Absorb vs. Paycom

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Absorb
Score 9.1 out of 10
Enterprise companies (1,001+ employees)
Absorb LMS aims to empower organizations to train employees with the skills needed to stay modern and relevant in today's fast-paced world. The LMS software focuses on aligning learning needs with business demands.N/A
Paycom
Score 8.6 out of 10
N/A
Paycom is an automated HCM platform, built on a single database that eliminates redundant data entry through automation. A payroll and HR software solution, Paycom is used by organizations of all sizes to access employee data without navigating multiple systems.N/A
Pricing
AbsorbPaycom
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
AbsorbPaycom
Free Trial
YesNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeRequiredNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
AbsorbPaycom
Considered Both Products
Absorb
Chose Absorb
Absorb LMS is far more robust. We are actually able to create relevant trainings. Thanks to all the content creation tools, the training we are able to create actually reaches our vision. ADP was unable to perform some of the basic functionality we were looking for. Managing …
Chose Absorb
Absorb offers a more flexible and robust experience for managing learning ecosystems. The user interface is more modern and provides a stronger user-centric learning experience. Absorb is at parity for social learning, which most learning platforms struggle with. The admin …
Chose Absorb
I think that both Docebo and Skillsoft provided more modern look-feel and more advanced features. I particularly like the OTJ features offered on Docebo.
Chose Absorb
We evaluated a few well-known LMS options, including Docebo, Cornerstone, and Mindtickle. Each has strengths (especially in very specific use cases), but we selected Absorb LMS because it matched our priorities best: value for money, global scalability, straightforward …
Chose Absorb
I previously tested three more but cant remember what they are as it was a while ago, but Absorb was the only one that answered the 58 questions/ tasks i needed it to achieve.
Chose Absorb
At the end of the day, Absorb LMS had the best user experience. When we looked at all the options, we felt like Absorb was superior in user experience, learning tools, and the content creator. Additionally, the support they promised (and that we've experienced), made them a …
Chose Absorb
I have only ever used Moodle in a personal educational setting, so not from an administrator-perspective, but Absorb definitely has a ton of settings and customizability. I know that one reason we decided to go with Absorb is their ability to create custom templates, which has …
Chose Absorb
Easier to use and larger customer base.
Chose Absorb
Absorb LMS is feature packed with small but smart elements (can have a username that isnt an email, can change the core language used in the platform, can change the font and layout) that offer greater security and accessibility for learners.
Chose Absorb
The user interface in Absorb is awesome; the back end - admins don't have as much ability. In the past, I could do things like exclude groups from training, build groups based on people who had completed courses, link courses without having to put them in a curriculum, etc.
Chose Absorb
Absorb LMS provides a more engaging and professional outlook than these other platforms.
Chose Absorb
We used Cornerstone Learn at my previous organization and it seemed like there were way too many issues from an administrative standpoint. I haven't had many issues at all with Absorb LMS, which makes me think Cornerstone was just expensive junk. Prior to moving to Absorb LMS …
Chose Absorb
The main reason is the prompt support and useful features
Chose Absorb
Absorb offers a more user-friendly and modern platform, along with enhanced customer support.
Chose Absorb
Absorb LMS's interface and customer service were a great improvement from our experience with Skillsoft
Chose Absorb
The ease of useability and functionality with a great customer support team.
Chose Absorb
Absorb support is way better than others and I feel more valued and listened to than the other LMS that I have checked out
Chose Absorb
Not sure, haven't used anything else outside of Absorb
I would say based on my current experiences that it would stack up quite well however, it can be a little difficult to navigate and sometimes hard to find the thing we want / not intuitive
Outside of this, it's a great …
Chose Absorb
Although Cornerstone was also suited for a global audience as well, Absorb is more user friendly than Cornerstone from a learner and admin perspective. The look of the Cornerstone platform was outdated with small font buttons with labels that were not intuitive. Cornerstone …
Chose Absorb
We really like the innovative AI functions of Docebo but appreciate the clean, modern interface of Absorb LMS.
Chose Absorb
ADP did not provide the level of service we were looking for and the compliance courses did not meet our needs.
Chose Absorb
Absorb LMS offered the best e-commerce for what we origionally wanted, however, we stayed due to their CSM support and anticipated/ongoing additon of features. Additionally we were drawn to the Create feature and gamification options, along with the Collaboration features.
Chose Absorb
Absorb is the first LMS I have used
Paycom
Chose Paycom
I personally have used ADP before, but that was just as a user, not as a manager supporting other users. So really, my experience is primarily with Paycom.
Chose Paycom
I haven't used a whole lot, but I would say the only other one would be Blackbaud. Where I came from before, we used Blackbaud as our payroll provider, and Paycom is so much more user-friendly. Once we moved to Paycom, and then where I'm at now, we used ADP and also switched. …
Chose Paycom
The user-friendliness of Paycom really stands out. Employees seem to have an easier time logging in and getting to what they need, whereas I've heard ADP can be a little trickier and that some users have experienced login issues. With Paycom, everything is very straightforward. …
Chose Paycom
I'm not part of the evaluation team, but from an HR perspective, we've used UKG, and that was really the main system before Paycom. Prior to that, we used a system that doesn't even exist anymore. Paycom is much more intuitive and user-friendly, and the capabilities are on a …
Chose Paycom
I like Paycom more than ADP. ADP is a little more difficult to navigate, whereas Paycom has a more straightforward and intuitive navigation system.
Chose Paycom
Oracle has an HRIS. They have an HR, finance, IT, everything-in-one type of platform, and there's an HR functionality part of it. It's really good. I've used PeopleSoft, which is more of a database type and doesn't have as many functions as Paycom. We went through a very …
Chose Paycom
Nothing really compares. I've used StaffConnect before to check in, but they don't necessarily have an app, and it's only web-based. I haven't been able to find an app or anything. And again, it's just not my favorite because it also does it by GPS location. And I'll be at work …
Chose Paycom
We were initially Paycor customers for our recruiting, and we used ADP for payroll previously. Paycom was an all-inclusive solution. And I do know that ADP and Paycor now have solutions, but at the time, they didn’t have what we wanted for the flexibility, the price, and really …
Chose Paycom
PeopleSoft and Tyler are pretty similar, with similar built in workflows, and extensive reporting systems. UKG has a lot of things that we like, but is more expensive.
Chose Paycom
I have not currently used any other products. I'm still kind of new to the HR industry. The only other thing that I really have to compare it to is Vonmar's system, which they created themselves, and it was not user-friendly.
Chose Paycom
Payroll. Unfortunately, with ADP, we're in the 21st century, and they still make me upload a spreadsheet when we do payroll. So a lot of room for mistakes, a lot of back and forth. None of that happens with Paycom. And Paychex, when I used, they were just coming out to the …
Chose Paycom
More centralized data. UKG didn't have as many, I guess, areas, or like the W2, it wasn't all in UKG. It's just that everything is more centralized than UKG and Paycom.
Chose Paycom
I've used PeopleSoft, and golly, ADP certainly evaluated Paylocity. That seems to be sort of a common competitor with Paycom, although I'm thinking they're kind of losing the battle, and Paycom's winning. We've also looked at Bamboo HR. BambooHR is great, but I think a solution …
Chose Paycom
We were on UKG before we switched to Paycom. I've been on ADP. I worked with Workday a little bit. So yeah, worked with a few of them. Right now, Paycom is the best. It's the best.
Chose Paycom
I appreciate the single database platform. Some of the other programs I have used in the past are not as intuitive or user-friendly. The reporting is accurate and timely. There isn't any confusion between the modules trying to communicate with one another. We also have …
Chose Paycom
Paycom was definitely number one. It definitely had a few aspects that were more advanced and the data security was a big deal for us, and that was very helpful.
Chose Paycom
Paycom is definitely better than all of those options because it has everything, including performance reviews. A lot of those systems are very limited.
Chose Paycom
Way better. We had to use a bunch of different programs that didn’t speak to each other, where Paycom is a one-stop shop.
Chose Paycom
When evaluating competitors, one of the decision points has been how seamless the experience is from login to each of the different modules. Many legacy providers have the same modules, but they are not seamless. They are "connected" behind the scenes and skinned to appear to …
Chose Paycom
Paycom just seemed more established and more user-friendly, which is one of the main things I was looking for.
Chose Paycom
Paylocity is completely segmented modules. Paycom is one system.
Features
AbsorbPaycom
Learning Management
Comparison of Learning Management features of Product A and Product B
Absorb
8.7
Ratings
5% above category average
Paycom
-
Ratings
Course authoring9.20 Ratings00 Ratings
Course catalog or library9.30 Ratings00 Ratings
Player/Portal8.40 Ratings00 Ratings
Learning content8.90 Ratings00 Ratings
Mobile friendly7.90 Ratings00 Ratings
Progress tracking & certifications9.60 Ratings00 Ratings
Assignments9.70 Ratings00 Ratings
Compliance management9.80 Ratings00 Ratings
Learning administration9.30 Ratings00 Ratings
Learning reporting & analytics8.90 Ratings00 Ratings
Social learning6.10 Ratings00 Ratings
Gamification6.10 Ratings00 Ratings
Single Sign On (SSO) Enabled Learning9.80 Ratings00 Ratings
Human Resource Management
Comparison of Human Resource Management features of Product A and Product B
Absorb
-
Ratings
Paycom
8.1
Ratings
0% below category average
Employee demographic data00 Ratings8.90 Ratings
Employment history00 Ratings8.10 Ratings
Job profiles and administration00 Ratings8.20 Ratings
Workflow for transfers, promotions, pay raises, etc.00 Ratings8.10 Ratings
Organizational charting00 Ratings7.60 Ratings
Organization and location management00 Ratings8.00 Ratings
Compliance data (COBRA, OSHA, etc.)00 Ratings8.10 Ratings
Payroll Management
Comparison of Payroll Management features of Product A and Product B
Absorb
-
Ratings
Paycom
8.3
Ratings
2% above category average
Pay calculation00 Ratings8.90 Ratings
Support for external payroll vendors00 Ratings6.40 Ratings
Off-cycle/On-Demand payment00 Ratings8.50 Ratings
Benefit plan administration00 Ratings8.40 Ratings
Direct deposit files00 Ratings9.10 Ratings
Salary revision and increment management00 Ratings8.40 Ratings
Reimbursement management00 Ratings8.30 Ratings
Leave and Attendance Management
Comparison of Leave and Attendance Management features of Product A and Product B
Absorb
-
Ratings
Paycom
8.5
Ratings
4% above category average
Approval workflow00 Ratings8.50 Ratings
Balance details00 Ratings8.40 Ratings
Annual carry-forward and encashment00 Ratings8.50 Ratings
Employee Self Service
Comparison of Employee Self Service features of Product A and Product B
Absorb
-
Ratings
Paycom
8.7
Ratings
6% above category average
View and generate pay and benefit information00 Ratings9.10 Ratings
Update personal information00 Ratings9.20 Ratings
View company policy documentation00 Ratings8.70 Ratings
Employee recognition00 Ratings8.00 Ratings
View job history00 Ratings8.60 Ratings
Asset Management
Comparison of Asset Management features of Product A and Product B
Absorb
-
Ratings
Paycom
4.9
Ratings
49% below category average
Tracking of all physical assets00 Ratings4.90 Ratings
HR Reporting
Comparison of HR Reporting features of Product A and Product B
Absorb
-
Ratings
Paycom
7.2
Ratings
4% below category average
Report builder00 Ratings8.00 Ratings
Pre-built reports00 Ratings8.00 Ratings
Ability to combine HR data with external data00 Ratings5.80 Ratings
Onboarding
Comparison of Onboarding features of Product A and Product B
Absorb
-
Ratings
Paycom
8.4
Ratings
5% above category average
New hire portal00 Ratings8.60 Ratings
Manager tracking tools00 Ratings8.30 Ratings
Performance and Goals
Comparison of Performance and Goals features of Product A and Product B
Absorb
-
Ratings
Paycom
6.3
Ratings
24% below category average
Corporate goal setting00 Ratings4.20 Ratings
Individual goal setting00 Ratings8.00 Ratings
Line-of sight-visibility00 Ratings4.80 Ratings
Performance tracking00 Ratings8.00 Ratings
Performance Management
Comparison of Performance Management features of Product A and Product B
Absorb
-
Ratings
Paycom
7.9
Ratings
0% above category average
Performance plans00 Ratings7.80 Ratings
Performance improvement plans00 Ratings7.80 Ratings
Review status tracking00 Ratings8.00 Ratings
Review reminders00 Ratings8.00 Ratings
Multiple review frequency00 Ratings7.80 Ratings
Succession Planning
Comparison of Succession Planning features of Product A and Product B
Absorb
-
Ratings
Paycom
7.9
Ratings
1% above category average
Create succession plans/pools00 Ratings7.90 Ratings
Candidate ranking00 Ratings7.80 Ratings
Candidate search00 Ratings7.90 Ratings
Candidate development00 Ratings7.90 Ratings
Recruiting / ATS
Comparison of Recruiting / ATS features of Product A and Product B
Absorb
-
Ratings
Paycom
7.6
Ratings
3% below category average
Job Requisition Management00 Ratings7.80 Ratings
Company Website Posting00 Ratings8.00 Ratings
Publish to Social Media00 Ratings7.40 Ratings
Job Search Site Posting00 Ratings7.70 Ratings
Duplicate Candidate Prevention00 Ratings6.90 Ratings
Applicant Tracking00 Ratings7.70 Ratings
Notifications and Alerts00 Ratings7.90 Ratings
Best Alternatives
AbsorbPaycom
Small Businesses
iSpring LMS
iSpring LMS
Score 9.6 out of 10
Dayforce Powerpay
Dayforce Powerpay
Score 9.2 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
iSpring LMS
iSpring LMS
Score 9.6 out of 10
Paypro Workforce Management
Paypro Workforce Management
Score 9.1 out of 10
Enterprises
AITalent LMS
AITalent LMS
Score 9.3 out of 10
PeopleStrong
PeopleStrong
Score 10.0 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
AbsorbPaycom
Likelihood to Recommend
9.1
(0 ratings)
8.7
(0 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
8.1
(0 ratings)
9.0
(0 ratings)
Usability
8.9
(0 ratings)
9.0
(0 ratings)
Availability
8.9
(0 ratings)
9.5
(0 ratings)
Performance
8.3
(0 ratings)
9.0
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
9.6
(0 ratings)
8.9
(0 ratings)
In-Person Training
8.2
(0 ratings)
10.0
(0 ratings)
Online Training
8.6
(0 ratings)
7.8
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
7.5
(0 ratings)
6.6
(0 ratings)
Configurability
8.0
(0 ratings)
8.0
(0 ratings)
Ease of integration
6.4
(0 ratings)
8.5
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
7.0
(0 ratings)
7.6
(0 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
8.6
(0 ratings)
9.0
(0 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
8.6
(0 ratings)
9.0
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
AbsorbPaycom
Likelihood to Recommend
We use the system to automatically assign compliance courses to new hires. This varies by location and employee level. Absorb lets us dynamically enroll users in the required courses based on their geographic location and level. We use the system to build comprehensive leadership development programs for managers. This includes helping managers develop a coaching habit to build bench strength on their teams.
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As I mentioned, the onboarding process is incredibly easy. We have around 300 employees and are constantly hiring, so Paycom has been a huge help. In fact, the ATS functionality was a major factor in our decision to switch to Paycom.
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Pros
  • Customizing the user interface was fairly simple and our learners WANT to use the platform because it looks so nice.
  • Admins have so many tools at their fingertips to pull reports, create new users, author new courses, and more!
  • Absorb LMS has been the solution to so many problems we had experienced in our previous LMS: ease of use, course library, course authoring, tracking, reporting, etc.
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  • Paycom does a particularly good job of updating and taking in information. We have a rep named Alex Cisco, who I hear from two or three times a month. He’ll just want to drop by and say, “Hey, how’s the product working? Is there anything I can do to help you with the product? And by the way, do you know about this new feature?” If I have feedback, I give it to Alex, and if he doesn’t know how to fix it that day, he’ll take it to research and development, and we may see an answer for it a month or two down the road.
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Cons
  • The "And" and "Or" rules for self + automatic enrollment could be spelled out more to clarify who we're enrolling into courses
  • The thumbnail and poster "Upload photo" section is confusing. There should be a "Favorites" folder where we can easily find most commonly used posters and thumbnails
  • more education around Absorb analyze essentials
  • How the Featured courses section ranks courses is confusing on the back-end. I need to switch the primary one to second place to feature the new one first. But if the previous one now becomes second place, what happens to the old course that was in second place? I've noticed the order you select on the back-end for this isn't always reflected on user side
  • Same comment as Featured Courses but for appearance of billboards. Hard to position each in the right order
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  • One thing that we did come across recently is we were restructuring our organization chart and we did find that in order to update someone's job title, for example, we had to go into two different places, not just the employees page. We had to go into a different function as well and it took up a lot of time.
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Likelihood to Renew
Absorb provides the platform and support for us to create a place for resources that is agile and simple to deploy. We are able to use across multiple countries and departments. Absorb is also constantly developing their platform to meet users needs, which is helpful for us as we grow.
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we are having no problems with how the system works and our support system at paycom is the best - we are learning more and using the system in more ways all the time the only thing that could be better is pricing on some things
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Usability
Absorb is a solid platform that is relatively easy to use for users and admins and provides basic features with minimal problems. Their support and sales staff are helpful and knowledgeable. There are some features that are less user friendly and more advanced features such as career pathing and advanced gamification are non-existent.
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Because it's very easy to use. It's web-based, and you can use it on your cell phone; you can do everything that you do on your laptop on your cell phone, which is unheard of. I haven't heard of other companies being able to do that.
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Reliability and Availability
We have never had any major issue with Absorb's availability. Any outages that have occurred have been planned an communicated. Any small issues that occur within the Absorb platform have been addressed efficiently and quickly by support and the development team
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They are very dependable and I have never experience any outages
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Performance
We have experienced infrequent issues with things like load times on reporting, or pages timing out, but for the large majority of our time within the system things have worked as they should
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Yes load quickly
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Support Rating
My client success manager had to reach out once for our company once. Although it was not an Absorb issue (it was an issue on the course vendor side), Absorb offered a resolution while the vendor was fixing the issue. We were very happy with the resolution and feel like Absorb went above and beyond for us.
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In 6 years, we've never had a bad experience with client support. We implemented during COVID, and I was the only person in HR at the time. I was also having to homeschool our children, which meant bizarre work hours and limited time to focus on platform build at times. There were nights that I was literally on calls at 11 pm and the implementation team was unbelievably supportive. Recently, a Position Seat specialist came on site to help us set up for our 5 client codes - the experience was transformative for how we use the platform and an absolute game changer. I trust Paycom because I trust our representatives. They truly are strategic partners for us, and work to ensure we're maximizing the platform and that our needs are being met
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In-Person Training
No answers on this topic
Tadd and Ellie have been great! They have show us many aspects that implementation did not. They are very personable and action oriented as well. Anytime we need them they offer to swing in.
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Online Training
The training was comprehensive - there were existing modules to learn functionality but working with Absorb staff, and receiving recordings of those walk-throughs, made a rapid understanding of the LMS achievable and covered the necessary material that was needed and allowed for specific questions to be addressed.
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It was good, but hard to know what questions you need to ask until you actually get in there and start working with a live product. But Paycom is also very helpful every time I call and can't figure something out. Nathan has been very friendly and helpful no matter what I call him about. He is always eager to help out.
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Implementation Rating
The implementation of Absorb went very seamlessly. We previously had the Oracle LMS and importing user data and getting the new system up to speed was painless. The smooth transition helped leaders and staff gain confidence early in the application/company and we have had a successful partnership with Absorb since.
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Not at all satisfied it was a nightmare we spent over 8 months with the implementation team having issues after issues all related to the Puerto Rico regulations (half my employees are in Puerto Rico) and at the end we were moved over from the implementation team to the production team without all the issues being resolved
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Alternatives Considered
Absorb LMS is far more robust. We are actually able to create relevant trainings. Thanks to all the content creation tools, the training we are able to create actually reaches our vision. ADP was unable to perform some of the basic functionality we were looking for. Managing training assignment and completion is also much easier with Absorb LMS. Absorb LMS also allows employees to pause in the middle of training and work from comfortably from mobile devices. This was impossible with ADP and was a huge dealbreaker as many of our employees work from the field while completing services for customers.
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I haven't used a whole lot, but I would say the only other one would be Blackbaud. Where I came from before, we used Blackbaud as our payroll provider, and Paycom is so much more user-friendly. Once we moved to Paycom, and then where I'm at now, we used ADP and also switched. Both companies have been very pleased. Stacking up against those, I would say Paycom meets our needs as an employer for payroll and our benefits platform as well. Even switching our benefits over to Paycom was a big decision for us, and there were some bumps in the road, as there are with any change, but it's always met all of our needs, and we're very happy with it.
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Scalability
We have already scaled our LMS from a couple hundred users to 1000 users and have plans to scale even larger. We use the LMS across multiple internal departments. countries and user types. Absorb has made it easy to integrate and scale and we will continue to scale in the near future.
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They are not able to meet our current needs
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Return on Investment
  • Absorb LMS has made a real difference in how smoothly we run training. By automating enrollments and standardizing how we assign key courses, we spend much less time on manual admin and chasing people for completions. Onboarding is also easier now because required learning paths live in one place, so our New Hires ramp up faster, and managers get fewer “what does my team need to take?” questions. The biggest win is simply having cleaner, more reliable data when we need it for reporting or audits.
  • From a global quality and standardization point of view, Absorb LMS has been the backbone for scaling learning without things turning into chaos. It has helped us bring more structure and governance, so we can actually see what’s being created, who it is meant for, and whether the right settings are in place. That means a better experience for learners (less noise, more relevant assignments) and more confidence for the business that our training records are accurate and easy to validate.
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  • I would say the impact has been positive. Everything I've needed to do for my job has been available within the system, and if there was ever something I couldn't figure out, I could reach out to customer service, and they would help me. Personally, I haven't had any issues with it.
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ScreenShots

Absorb Screenshots

Screenshot of Absorb's course details page, accessible from the course catalog dashboard, used to give learners an understanding of the course material.Screenshot of course creation with Create AI Beta.Screenshot of Screenshot of Screenshot of Screenshot of

Paycom Screenshots

Screenshot of a new study that reveals that for a composite organization representative of interviewed clients, unifying HR and payroll in a single-database software with automation and streamlined workflows achieved a three-year 362% ROI and resulted in: $1.4M net present value*; over 45% total time saved by HR; 80% time saved on compliance work.Screenshot of IWant, which is a command-driven AI engine in a single database, for instant access to employee data.Screenshot of Direct Data Exchange®, which takes a detailed pulse of how employees interact with Paycom. It automatically assigns a dollar value of savings based on Ernst & Young research.