IBM Kenexa
Talent Management Software
Software Profile & Review Summary
Kenexa was founded in 1987 with a focus on recruitment, which remains a key part of the Kenexa offering. The company went public in 2005, raising $86m, and over the next 10 years, acquired a number of companies to expand it's core offering. In 2005, it acquired Webhire for $34m and the, following year, acquired BrassRing for $115m gaining candidate hiring, skills management, and outsourcing solutions. In 2010, Kenexa released it's new SaaS technology platform called Kenexa 2X, and shortly thereafter acquired Salary.com for $80m, adding compensation management to it's portfolio. The company partnered with HireVue in 2011 to include their interviewing platform as a component of the Kenexa platform, and then added LMS with the acquisition of OutStart in 2012 for $34m. The company was itself acquired by IBM in 2012 for $1.3billion.
The current Kenexa incarnation is as the IBM Kenexa Talent Suite, comprising Kenexa Talent Acquisition Suite (recruitment, onboarding) and Kenexa Talent Optimization Suite (performance management, succession management, and compensation planning).
Note: Reviews on TrustRadius are only of the recruiting/ATS functionality provided by Kenexa BrassRing and not of other capabilities offered by the suite.
| Company Status: | Public |
|---|---|
| 2014 Revenue: | ~$291m (at time of acquisition by IBM)* |
| Revenue Growth 2013-2014: | N/A |
| Customers: | 8,900 (at time of acquisition by IBM)* |
| Employees: | 2,800 at time of acquisition** |
Aggregate User Ratings of IBM Kenexa on TrustRadius
| Rating Attribute | IBM Kenexa Rating | # of Reviewers Contributing to Rating Average | Talent Management Category Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Likelihood to recommend | 5.8 | 18 | 7.4 |
| Likelihood to renew | 5.9 | 12 | 7.7 |
| Product usability | 6.0 | 3 | 7.6 |
| Product availability | N/A | N/A | 8.5 |
| Product performance | N/A | N/A | 7.2 |
| Support | 1.0 | 1 | 6.2 |
| In-person training | N/A | N/A | 8.4 |
| Online training | N/A | N/A | 7.4 |
| Implementation satisfaction | 6.0 | 1 | 7.4 |
IBM Kenexa Talent Management Ratings
| Talent Management Component | Talent Management Rating | Number of Ratings | Average Talent Management Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| Performance Management | 5.7 | 20 | 7.8 |
| Goal Alignment | 5.8 | 10 | 7.3 |
| Succession Planning | 4.1 | 9 | 7.1 |
| Recruiting/ ATS | N/A | N/A | 6.2 |
Summary of IBM Kenexa Reviews
| IBM Kenexa Pros | IBM Kenexa Cons |
|---|---|
| Solid ATS Kenexa BrassRing is a good applicant tracking tool for posting positions managing template profiles, background checks, etc. |
System outages Several users complain that system outages are troublesome or that the system runs slow. |
| Customer support Support is generally helpful and timely. |
Integration The system does not integrate well with external HCM tools like Workday. |
| Candidate search System uses Boolean logic search, which is very effective for finding applicants with specific characteristics in a vast applicant pool. |
Workflow design Several users complained that after finding a candidate though search, it is not possible to email the candidate from there. Also workflow potentially confusing if not using all the steps first interview, second interview etc.). |
| Onboarding integration Integration between the recruiting and onboarding modules is strong. |
Offer letter creation Offer letter creation is cumbersome and letters are difficult to format correctly. |