Workday is a human capital management, finance, and corporate planning tool for medium to large enterprise companies. The software has long led the cloud human capital management (HCM) pack, but it may not work for everyone.
For Workday customers looking to implement an alternative, we’ve brought together six Workday HCM competitors with outstanding features to help start your research process. All of these competitors offer the main features you’ll want from an HCM software as well as add-ons for payroll, timesheets, and other essential capabilities.
If you’re looking for a more customized list of human capital management tools with features catered to your business’s needs, check out our HR Software Product Selection Tool. Click on the banner below to get started.
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Top 6 Workday competitors
Oracle HCM: Best for enterprise-level cloud services
While the original competitor to Workday is Oracle PeopleSoft, the new software alternative you should consider is Oracle HCM Cloud. This cloud-first human capital management solution is a significant upgrade from the clunky on-premises PeopleSoft.
Oracle HCM takes advantage of the Oracle cloud databases to build a network of data analytics-based tools. Choose from five modules, or try them all:
- Human resources includes human resources (HR) directory, help desk, benefits, and workforce predictions.
- Talent management contains employee performance management, compensation, and learning.
- Workforce management offers time tracking, project management, and expense management.
- Payroll tracks employee net income, payments, and other payroll figures.
- HCM analytics includes KPIs (key performance indicators), dashboards, data models, third-party data connections, and more.
Standout feature
Oracle HCM has a user interface (UI) that’s sleek, easier to use, and less cluttered than many enterprise HR software systems.
Also Read: Workday vs. Oracle Cloud HCM: Comparing Two Human Resources Software Giants
Zoho People Plus: Best for small business upgrades
Zoho provides a wide variety of business software designed for scaling businesses looking to level up their tech stacks. Zoho People Plus is their full-service HR platform that combines talent acquisition, applicant tracking, talent management, core HR, and employee engagement software.
If you have been using a lot of the Workday recruiting features, then Zoho will definitely have you covered. The software also offers self-service options for employees to access help desk, travel requests, internal collaboration, and time-off requests on their own.
If you don’t already have a separate payroll software solution, then you can sign up for Zoho Payroll, which integrates seamlessly with Zoho People Plus. Additionally, Zoho’s add-on artificial intelligence (AI) tool, Zia, can help users plan events, set reminders, and build approval processes without constant HR oversight.
Standout feature
Tap into the power of an integrated tech stack by adding other Zoho tools for project management, analytics, CRM, accounting, financial management, and more.
Also Read: Recruiting Software Comparison: The Best Solutions For Enterprise, Medium, And Small Business
SAP SuccessFactors: Best for global companies
SAP SuccessFactors is a modular cloud human capital management tool with HR, time and attendance, recruiting, learning, performance management, and workforce analytics tools. A payroll add-on is also available.
If your business extends beyond the United States, then you should give serious consideration to SAP SuccessFactors. It’s built for global companies with multinational workforces and can support multiple languages, currencies, and tax systems.
If you are currently using a lot of Workday’s financial management features, then you will certainly appreciate how SAP connections align HR modules with other financial metrics. These include cash flows, operating expenses, employee stock transactions, and more.
You can also use the software’s performance management tools to improve employee engagement, learning, and team performance.
Standout feature
Use SAP’s powerful business intelligence and enterprise resource planning (ERP) tools to extend the analytics capabilities of your HR data.
Also Read: Effective Performance Management: Tactics and Tools
BambooHR: Best all-in-one platform
BambooHR is a great alternative to Workday for smaller companies looking to grow into a full-service HCM tool that isn’t overly complicated.
BambooHR has two pricing plans: Essential and Advantage. Essential takes care of the core HR features like records storage, benefits, standard workflows, and standard reporting. Advantage adds hiring and onboarding features as well as customized workflows and branding.
Depending on the company’s needs, there are additional add-on features for payroll, timesheets, and performance management, so you can expand the platform’s capabilities as needed.
Standout feature
With BambooHR’s extensive collection of integrated apps, you don’t have to leave your existing HR tech stack behind if you already have third-party solutions for payroll or other functions.
Also Read: Best HRIS Systems & Platforms for 2021
Zenefits: Best for growing companies
Zenefits is another alternative to Workday for growing companies looking for software that scales as their business grows.
The three plans — Essential, Growth, and Zen — all include HR, time and attendance, integrations, and mobile support. Companies looking for employee performance and compensation management will find it in the Growth tier and get all that plus wellness features in the Zen tier. Add payroll services for a small per-employee fee every month at any tier.
Standout feature
Let employees take control of their onboarding, benefits selection, and more with self-service features that save HR administration time and effort.
Also Read: Namely vs. Zenefits: Choosing the Right HR Software
ADP Enterprise HR: Best for large businesses
ADP’s HR software comes in several sizes and plans that offer HR tools with enterprise capabilities. ADP Enterprise HR is built for companies with over 1,000 employees looking for a customizable and comprehensive human capital management tool that can address their more complex HR needs as their company grows.
Start out with payroll and other HR features, then choose from add-ons for recruiting, talent management, benefits, and time and attendance to increase the power of the tool. ADP also comes ready to integrate with major ERP, HR, recruiting, and learning tools, which makes it easy to switch only a single software and keep your existing tech stack.
Standout feature
ADP DataCloud provides analytics for your workforce data and benchmarking to help your team understand how you measure up against the competition.
Also Read: 8 ADP Competitors for Any Company’s HR Needs
Choosing the Best HCM Software
Everyone wants the best HCM, but it’s hard to wade through all the possibilities — we’ve only scratched the surface here. TechnologyAdvice can shorten your research process and help you find an HCM with the right features for your price point. Use our HR Product Selection Tool to get your free list of recommended HCM software today.
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