometer for how well the company trains managers and leaders.

Set goals

Making these connections between people management and the business’s performance uncovers critical opportunities to act on. And these opportunities need to be backed by qualitative and quantitative data points like those noted above.

HRIS and BI software generate reports or display dashboards to identify opportunities for improvement in HR processes. Human capital management (HCM) systems with predictive people analytics, such as Workday HCM and Oracle HCM, go beyond assessing a company’s current needs by providing forecasting tools to make a well-informed data-driven decision about future workforce needs. These are good starting points to coming up with goals and an actionable HR strategy.

Also read: Workday vs Oracle HCM

Develop programs, processes, and policies to achieve your goals

Create goal- and budget-aligned programs, processes, and policies that feed into and support broader business strategy.

Programs, processes, and policies that HR might create to support the bigger business goals might fall within these general categories:

• Compensation and benefits to attract and retain top talent.
• Performance management to routinely assess and improve employees’ performance.
• Training and development to invest in employees’ professional development.
• Employee relations to cultivate a supportive, cohesive work environment to retain talent.

HR can plan for specific initiatives and set goals within these areas. For instance, if training and development is a priority to help the company expand into new markets, starting a mentoring program or rolling out a learning management system (LMS) are just a couple of ways HR can support that company goal.

Invest in the right software

The feasibility of people-centered initiatives doesn’t entirely fall on people to implement. Software tools help or even take over initiatives outlined in HR’s strategy, as they produce valuable insights, especially in goal-setting and progress-tracking.

Companies prioritizing efficient HR operations should check out HRIS software, as these typically include automations that boost HR efficiency and enable employee self-service. Examples include Rippling, Gusto, and ADP Run.

Rapidly growing companies prioritizing hiring in their HR strategy should invest in applicant tracking systems (ATS) and recruiting software. Applicant tracking systems like Greenhouse and JazzHR help companies manage candidate pipelines for multiple positions at once by keeping employees moving with automated workflows and candidate communication. Recruiting software solutions like Zenefits, Zoho People, and Breezy HR:

• Use AI to source and engage talent faster than the manual work of a hiring manager or hiring team.
• Syndicate job posts for maximum reach.
• Offer creative ways of tapping into often-overlooked talent pools through niche job boards, passive recruiting, and talent discovery tools.

Also read: 9 Employee Recruitment Strategies to Improve Your Hiring Process

Companies whose HR strategy focuses on people development and retention should utilize performance management software, such as BambooHR, Lattice, and Namely, for employee development.

Training, reskilling, and upskilling in a learning management system is a logical next step for employees who are ready to expand their skill set. Examples of top LMS include Absorb LMS, Docebo, and 360Learning.

Culture-oriented HR strategies influence both recruiting and retention from an angle of how employees connect with and relate to one another in the workplace. Fetcher, Jobvite, Paylocity, Workable, and Zoho Recruit are examples of recruiting software solutions that support diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) efforts by:

• Anonymously screening resumes and assessments.
• Integrating with a variety of job boards that target underrepresented demographics.

Employee engagement software improves company culture by soliciting, analyzing, and enabling actionable acting on feedback.

Also read: Strategies for Cultivating a Diverse Talent Pool

Course correct if necessary

As with any plan, expect change to happen as the HR strategy gets implemented. Unforeseen scenarios can change an HR strategy in ways big and small, so companies should have a change management strategy in place to account for situations that require a company to pivot or reprioritize.

Strategic human resource planning is as strong as the software that supports it

Strategic human resources planning is a forward-thinking approach to managing a workforce in a way that leverages current talent and develops more valuable strengths.

An HR strategy guides that approach toward tangible outcomes. As a roadmap for workforce optimization, each company’s HR strategy is unique because it’s based on current circumstances and where leadership envisions its workforce in the future. Having a roadmap for achieving goals is important because it gives direction to everyone involved and promotes accountability.

Implementing software increases the chances of seeing the HR strategy through to fruition and achieving goals more quickly because solutions take care of or assist with a particular goal and provide data to track progress.

To explore the right solutions for your HR strategy, check out our HR Software Guide.

The post What is Strategic Human Resource Management? appeared first on TechnologyAdvice.

The more employee data a company captures, manages, and analyzes for its entire workforce, the more it stands to reap the benefits of human resources information system (HRIS) software.

An HRIS serves as a centralized repository for employee data, such as name, address, and salary, as well as organizational data, such as policies and a directory. An HRIS also serves as a foundation to layer on more advanced human resources management system (HRMS) and human capital management (HCM) capabilities, such as recruiting and performance management.

An HRIS is more than a mere database. HRIS software comes with several benefits to help streamline HR functions and free up time for HR teams and employees to do more value-added tasks.

Also read: The 5 Main Types of Human Resources Information Systems

8 essential HRIS benefits

What can your HR team achieve by implementing an HRIS?

1. Real-time information access

Unlike paper files, spreadsheets, and on-premises software, an HRIS as a cloud-based database means one source of truth for all authorized users, primarily employees and HR. An HRIS helps with version control for documents that HR updates routinely because it syncs changes in real time. That way, HR team members accessing the same document don’t have to worry about whether they’re viewing or updating its most recent version.

2. Reduced manual effort

An HRIS can automate HR tasks that staff would otherwise have to perform manually. Automating an onboarding workflow, for example, saves both HR staff and new employees time. HR staff can then focus on more mentally-demanding, value-generating projects—like rolling out a new learning management system (LMS) or setting up a mentorship program—rather than getting bogged down with manual data entry or reconciliation. And employees can focus on the tasks more immediately relative to their role instead of asking HR how to get their benefits set up.

Automated approvals keep projects moving forward, so stakeholders don’t have to wait for someone else to complete their task and check off a box manually. For example, when processing an employee reimbursement, the employee can simply upload documentation, and the software can take it from there to sync up with accounting and payroll. If there’s an issue, it can alert someone in either of those departments.

Need an HRIS that earns high marks on automation? We suggest checking out BambooHR.

3. Increased efficiency

An HRIS enables companies to streamline HR data and processes in one place instead of investing in individual tools stitched together via an application programming interface (API). HR software vendors usually allow companies to bundle tools for cost savings.

Once a company builds and analyzes historical data in an HRIS, reports reveal opportunities for cost savings without sacrificing function or employee experience. For instance, a company can utilize HRIS reporting to track the cost of benefits and potentially renegotiate pricing with carriers.

The upshot of centralized real-time data, automation, and streamlined processes is cost savings for the company.

4. Pattern and insight discovery

An HRIS without added HRMS and HCM modules doesn’t deliver the highest level of analytics possible, but since it contains a lot of employee and organizational data, it can deliver basic reports that are nevertheless useful.

For example, HR can view benefits enrollment data to determine which benefits to expand and which to scale back. An HRIS like Rippling can also pull payroll data to generate a comprehensive compensation report the user can filter by department or role.

As a company adds on HRMS and HCM tools, the reporting becomes even more complex, even predictive, and the data contained within the HRIS powers those analytics. The more modules that get added, the more data HR teams and company leaders can leverage to proactively make well-informed decisions about its workforce.

5. Higher employee satisfaction

Having the right HRIS in place makes HR and employees’ jobs easier by helping new employees get started with less guidance and by allowing employees to update their own information when necessary.

An HRIS like the one at the heart of ADP Workforce Now, for example, automates onboarding workflows. This not only saves HR staff time, but it also puts employees in control of onboarding tasks to complete, such as e-signatures for documents. A clear workflow also makes a good first impression on new hires because they understand what they need to do and when.

The HRIS continues to serve as an important touchstone for new and tenured employees alike to return to as they manage their own data throughout the employee life cycle, such as benefits, time off, or tax documents.

6. Better compliance

Storing and managing data in an HRIS helps a business stay compliant with industry and government regulations because there’s an electronic paper trail to refer to if the need arises. Plus, some HRIS solutions have built-in, automated compliance features.

Regardless of the industry, a business manages sensitive employee and organizational information. Storing it in an HRIS means less chance of data getting lost or stolen, since an HRIS administrator can configure access controls. Moreover, in the event of an audit or a legal investigation, the HRIS contains all of the necessary data a company must legally store and maintain for a certain period of time.

Businesses must also adhere to local, state, and federal regulations, such as FMLA for paid time off, ACA for benefits management, or minimum wage requirements in payroll. Some solutions’ foundational HRIS modules are capable of automated compliance to ensure compliant payroll and benefits administration.

Need a solution that helps with automated compliance? We recommend Gusto or Zenefits.

7. Access to improved features

When using paper-based or on-premises systems for storing and updating employee information, companies miss out not only on the benefits already mentioned but also the advanced features HRIS vendors release in their cloud-based solutions.

With an HRIS comes customer support and routine updates to improve system performance. Some new features may even be added. Rippling, for example, is adding scheduled report runs to its core HRIS platform.

8. Scalability

An HRMS or HCM system can’t function without the core HRIS, so investing in an HRIS paves the way for greater scalability as a company’s workforce needs become more strategic and more interconnected with other areas of the company.

After investing in an HRIS like Zoho People, for example, customers can add modules on top of it as needed, such as Zoho Payroll, Zoho Shifts, and Zoho Recruit. Adding these directly to the HRIS avoids a sprawling ecosystem of disparate tools and the potential security risks that accompany a patchwork-style tech stack.

Moreover, having an HRIS upon which to build improves user experience because users don’t have to navigate and integrate various software tools; they’re all managed and accessible via one central platform.

Elevate your HR processes with an HRIS

Businesses of all sizes benefit from an HRIS. As a unified data repository, it automates repetitive tasks, generates reports, enables self-service, and more. Businesses with a hybrid or fully remote workforce particularly benefit from HRIS software because employees and HR can access critical, up-to-date information whenever and wherever they are.

The best part is that companies can expand upon the HRIS database to include more sophisticated capabilities that match their needs. Your company might need an HRIS, HRMS, or an HCMS depending on the following characteristics:

• Your company’s current size.
• People management pain points.
• What kind of data it wants to collect and analyze.
• What it wants to accomplish with that data.

Check out our explanation of the differences between an HRIS, HRMS, and an HCM to understand which type of HR system is best for you. Or, explore our HR Software Guide to browse top vendors across all three categories.

The post The Key Benefits Of HRIS Software (2023) appeared first on TechnologyAdvice.

However, performance management software helps HR teams address these concerns by offering natural ways for employers to clarify employee goals, combat burnout, and meet employees’ rising demand for continuous feedback. Although there are many choices on the market, explore our top picks below for solutions to create a more motivated and goal-driven workforce for your business.

If none of these options seem the right fit, browse our Performance Management Software Guide for alternative solutions.

What is the best performance management software?

These top performance management solutions offer a wide range of features for employers concerned with various aspects of talent management in their organization, such as customizable performance metrics reporting to training and development modules.

BambooHR: Best all-in-one HRIS integration

BambooHR is one of the top HRIS on the market for a reason; its people-first approach to HR software attracts small businesses with little to no HR or IT departments. For companies already using BambooHR, it is easy to add their performance management module to their existing HRIS framework.

BambooHR’s native performance appraisal solution lacks some of the more advanced, customizable features—like career development and continuous feedback meeting options—compared to other top solutions.

Instead, BambooHR focuses its performance management capabilities on manager and employee self-assessments, peer feedback, and goal setting. As a result, BambooHR’s simplified approach allows for a more accessible and efficient user experience, even for companies just adding performance review flows into their company processes.

In addition, BambooHR’s performance management module also seamlessly integrates with its current mobile application. Employers already using BambooHR’s mobile app for employee information, time tracking, or document sharing can seamlessly add performance management to start tracking and updating their goals from anywhere. Both managers and employees can add or respond to comments on goals through the app, so managers and employees can be held accountable, even in roles not typically tied to a desk.

BambooHR pros and cons

Key features

Add-On Modules: As an all-in-one HRIS at its heart, users can leverage other BambooHR modules for a more well-rounded employee experience. With additional modules like employee training tracking and payroll, employers can capture employee data in one centralized source of truth. In turn, employees remain informed about their performance throughout their tenure at the company for a more transparent and consistent experience.

Performance Management Integrations: Bamboo’s popularity as an HRIS means users are not limited to its native performance management add-on. Through BambooHR’s marketplace, users already subscribed to BambooHR’s Essentials or Advantage plans can integrate with other top performance management solutions. Thus, scaling businesses don’t have to sacrifice their core HRIS as they outgrow BambooHR’s native program in favor of more advanced functionality.

Leapsome: Best for performance analytics

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Leapsome, unlike BambooHR, is a dedicated performance management software without traditional HRIS capabilities like payroll, time tracking, or applicant tracking systems (ATSs). However, Leapsome has significantly more advanced and customizable performance management features, such as objective and key results (OKR) management, one-on-one management meetings, 360-degree reviews, and engagement surveys.

Instead of a performance management software, Leapsome frames itself as a people enablement platform that gives employees the tools to exceed their goals. To do this, Leapsome offers five different modules, Perform, Align, Learn, Engage, and Reward; customers can either choose them à la carte to address specific business needs or use them together for a more holistic approach to performance management.

Although the modules are priced separately, they are meant to interlink, so every area of performance management is addressed, from employee-manager feedback to compensation management and career planning and development.

While other performance management solutions include standard performance management reporting like visualizations to identify achievers and underperformers quickly, Leapsome takes its analytics further with multi-language support and artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities.

For instance, multinational corporations can use Leapsome to track the performance data of their international employees in the language of their choice. Meanwhile, Leapsome’s AI can track employee sentiment across the organization based on engagement survey results and predict departments at risk of turnover. By combining this data, employers can determine where they can focus their retention efforts, address poor performers, and drive engagement on a global scale without needing to leverage multiple platforms.

Leapsome pros and cons

Key features

Review Analytics: Leapsome includes multiple ways for employers to engage with performance data following review cycles, including visualizations like heatmaps, 9-boxes, distribution charts, timelines, and radar charts.

HR teams can customize the data to track an individual’s performance over time and even compare performance data among teams. Employers can then make data-driven decisions when determining the best players for particular projects to improve overall company performance.

Engagement Survey Benchmarks: Leapsome users can conduct employee engagement surveys and set internal company benchmarks to track employee sentiment, satisfaction, and employee Net Promoter Scores (eNPSs) over time.

HR teams can also use benchmarks to compare their engagement data with similar companies that use Leapsome based on location, industry, and size. By comparing their data to others, Leapsome provides insights for employers on areas of their business that need improving while remaining competitive in their field.

PerformYard: Best for customer experience

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PerformYard is at the top of many performance management software lists because of its intuitive user interface (UI), transparent pricing, and attentive customer service. PerformYard has a limited breadth of features, like career development and compensation management, compared to other performance management solutions on our list.

However, PerformYard provides users with just enough customization within its modules to tailor their performance review cadences into their dynamic workflows without overwhelming employees in the process. As a result, employees, in particular, praise PerformYard for its ease of use and ability to quickly tie their goals to performance.

In addition, PerformYard gives employees a sense of ownership over their performance through self-assessments, private performance notes, anonymous reviews, and constructive feedback requests. Managers can even create their own review questions and cadences to monitor employee progress and support underperformers.

PerformYard pros and cons

Key features

Continuous Feedback: PerformYard emphasizes continuous feedback in every aspect of its software, from one-on-one meeting cadences with managers and peers to immediate feedback and 360-degree review cycles, including input from external stakeholders.

Peers and management can even recognize other employees by broadcasting their wins to the company on PerformYard. By keeping employees informed on their performance, employers can address performance issues quickly while encouraging employee career development and growth.

Customer Service: In addition to traditional customer service support options, PerformYard provides a dedicated customer success manager to every customer to answer questions and address any challenges they come across. PerformYard also has an extensive support page with how-to articles and in-depth videos. For companies without an IT team or little technological know-how, PerformYard’s support ensures companies are set up for success, even past the implementation stage.

15Five: Best for career development

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Like PerformYard, 15Five uses a simple user interface and weekly feedback structure to foster employee transparency and continuous improvement. However, 15Five stands out for its holistic approach to performance management and emphasis on career progression.

15Five includes four different products—Engage, Perform, Focus, and Transform—that companies can pick and choose to address the areas of performance management most vital to them. However, 15Five intends for all four products to work together, as each builds upon the previous.

For example, employers can identify what areas of the company need improvement in Engage, tie this with employee performance in Perform, address problems with goal setting in Focus, and give employees opportunities to grow with Transform.

Because of this approach, 15Five documents employee progress throughout their time in the organization, so employers can make calculated decisions on fostering employee career development. This allows managers to upskill their current staff to address recruitment challenges and aid in succession planning strategies when employees leave or retire.

15Five pros and cons

Key features

Role Clarity: With Role Clarity, managers can outline an employee’s job description and responsibilities, so employees understand what is expected of them from day one on the job. Employees can also engage in two-way conversations about their assigned tasks and work together to adjust their responsibilities as needed. Managers can then tailor employee responsibilities as they watch their employees grow in the role, so they remain energized and motivated to succeed.

Career Vision: Through Career Vision, employees can access a vision board to identify their ideal days, what things they want to do more, and what things they want to do less. Managers can then adjust their meeting cadences and workflows to maximize employee efficiency while aligning employees’ career goals with manager expectations.

Coaching Sessions: 15Five’s Transform add-on allows employees to engage with career experts to grow in the areas most important to them. As a result, turnover reduces, as employees feel encouraged and supported by their managers and companies to succeed personally and professionally.

Lattice: Best for compensation management

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Lattice is a top favorite performance management solution among employers and employees because it offers the most comprehensive selection of features, such as continuous feedback cadences similar to PerformYard, career development features like 15Five, and robust analytics like Leapsome.

However, Lattice is an expensive solution, with a minimum annual contract of $4,000, and a steep learning curve among administrators and employees alike. Therefore, it may not be the best option financially for teams with limited budgets or just starting with a performance management solution.

Despite this, Lattice is optimized to handle large, diverse teams while providing customized and granular insights into their performance. Notably, Lattice differentiates itself from the other solutions on this list by offering a Compensation product dedicated specifically to measuring performance to inform promotions and raises.

Besides setting up compensation review cycles, Lattice also allows users to create compensation guidelines and benchmarks to maintain consistent and fair compensation practices among employees with similar roles, experience, and tenure. As such, Lattice may be perfect for organizations needing to implement equitable compensation strategies that directly correspond with employee performance-based metrics instead of a manager’s gut feelings.

For a more in-depth analysis of Lattice’s features and top competitors, check out Lattice Alternatives & Competitors.

Lattice pros and cons

Key features

Benchmarking Data: During employee compensation reviews, Lattice allows managers to access compensation market data according to the employee’s role, location, and industry. Companies can remain competitive and reduce turnover by comparing an employee’s compensation to similar positions. Moreover, it helps companies reduce internal pay disparities by ensuring employees in the same role follow similar pay schemes.

Budget and Spend Tracking: Managers can review compensation changes over time to determine an individual employee’s return on investment. In addition, Lattice provides merit and promotion raise guidelines, so companies can easily tie employee performance with appropriate compensation changes while staying within budget.

How to choose the best performance management software

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A performance management solution can significantly improve employee engagement and retention while supporting career growth and development. However, the best option depends on what areas of performance management are top-of-mind for the business as well as company size and budget limitations.

For companies looking for solutions to integrate with their current HRIS solutions, choose BambooHR or Lattice. Both companies offer various integrations with standard tech stacks, including Slack, Microsoft Teams, Google Suite, and Outlook. BambooHR, in particular, is an excellent option for teams already using the platform, as it allows companies to integrate with other performance management software outside of the native solution for more advanced functionality.

For its simple user interface and emphasis on continuous feedback, PerformYard is best for companies that value employee experience. Likewise, 15Five’s platform fosters training and development, giving employees a sense of ownership over their career paths.

Finally, for companies that prioritize data-driven insights, Leapsome or 15Five’s reporting features allow companies to identify top performers and employees who need more support quickly. Leapsome, especially, gives multinational companies the tools to compare talent performance on a global scale and pinpoint locations to focus their efforts as they scale.

However, if none of these vendors meet your unique needs, visit our Performance Management Software Guide to browse other solutions.

The post Top Performance Management Software for 2023 appeared first on TechnologyAdvice.

Employee versus independent contractor. Full-time versus part-time. Exempt versus non-exempt. What is the difference? Considering up to 30% of employers have misclassified an employee in their lifetime, odds are they’ve asked themselves before and gotten it wrong.

To ensure employees receive the pay and benefits they are rightfully owed and to keep themselves out of legal trouble, employers should analyze whether they are correctly classifying their workers. Follow our guide below to identify the main types of employees, so your business remains compliant while keeping your employees happy.

What is employee classification?

Employee classification is a system of categorizing employees to determine their pay and tax circumstances. Employers could also use it to identify employees eligible for company benefits.

Beyond the scope of pay and benefits, there are additional classifications that employers need to reconcile. For example, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) — the governing body responsible for the I-9 form in onboarding paperwork — requires employers to monitor employees’ authorization to work in the U.S. As a result, employers could divide their workforce into U.S. citizens and non-U.S. citizens, with further subcategories under non-citizens requiring additional legal considerations.

For organizational purposes, employers could also categorize employees into groups that satisfy particular business needs. For example, companies could subdivide workers by title, executive status, or paycheck frequency. Doing so aids companies not only in compliance matters but administrative ones as well.

What are the types of employee classifications?

Generally, U.S. federal law classifies private-sector workers based first on their economic dependence on the employer, such as the amount of control over their work schedules. Federal law further classifies employees based on whether they are subject to overtime pay.

State and local laws also affect the classification of workers for access to particular state benefits. Michigan, for example, requires employers to distinguish employees between full-time and part-time to determine eligibility for sick time benefits under the Paid Medical Leave Act.

Beyond that, employers can adopt a classification strategy that addresses the level of compliance risk they want over their workers, benefits, and company productivity. However, once they outline their classification strategy, companies must enforce it consistently throughout their organization.

Employees

In the U.S., employees are workers who are economically dependent on their employer for things like pay, work schedules, equipment, and job permanency. Unlike contractors or volunteers, they are protected by federal labor laws, including the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), and other employment-based state and local labor laws.

Employees represent a considerable portion of the workforce and require the most oversight by employers. Employers can further subdivide employees by the level of compliance risk they want over the employee life cycle and, below that, based on access to company benefit programs and particular production requirements.

Direct employees

Direct employees, or direct hires, are employees whose pay and benefits are the responsibility of their employers. In most contexts, they are considered “traditional employees,” as their employers dictate how and when they do their jobs.

Employers are entirely responsible for direct employees’ pay, benefits, discipline, safety, and other compliance matters. Because of this, direct employment relationships make the most sense for businesses with well-established human resources (HR) departments to monitor employment law compliance, employee health and wellness, and proper employee pay and benefits administration.

However, employers have the most direct influence over these workers, with the ability to control their schedules and training and development. So, these workers easily grow with and invest in the company as needs evolve.

Exempt vs. non-exempt employees

Under the FLSA, employers must classify all direct hires as either exempt or non-exempt from overtime. While the FLSA defines overtime as any time worked over 40 hours a week, state and local laws may also have their own definitions. California, for example, defines overtime as any hours worked over 8 hours a day.

So what makes an employee exempt or non-exempt from overtime? The FLSA criteria are quite involved, but the distinction is based mainly on how employees are paid (salary or hourly) and their role in the organization.

Exempt: These employees are paid on a salary basis of at least $684 a week. They also must work in an exempt profession, such as executives or administrators. IT and other learned or creative professionals, like attorneys or graphic artists, also fall into this category.

Non-exempt: Employees paid an hourly rate and who do not work in the above roles are considered non-exempt from overtime. They are subject to both minimum wage and must be paid at a rate of one and a half times their normal hourly rate for any overtime hours worked in a week.

Paying an employee a salary does not automatically make them exempt from overtime. Likewise, developing bogus job titles to align a non-exempt employee’s job duties with that of an exempt employee sets employers up for serious labor law violations and deprives workers of their entitled overtime pay. If an employer is unsure if an employee is exempt or non-exempt, it’s better to consult a labor law expert for advice before risking FLSA fines or decreased employee confidence in the workplace.

Also read: How to Avoid These 3 Costly Payroll Mistakes

Full-time vs. part-time employees

The federal government does not regulate the terms “full-time” and “part-time” regarding employee compensation. However, it is used by the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and other state and local governments for access to specific government benefit packages or mandated sick leave laws. The ACA, for instance, states a full-time employee works an average of 30 hours per week for more than 120 days a year.

Generally, the distinction between full-time and part-time employees is up to the employer to decide, often in consultation with their benefits administrator. Most employers designate full-time employees to work between 30 and 40 hours per week to be eligible for benefits like paid time off or medical insurance. Part-time employees work less than 30 or 40 hours per week, depending on how the employer defines their full-time employees; they are also typically ineligible for company benefits.

Most employers have a mix of both part- and full-time employees. Full-time employees may be more costly for the employer but are usually more loyal and knowledgeable of company practices and priorities. Meanwhile, part-time employees are great for businesses looking for individuals with a more flexible work schedule to fill personnel gaps as needed in high-turnover industries, such as retail or manufacturing.

On-call employees

These are employees who are required to work should their employers contact them. The employee could either be on the employer’s premises waiting to work or at home waiting to come into work for a specified period should the need arise.

On-call employees are necessary for businesses in unpredictable industries, such as healthcare, public safety, or maintenance, and either replace or supplement staff during moments of crisis or other unforeseen events.

Seasonal employees

Seasonal employees work for an employer for a specified period, usually during the winter or summer months. For example, workers at an amusement park in a seasonal area may only work during the spring, summer, and fall months but not during the winter when the park is closed.

Indirect employees

In contrast to direct employees, indirect employees are not paid directly by their workplace employer. Instead, these employees are paid by outside organizations, who then either co-employ or lease the employee. As a result, indirect employees are advantageous for employers looking for temporary workers or small businesses needing to outsource their payroll and mitigate compliance risk.

Professional employer organizations

Professional employer organizations are companies that engage in a contractual relationship with another company and share employer responsibilities. For instance, if ABC Corp and a PEO shared a contractual relationship, all of ABC Corp’s employees are also the PEO’s employees.

PEOs run payroll, administer benefits and workers’ compensation insurance, and provide HR support for their clients’ employees. Small and midsize businesses can benefit from the co-employment relationship, as it eases the administrative burden off of their smaller staff while reducing the costs and liability associated with a full employer.

Leased or temporary employees

Leased or temporary employees are workers who are contracted with a staffing agency but work for another employer. Employers use these workers when staffing needs require additional help for projects for a specific period.

They are an excellent alternative to part-time, seasonal, or independent contractor work, as most of the administrative and regulatory tasks associated with leased employees remain in the purview of the staffing agency, not the employer.

Contract workers

Contract workers, as opposed to employees, are workers who have the most flexibility in their work and schedules. These workers either work for themselves or provide work within a limited timeframe or until they complete an assigned project.

Contract workers can be subdivided between direct contracting and subcontracting depending on the number of parties involved in obtaining the contract worker.

Direct contracting vs. subcontracting

The main difference between direct contracting and subcontracting employment types is the degree of separation between the employer and the worker.

Direct contracting involves a relationship between the organization and the worker. Subcontracting, on the other hand, consists of a relationship between the employer, the worker, and a third party. Organizations pay the third party or vendor for the worker’s labor in a subcontracting relationship.

A direct contracting relationship means employers have contingent workers on their payroll. Outside of traditional employees, these workers are the second most common employee classification but often the most misclassified.

Contingent workers

Contingent workers are the most independent of all employee classifications. They include independent contractors, freelancers, gig workers, and consultants. Although employers directly hire these workers, they are not eligible for employer benefits or traditional employee tax advantages. This can be enticing for employers with limited budgets, as contingent workers are an effective way to keep labor costs low.

However, employers must make sure these workers are contingent under the FLSA before classifying them as such to avoid significant penalties. For example, employers must pay back taxes plus additional penalties from the IRS and the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) for each employee misclassified as a contingent worker.

Misclassifying workers also places workers at a financial disadvantage. A typical construction worker, for example, loses out on as much as $16,729 a year in income and job benefits through classification as an independent contractor, according to the Economic Policy Institute.

Nevertheless, contingent workers can provide for projects requiring higher staffing levels or specialized knowledge traditional employees lack. Moreover, offering contingent employment opportunities may help attract incoming Generation Z workers who value autonomy and flexibility in the workplace.

Volunteers

Volunteers donate their time to public or nonprofit organizations for public service, religious, or humanitarian goals. Volunteer schedules are flexible, and the employer does not pay them; instead, they receive either charitable or educational experience.

Unpaid interns or trainees also fall under the volunteer category. The FLSA has strict guidelines on the intern-employer relationship, but generally, interns receive academic credit for their unpaid time at a company.

Employers can leverage volunteer work in specific industries as a cost-saving measure; however, they should not replace the knowledge or experience full-time employees can offer an organization. Similarly, paying interns instead of offering academic credit is often a better way to motivate these employees to learn and make a more meaningful contribution to company priorities.

How can HR software help with employee classification?

As laws revolving around the classification of employees change, a tactical solution helping employers remain compliant is both a time and cost saver. For example, small teams can avoid recruiting additional HR support or consulting legal experts. In addition, software solutions can help automate payroll taxes and benefits while implementing unique strategies to address the concerns of multiple employee types side-by-side.

Automate payroll and benefits administration

Depending on how the employee is classified, requirements for payroll and benefits differ. Leveraging payroll software or other top human resources information systems (HRIS) can streamline payroll processes for employees in disparate classifications.

Gusto, for instance, allows employers to juggle payroll for employees and contractors from the same place. Namely, on the other hand, automatically keeps track of benefit eligibility for qualifying employees and allows them to complete the benefit enrollment online. As a result, employers can guarantee employees receive their pay and benefits accurately and timely without resorting to manual tracking methods.

Compliance safeguards

It can be difficult for employers with vast multi-state or multinational workforces to keep track of varying and sometimes competing regulations on employee classifications, even with the most dedicated HR department. However, many solutions have prebuilt compliance safeguards to notify companies of potential labor law infractions, so companies can resolve violations before they become serious.

Rippling’s Compliance 360, for example, monitors the number of independent contractors on payroll and notifies companies when they should change them to employees according to the laws in their work areas. Scaling companies can rest assured knowing their talent force is properly categorized while focusing their energies on higher-priority matters.

Time tracking tools

Both labor laws and company insurance carriers require employers to track employee hours for overtime and other benefits eligibility. By investing in a payroll or benefits solution that integrates with current time tracking software or includes native time tracking features, companies can consolidate payroll and benefits administration in one place.

For instance, QuickBooks’ time tracking software reminds non-exempt employees to clock in and out to ensure accurate numbers. In addition, employers can easily monitor employee hours and adjust employee categorization should their hours fluctuate.

Worker management

Worker and employer relationships change constantly; good HR software accommodates this with little effort. Deel, for example, centralizes both the employee and independent contractor experiences by offering unified pay and benefits for both. Therefore, should a worker’s situation change — such as moving from a full-time employee to an occasional company freelancer — the software documents the change while providing a consistent experience for the worker.

Why is classifying employees correctly important?

Employee classification laws are constantly evolving to accurately reflect the changing nature of work. The difference between independent contractors and employees has always been complex, even more so now with the rise of remote work.

Employers must be diligent in identifying the most accurate classification for each of their employees. Indeed, classifying or reclassifying employees is time-consuming, but the process helps avoid costly labor laws violations while ensuring workers receive all of their due pay and benefits.

Moreover, as companies grow into international markets or hire remote talent, proper worker classification can help organize and optimize a company’s workflow in an increasingly complex workforce. Many businesses need a mix of employees, consultants, temporary workers, and freelancers to remain competitive and attract employees who demand more flexible working conditions in today’s market. Understanding how employees are classified is the first step toward hiring a more diverse workforce to address the changing needs of both businesses and workers.

Misclassifying an employee can put a company in legal hot water, but a tactical software solution can help. Browse our HR Software Guide for proactive solutions to accurately identify and pay your workers.

The post Employee Classification: HR’s Guide to Classification Compliance appeared first on TechnologyAdvice.

Despite employers’ best efforts to protect their employees from workplace injuries, it’s impossible to prepare for every scenario that might put a worker at risk. Accidents can happen to anyone at any time, and there are numerous ways an employer may be liable, even if the injury doesn’t happen on company property. When preventative measures fail and an employee is injured on the job, employers must understand their responsibilities and take swift action.

Check out our HR Software Guide for solutions that help maintain compliance with workplace safety requirements.

Workplace Injury Laws to Know

Workplace injuries involve the intersection of several federal laws, such as the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act (ADAAA), along with state-run workers’ compensation (WC) programs. High-risk industries, such as construction, maritime, agriculture, and manufacturing, must also contend with industry-specific federal and local laws. However, these laws provide a framework by which companies can begin to address workplace injuries.

Related: Field Service Management: Safety and Compliance

Workers’ compensation

Workers’ compensation started in the 1910s and is considered the first example of social insurance in the U.S. At the time, social programs were primarily the purview of the states to enact and implement. As a result, WC programs today are individualized, state-run programs.

Workers’ compensation employer obligations

Generally, employers are expected to cover medical, disability, vocational, and death benefits for workers who are injured, fall ill, or lose their lives on the job. In addition, employers must cover the entire cost of the worker’s medical treatment. If their doctor determines the worker to be temporarily or totally disabled, employers must also pay the employee a percentage of their pre-injury wages following a waiting period.

State plans, insurance carriers, and self-insurance

Some U.S. jurisdictions, like California, New York, and Illinois, require employers to purchase WC insurance through an insurance carrier. Others, such as North Dakota, Ohio, Washington, and Wyoming, require it through a state fund. Still, other jurisdictions may allow employers to choose between enrolling in private insurance, state funds, or self-insurance.

Employers who choose to be self-insured take on the financial burden of providing full WC benefits to their employees in the event of an illness or injury, including medical and any necessary lost time wages; their state, however, must grant the employer approval before they can be self-insured.

Regardless of the options available in each jurisdiction, employers must consider the programs that provide the most cost savings while meeting or exceeding minimum regulatory benefit requirements for their workers. Employers with few minor injuries might benefit from WC insurance through private carriers. WC premium costs are competitive and significantly lower for sedentary businesses. Private insurance carriers also assist in injury management, investigations, lost wage benefit payments, medical bill payments, and settlements.

In contrast, larger enterprises, with the capital and resources to maintain their own safety and injury management standards, could benefit from a self-insurance program. In addition, employers are more directly involved in the injured or ill worker’s recovery and could save on state-fund or private insurance premium payments if they have few injuries.

Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act)

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Known at the time as the “safety bill of rights,” the OSH Act of 1970 was enacted to ensure safe and healthful working conditions. To do this, the act created three agencies, including the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). OSHA, and its state-run equivalents, are the main watchdogs of workplace safety and training among private sector employers in America; Washington, D.C.; and other U.S. jurisdictions like Puerto Rico.

OSHA employer obligations

The primary employer responsibilities under OSHA involve creating and maintaining a safe workplace. Although some of the duties are industry-based, below is a short list of key responsibilities:

• Make sure workplace conditions conform to OSHA standards.
• Ensure workers use safe tools and equipment.
• Conduct appropriate safety training programs for employees regularly.
• Post in a conspicuous location the OSHA poster and any state equivalents.
• Use labels and posters to warn of hazards.
• Keep records of work-related injuries and illnesses, and post OSHA 300A logs from Feb. 1 through April 30 every year.
• Report any work-related inpatient hospitalization, amputation, or loss of an eye within 24 hours and any fatality within eight hours to OSHA.

OSHA enforcement

Employers must make sure their safety plans are, at minimum, following their jurisdiction’s guidelines and OSHA standards. More often than not, OSHA conducts inspections without notice, and employers could face a fine of up to $15,625 for each “serious” violation.

OSHA also follows up on whistleblower complaints about dangerous workplace conditions or from workers claiming retaliation following their workplace injury or illness. Frequent evaluation of OSHA standards within the business protects a business financially from potential fines or lawsuits and maintains a safe work environment that protects employees’ livelihoods.

Family and Medical Leave Act

Because there is a potential for employees to be off work for long periods while they recover from serious workplace illnesses or injuries, there is a tendency for WC benefits to overlap with the FMLA and other employer leave of absence policies.

FMLA employer obligations

Under the FMLA, if an employee needs leave for a “serious health condition,” they are entitled to a minimum of 12 weeks of job-protected, unpaid leave, during which their company-sponsored medical benefits remain intact.

Injured employees should be placed on FMLA leave that runs concurrently with the time they are off work. Even if an employee is not eligible for FMLA, the company may still have other leaves of absence, like sick or personal, that may apply. Leave policies should be consistently upheld among all employees in similar situations, with leave of absence or FMLA documents distributed appropriately to the injured or ill worker.

Upon exhaustion of FMLA leave, employers should refrain from terminating an injured or ill worker. Employers are still obligated to provide WC benefits to such employees, and premature terminations could result in claims of WC retaliation.

Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act

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Under the ADAAA, employees with disabilities have the right to reasonable accommodations. However, there are some cases where an employee’s workplace injury or illness seriously limits a major life activity, and they cannot work at pre-injury or -illness levels. While WC benefits could help these employees financially, the ADAAA requires employers to maintain certain standards when hiring and retaining employees with disabilities.

ADAAA employer obligations

Employers should engage in a meaningful dialogue with the employee whose workplace injury or illness results in a permanent disability and make a good-faith effort to provide reasonable accommodations to the employee. Depending on the employee’s injury, conversations with the employee, and recommendations from their doctor, this could take the form of providing extra breaks, opportunities to sit and rest, or even job transfer.

Therefore, even if an employee reaches the point at which they cannot get any better following their workplace injury or illness, the employer’s responsibility to an employee under the ADAAA does not end. Establishing policies regarding reasonable accommodations for workers and other individuals with disabilities ahead of time can mitigate the time and money lost in the event of an ADAAA lawsuit.

Preparing for workplace injuries is key

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Considering 2 to 3 out of 100 U.S. workers experience nonfatal workplace injuries or illnesses, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, it is likely a company will experience at least one workplace injury in its lifetime—even in a mainly sedentary business. Therefore, failing to follow the minimum standards set forth by state WC, OSH Act, FMLA, and ADAAA regulations could significantly impact the business’s financial health in the form of fines or lawsuits.

Additionally, employer workplace safety negligence adversely affects the livelihoods of injured or ill workers while eroding employees’ confidence in company safety protocols. Even worse, it could result in preventable fatalities.

Although large businesses may have the resources to implement safety programs in their organizations, small businesses may not have that luxury. OSHA has consultation programs to evaluate safety standards on the work site and resources for developing safety programs, training, and voluntary risk assessments specifically geared toward small businesses.

Enterprises or other businesses in high-risk industries, such as construction, maritime, or logging, may want to invest in software solutions with injury-tracking modules or safety and reporting templates to simplify workplace injury management. Namely, for example, includes compliance features such as OSHA case creation, injury logs, and reporting.

Meanwhile, leave management tools can help reconcile employer-paid time off policies with the requirements of WC or FMLA, so employees can receive the necessary time off to recover from their injuries while employers remain in compliance.

However, if none of these suggestions sound quite right, check out our HRIS Software Guide to browse for solutions that meet your particular needs.

The post Navigating Injuries in the Workplace appeared first on TechnologyAdvice.

JazzHR is one of the best stand-alone applicant tracking systems (ATS) on the market today. The software updates antiquated hiring processes with an easy-to-use interface, centralized candidate dashboards, and white-label branding options.

However, JazzHR may not be the best fit for recruiters with either low or high-volume hiring needs. It also lacks additional human resource capabilities beyond just the ATS. If you’re a JazzHR customer looking to upgrade your ATS, we’ve rounded up the best JazzHR alternatives to guide your search.

Keep your business’s unique recruiting needs in mind as you compare the top JazzHR alternatives. If none of the options seem like a good fit, explore our ATS Software Guide to find the right solution.

JazzHR alternatives

Breezy HR is the best ATS for small businesses with small teams.

Workable is the best all-around ATS that will work for businesses of any company size.

Greenhouse is the best ATS for fast-growing businesses that are hiring staff quickly.

BambooHR is the best choice for recruiters who need human resources (HR) software in addition to an ATS.

Zoho Recruit is the best pick for businesses that want a fully integrated software stack.

Breezy HR: Best ATS for small businesses

If you’re specifically in the marketing for a recruiting and hiring tool, Breezy HR’s applicant tracking system features an easy-to-navigate drag-and-drop interface plus dozens of integrations that cover the major HR software. This stand-alone ATS offers a forever-free version of its recruiting software for small businesses, which sets it apart as a JazzHR competitor. If you need to upgrade, the transparent pricing schedule has tiers that make sense for small and midsize businesses (SMBs).

Custom questionnaires

Overwhelmed with candidates that don’t match your recruiting needs? Find the right talent and identify qualified candidates faster with Breezy HR’s custom questionnaires. The questionnaire features eight question types, including video responses. JazzHR does offer a questionnaire option as well, but Breezy HR’s capabilities are more robust.

HR and recruitment templates

Most hiring tools, including JazzHR, offer a few native recruiting templates that companies can tweak. However, Breezy HR goes above and beyond by offering more than 800 templates that make it easy for employees to generate offer letters, ask for employee references, and more. This is especially helpful for small teams who don’t have time to write every document from scratch.

Reasons to choose Breezy HR over JazzHR

• Forever-free version for small businesses
• Easy scheduling
• Drag-and-drop interface
• Dozens of integrations

Workable: Best all-around ATS

Workable is one of the best-reviewed applicant tracking systems on the market, and it’s the one that will satisfy most businesses’ recruitment needs. Workable offers a great balance of features for various pricing tiers as well as a pay-per-job pricing plan that allows for flexibility if you don’t necessarily need a full monthly subscription. Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) is also built into the recruitment tools to assist companies with meeting DEI hiring goals.

Internal job board

Promote from within and fill open positions more quickly with Workable’s specially designed internal job board. This internal job board makes it easy to centralize all of your open positions and make them visible to the entire company. While JazzHR does offer the option to post a job internally, it doesn’t have a central job board as Workable does; you have to promote the link to the individual job post via other company messaging channels.

AI functionality

Tired of your recruiting team wasting their time on manual, repetitive tasks instead of doing actual talent acquisition? Workable offers a proprietary artificial intelligence (AI) functionality that optimizes recruiting processes, such as auto-sourcing passive candidates who fit your job criteria. JazzHr does offer the ability to automate certain workflows within the tool, but currently Workable provides more powerful AI features.

Reasons to choose Workable over JazzHR

• Pay-per-job pricing plan option
• DEI resources
• Internal job board
• Proprietary AI functionality

Greenhouse: Best ATS for growing businesses

Greenhouse is another ATS that is probably the closest direct competitor to JazzHR. When compared directly, Greenhouse’s features tend to be a touch more comprehensive and sophisticated than JazzHR, and it offers significantly more built-in integrations.

The system has a well-designed user interface (UI), and the candidate-facing portal makes a great impression on potential hires. It’s also GDPR-compliant, which is a plus for international companies hiring in Europe. However, the pricing isn’t transparent, and there is no free trial offered, which is a big change from JazzHR.

Job board access

Greenhouse provides access to over 1,000 job boards, which is a lot more than many competitors and will greatly increase job posting visibility. This contrasts with JazzHR’s more limited job board offering; combined, it allows users to post to less than 60 free and paid job boards, which is a significant decrease.

Scorecard ratings

Greenhouse has developed a unique rating system that uses symbols and colors to quickly gather impressions of candidates and help eliminate biases in the assessment process. JazzHR did recently implement candidate scorecards after many years of not offering them, but its scorecards just use a basic star rating system, and the design isn’t as visually appealing as Greenhouse’s is.

Reasons to choose Greenhouse over JazzHR

• More integrations with third-party apps
• Access to 1,000 job boards
• Visual scorecard rating system
• GDPR-compliant

BambooHR: Best HR software suite

Sometimes, you don’t just need an ATS but also an entire HR software suite, and that’s where providers such as BambooHR come in. BambooHR is a highly-rated HR solution that also includes ATS, so you don’t need a separate HR software stack. Its features cover the entire employee life cycle, from recruiting and hiring to payroll and benefits to performance management and offboarding. BambooHR is specifically designed for SMBs, so it’s a great option if your company is growing fast but doesn’t need enterprise-level HR tech yet.

Automatic alerts

Never miss out on a potential job application with automatic recruiting alerts from BambooHR. Not only does the system give you a notification when a candidate is ready to advance, it’s also available across the HR software instead of just being confined to the ATS. While JazzHR does offer email alerts as well, you won’t get notifications for other HR processes.

Communication tools

If you constantly have to track down messages and email threads in other apps, BambooHR will help you centralize all recruiting communication thanks to its in-app messaging. JazzHR does not offer native messaging tools, so you will need to rely on third-party apps to communicate with the rest of your talent acquisition team.

Reasons to choose BambooHR over JazzHR

• Full HR capabilities
• No need for separate HR software
• Automatic alerts and reminders
• In-app communication tools

Zoho Recruit: Best business software stack

In other cases, you’re looking for even more than HR tech: You need an entire business software stack that works together seamlessly. While you can subscribe to the Zoho Recruit ATS à la carte, it really shines when used in conjunction with not just Zoho’s HR suite but the entire Zoho software stack.

If you are looking not just for an ATS but for an entire suite of software that works together, then Zoho is definitely worth considering. While it’s not as complex as enterprise solutions like SAP or Oracle, Zoho’s products are much easier to navigate, making it a great option for small to large companies looking for a comprehensive software solution without a prohibitive learning curve.

Assessment templates

Standardize candidate assessments and make final hiring decisions easier with assessment templates from Zoho. Zoho Recruit offers multiple types of assessment types that come pre-populated with questions you can then customize. JazzHR does offer the option to create assessments, but it has fewer types and templates than Zoho does.

Personalized portals

Zoho Recruit offers customizable portals for job candidates, vendors, and clients, making it a flexible solution for both a staffing agency and an in-house HR team. JazzHR is actually one of the few ATS that offer white label capabilities too, so if that’s the feature that was tilting your decision towards JazzHR, then it’s definitely worth looking into Zoho’s personalization options as well.

Reasons to choose Zoho over JazzHr

• Full-stack software solution
• Integration with other Zoho products
• Assessment templates
• Personalized portals

JazzHR Limitations

JazzHR has a lot going for it, which is why we included it on our list of best ATS software for 2023. For starters, all plans include unlimited users. The software has an easy-to-use interface, and the candidate profiles centralize all information in one place. Customizable recruiting workflows and automation features optimize recruitment processes such as document management. The white-label capabilities help set it apart from other ATS systems.

But, JazzHR also has its own drawbacks. It has an unusual pricing scheme that features a 6x jump in pricing from the base tier to the middle tier. The base plan only offers limited functionality and job listings, which means you need to be willing to pay for at least the middle-tier plan to make the most of this ATS. In other words, JazzHR is not the most cost-effective option on the market and may be too expensive for small businesses. 

Cost isn’t the only disadvantage of using JazzHR:

• It offers fewer integrations than some competitors; this may be a deal breaker since it’s only an ATS and not a full HR software suite.
• It posts to fewer job boards than some competitors — it syncs to about 15 free job boards and less than 40 paid job boards — which may limit the reach of a job posting and slow down the hiring process.
• There is no dedicated mobile app, which is something that is offered by most competitors.

In short, JazzHR is the best choice for midsize businesses looking primarily for an ATS as opposed to HR tech with ATS functionality. If you are a small business, there are other ATS systems out there that offer a more enticing entry-level plan. And if you are a large business or enterprise, you’ll likely want a more robust ATS that can keep up with your high-volume hiring activities.

Choosing the right alternative to JazzHR

JazzHR is one of the most recommended stand-alone ATS systems, but it’s not the right fit for every business. If you’re specifically looking for an ATS, there are several great JazzHR alternatives on the market that may meet your needs better.

If you’re a small business looking to get started with your first ATS, check out BreezyHR’s forever-free plan. If you want the best ATS overall, consider Workable’s excellent balance of features and prices. And if you’re a rapidly growing business, Greenhouse’s unique functionality can help you take your staffing to the next level.

If you’re not just looking for an ATS but also an HR software, BambooHR offers basically every core HR function in one easy-to-navigate package. And Zoho offers ATS and HR tools alongside an entire stack of business software that integrates seamlessly with each other.

Choosing an ATS system is a complex decision. If none of these vendors meet your needs, check out our ATS Software Guide to browse other solutions.

The post Top JazzHR Competitors & Alternatives for 2023 appeared first on TechnologyAdvice.

Though HRIS, HRMS, and HCM overlap in core HR areas that run on basic employee data, HRM and HCM systems offer an increasingly enhanced set of features. A specific software product’s features don’t always align with how the vendor markets or labels itself, making it confusing for buyers to find the level of functionality that’s right for their business.

Refer to our HR Software Guide to explore vendors in all three categories and find a solution that fits your business needs.

What are the differences between HRIS, HRMS, and HCM?

HRIS, HRMS, and HCM aren’t three separate types of software. Rather, they build upon one another to offer increasingly sophisticated features as a company’s needs evolve.

To illustrate, an HCM platform encompasses and expands upon HRIS and HRMS capabilities. It has the capacity to store and track an employee’s basic information when they start a position, thanks to the bedrock of data managed in the HRIS.

Beyond that, the HCM also connects the employee’s performance management data and learning management activities. Managers can then monitor the professional growth of their direct reports over time. This falls within the scope of what an HRMS can do.

At the broadest level, the HCM platform aggregates workforce data from performance and learning management and funnels that information into the compensation management metrics and succession planning modules. HR leadership is vested in this information to ensure employees are getting paid fairly and are following career paths that serve both the employee’s and the organization’s goals.

Also read: Gusto vs Zenefits

HRIS

An HRIS is a centralized repository for employee data—like name, date of birth, and Social Security number (SSN)—and houses various types of information systems. These information systems, in turn, support different HR functions.

An HRIS is the most basic solution to store and manage employee data. It’s a step up from managing this information in spreadsheets and typically includes payroll, benefits administration, and time tracking. However, some HRIS solutions, like Rippling Unity, offer even more stripped-down functionality where a company can bolt on capabilities like payroll and time tracking.

When a business might choose an HRIS

An HRIS is best for small businesses with one-person or small HR teams that need basic HR functions like payroll, benefits administration, and time tracking.

HR professionals can leverage the data in an HRIS to streamline and automate tactical HR tasks like payroll. Top HRIS solutions in this regard include ADP Run, BambooHR, and Gusto Simple.

Also read: The Best HRIS Systems

HRMS

An HRMS expands upon HRIS to offer additional functionalities that draw on data from the HRIS and is thus best suited for small to medium businesses. Added capabilities include performance management and recruiting.

HRIS and HRMS are often blended together. While the HRIS handles raw employee data in its database, HRMS platforms layer functionality on top of that data to gain greater insights and make data-driven HR decisions. As such, an HRMS can’t exist without the database of an HRIS to support it.

When a business might choose an HRMS

HRM systems best support small to midsize businesses in not only managing more data but also acting on it in ways that keep the business growing.

Part of keeping an upward momentum means focusing on attracting and retaining top talent. Companies therefore use an HRMS to:

• Attract, hire, and onboard employees in a streamlined, user-friendly way.
• Develop employees via performance management.
• Engage employees by soliciting and acting on their feedback.

The HRMS draws on the various data stored in the HRIS to help HR professionals make data-driven decisions around attracting, hiring, and retaining top talent in an organization. Top vendors include ADP Workforce Now, Zoho People, Rippling HR Cloud, Gusto Plus, and Zenefits.

HCM

HCM platforms are the most sophisticated level of HR software. They help companies develop and leverage employee strengths on a broader scale to increase the return on investment (ROI) of the workforce. Because of this, HCM platforms are tools designed for the strategic, people-focused aims of large businesses.

The main difference between HCM software and HRMS is the level of complexity of the tools the HCM system offers in order to support a bigger workforce. Tools in an HCM platform augment HRMS functionality to include more complex analytics that drive alignment between talent and overall business strategy.

To that end, HCM systems typically include strategic workforce management features like employee engagement, compensation management, and a learning management system. These tools are designed to help businesses optimize their workforces and develop internal talent.

When a business might choose an HCM

Large companies, especially those with employees in different parts of the world, need an HCM platform to acquire more complex analytical insights than an HRIS or HRMS can offer. Compared to an HRIS or HRMS, an HCM integrates information from all modules across one central platform to deliver insights and added security. Companies use these insights to manage and extend the employee life cycle from hire to retire.

HCM systems support a business’s strategic goals via comprehensive analytics and industry data and benchmarks. This means it generates and analyzes internal as well as external data sets to help a company:

• Leverage existing talent in the best way possible.
• Anticipate workforce needs in terms of recruiting, developing, and promoting employees.

ADP Enterprise HR, iSolved, Zoho People Plus, Oracle HCM, and Workday HCM are key HCM software vendors.

Also read: Workday vs. Oracle HCM

Should you choose an HRIS, HRMS, or HCMS?

Headcount is a good starting criterion but isn’t the only deciding factor for which type of system to invest in. Other factors to consider include:

Scalability of Features Within a Given Solution: Companies should ask what kind of functionality they need given the size of their workforce and what areas they’ll need to scale first. An increasing number of external party integrations becomes untenable, so a vendor that offers different product levels and add-ons is best. This helps avoid the trouble of switching solutions entirely, which only adds to a company’s growing pains

Business Maturity: An HRIS is ideal for managing a young company’s growing database, an HRMS helps companies that are poised for growth, and an HCM solution helps more mature companies strategize against competitors.

Pain Points: A company with high employee turnover, for example, benefits from an HRMS or HCM that includes advanced recruiting tools as well as performance management and employee engagement.

As the number of employees grows, an organization will eventually need to upgrade to a system that can handle more data storage (HRIS), management (HRMS), and/or analytics (HCM). Check out our HR Software Guide to explore vendors in all three categories and find a solution that fits your business needs.

The post HRIS vs HRMS vs HCM: What Is the Difference in 2023? appeared first on TechnologyAdvice.

Rescinding offers and laying off current employees is never easy, but unfortunately, they are a common occurrence in times of economic downturn. If you find yourself needing to withdraw an offer from a candidate or let go of an employee, it’s important to maintain fairness and compassion for everyone affected. Thankfully, following some best practices and leveraging the right software tools can help guide the decision-making process.

Looking for software that can help? Check out our HR Software Guide.

How to lay off employees with clarity and compassion

As a leader, you may be wondering how to lay off an employee and do right by your people. Here’s how you can lay off an employee with grace and goodwill.

Make other cuts first when possible

All too often, we hear of mass layoffs in companies that simultaneously approved bonuses for their executive team. And while executives certainly deserve to get paid like the rest of the employees, it’s a bad look to give yourself a bonus while endangering your staff’s livelihood with unemployment.

Instead, look for other areas of your budget to make cuts before making layoff decisions. Maybe you have a big travel budget, but can attend virtual conferences or handle client meetings over Zoom. Or perhaps pausing those executive bonuses would allow you to keep more people.

“With careful planning, some amount of business risk can be minimized and some layoffs avoided,” said Amy Spurling, founder and CEO of Compt. “That said, a rapid and dramatic shift in the market cannot be predicted from a timing perspective.”

When employee layoffs can’t be avoided, you can at least soften the blow with thoughtful communication, severance packages, and letters of recommendation.

Avoid making empty promises

One of the biggest problems with the layoffs from some of these big-name companies is that they promised employees or new hires that they would be layoff proof, only to eventually let them go, rescind their job offers, or engage in temporary layoffs.

If you can’t be sure someone’s job is safe from cuts, don’t tell them it is. That’s the fastest way to leave a bad taste in the employee’s mouth and ensure it’s harder to hire new people when the business starts trending upward again.

Use consistent criteria for layoff decisions

Once you’ve decided workforce cuts are inevitable, you need to decide who will be leaving. This is one of the hardest personnel decisions.

“[You should] have transparent and clear reasons for why people are laid off,” said Chris Nicholson, data science team lead at Clipboard Health. “In some companies, that’s seniority. In others, maybe there is a strategic shift that means a whole team or business unit no longer makes sense. It’s the job of leadership to exude clarity and tell people why things are happening.”

Poor performance management — such as absenteeism, negativity, and failure to meet goals — is one possible criterion you can use to determine layoffs. Insubordination, ethical lapses, and criminal acts are always grounds for termination as well. In large-scale layoff scenarios, many companies focus on higher salaried employees, newer hires, and/or the lowest 10% on the work performance scale.

You don’t have to make these choices in a vacuum: Human resource management technology can help support data-driven decisions. For example, by using a human resources information system (HRIS), you can sort your remaining employees by seniority and determine how many of the newest employees you’ll need to lay off in order to make the necessary cuts based on their salaries. If you want to make sure you’re keeping your best-performing employees, use performance management software to see which workers always meet or exceed their key performance indicators (KPIs).

Create a transitional plan

Depending on the employer’s needs, you may find it beneficial to keep on a certain number of employees for a set period of time in order to transition the workforce smoothly. You can either identify specific employees you would like to stay on for this transitional period or ask for volunteers.

Whichever strategy you choose, you should offer incentives to impacted employees to encourage them to stay on. These incentives might include an increased severance package, a retention bonus, and a flexible schedule to accommodate interviews.

Communicate layoffs with transparency and respect

While handling layoffs via email might be easier for you, it’s rude to departing employees. At a minimum, they deserve a phone or Zoom call or even an in-person meeting. You can then follow it with a formal written notice or layoff letter to create a documentation paper trail; make sure the advance notice comes early enough to comply with federal and state laws.

“Whenever possible, the message should come from the employee’s manager or HR directly,” said Lisa Calick, director of human resources (HR) advisory services for SPRH at Wiss & Company. “Any business owner wants to make sure the message always shows compassion for the people being let go and provides an opportunity for those affected to have a voice, even if through a separate communication channel. Layoffs are tough but showing employees that you care goes a long way.”

During this conversation, you should be respectful and compassionate but also honest. Don’t lie about why employees are being let go — if there was a performance issue, say so; this can protect your company from wrongful termination lawsuits. You should also be direct and keep the conversation short; there’s no need to prolong it with excess small talk and pleasantries.

Provide outplacement support

If you are not letting the workers go for performance reasons, then providing outplacement support for them will create a lot of goodwill for your company despite the layoffs. Severance pay packages and unemployment benefits are a part of this, but career service programs go beyond just money — and they can help boost employee engagement and morale among remaining workers, too.

You should definitely offer letters of recommendation for workers who weren’t let go for performance issues. Providing assistance with the job search in the form of résumé reviews, interview prep, and referrals is also a great idea. This will show laid-off employees that you truly care about them and make it easier to hire them back if the need arises in the future.

HR software can help navigate layoffs

It’s important to remember that employment loss affects real people, and you need to approach them with the gravity they deserve. Layoffs should only be used as a last resort when there aren’t other options that make sense for the employer.

If you do have to engage in layoffs, make sure you’re using workforce development technology to inform those layoff decisions, so you have a clear picture of who you terminated and why.

Looking for technology that can help you evaluate your workforce? Check out our best HRIS systems software guide for recommendations.

The post How to Gracefully Layoff an Employee With Compassion appeared first on TechnologyAdvice.

Researching which vendor is right for you can be both challenging and time-consuming. Whether you are considering switching from one vendor to the other or have narrowed down your options to either Lever or Greenhouse software, use our detailed comparison below to help make your decision.

Also read: Best Applicant Tracking System for Small Business

Lever vs. Greenhouse: Which ATS is Right For You?

Lever: Best for growing companies aiming to streamline hiring processes

Where many human resource management (HRM) solutions have expanded their software to cover other core HR functions such as payroll and onboarding, Lever remains dedicated to optimizing its recruiting platform to remain accessible to businesses in multiple industries.

Lever boasts a simple user interface (UI) that does not require hours of training to implement in an organization. With 24/7 customer support, professional service teams, and prebuilt email templates and offer letters, smaller or growing businesses aiming for quick implementation and simplified recruitment processes may find more success with Lever than Greenhouse. However, Lever lacks a mobile application for on-the-go teams, upfront pricing, or a free trial.

Greenhouse: Best for larger companies focused on optimizing user experience

Compared to Lever, Greenhouse focuses on providing a positive user experience to both applicants and recruiters alike. Larger companies needing to coordinate among multiple teams may appreciate Greenhouse’s collaboration tools and detailed recruitment workflows.

Additionally, Greenhouse includes a variety of DE&I initiatives in every stage of its recruiting process, such as candidate name pronunciation recordings. Companies aiming for candidates to feel more invested and involved in the hiring process may value these features in Greenhouse over Lever. However, because of Greenhouse’s conscientious approach to hiring, it may not be the best solution for companies hoping to source and hire quickly.

Lever vs. Greenhouse: A Detailed Comparison

Candidate sourcing

Lever and Greenhouse offer solutions to obtain a robust applicant pool for any position. Like most ATS solutions, Lever and Greenhouse take advantage of candidate sourcing opportunities through options like career pages and online job board distribution. However, where Lever focuses on simple tools to gather candidate information quickly, Greenhouse provides recruiters with multiple methods of sourcing candidates, including a mobile application to source candidates on the go.

Lever

Lever focuses on simplistic processes to start sourcing candidates as soon as possible. Recruiters can create a new job opening through Lever’s application and choose to post it either internally, externally, or both. Once users make a job opening, they can post the opening to their career site, online job boards, or through social media referral links.

Career page

Users can post their job openings on a custom career page through Lever’s server. Lever will generate a URL for the company to add to its website or to share with potential candidates. Applicants can then apply through the career site and sync their LinkedIn accounts.

Lever’s career pages cater to small businesses with limited resources or no IT staff. With minimal technical knowledge, users can customize their internal and external career pages with open postings, company logos, and colors to match their brand. Meanwhile, businesses with web developers can use Lever’s API to connect with their organization’s custom job site or modify Lever’s hosted job site to suit their company’s needs better. Lever even allows more advanced users with third-party tracking cookies to embed tracking pixels on their career page to record candidate conversion rates.

Job board integrations

Lever offers over 30 job board integrations, including native solutions with Indeed and LinkedIn. If a job board integration is unavailable through Lever, users can manually post their job on another job site and then record the posting on Lever for tracking purposes.

For example, suppose a business wants to post an opening on a university’s job site. In that case, they can post their job opening manually on the university’s website, copy the job opening link, and paste it for tracking in Lever. Thus, businesses looking to post their jobs in more niche areas can still collect valuable recruitment metrics to determine the quality of candidates from varying job boards.

Manual sourcing methods

Lever allows users to manually add prospects through direct input or internal employee referrals. Lever also includes a Google Chrome extension that parses candidate information from sites like LinkedIn, Gmail, Facebook, GitHub, and Wellfound (formerly AngelList).

Suppose the prospect does not have a candidate profile created for them in Lever. Lever’s Chrome extension will parse information from their profiles and attach them to a specified job opportunity. This feature is handy for companies looking to save time from manually inputting prospects they discover by happenstance.

Greenhouse

Compared to Lever, Greenhouse offers a much more extensive array of both native and third-party job board ATS integrations for candidate sourcing. Additionally, Greenhouse takes a more accessible approach to its candidate sourcing by offering creative ways to gather prospects’ data, including an in-person option. Greenhouse’s goal is to provide multiple, customizable avenues to source candidates instead of the quick, out-of-the-box features valued by Lever.

Career page

Like Lever, users can create external company job boards hosted by Greenhouse. Alongside the job opening, employers can customize job boards with videos, images, or company logos. However, companies must purchase the Greenhouse Recruiting Advanced package to access additional career page features, such as internal-only job boards and support for integration with an API-driven company career page. In contrast, all of these come standard in Lever’s starter tier.

Greenhouse also integrates with LinkedIn, Indeed, and SEEK right from their company career page. So instead of prospects manually entering their information to apply, they can sync their data from these sites to simplify the application process.

Job board integrations

Native integration with traditional job boards, such as LinkedIn, Indeed, Monster, ZipRecruiter, and Arbeitnow, comes standard with Greenhouse. But while users can make job posts for free on these platforms, posting to additional or more niche boards comes with an extra cost. Nevertheless, Greenhouse boasts a job ad market with over 1,000 job boards. Therefore, businesses looking for talent in highly specialized roles, like coding or engineering, or hoping to diversify their workforce, may find this feature especially useful.

Manual sourcing methods

Like Lever, Greenhouse users can manually input prospect data or use a Google Chrome extension for parsing candidate data from Wellfound, GitHub, Indeed, and LinkedIn. In addition, recruiters can manually upload or drag and drop résumés into the extension for data retrieval. Unlike Lever’s extension, however, Greenhouse’s extension maintains overwhelmingly negative user reviews in the Chrome Web Store from users, arguing its lack of functionality and poor navigation.

Yet, a rather unique feature of Greenhouse is its Mobile Events Application for iOS devices. The app is designed for HR teams sourcing in-person candidates from recruitment events. For example, if an employer participates in a job fair or hosts a company event, prospects can input their own data in the app to be added for consideration. The applicant can also take a photo of their résumé to include with their application. From there, hiring teams can add additional feedback or notes to the candidate’s application for follow-up later.

Which to choose for candidate sourcing

Greenhouse. Here’s why: Although Lever features a more user-friendly career page builder and stable Google Chrome extension, Greenhouse offers more varied methods to source candidates from diverse environments. Moreover, HR teams focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) initiatives can utilize Greenhouse’s job ad market by posting their openings to job boards targeting underrepresented groups without manually searching and posting to these sites themselves.

Customers wishing to stick to posting openings on traditional job boards will also appreciate Greenhouse’s free native integration with LinkedIn, Indeed, Monster, ZipRecruiter, and Arbeitnow compared to Lever’s LinkedIn and Indeed. Thus, Greenhouse customers have more opportunities to streamline job posts across multiple platforms compared to Lever.

Candidate management

Lever and Greenhouse take similar approaches to candidate tracking, preferring unified pipelines that favor a holistic view of the company’s overall hiring efforts. Users must utilize filtering and tagging to categorize candidates by job, origin, or source. During the interview process, users can advance applicants to the next stage directly from their profiles. Alternatively, users can leverage bulk actions to reject or move candidates through the hiring process en masse.

However, where Lever focuses on targeting and moving the candidates through the hiring process at speed, Greenhouse takes a more leveled and thoughtful approach to candidate management. Determining which approach works depends on what is more valuable to the hiring team: automation or customization.

Lever

Lever’s candidate management is structured to give everyone in the organization an overarching view of the company’s recruitment efforts. Its goal is to provide users with similar user interfaces, so recruitment teams can navigate incoming candidate applications with minimal training.

Candidate pipeline

All candidate applications for all positions are located in Lever’s dashboard. Users can organize their candidates in multiple ways through tabs and filters, such as by interview stages, job postings, origins, or sources. To progress or reject candidates in the hiring process, recruiters must enter the candidate’s profile through the particular opportunity they applied for and move them to the appropriate stage.

All users can automatically progress candidates to different stages of the interview process based on when they communicate with the applicant. With Lever’s additional automation add-on, users can create more customized automated workflows to free up time from repetitive pipeline tasks.

For example, recruiters can create a conditional formatting rule to archive or progress candidates in the hiring process based on answers to application questions, such as years of experience in a field. As a result, HR teams with a high volume of candidates can save countless hours by manually moving candidates from one stage to the next.

Application review

Although users can review candidate applications and résumés manually through a candidate’s profile or applied opportunity, Lever’s Fast Resume Review can speed up the process significantly. Users can review all applications sprint-style by selecting an open job opportunity and advancing, archiving, or skipping applicants in one module. At the end of the sprint, Lever records the length of time and the number of applicants screened for businesses needing to make decisions on efficiency.

Greenhouse

Greenhouse users have more customization over their pipelines, offering both list and visual views for candidate stage progression. Despite this, Greenhouse offers few automated features in its starter package, with more options available with its automation add-on.

Candidate pipeline

Candidates move through the hiring funnel in Greenhouse much the way they do in Lever. Recruiters can access a candidate’s application through a specific job and choose to progress or reject the candidate to the next stage. Similar to Lever, there are options for users to select several candidates to move forward or reject in bulk.

What stands out in Greenhouse is its Visual Pipeline, which provides companies with a summary view of the active candidates in a particular job’s hiring funnel. Within this view, users can drag and drop candidates to different stages without accessing their profiles. Likewise, users can quickly see how many candidates are in each funnel section to decide where to focus most of their recruitment efforts.

Although Greenhouse includes automations to remind internal teams to take specific actions, such as completing an interview scorecard, Greenhouse Recruiting Essentials does not come with any other workflow automations. As a result, HR teams looking for auto-advance or -reject capabilities based on particular job application criteria must purchase either Greenhouse Recruiting Advanced or Greenhouse Recruiting Expert tiers.

Application review

Like Lever, Greenhouse users can select applicants one at a time to review and progress or reject to the next stage of the hiring process. To review several applications at once, users have a process similar to Lever’s Fast Resume Review known as their Application Review stage. Greenhouse users can also add a subset of candidates to review by employing their bulk application review option. Users can progress or reject a specific set of candidates within Application Review, outside of the total number of applicants for that particular job opening.

Which to choose for candidate management

It’s a tie. Here’s why: For teams needing to hire quickly, Lever users can take advantage of its prebuilt candidate stage automations and Fast Resume Review to get as many qualified candidates as possible into the interview phase. Meanwhile, Greenhouse offers several methods to view and advance or reject candidates, which is ideal for users requiring more diversified workflows.

Interview management

Lever and Greenhouse take a structured interview approach to hiring. This involves hiring managers creating interview rubrics for a position, so that every candidate for a particular role is judged by the same set of criteria. The goal of structured interviewing is to promote consistency among all interviewers for a position and reduce bias.

Lever and Greenhouse employ interview kits and candidate scorecards to put structured interviewing into practice. Additional candidate feedback can be left within the scorecards or notes for the team to review. Hiring teams can also use mentions to ping other team members for further input or thoughts on candidate progression.

Where Lever and Greenhouse differ in interview management is in their approach to interview scheduling and email outreach programs.

Lever

Lever continues prioritizing automation in every aspect of its interview management, from interview scheduling to calendar synchronization and email outreach campaigns.

Interview scheduling

Users schedule interviews entirely within Lever without having to email candidates individually. Although users can manually schedule interviews and set up interview panels within one window, HR teams can economize their time by utilizing Lever’s Easy Book feature. Through Easy Book, users sync their Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 accounts to Lever to integrate calendars. Interviewers then email candidates a Lever-created URL, wherein candidates can select an open timeslot in the recruiter’s schedule that works best for them.

Once the interviewee selects the time that works best for them, Lever automatically emails both the recruiter and interviewee of the desired interview, including any necessary video call links to Zoom, Teams, or Google Meet. Easy Book also allows users to add multiple interviewers to the event, select the timeframe the interview event is open for, and set an expiration date.

Email outreach

A standout feature of Lever’s interview management is its Nurture automated email campaigns. The goal of a nurture campaign is multifold: companies can entice passive candidates into applying for an open position or keep applicants engaged during the interview process.

For example, HR teams can customize their Nurture campaigns by sending one to three “touchpoint” emails to candidates at specific points in time regarding details of open positions or interview updates. This ensures a steady supply of potential candidates in evergreen positions, and an applicant does not go cold in case an interview does not work out.

Greenhouse

Unlike Lever, Greenhouse emphasizes a positive candidate experience during the interview phase of the recruitment process by having employers cater to candidate availability. However, this results in HR teams spending significantly more time in back-and-forth communication with candidates before the interview.

Likewise, with a shortage of interview-related automations in the Greenhouse Recruiting Essentials tier, users are forced to spend more time on administrative tasks related to applicant engagement instead of creating insightful interview plans.

Interview scheduling

Like Lever, Greenhouse integrates with Google Calendar and Outlook 365, along with the added integration of Calendly. To schedule an interview, recruiters must access a prospect’s profile and manually schedule the interview itinerary based on the candidates’ and other interviewers’ availability.

Greenhouse does offer candidates the ability to self-schedule their interviews in much the same way as Lever’s Easy Book feature. However, candidate self-scheduling is exclusive to Greenhouse Recruiting’s higher-paying Advanced or Expert subscription tiers compared to Lever’s Easy Book.

Email outreach

With Greenhouse’s Sourcing Automation add-on, users can create custom email campaigns to both source and engage candidates in much the same way as Lever’s Nurture feature. Users can create a series of emails to target prospects after a series of predetermined triggers—for example, not hearing from a candidate after a certain amount of time. In addition, users can customize the number of steps to take within each email campaign to ensure a steady stream of candidates between interviews.

Which to choose for interview management

Lever. Here’s why: Big and small HR teams can take advantage of the time savings associated with Lever’s interview management automations. Because of Greenhouse’s candidate-focused recruitment approach, employers have to spend more time during the recruitment process on communications with candidates. However, with Lever, users do not have to sacrifice cost for basic time-saving automated features compared to the required add-ons or higher paying tiers for similar functions in Greenhouse.

Recruitment analytics

Recruitment analytics are integral to understanding where bottlenecks occur in the recruiting funnel, so employers can take appropriate action to rectify any inefficiencies in their processes. Lever and Greenhouse include basic reporting metrics in their lowest subscription tiers, such as time to hire and source quality, with more customizable functions that can be added with their subscription tiers and add-ons.

Lever

In August 2022, Lever moved from its legacy reports system to its Visual Insights dashboards. In doing so, Lever aimed to make quality recruitment metrics more accessible to everyone in an organization, including employees with little experience with data analytics. Customers have several different dashboards where they can select from preassembled reports and charts highlighting particular metrics.

For example, users can navigate to their Pipeline Dashboard in Visual Insights to view analytics related to a candidate’s movement through the recruitment pipeline, such as time to hire or the average time spent in any one particular stage. Users can configure the available charts further by manipulating filter parameters.

Lever also includes basic DE&I analytics, including an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) and Diversity Dashboard featuring anonymized reports outlining the diversity of a company’s current talent pipeline. Users can receive even more dashboards, including candidate surveys, requisition, and nurturing as well as the time to fill metrics with Lever’s Enterprise subscription. With Lever’s Advanced Analytics add-on, users can also access a predictive analytics tool and Lever’s Data Explorer to build custom reports and visualizations.

Greenhouse

Like Lever, companies can access recruitment analytics by accessing multiple dashboards in Greenhouse’s Reports tab. Dashboards include Offers and hiring, Recruiting efficiency, Sourcing, and Pipeline health. Clicking on a particular dashboard brings users to a summary page with widgets outlining major recruitment statistics. For example, Recruiting efficiency includes quick stats like average time to fill and average time to hire upfront without having to run a report manually.

Users can configure their dashboards with select widgets and filters for a quick view of particular metrics. For more in-depth reports, all Greenhouse users can access the Essential reports section for other reports like pipeline demographics and candidate surveys.

A standout feature of Greenhouse on all subscription tiers is user access to Greenhouse Predicts, which uses machine learning to analyze current pipelines to forecast when a candidate will accept an offer and start with the organization. The predictions can assist recruiters in determining which areas of the recruitment pipeline they need to focus their efforts on while providing estimated turnaround times to hiring managers and executives.

Finally, in Greenhouse Recruiting Advanced or Expert subscription tiers, users can create and save unique reports through Greenhouse’s Report Builder. Through custom columns and filters, recruiters can build reports to answer more specific questions to their organization, such as analyzing recruiting efforts between particular office locations.

Which to choose for interview management

Greenhouse. Here’s why: Greenhouse offers more customizable reporting features and basic predictive analytics across its subscription tiers than Lever. With the combination of dashboards and essential reports, HR teams of all sizes can benefit from robust reporting capabilities without having to purchase more expensive subscription tiers or add-ons.

DE&I and bias eliminators

Lever and Greenhouse each include specific elements, such as report analytics and DE&I dashboards, to assess DE&I strategies during the hiring process. However, where Lever primarily focuses on its reporting and analytics for employers to draw meaningful insights on DE&I initiatives, Greenhouse makes an effort to include DE&I in several ways, from facilitating structured hiring kick-off meetings before a job opening to candidate-focused communications.

Lever

Lever provides HR teams with various reporting options to facilitate organizational DE&I efforts. For example, HR teams can gain insight into bias in their pay practices by accessing Lever’s EEO or Diversity dashboards to compare compensation based on particular demographics.

Lever users can also take advantage of third-party integrations that modify Lever’s programming and aid in making recruitment unbiased. For example, Unbiasify is a third-party application that integrates with Lever and hides candidate names and faces when sourcing them from websites such as LinkedIn or Twitter. This way, hiring teams can ensure a candidate was sourced based on predetermined job criteria while mitigating bias.

Candidates can also select the pronouns they are most comfortable with when they apply to a job opening. However, Lever users must manually enable this question while setting up their job post’s application; Lever does not make this a standard candidate question during the hiring process.

Diversity surveys

Lever’s Diversity Surveys allows users to collect voluntary and anonymized demographic information from applicants after applying for the job. Unlike EEO surveys, diversity surveys are entirely customizable and intended to help with an organization’s DE&I initiatives. For example, users can create multiple diversity surveys to target specific locations to assess diversity within that area.

Companies with remote workers or sourcing a global talent force can use this data to compare the diversity in their domestic and international locations. Moreover, recruiters can determine which groups are over or underrepresented in certain job positions and take action to fix it.

Greenhouse

Like Lever, Greenhouse integrates with third-party applications, like MeVitae, to anonymize protected characteristics within résumés and CVs. Users can also use Greenhouse’s job ad market to distribute their job posting to underrepresented groups and its candidate surveys and reporting tools to identify inequalities between groups in their recruiting pipeline.

However, instead of limiting DE&I functionality to candidate sourcing tools and reporting, Greenhouse intentionally includes such features in every aspect of its software. For example, before recruiters post a job opening or begin sourcing candidates, Greenhouse encourages hiring teams to participate in structured hiring role kick-off meetings. These meetings define the job’s business objective, identify the skills and qualifications of an ideal candidate, and outline the hiring team’s responsibilities. Greenhouse even provides job kickoff forms to facilitate these discussions.

By outlining the qualifications and experience needed for a role before job posting distribution, hiring teams are less likely to base their hiring decision on things prone to bias, such as intuition.

Candidate-focused features

While Lever users must choose to include a pronoun selection question in their job posting questions, in Greenhouse, this feature comes standard during the interview phase. Additionally, Greenhouse allows candidates to record their name pronunciation when they receive their interview calendar invite.

By offering these candidate-focused features, Greenhouse assists companies in making their DE&I efforts explicit to incoming talent. As a result, companies can promote a positive brand while making candidates feel seen and heard.

Unconscious bias nudges

Another unique callout for Greenhouse is their unconscious bias “nudges.” Users can configure these reminders to appear at various points in the hiring process, such as when creating a job post, reviewing candidate applications, or scoring a candidate after an interview. Nudges remind hiring teams to check their personal biases and to focus on qualifications relevant to the job.

Often, candidates from underrepresented backgrounds may be at a disadvantage when it comes to applications or interviews. Nudges can assist hiring teams in recognizing these circumstances, so they can make hiring decisions that promote the diversity of the overall organization.

Which to choose for DE&I initiatives and bias eliminators?

Greenhouse. Here’s why: Unlike Lever, Greenhouse’s software allows employers to be reactive and proactive in their DE&I efforts. For example, Lever leaves the responsibility to employers to enact candidate pronoun recognition or to take action when reporting reveals inequitable hiring practices. In contrast, Greenhouse’s candidate name pronunciation and unconscious bias nudges remind organizations to be objective in their hiring. They also highlight to candidates the ways the company is striving toward inclusivity.

Lever vs. Greenhouse: Ready to Choose?

Choosing which software is best for your business depends on your hiring goals. If you value efficiency, Lever’s lowest-paying tier comes with many standard automations for teams to source and hire a candidate quickly. If you value a positive candidate experience to promote brand awareness and boost sourcing efforts, choose Greenhouse to include in your HR tech stack.

However, if neither software meets your needs, check out our ATS Software and Recruitment Software guides to browse other solutions.

The post Lever vs Greenhouse Comparison 2023 appeared first on TechnologyAdvice.

The variety of pre-employment testing software available is just as wide and unique as each company. Below is a shortlist of the top five applicant testing software to meet individual business needs.

Top Pre-Employment Testing Solutions for Talent Assessment

Businesses have distinct needs when searching for the best new hire and little time to do so. Our top five candidate testing software picks offer unique assessment and screening tools to help companies quickly narrow down the best candidates.

TestGorilla: Best for versatility

TestGorilla is a pre-employment assessment platform for businesses looking for versatility—whether in implementation, skills library, or candidate experience. With multiple pricing tiers (including a free plan), growing businesses can take advantage of TestGorilla’s additional features as the needs of the company evolve.

TestGorilla also offers user-friendly experiences for both employers and candidates. Candidates can take their assessments from any mobile device without the need for login credentials or a user profile. This makes it easier for employees in industries like construction or retail that do not necessarily need a computer.

TestGorilla pros and cons

Key features

Accessibility: Candidates can access TestGorilla’s skill assessments from any mobile device and do not need login credentials or a user profile. This is useful for employers hiring for roles that do not require a computer. Likewise, TestGorilla integrates natively with several of the best applicant tracking systems, including Workable, Greenhouse, BreezyHR, and JazzHR. Therefore, employers do not need to sacrifice time or money to switch between platforms or manually input data into their talent management platform.

Anti-Cheating Capabilities: TestGorilla employs anti-cheating measures, such as randomized question cycling, disabled copy-paste function, test time limits, candidate location logging, and webcam snapshots, to ensure test integrity. Employers searching for talent in specialized roles, like engineering or nursing, may appreciate these monitoring capabilities to ensure their prospective candidates can perform in the role. However, companies should be cautious about some of these features with regard to employee data privacy.

iMocha: Best for its skills library

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iMocha (AKA Interview Mocha) boasts the most extensive skills test library of any pre-employment testing software available. With over 2,500 tests, including aptitude, business intelligence, coding, language, and personality tests, iMocha targets enterprises hiring individuals in varying, specialized roles.

iMocha also takes advantage of its massive skill library to foster continuing education in the company. For example, employers interested in developing an employee’s skill set can assign or suggest skill tests to advance their knowledge base. In addition, employees can follow their assessment paths on their own time, giving them control over the skills they feel are lacking. Meanwhile, businesses can utilize this data to analyze skill deficits in their organizations and ensure they remain competitive with a talent force well-versed in all the latest trends in their fields.

iMocha pros and cons

Key features

Custom Subject Matter Expert Assessments: If employers cannot find a suitable test in iMocha’s assessment library, they can request a custom assessment from global subject matter experts (SMEs). With a turnaround time of fewer than 48 hours, this can return time to both human resources (HR) and managers who would otherwise have to collaborate to develop the test themselves. Moreover, this improves assessment accuracy as SMEs guarantee the most pertinent information is collected for HR teams to make hiring decisions.

Upskilling Platform: iMocha’s upskilling platform allows employers to engage with university students or recent graduates through self-assessments and badge-earning to encourage the learning of new skills. This provides employers with an opportunity to understand the capabilities of an incoming workforce in order to plan and develop training modules appropriately. Similarly, entry-level employees can gain insight into the real-world expectations of their field.

Wonderlic Select: Best AI capabilities

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Wonderlic started back in 1937 when its founder, E. F. Wonderlic, was tasked with streamlining the recruitment process for his employer. After over 80 years of research into industrial-organizational (I-O) psychology and artificial intelligence, Wonderlic has become one of the most used assessment platforms on the market.

Wonderlic Select (formerly WonScore) combines Wonderlic’s cognitive ability, personality, and motivation tests into one score. Employers can consult with Wonderlic Select’s team to determine the parameters of the tests based on their job descriptions. With this information, Wonderlic’s AI develops, issues, and grades assessment tests automatically. This makes it easy for HR teams to implement across the organization, as they do not need to create custom assessments for each role.

Wonderlic Select pros and cons

Key features

AI Job Description Search: Wonderlic uses AI to provide employers with a shortlist of role-appropriate testing profiles and hiring criteria based on an employer’s job description. Wonderlic’s AI parses job descriptions; determines the role’s main knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs); and suggests the testing profiles to best measure that role’s competencies.

Automatic Grading: Wonderlic Select’s AI automatically grades and stacks completed candidate assessments based on their score. Scores are also color-coded from red to green, so HR teams can quickly identify qualified candidates. These visual organizational elements reduce the time HR teams take to screen candidates, so they can focus instead on individuals with the greatest potential of succeeding in the role.

Vervoe: Best for customization

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Like TestGorilla and iMocha, Vervoe has an extensive library of over 300 skills assessments. However, Vervoe differs in its ability to view and customize its own existing tests.

For example, to maintain test integrity, TestGorilla prevents employers from viewing the questions and answers of their skill assessments and only provides employers with up to 20 custom questions per assessment at their highest-priced tier. Vervoe, on the other hand, encourages employers to customize their assessments—even generate their own tests from scratch.

Vervoe allows businesses to create tests for roles where a common assessment may not exist. Employers who have been unsuccessful in assessing applicants’ capabilities for highly technical positions, such as engineering or coding, may find the control hiring managers have in test creation beneficial.

Vervoe pros and cons

Key features

Assessment Builder Tool: Vervoe allows companies to utilize its prebuilt skill tests as templates. From there, companies can customize their assessments using different question types outside of multiple-choice and essay questions, such as video, audio, spreadsheet, presentation, and code. With these, companies can gain valuable insight into how a candidate performs on specific tasks or projects unique to the position.

Personalized AI Grading: Vervoe gives companies the ability to train their AI on how to grade their assessments. Companies can “rank” responses to questions on a scale from 1–10, so their AI learns which aspects are most valuable when grading. However, the drawback is that this can occasionally result in inaccurate grading as the AI learns. Nevertheless, employers may find this feature appealing, as they can control how the AI weighs each assessment to their liking.

The Predictive Index: Best for global talent

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Like Wonderlic Select, The Predictive Index (PI) is excellent for HR administrators and hiring managers interested in pre-employment assessment tools that require little effort to implement. However, PI stands out by accommodating test takers speaking multiple languages.

PI assists employers hiring outside of the U.S. or employing a remote workforce by creating a unified experience for prospective employees through their cognitive abilities and behavioral traits assessments. Because candidates receive versions of the same test, companies can make data-driven decisions in determining what behavioral styles work best for each role in different locations and hire talent accordingly.

The Predictive Index pros and cons

Key features

Global Talent Optimization: Because PI’s tests come in over 70 languages, international employers can utilize the same tests in all locations without having to spend the time or resources to create and translate custom tests.

Moreover, PI boasts that their tests are culturally neutral. Its cognitive ability assessment focuses on how fast someone can learn, while their behavioral traits assessment measures how someone thinks and works. Such impartial tests are critical to organizations with diverse workforces where political, cultural, or socioeconomic factors could potentially hinder applicants’ chances in traditional, skills-focused assessments.

Four-Framework Solution: PI offers four solutions: Hire, Inspire, Design, and Diagnose. Each offers ways to assess prospective talent and align them with appropriate roles, develop meaningful relationships between managers and employees, create career paths for teams, and analyze employee engagement. In addition, each solution integrates with ATS platforms like UKG, so companies can add these analytic tools without sacrificing existing frameworks.

Choosing the Best Pre-Employment Testing Software

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Each pre-employment testing solution comes with its own pros and cons, and some cater to industries with distinctive needs. Therefore, employers should consider the aspects most important to them when selecting the best solution.

For businesses looking for a range of industry-specific questions for use on all device platforms, TestGorilla and iMocha’s vast skill set libraries allow employers to save time on test creation for specialized roles. In particular, iMocha’s customized expert-created tests save employers valuable time searching for assessments in niche industries.

In contrast, for companies looking for customization at every stage of the assessment process, Vervoe’s assessment builder and personalized AI grading give control to hiring departments in deciding what to value most in candidate assessments. Meanwhile, TestGorilla’s question randomization and test-taker snapshots help reduce the likelihood of cheating and suspicious behavior for employers concerned about test integrity.

Wonderlic Select and The Predictive Index require the least amount of work from HR departments needing to quickly implement pre-employment assessments into their hiring process. The Predictive Index, with its breadth of language options, can provide companies with international workforces, in particular, a unified assessment measure across its diverse marketplaces.

Many of the software above integrate with applicant tracking systems to boost efficiency at every stage of the hiring process—from application to new hire onboarding. Check out our ATS Software or Recruiting Software guides for solutions to meet your particular needs.

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