BambooHR

BambooHR Turns a Small Business into a Big Business

Comments: I enjoyed it more than other recruiting software I've used. It makes work easier and helps me be a manager instead of a paper pusher.

Pros:

I personally like that BambooHR has different portals for its users. They've built a database that allows employees to: 1. Maintain their own records (whether the company sends or user uploaded); track time off earned, sick days used, and hours worked; while allowing the user to sign documents easily electronically; and 2. Makes being an HR manager, easy. What I mean is, creating records (employees or temps) and ensuring they have all the blocks checked (background ran, drug test paperwork properly filled out, and any other documentation needing signed) within the timeframe needed to start working - is tracked, maintained, and recorded for you... so all in all, eliminates the monotony of HR and time wasted on paperwork while assisting managers/employees in ensuring proper compliance.

Cons:

Well, I still had to scan any documents that weren't created or automated through the software and label them. For example, I work at a satellite location; the warehouse I staff for has a basketball court out back for employees to use on their break. I had to create a document that stated employees for my agency had to make sure they were clocked out, that they were responsible for any risk of injury and that the company and staffing agency would not be held liable for any resulting injury that may occur. The rest of the staffing agency didn't need this so I still had to print out 50 copies, have each employee sign one, upload it, file it in the employee file in the software, label it, then give the copy back to the employee. This really is not an issue unless if turnover is high, this could get annoying.

Bamboo HR, a slick but severely limited recruiting software

Comments: As stated, the BHR system is a recruiters dream and makes the talent acquisition process easier for those businesses that are only using the job boards to get applicants. Just don't expect much more after that.

Pros:

The look an feel of BambooHR (BHR) is amazing! Its almost like Facebook for recruiting. It is very intuitive for what it does and offers to the administrator and end user. The applicant tracking system is very easy to use and goes the extra mile with automation and thoughtfulness concerning on-boarding and then " flowing" into the core HRIS. The BHR system was chosen by a previous HR professional that clearly had a recruiting bias. Although important, more vetting should have been done to make a sound choice for long term success regarding the needs of a small to mid-size business.

Cons:

Beyond what I described above there is limited functionality without also purchasing and integrating other systems through a "bolt-on" approach. By "Bolt-on" I mean that BHR will not automate between the core HR system of BHR and a timekeeping system, a payroll system, benefits administration system, leave administration system. The ability to have a robust system is possible but is not practical or cost effective with BambooHR. In order to get a full platform, covering the full life cycle of and employee, through BHR, a business would have to pay upwards of 30-40 dollars per employee per month. Simply put other options are available and far more robust with better long term results for less money- See my review of APS Payroll for an example.

Alternatives Considered: APS Payroll, Paycom, ADP Workforce Now, Namely and Paycor

Reasons for Switching to BambooHR: Price and lack of proper education as to the actual functionality and potential cost of the system beyond on-boarding.

A Partner for this HR Department of One!

Comments: BambooHR has saved me time, money and honestly some of my sanity. Before implementing BambooHR, I was spending most of my time manually updating employee's time off records, inputting pen and paper timesheets into a spreadsheet to then key into a payroll system, and using multiple systems to track job postings and candidates. Now, I have it all in one place with so many helpful and time saving features to make my day-to-day a little easier.

Pros:

Being able to bring so many various aspects of my job together in one platform has made me much more efficient in areas such as applicant tracking, time tracking, and payroll processing!

Cons:

One of my Bamboo HR wish list items is a scheduling feature! I would like to see this feature combined with the time clock function to help us enforce policies about clocking in early, as well as sending a reminder to clock in or out for scheduled shifts. I would also like to see improved calendar functionality. Currently, the only way to add items to the calendar are through the time off policies. I would like to be able to manually add events and other items to the calendar.

Alternatives Considered: Paycom, GoCo, ADP Workforce Now and Paylocity

Reasons for Switching to BambooHR: BambooHR offered the best "bang" for our buck. Although it wasn't the least expensive option, I was impressed by everything they had to offer. The system was the most user friendly of all the ones we demo'd and I really enjoyed knowing BambooHR could integrate with several other products and services (background checks, benefits programs, etc.) to make things more efficient. BambooHR is also great at keeping customers informed, involved, and included with updates and improvements.

Good product

Comments: Like the product for starting companies, but as your processes and strategy become more detailed, I am not sure if Bamboohr can manage properly as a stand-alone platform. Like the HRIS, the rest of the features are not robust

Pros:

Love the simplicity of the HRIS system to allow for tracking personnel

Cons:

The payroll system and time management are not as robust as it needs to be. Unlike optional features such as performance or applicant tracking that are not critical to risk management, the payroll and time management must be up to par to ensure customers are compliant with state regulations, able to identify and correct discrepancies quickly, and able to customize reporting to identify labor cost trends. Unfortunately, the payroll and time tracking doesn't relate.1 Example: We cannot track if meals are being taken or the system does not alert us when someone does not take their required lunch breaks. Depending on state, there are penalties associated with this2 Example: If an employee is scheduled to be terminated on a specific day, they are automatically taken out of the system before ensuring they were paid their last check. States have many different regulations around when a former employee must be paid their final check. We would have to alter the person's last day and final pay date in order to process their last check, which can cause incorrect records if we forget to switch the dates back to correct separation date. If we schedule termination ahead of time, we have no way of tracking who is up for termination soon or no notice that the person was removed from payroll ensuring timely payment. 3 Example: Timetracking is more than just about having the ability to clock in and out with approval. There is very limited reporting that can be pulled to track labor cost

BambooHR makes my work life so much easier!!

Comments: Overall, very happy with BambooHR’s performance!! I recommend it to anyone who I know could benefit from it. Streamlines so many aspects of my day to day - hiring, onboarding, time clock, employee performance management, payroll, employee pulse surveys, .. the list goes on!

Pros:

Easy time-trackingPhone app makes it easy for coworkers to check time card Company-wide announcements (alert on phone if you have the app) Personnel documents all stored in one placeCan push out new procedures that require a signature after the coworker reviewsStreamlines the onboarding process Hiring platform is convenient and you can build templates for scheduling phone screenings and interviews You can process payroll right in BambooHRAttendance notes – we set it so that coworkers can see them, but you can keep them hiddenNotes – we set it so managers and admin can see those notes, but not the coworker. Good for documenting verbal warnings

Cons:

If you have a custom general ledger or another payroll report, they will build it for you, but it takes awhile to get it all sorted out We don’t pay the extra fee for benefits administration through BambooHR since we already use Employee Navigator through our benefits management group. (I have to manually select the benefits the coworkers choose to update their payroll deductions)