BambooHR is an online human resources (HR) software service that offers an end-to-end solution for your workforce management. It is currently the highest rated HR solution in our review base. It also won our Best HR Management Software Award for 2018 as well as the Expert’s Choice Award for 2018. The software provides small and growing companies with a user-friendly platform where they can migrate data from complex spreadsheets to a modern Human Resource Information System (HRIS) that fits their specific requirements. If you want to see the system in action you can easily schedule a live demo here.

With this service, HR professionals can focus their time and efforts on more important tasks. BambooHR’s Applicant Tracking System (ATS) can administer all aspects of the employee’s life cycle, and provide the necessary personnel visibility using strategic indicators such as retention and turnover.

The first thing that attracts attention when looking at BambooHR is how sleek and modern its interface looks, with a recognizable color template that makes HR management enjoyable rather than boring. As irrelevant as some businesses believe appearances to be, they play an important role in managing workforce, particularly in a larger team.

The most important thing is the BambooHR comprehensive feature suite. Inside, you will find all relevant HR functions, personnel data modules, tracking capabilities, and advanced reporting opportunities. Built for small and medium-sized businesses, the system utilizes a stripped-down mechanism to follow the performance, which makes it a very good choice for growing companies. We also recommend it to remote and decentralized teams, due to the fact that it offers flawlessly performing apps for all operational systems.

At the same time, BambooHR turns applicant tracking into an optional system, as it provides you with the possibility to integrate it with more than 20 HR systems and business management apps. The Open Application Programming Interface is there to expand some of the most critical capabilities of this system, including expense tracking, reporting, and benefits administration.

What may also be interesting for prospective buyers is that BambooHR has a quote-based pricing scheme, where each package, be it an SMB or an enterprise one, is tailored to meet the needs of the client. Before making a final decision, though, you may want to check their free trial to see if their features are actually what you’re looking for.

Applicant tracking system

BambooHR makes hiring and employee management considerably easier and is better than most other HR systems. This is mostly because of its optional applicant tracking system. It displays job openings in a separate tab, where the user gets to see all applications, applicant leads, and select/eliminate applications as they arrive. In a similar way, you can add new job openings with all relevant details such as salary, title, duration, contract type, etc. One way to do this is to use a filtered dropdown menu, while the other is to use the system’s special text editor and to add a longer description. Once the list is ready and completed, the users can share it on all social networks or popular job boards to make sure applicants know about them.

Great onboarding for new employees

When it comes to freshly hired employees, Bamboo HR does an outstanding job as well. New hires receive a special email containing training information and access to all system files and corporate documents that may be relevant to them. This can save the manager a lot of time as the new user can import their personal information to the system, and establish connections with the other employees. Needless to say, they will also get to participate in every discussion, training, or event from the very first moment they log into the system.

Role-based access to information

Following the concept of traditional HR management, this well-integrated platform provides role-based access to information. The main figures in the system are administrators and managers who are in charge of delegating competence to other users listed on their dashboard. It is exactly them who will be responsible for creating employee profiles and inserting all related information in their portfolios. The Employee section is placed right next to the Job Opening sections, joining a list of other tabs such as My Info, Files, and Reports. Basically, this system makes it possible to use your account and manage corporate activities from the very same eye-pleasant dashboard.

Benefits management and performance administration

Your next and most important question is probably the one about benefits management and performance administration, where we also have many positive things to say. All administrative power is collated in the Employees tab and its organizational chart that can be easily customized. Once the administrator assigns tasks in the chart, employees are notified and can start working on them immediately. Time-off balances and benefits are added in the same way, for the employee to have a constant overview of them.

How exactly does Bamboo HR manage performance? The first thing you should know is that the system doesn’t analyze performance on 6-months or annual basis, but compares individual actions to common goals every day, without even being triggered to do so. There is a quadrant-style matrix plot that uses this information to compare employees to each other and distinguish the top performers among them. This is not only important for rewarding talented professionals and improving the work of new hires, but also for detecting trends that can boost the profit of the company.

The most serious benefit of using Bamboo HR, however, is administering benefits: the centralized database contains the benefits for each employee and allows the manager to track them down no time. There is an overall number of 12 benefit types applicable to all groups of employees, and it is employees who can change them upon every update in their status (health insurance, marriage, and much more). What is impressive here is that Bamboo HR offers a modifiable rate health plan, meaning that the user can easily track even age-based plans, and calculate automatically the variable amounts his employees have to pay. For the same operation, companies can choose third-party programs that are integrated with the system.

Reporting features

The cherry on top is definitely reporting capabilities. Alongside the standard Equal Employment Opportunity reports, you can use this system to pull out benefits reports. The reports are based on files stored and categorized in the virtual database, and will automatically summarize and consider all applicable taxes. Just like all other important operations in BambooHR, reporting can be done using a mobile device.

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BambooHR is available in the Essentials and Advantage packages. Discounts are available and calculated based on the number of employees managed and whether additional features are bundled. Prepayment discounts and not-for-profit discounts are also available.