BambooHR Pricing, Features, Reviews & Comparison of Alternatives

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.

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 9/10

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.

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 3/10

Pros
The idea of on-boarding a new employee electronically is a huge plus. It engages employees before they start and makes it so that they come in with paperwork already filled out and spend their first day doing more than just paperwork. Most of the framework is in place, but EACH area needs improvement, both in the functionality for administration and the ease of use for employees. The sections offered are vital, but aren't complete.

Cons
The benefits area is lacking a lot of common sense tools - like the ability to attach plan documents to an insurance plan (only a link can be used), display plan cost information to an employee BEFORE they sign up (the pricing is only available AFTER they sign up and become eligible). Many things like this create double the amount of work for the administrator. The actual on-boarding process was a struggle because even though the forms were done properly by the employees (I sat with a few and watched them), it didn't save all information in completed fields. Employees were frustrated when they had to fill out forms multiple times because you cannot edit once saved. I love that employees can e-sign documents, but preparing the forms is cumbersome and they can't be customized easily. For instance, if you need to update a form because something has changed or didn't save properly, you have to delete the task and resend to any employees who need an updated form. When I discussed a few very basic items with support, they just offered a work around that many clients use. These are obvious flaws in the system that need to be addressed, but aren't necessarily a priority. Bamboo HR seems to focus more on flashy design than actual content. It makes them seem like a leader in the industry, but as soon as you dig in, the flaws are obvious. For the price, there needs to be more development in the software.

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 4/10

Pros
Modern HR information system with great broad feature set for medium size businesses. Excellent for leave management, request, approval and tracking.

Cons
Is based out of the US and orientation is by default to US customers. Works for Australia customers but is a bit short on handling contractors, more permanent focused, and support hours do not cover Australia timezone which has caused some issues.

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 8/10

Pros
Bamboo is extremely user friendly. Even the Admin features are easy to use.

Cons
Nothing. When we first implemented, there were some features we would have liked to have, like more approvers on forms. We passed those suggestions on to Bamboo and eventually those features were added.

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 10/10