.png){kind=spacer}
.png)
BambooHR
BambooHR Review
Over the last decade, BambooHR has steadily grown into a market leader in the SMB and Mid-Market. They provide a modern HRIS solution that covers a wide spectrum of functionality - performance, recruiting, onboarding - at a competitive price point. While Bamboo owns a payroll company, called Trax, many customers will use their own payroll / ben admin tools and use Bamboo for more employee-facing activities. Bamboo is also open to integrating with a variety of 3rd party HR tools
Market Segment
BambooHR is considered an SMB HRIS, which means the system works best for companies with less than 300 employees. SMB solutions are designed to cover some, but not all of an HR team needs with some gaps to be filled in by 3rd party solutions. SMB solutions are typically more user-friendly and more modernly designed than other vendors. Additionally, they are typically built with integrations in mind and have open APIs. SMB solutions typically take about 6-12 weeks to implement and often do not require a great deal of work from an administrator to get started, due to the fact that most of the system is not configurable. SMB solutions tend to have limited rules engines and custom workflow tools, which can limit how scalable they can be.
Blog: How Long Does it Take To Buy and Implement an HRIS
HR software Costs
BambooHR charges companies on an monthly or quarterly subscription basis. BambooHR is often a good value for companies and the software fees can cost between $6 and 12 PEPM. As an organization's employee count rises, BambooHR's pricing can scale down
In addition to the software fees, implementing BambooHR will require a one-time implementation fee. BambooHR will charge ~5-15% of the annual software fees for their implementation fees (i.e., $5-15K implementation fee on a $100K annual purchase)
Blog: How to Negotiate an HRIS Agreement
Strengths
- BambooHR is a very user-friendly HRIS with a broad range of modules, all offered a very competitive price
- BambooHR invests quite a bit into their support teams and user reviews for their customers support are some of the highest in the industry
- Bamboo HR offers an applicant tracking system that has superior functionality to comparable HRIS systems and makes the recruitment to onboarding flow easier
- BambooHR recently bought TraxPayroll, an established national payroll company, to give them a robust payroll offering in their platform.
- For an HR team that wants to bring in their own 3rd party HR software tools, Bamboo offers a pre-built integrations with many leading 3rd party tools
Weaknesses
- Bamboo is more of an off-the-shelf solution designed for SMB's, so it's quick to deploy and easy to set up, but there can be limitations in how customizable the system can be
- BambooHR does not offer a benefits management tool, so a 3rd party Ben Admin would be required to complete the suite
- The rollout of BambooHR's new payroll system is still in its early stages, so it is a bit unproven now and the two systems are not fully integrated. However, Trax was a large national brand before the acquisition
- Some modules within Bamboo, like their performance and time & attendance tools, are fairly basic and don't allow for a great deal of flexibility and customization. However, Bamboo has many integration partners if customers need something more robust
Integration Capabilities
BambooHR has always prioritized integrations with 3rd party systems, giving their clients the choice between all-in-one and best-in-class. Bamboo has marketplace integrations with many leading HR point solutions. However, custom integrations are not always the easiest to build with Bamboo, due to their lack of professional services resources
Customer support
BambooHR gets some of the best reviews in the industry for their customer support and they offer a variety of customer support options, including email, phone, and live chat. They also have an extensive knowledge base and a community forum where customers can get answers to common questions and share information with other BambooHR users.
Free Tool: HRIS Requirements Builder
Global Capabilities
BambooHR can serve as a global system-of-record allowing international employees to onboard, complete performance reviews and manage leave in the system. Bamboo works with a large number of global companies. Bamboo does not have global offices, however. And global payroll requires a 3rd party
Modules Offered
Bamboo Payroll
BambooHR offers a payroll system that integrates with the rest of its HR software platform. Bamboo HR's payroll tool was added via an acquisition of Trax Payroll.
Trax allows businesses to manage employee information, payroll processing, and taxes all in one place. Features include automatic tax calculation, direct deposit, and compliance with local regulations.
HR / Employee Records
BambooHR's HR module allows businesses to easily store and manage all of their employee records in one place. These employee records can include personal information, job history, and documents such as resumes and offer letters. BambooHR also allows companies to create custom employee records fields to suit any need of specific organization.
Time tracking and Time off requests
BambooHR allows employees to submit time off requests and managers to approve or deny those requests. The platform also allows for employee time tracking, including overtime and sick leave. The time tracking feature can be fed right into the payroll processing solution
Onboarding
BambooHR streamlines the onboarding process from the very beginning of the employee lifecycle by allowing employees to complete paperwork and provide their own personal information electronically. The platform also allows businesses to create custom onboarding checklist and also to store all the important documents like offer letter, Background check report, I9 etc. Since BambooHR has a built-in applicant tracking system, the flow from candidate to new hire can be seamless
Recruiting & Applicant tracking system
BambooHR's applicant tracking system and recruiting module allows businesses to post job openings, receive and track job applications, and communicate with applicants. This system provides a great deal of flexibility and allows an HR team to convert new hires to employees in a streamlined manner
Employee Performance management
BambooHR allows you to easily set up performance reviews, and you can track employee performance over time. Employees can also self-evaluate and set goals for themselves. This module can also be integrated with other systems such as payroll and benefits.
Employee satisfaction tools
BambooHR's employee engagement tools help businesses track employee satisfaction, measure engagement levels, and gather feedback. This can help businesses keep a constant pulse on employee satisfaction and identify areas where employee engagement can improve and create a more positive work environment.
.png)
