It doesn’t matter if there are 3 or 30 employees, for a small business owner, all the paperwork and tracking can be extremely overwhelming and a real time killer. Luckily, there are dozens of programs and services available which can be customized to handle a wide variety of human resource needs. While we are still growing, we ultimately need a program that will both manage our current employees, and also aid in tracking and recruiting of new talent. After some research, we narrowed our comparison down to Zoho’s People and Recruit apps and BambooHR.
Zoho People and Recruit Overview
Zoho’s People app allows employers to create employee profiles, manage employee documents, track time (time cards, PTO, vacation) and training, approve PTO time, and set up email alerts and reminders. The app also allows for employees to login, access and manage their own records, communicate with HR and submit requests for time off. A mobile app is also available.
The Recruit app offers a resume database and allows for employers to schedule interviews, convert a candidate to an employee, create job openings, and attach documents. The standard version offers additional features such as an embedded resume form, which automates the process of getting resumes from the company website into Zoho Recruit. This version also allows HR to publish job openings within the company website, and also utilizes sites such as LinkedIn and CareerBuilder.
BambooHR Overview
BambooHR is a well-rounded HR tool that manages current employees, as well as tracks applicants. This web based application offers employers many useful features, including an API that allows for easy data sharing, the creation of employee profiles, tracking of performance reviews and training, and the ability to produce eSignatures. Employees can log in to the employee database and request time off, update information and check PTO balances. The applicant tracking system allows for the creation and posting of job openings on the company website, as well as third party websites, such as Indeed. It also manages resumes and tracks applicant statuses. A mobile app is available.
Comparing Prices
BambooHR starts at $69/month, and is based on the number of employees. Once you grow beyond 10 employees, the price jumps to $149/month for up to 15 employees, and $169/month for up to 25 employees. As with all of its apps, Zoho offers a free version of each. The free version might act as a good start, but realistically a paid version will be necessary for a growing company like ours. If we upgrade to the first paid version of People and the standard version of Recruit, the cost per month will be $64, which will cover up to 25 employee logins.
What Will Work Best for Results Repeat?
After exploring many options, and extensively researching Zoho and BambooHR, it seems that our best option is to start with the free versions of Zoho People and Recruit and upgrade as needed. Overall, Zoho offers many similar features to BambooHR, but we already have some familiarity with Zoho, utilize its other applications (one less program to track), and the price is more reasonable to our needs.
Whether you’re just starting your business or already have 25 FT employees, one of these services might be the perfect solution for your human resources needs.
