Item: Namely
Rating: 7
Author: Verified User

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

Our organization uses Namely to run most of our HR functions including payroll, performance, PTO, etc. We also use it for appreciation and internal social networking. We have about 50 users. For our small business, it is an "all-in-one" HR solution. I personally use it to manage my small team, including quarterly goal setting and tracking, etc.

Pros and Cons

Payroll seems to work pretty flawlessly.
The social networking function is solid and easy to use.

The user experience, particularly for PTO and performance management could use a lot of improvement. It is just fundamentally awkward, easy to get lost, etc.

Return on Investment

It gets the job done, but I can't say that I love it.
I can't really compare the ROI to another solution. It is certainly good enough to roll up most basic HR functions, and in that respect is totally worth it.

Alternatives Considered

SAP SuccessFactors

It has been a few years since I used SAP Success Factors. It is clearly for enterprise companies, so strictly speaking, it doesn't compete directly with Namely. Although I have my issues with Namely's user experience, it blows SAP SuccessFactors out of the water. SF is a complete disaster, typical of old-school enterprise software. It is bloated and frustrating to use. Namely is much better (though still has room for improvement). Of course, SF has a ba-zillion additional features and capabilities. Not really an apples-to-apples comparison.

Implementation Rating

Usability

I've commented on this in some of my earlier responses. The UX overall is solid, with a few very rough or awkward areas. Overall, navigation can be a real challenge sometimes. The PTO management (for your employees) is sometimes awkward. The biggest problem is around goals tracking, quarterly/annual reviews, etc. It is often very hard to "get to" the view or screen you are looking for (not obvious from the UI). Once you get it down, it works but for things you don't do frequently (quarterly reviews), you forget and have to figure it out again each time. That part is frustrating.

Other areas, like the social networking are very well done and intuitive.

Likelihood to Recommend

I think Namely is generally a solid solution for small companies. I am not sure how well it scales—some of the UI/navigation problems I have noticed are likely to be even more problematic at a larger organization. It works very well to manage payroll and basic employee details. The social networking component is also well done. The most problematic is performance/goal tracking. They have the right idea, it is just clunky, and we've started tracking this outside of Namely because it is just easier that way.

Very solid HR platform, UX could still be improved!

Overall Satisfaction with Namely