Personio vs. SmartSearch ATS

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Personio
Score 8.2 out of 10
N/A
Personio is presented as an all-in-one HR software for small and medium-sized companies from the company of the same name based in Munich. The platform supports applicant tracking, workforce management features (e.g. attendance tracking, leave management) with employee self-service, as well as support for HR workflows, and employee performance review.
$3.01
per month
SmartSearch ATS
Score 6.6 out of 10
N/A
SmartSearch is a web-based talent acquisition and staffing management software. Features include job posting to job boards and social media outlets, resume parsing, and automated workflow. SmartSearch advertises robust customer service and implementation assistance.N/A
Pricing
PersonioSmartSearch ATS
Editions & Modules
Essential
€2,88
per month per employee
Professional
€4,43
per month per employee
Enterprise
Custom
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
PersonioSmartSearch ATS
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details——
More Pricing Information
Features
PersonioSmartSearch ATS
Human Resource Management
Comparison of Human Resource Management features of Product A and Product B
Personio
9.3
1 Ratings
16% above category average
SmartSearch ATS
-
Ratings
Employee demographic data9.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Employment history9.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Job profiles and administration9.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Workflow for transfers, promotions, pay raises, etc.10.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Organizational charting10.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Organization and location management8.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Compliance data (COBRA, OSHA, etc.)10.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Payroll Management
Comparison of Payroll Management features of Product A and Product B
Personio
9.0
1 Ratings
10% above category average
SmartSearch ATS
-
Ratings
Pay calculation9.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Support for external payroll vendors8.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Off-cycle/On-Demand payment9.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Benefit plan administration9.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Direct deposit files10.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Salary revision and increment management9.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Reimbursement management9.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Leave and Attendance Management
Comparison of Leave and Attendance Management features of Product A and Product B
Personio
10.0
1 Ratings
20% above category average
SmartSearch ATS
-
Ratings
Approval workflow10.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Balance details10.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Annual carry-forward and encashment10.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Employee Self Service
Comparison of Employee Self Service features of Product A and Product B
Personio
9.2
1 Ratings
12% above category average
SmartSearch ATS
-
Ratings
View and generate pay and benefit information9.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Update personal information9.01 Ratings00 Ratings
View company policy documentation10.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Employee recognition9.01 Ratings00 Ratings
View job history9.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Asset Management
Comparison of Asset Management features of Product A and Product B
Personio
10.0
1 Ratings
23% above category average
SmartSearch ATS
-
Ratings
Tracking of all physical assets10.01 Ratings00 Ratings
HR Reporting
Comparison of HR Reporting features of Product A and Product B
Personio
10.0
1 Ratings
27% above category average
SmartSearch ATS
-
Ratings
Report builder10.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Pre-built reports10.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Ability to combine HR data with external data10.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Onboarding
Comparison of Onboarding features of Product A and Product B
Personio
10.0
1 Ratings
23% above category average
SmartSearch ATS
-
Ratings
New hire portal10.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Manager tracking tools10.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Performance and Goals
Comparison of Performance and Goals features of Product A and Product B
Personio
9.3
1 Ratings
12% above category average
SmartSearch ATS
-
Ratings
Corporate goal setting9.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Individual goal setting9.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Line-of sight-visibility10.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Performance tracking9.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Performance Management
Comparison of Performance Management features of Product A and Product B
Personio
9.4
1 Ratings
16% above category average
SmartSearch ATS
-
Ratings
Performance plans9.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Performance improvement plans9.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Review status tracking10.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Review reminders9.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Multiple review frequency10.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Succession Planning
Comparison of Succession Planning features of Product A and Product B
Personio
9.3
1 Ratings
16% above category average
SmartSearch ATS
-
Ratings
Create succession plans/pools9.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Candidate ranking9.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Candidate search10.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Candidate development9.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Recruiting / ATS
Comparison of Recruiting / ATS features of Product A and Product B
Personio
9.6
1 Ratings
21% above category average
SmartSearch ATS
3.4
17 Ratings
80% below category average
Job Requisition Management10.01 Ratings3.017 Ratings
Company Website Posting10.01 Ratings3.017 Ratings
Publish to Social Media10.01 Ratings1.013 Ratings
Job Search Site Posting9.01 Ratings1.017 Ratings
Duplicate Candidate Prevention9.01 Ratings10.016 Ratings
Applicant Tracking10.01 Ratings3.017 Ratings
Notifications and Alerts9.01 Ratings5.413 Ratings
Customized Application Form00 Ratings9.016 Ratings
Resume Management00 Ratings1.017 Ratings
Candidate Search00 Ratings3.017 Ratings
Collaboration00 Ratings1.015 Ratings
Task Creation and Delegation00 Ratings1.014 Ratings
Email Templates00 Ratings1.016 Ratings
User Permissions00 Ratings1.016 Ratings
Reporting00 Ratings8.016 Ratings
Best Alternatives
PersonioSmartSearch ATS
Small Businesses
OnPay
OnPay
Score 9.4 out of 10
Manatal
Manatal
Score 9.5 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Paypro Workforce Management
Paypro Workforce Management
Score 9.4 out of 10
Paypro Workforce Management
Paypro Workforce Management
Score 9.4 out of 10
Enterprises
Infor Human Resources
Infor Human Resources
Score 8.0 out of 10
Vibe HCM
Vibe HCM
Score 5.0 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
PersonioSmartSearch ATS
Likelihood to Recommend
8.0
(1 ratings)
6.0
(31 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
-
(0 ratings)
3.0
(18 ratings)
Usability
-
(0 ratings)
8.2
(10 ratings)
Availability
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(4 ratings)
Support Rating
-
(0 ratings)
7.4
(11 ratings)
Implementation Rating
-
(0 ratings)
6.0
(7 ratings)
User Testimonials
PersonioSmartSearch ATS
Likelihood to Recommend
Personio
This software could be of great help to many companies to keep an orderly manner and in the same control panel, all the management of their employees. Perfect for human resources departments that want to automate tedious tasks, with the guarantee that they will be well executed.
Read full review
Advanced Personnel Systems (SmartSearch)
I think our environment has stretched SmS and their capabilities (positively) but we have grown together and developed an enormously capable system together that is now very well integrated into our business. For doing applicant tracking, requisition management and offer management that has really been strong. I think we can partner together and build some better analytics and reporting capabilities that would be better suited for our business.
Read full review
Pros
Personio
  • Allows automatic posting of job offers on different sites and portals to find the perfect candidates for available vacancies.
  • It has employee tracking tools, such as attendance and absence tracking, as well as time monitoring of working hours and overtime.
  • Payroll management is very complete and is done quickly and almost automatically, as it enters hours worked, overtime and absences, with an accurate calculation to avoid errors.
Read full review
Advanced Personnel Systems (SmartSearch)
  • The search functions are outstanding. It is the reason we originally went with SmartSearch many years ago. The ability to do very simple or complex searches gives the recruiting staff great flexibility in how they look for and narrow down candidates.
  • The hire and onboarding traks allow us to create very specific processes we want our staff to follow to insure a consistent and repeatable result. I can create traks that can be very general or traks that literally provide emails and reminders to all of the players (recruiters, managers, candidates, etc...) every step of the way. This is particularly helpful where we have customers who have extremely stringent contractual guidelines that must be followed.
  • Support. Their customer support is second to none. We always joke that they are our favorite vendor to deal with.... Anytime we have an issue or question. They are there to walk us through it. The training is on target and the staff has always been friendly and more than eager to help make us successful with the tool.
Read full review
Cons
Personio
  • Some processes could be more automatic or with fewer clicks, for example, role-based authorization, which, although a security feature, could be simplified.
  • It is a fairly intuitive and navigable software, but because it is so complete, it has different modules, tools, and functions that can make its learning curve steep.
  • Some attributes at the time of payroll cannot be changed or customized.
Read full review
Advanced Personnel Systems (SmartSearch)
  • SmartSearch has a steep learning curve if you want to extensively use the features like automated tasks and the report writer
  • Technical support is spotty and sometimes very frustrating, they don't respond for weeks at a time.
  • SmartSearch user interface is old and has far less ability to customize the interface than other tracking systems
  • SmartSearch has virtually no ability to connect directly with other software and allows now other software to connect in - so no Microsoft Flow, no Zapier, no mail parser, etc. and since Smart Search capabilities are limited, not being able to integrate it with other platforms easily is unfortunate.
Read full review
Likelihood to Renew
Personio
No answers on this topic
Advanced Personnel Systems (SmartSearch)
I believe over the past 30 or so pages (or so it seems), you have every reason for my business to continue as a SmartSearch ATS client and user. The support is off the charts great the few times I need them (generally not even once per year). My business has been a client since 2004. That should say it all.
Read full review
Usability
Personio
No answers on this topic
Advanced Personnel Systems (SmartSearch)
There are so many facets of SmartSearch, that to know everything about it is nearly impossible. While it is mainly straight forward, there is a lot. After using the program for a while, you become pretty comfortable with the basics and can start adding some of the other features.
Read full review
Reliability and Availability
Personio
No answers on this topic
Advanced Personnel Systems (SmartSearch)
My license for SmartSearch goes back to 2004. It has always been available for me - don't remember a single time it was not available in all of those years.
Read full review
Support Rating
Personio
No answers on this topic
Advanced Personnel Systems (SmartSearch)
Once you get the 1 person on the phone they are very knowledgeable and tend to solve the problem. The issue is there are not enough resources to handle all the clients. Their primary clients are "recruiting firms" and I think that is where most of the their support resources go
Read full review
Implementation Rating
Personio
No answers on this topic
Advanced Personnel Systems (SmartSearch)
Using the basic functions of SmartSearch is an easy implementation. But consider carefully what your organization needs to really drive placements. Because we only did a basic implementation first, we were caught off guard when later trying to implement more functions and realizing that the capabilities were limited or were difficult to learn and implement and realizing that tech support was not going to be consistent.
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Alternatives Considered
Personio
No answers on this topic
Advanced Personnel Systems (SmartSearch)
Functionally, SmartSearch is not on the same page as ZipRecruiter. ZipRecruiter as a platform is much more geared toward helping applicants and is essentially a glorified resume database. SmartSearch offers so much more in terms of features and abilities, that would not really be appropriate to try and compare the two. Similarly, the overall use of SmartSearch is an apples and oranges comparison to LinkedIn Talent. LinkedIn is great for sourcing and attracting talent, but in terms of tracking candidates all the way through a hiring process and tracking a heavy volume of job orders across a variety of states and locations, the two just don't really compare.
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Return on Investment
Personio
  • This program is complete, so it allows to have all the human resources management in the same panel, along with all the information of the employees, which streamlines the activities of the department, making us more productive. Employees feel more satisfied with our performance, and we have considerably lowered payroll complaints.
Read full review
Advanced Personnel Systems (SmartSearch)
  • That's easy - they have helped us grown and make more money. The core element of their technology (e.g. the ability to search for, identify and contact candidates is excellent).
  • They are a business partner and do their very best to help us succeed.
Read full review
ScreenShots