HRtech Intent news team reviewed over 200 HR technology software companies in the last 18 months. We realized most HRtech companies lack the play-and-plug feature. This may not be suitable for small-sized businesses and startups that lack the IT infrastructure and human resources to integrate new software with their systems. Navigating the complexities of human resources can be daunting for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs). As we step into 2024, the landscape of HR management continues to evolve, with innovative tools emerging to help streamline processes, enhance employee engagement, and ensure compliance with ever-changing regulations. Whether you’re handling recruitment, payroll, performance reviews, or employee training, having the right HR tools is crucial for maintaining efficiency and fostering a positive work environment. Our HRtech intent team has compiled a list of top HR tools for SMBs and startups in 2024.

The list includes:

• Deel
• BambooHR
• Rippling
• Paycor
• Zoho People
• Greenhouse
• Homebase
• GoCo
• Paychex Flex
• Lattice

This article informs businesses about the best solutions to thrive and grow in the ever-evolving environment.

Deel: 

Deel is your comprehensive Global People Platform, designed to simplify and optimize the management of an international workforce. From fostering company culture and onboarding new hires to handling local payroll and ensuring compliance, Deel’s cutting-edge suite of HR tools, payroll solutions, mobility services, and compliance expertise empowers businesses of all sizes to expand globally with unparalleled efficiency and adaptability.

Today, Deel supports over 25,000 companies around the globe, from small teams to large publicly traded enterprises.

Deel provides tailored solutions for both startups and large corporations, addressing needs such as employee hiring and onboarding, payroll management, compliance, and API integrations.

With Deel, you can:

• Ensure compliance with international hiring laws, including tax forms and localized contracts.
• Manage payment cycles and timesheets.
• Automatically generate invoices.
• Handle multiple payment methods within a single platform.
• Supply your team with equipment compliantly.
• Streamline payments in over 100 international currencies.
• Withdraw funds via local bank transfers, SWIFT, PayPal, Payoneer, Revolut, Wise, and other e-wallets.

What Does Deel Global Payroll Offer?

• Fully Managed Service: It helps you avoid additional staffing by handling multiple currencies and country-specific compliance requirements.
• Consolidate Payroll: It manages all payroll (including EOR Employees and Contractors) in one place allowing you higher visibility into global workforce costs and potentially saving your time and money by using a single platform for global payroll.
• Less Manual Work: With only one platform to manage, you reduce the time spent on manual data entry and focus more on business growth. Deel automates the payroll process end-to-end, integrating seamlessly with HRIS and accounting systems.

From the Deel dashboard, you can easily import existing employees, manage benefits, calculate deductions and remittances, and make payments across all entities. The platform offers flexibility in selecting payroll cycles, paying bonuses and commissions, and offering equity and stock options, providing unparalleled visibility into global payroll costs.

Additionally, advanced reporting and analytics, along with key integrations, are available on the platform.

BambooHR

BambooHR is a versatile HR tool designed to consolidate and manage all employee and human resources-related data. This software allows companies to create a centralized database of employee profiles accessible to anyone within the company, provided they have the appropriate permissions. Each profile can include personal information, a photo, and details about benefits, salary, time off, documents, training, and more. Custom fields can also be added to capture information unique to your organization.

Employees can be granted self-service access to BambooHR, allowing them to view and update their information as needed. With customizable permissions, you can control which users have access to specific information. The app also enables employees to request time off, check their leave entitlements, and see when their colleagues have booked time off. Managers can establish time off policies, set accrual levels, approve requests, and generate custom reports on time off.

Overview of BambooHR Benefits

• Salary processing: The platform provides simple, self-service tools for time tracking, paid time off, and benefits management, ensuring employees are paid accurately and on time, making the process both easy and enjoyable.
• Start-to-end employee information: BambooHR collects and organizes all the information gathered throughout the employee life cycle, helping you utilize it effectively. Whether it’s hiring, onboarding, managing compensation, or fostering company culture, BambooHR provides the time and insights needed to focus on your most valuable asset—your people.
• Culture: BambooHR introduces a fresh approach to performance management and equips you with the latest tools for measuring employee engagement, helping you promote a strong company culture and drive organizational growth.
• Smarter Hiring: BambooHR offers modern, mobile-ready applicant tracking to streamline the process of finding, evaluating, and hiring the right candidates quickly and efficiently.
• Smoother Onboarding: With a comprehensive suite of automated preboarding and onboarding tools, BambooHR allows you to spend less time on paperwork and more on creating positive first-day experiences for new hires.

Rippling 

Rippling is a workforce management system designed to eliminate the hassles of running a business. Many companies today face challenges with tasks ranging from routine payroll to comprehensive cross-functional planning, like coordinating headcount. This is often because their data on people, processes, and systems is dispersed across numerous platforms.

Rippling consolidates all the applications needed to manage your business—from applicant tracking and payroll to IT and expenses—into a single system. Unlike other systems, Rippling is built on a unified platform, allowing data to flow seamlessly between its applications. This integration provides every team with a shared source of truth, the ability to automate processes, and access to critical insights, enabling your business to operate more efficiently and effectively.

Overview of Rippling Benefits:

• Automatic Compliance: Rippling takes care of compliance tasks automatically, managing everything from I-9s to W-2s. This ensures you stay compliant with all relevant laws and regulations, eliminating the worry of non-compliance.
• Automatic Tax Filing: Rippling simplifies tax management by automatically calculating and filing your payroll taxes with the appropriate federal, state, and local agencies. They claim this process to be seamless and accurate, even when employees relocate.
• Global Payroll Capabilities: You can swiftly pay employees and contractors around the world, whether they’re at your corporate headquarters or in a remote office.
• Effortless Hourly Work and PTO Tracking: You can easily customize your PTO policy, and then review and approve time-off requests with a single click. Approved working hours and PTO are automatically synced with payroll, streamlining the entire process.

4. Paycor

Paycor is an HR tool that empowers leaders with personalized support and expert advice, providing the technology and expertise needed to achieve their goals. Paycor aims to deliver responsive, personalized care when customers reach out—whether it’s for a quick fix like resetting a password or for in-depth conversations with specialists who have specific skill sets and deep knowledge of their business. They claim to ensure that customers are matched with the right person or resource for their needs. Additionally, they offer expert advice through their HR Center of Excellence (HR COE), which helps leaders achieve HR mastery by providing best practices in various formats, such as webinars, whitepapers, videos, and infographics. 

The HR COE is grounded in Paycor’s proprietary data, research, continual feedback from over two million product users, and 30+ years of experience in HCM technology, making it a unique service for all HR and finance leaders. Furthermore, customers can join an exclusive community, the CORner, for networking, sharing tips and advice, previewing new products, and giving feedback to Paycor on future updates.

Overview of Paycor Benefits

• Streamlined HR and Payroll Processes: Paycor offers a user-friendly platform that simplifies HR and payroll tasks, providing quick access to employee data.
• Employee Scheduling: Easily create, manage, and communicate employee schedules while allowing employees to view, manage, and receive updates.
• Benefits Enrollment & Administration: Paycor Benefits transforms and simplifies the enrollment process, removing the manual burden, pressure, and risk.
• Efficient Onboarding: Paycor’s onboarding tools streamline manual administrative tasks, enabling leaders to focus on their people.
• Accurate Payroll Software: Paycor’s payroll software is intuitive and easy to use, streamlining the process, eliminating compliance issues, and ensuring accuracy.
• Recruiting and Hiring Tools: With award-winning applicant tracking and onboarding tools, Paycor makes recruiting, hiring, and new-hire management straightforward and efficient.

Paycor’s pricing is based on a business’s unique needs. They offer competitive pricing for small, mid-, and enterprise companies, which varies based on product bundle and company size. 

Zoho People: 

Zoho People is an easy-to-use, cloud-based learning management system (LMS) designed to deliver training and promote a culture of learning in small and medium-sized businesses. Even if you’re not tech-savvy, Zoho People is simple to set up, learn, and use, thanks to its intuitive user interface that facilitates seamless learning experiences.

Combining a straightforward UI with robust features, Zoho People is a perfect fit for businesses across various industries, including IT, advertising, healthcare, manufacturing, and finance. The system can be customized to meet your specific needs.

With Zoho People’s LMS, you can create relevant training materials for onboarding new employees, compliance training, and skill development for any team in your company—whether it’s sales, support, IT, HR, or marketing. Accessible from anywhere, Zoho People is ideal for remote work environments.

Overview of Zoho People – LMS Benefits

• User-Friendly Setup: Zoho People is designed to be up and running quickly, with minimal to no training required. The user interface is tailored to provide a smooth learning experience without causing frustration.
• Effortless Course Creation: As an admin, you can easily create targeted courses for employees based on their job roles, teams, or locations. This allows for focused training and micro-learning opportunities using engaging content like videos, eBooks, and other learning materials.
• Flexible Learning Modes: Zoho People supports both self-paced and blended learning styles, enabling employees to learn at their own pace while also offering structured guidance for mandatory training. The blended learning system connects learners and trainers virtually, simulating an in-classroom experience even when dispersed across multiple locations.
• Discussion and Analytics: The platform provides a space for learners to engage in discussions and debates about concepts, as well as collect feedback on courses and trainers to enhance the learning experience. Detailed analytics offer insights into your organization’s learning patterns.

These features make Zoho People an ideal fit for many organizations. Their customer success team is always on hand to resolve any questions or issues you may have. You can take advantage of a 15-day free trial to experience the product for yourself.

Greenhouse

Greenhouse is an innovative HR tool designed to revolutionize human resources management, transforming it into a competitive advantage for companies utilizing its impressive features. When a job opening is announced, Greenhouse can be activated to manage the entire recruitment process, and it continues to be useful for managing the company’s talent pool. What sets this system apart is its quote-based pricing, offering tailored pricing plans that cater to the specific needs of each company.

With numerous integrations and a wealth of out-of-the-box features—including offer and rejection letters, interview scheduling, candidate tracking, referral submission, and more—Greenhouse stands out as one of the most advanced and customizable HR systems on the market today. This system streamlines the interview process, helping companies easily identify and track the best candidates. Additionally, it collects data for reporting purposes, enabling users to make data-driven hiring decisions.

Overview of Greenhouse Benefits

• More efficient recruitment process: The primary advantage of using Greenhouse is its ability to make recruitment easier. Many successful companies have chosen Greenhouse to manage their talent pools, recognizing the significant impact that smart hiring has on their ROI, growth, and development.
• Enhanced user experience: Greenhouse enhances the experience for both prospective and current employees, ensuring that you onboard the best and most talented individuals. It allows you to plan the hiring process, approve new job postings, and distribute them on key job boards and social media platforms. The system’s sourcing capabilities enable online application acceptance, broaden your reach, and increase referrals.

Homebase

Homebase is an affordable HR tool designed to create efficient employee schedules, ensuring all shifts are covered and employees are paid accurately. This scalable software is ideal for restaurants, bars, coffee shops, gyms, spas, salons, and retail stores. Over 100,000 local businesses in the United States rely on Homebase for managing employee schedules, hiring employees, and accurately tracking hours for payroll.

Homebase consolidates employee scheduling, time tracking, and payroll integration into a single application. This allows businesses to easily calculate hours, track overtime, and identify errors. The mobile app for employees enables them to access their schedules, swap shifts, and receive important updates.

The platform integrates with various third-party apps such as Toast, Clover, Square, ADP, and QuickBooks. Pricing is based on the number of locations rather than the number of employees. Homebase offers a free version, with paid plans providing more advanced features starting at $16 per month.

Overview of Homebase Benefits

• Flexible pricing: Homebase offers flexible pricing, charging based on the number of business locations rather than the number of employees. This makes it budget-friendly, and even the free version allows unlimited employee enrollment per location.
• Easy interface: Homebase simplifies scheduling and time tracking, helping business owners and managers create revenue-generating schedules while effectively managing absences. It eliminates payroll errors and prevents early clock-ins. By integrating employee scheduling, time tracking, and hiring into one unified system, Homebase allows companies to perform these tasks seamlessly without needing to switch between different applications.

GoCo 

GoCo is a comprehensive HR tool offering human resources management, benefits, and payroll platform integrated into a single, unified solution. Designed specifically for small and medium-sized enterprises, GoCo streamlines HR processes such as hiring and onboarding.

The platform enables businesses to manage benefits entirely online with the support of expert benefit advisors nationwide. GoCo also simplifies payroll management by integrating with leading payroll applications, allowing companies to retain their current payroll providers.

GoCo ensures compliance with industry standards and regulations, automatically updating organizations on the latest employment and benefits laws.

Overview of GoCo Benefits:

• Automated HR Workflows: GoCo provides a modern HR management platform that automates workflows. It allows customization of the entire onboarding process, collecting essential documents like I-9s, W-4s, agreements, and work eligibility information from newly hired employees.
• Employee Self-Service: Employees benefit from GoCo’s self-service portal, where they can request and monitor time off directly from their accounts. This feature enhances productivity by saving time for both employees and HR personnel.
• Comprehensive Insights: GoCo offers a clear view of organizational metrics such as headcount, benefit costs, and compensation through detailed reports. Customizable reports present essential information in a user-friendly format, providing valuable insights into your organization.
• Centralized Information: All information, documents, and benefits are centralized in GoCo’s unified platform for easy access anytime. The platform is designed for intuitive navigation and enhanced security, utilizing bank-level encryption to safeguard data against unauthorized access.
• Seamless Integrations: GoCo seamlessly integrates with other systems, simplifying data entry and ensuring that updates made within GoCo sync automatically with other business applications, including payroll software and productivity tools like Google Suite.
• Cost Efficiency: GoCo is available at no cost, making it an accessible solution for businesses looking to enhance their HR management without additional expenses.

Paychex Flex

Paychex Flex is a comprehensive HR tool offering payroll, HR, and benefits management systems tailored for small, medium, and large businesses. This platform simplifies task management, covering payroll and taxes, 401(k) retirement services, insurance, HR, employee benefits, accounting, finance, and Professional Employer Organization (PEO) services.

The end-to-end, single-source HCM system prioritizes the needs of people while incorporating dedicated Care Act solutions to address complex health regulations. The system automates applicant tracking and expense management, streamlining recruitment and financial processes. Cloud-based accounting solutions simplify tedious tasks and provide the scalability needed for larger businesses. Enterprises benefit from cloud-based solutions combined with services, making it easy to manage payroll, benefits, and HR efficiently.

Overview of Paychex Flex Benefits

• Advanced Solutions for SMBs: Paychex Flex provides small and medium businesses with the latest technologies and services to stay competitive and perform optimally. The system offers flexibility, allowing organizations to manage tasks according to their preferences, such as reporting payroll information via email, phone, or manually.
• Cloud Accessibility: The payroll management system, Paychex Flex, is accessible from anywhere through a browser, with data stored securely in the cloud. Payroll tax administration services ensure compliance with federal, state, and local regulations, giving businesses peace of mind. Companies have the option to handle tax payments themselves, maintaining complete control over their cash flows.
• Enhanced Productivity and Compliance: Paychex Flex helps businesses increase productivity, remain compliant, save time, and attract and develop talent. The PAYCHEX WORX platform offers businesses, entrepreneurs, and HR professionals fundamental and strategic knowledge through a searchable collection of webinars, articles, videos, blue papers, and more. This resource covers hiring, HR services, compliance, and online recruiting.
• Comprehensive Employee Benefits: Employee benefit services include retirement and 401(k) plans, insurance, and online benefits management. Paychex also offers accounting and finance solutions such as payment processing services, expense management, Kashoo online accounting integration, and more. These services are particularly beneficial for larger organizations with more than fifty employees.

10. Lattice

Lattice is an HR tool that collaborates with People teams worldwide to transform employees into high performers, managers into leaders, and companies into exceptional workplaces.

Develop Engaged & High-Performing Teams: People spend a significant portion of their waking hours at work, and Lattice aims to make those hours more fulfilling. By partnering with People teams globally, Lattice helps managers evolve into leaders, employees into top performers, and companies into the best places to work.

Integrated People Management Platform: Lattice combines employee engagement with continuous performance management into a comprehensive people management platform. This empowers HR teams to make strategic, data-driven decisions and cultivate winning cultures. Over 1,850 companies trust Lattice for their people management needs.

Overview of Lattice Benefits

• Continuous Actionable Insights with Lattice Engagement: Lattice Engagement is an innovative employee experience solution that identifies factors driving employee engagement, connects performance metrics for deep insights, and guides companies to take impactful actions.
• People Analytics: For the first time, Lattice connects performance and engagement metrics, leveraging advanced driver and sentiment analysis tools to help teams build an optimal company culture.
• Benchmarking: Lattice allows companies to measure their progress against past survey results and third-party benchmarks, providing a comprehensive analysis of company culture health over time.
• Building Culture Together: Lattice helps build a company culture that enhances employee engagement and improves the overall employee experience.

Motivating Team Members: Lattice provides tools to measure organizational health, enabling data-driven actions to boost productivity, reduce employee turnover, and foster a winning culture.

Future of HR Technology Tools: Maximizing Workplace Productivity with AI and Automation

Startups and SMBs can quickly transform their businesses and reduce the time to scale their operations using AI-powered HR technology software solutions. These solutions are easy-to-use and intuitive, providing real-time insights about employee productivity, engagement, and overall performance. By leveraging AI and automation, HR tasks such as recruitment, onboarding, payroll, and performance management can be streamlined, allowing HR teams to focus on more strategic initiatives. Additionally, AI-driven analytics can help identify trends, predict future workforce needs, and optimize talent management processes. This not only enhances efficiency but also fosters a more agile and responsive workplace, enabling startups and SMBs to adapt to changing business environments and maintain a competitive edge.