Item: BambooHR
Rating: 6
Author: David Bard

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We use BambooHR to streamline the processes related to our people and create a better employee experience. We also have BambooHR to condense our tech stack related to people processes, as it was in multiple systems before. We use BambooHR for time off management, onboarding, offboarding, ATS, employee files/documents, performance, etc. We use most of the system across the company, with certain components (benefits, payroll, etc.) specific to US employees.

Pros and Cons

Onboarding & offboarding.
Time off management.
UI design and UX.
Customer service.
Employee documents.

Cascading goals.
Customizable scales on goals.
Status triggers in ATS/Hiring.
Dedicated interview scheduler.
360 Feedback.
Custom rating scale for candidates.
Interview guides & notes.

Return on Investment

Improved onboarding experience.
Shortened time to hire.
Condensed tech stack and saved company money.

Usability

Overall, the system is quite easy to navigate and use. This was a major reason we went with BambooHR over others. Our C-suite wanted to be sure that they could see every person at our company using the majority of the system without too much assistance. BambooHR does this quite well, and they seem to strongly emphasize it whenever I meet with a product manager.

Support Rating

Their support team is truly unique! They are responsive, understanding, patient, etc. They make the experience worthwhile when frustrations are related to what the system can't do. They try their best to offer solutions that work around limitations and will jump in to test things and work alongside me when I have issues. This is hands down the best customer support I've ever experienced.

BambooHR Reporting

Reporting is too basic to have an impact and requires a lot of manual work to make the numbers make any sort of impact. Custom reports don't allow for any calculations on the platform itself, and standard reports aren't always on what is most important. This is especially true in reporting on anything related to candidates. Time to hire is segmented and basic and doesn't give me any indication of the company average. I often have to use Excel.

Alternatives Considered

Gusto, Paycor, Rippling, Namely, SAP SuccessFactors and RUN Powered by ADP®

When reviewing which HRIS to go with, BambooHR came out on top for a few reasons. One was the cost compared to others and what you get for that cost. It saved the company money versus what we had, including Lever, ADP, Calamari, etc., and condensed it into one system. Next, the UI/UX is great and easy to use, even for those who haven't seen BambooHR before. Lastly, the support, both in implementation and during my time as a customer, has been exceptional, even when the answer isn't what I am hoping for.

Key Insights

Do you think BambooHR delivers good value for the price?

Yes

Are you happy with BambooHR's feature set?

Yes

Did BambooHR live up to sales and marketing promises?

Did implementation of BambooHR go as expected?

Yes

Would you buy BambooHR again?

Yes

Other Software Used

Slack, Atlassian Confluence, Pave, Microsoft 365 Business Premium

Likelihood to Recommend

If someone is looking for a basic HRIS that will serve a small employee population, BambooHR is a great starting point. This works well enough for what a small business needs. It starts to fall apart in larger organizations or as the needs exceed what BambooHR is capable of. There is a severe lack of customization, and it feels like they are afraid of the users breaking the system, so they put in many guardrails. I'm good with having those, but it dampens the experience for more advanced users. Overall, it is a decent starting point, but not a system any company would want to use long-term as they grow.

Great for smaller companies at a reasonable price.

Software Version

Overall Satisfaction with BambooHR