Feeling apprehensive about this year’s comp cycle? If so, it could be due to the tools you’re using—or the lack thereof.
The vast majority of HRIS tools with packaged-in compensation modules lack some significant feature or another that HR employees need. Your HRIS may not have a way to help you manage bonuses, for example, or calculate prorations.
In fact, it might be easier to count the list of comp features your HRIS does have; it’s probably much shorter than the list of tools you wish it had.
If you’re feeling frustrated—or outright dreading your next comp planning season—check out the list below for some great compensation management software options that are almost guaranteed to make your life easier.
Shopping around for a compensation management system? Here are some popular options.
1. SimplyMerit
from G2 reviewers
Here at MorganHR, comp is what we do. We live, eat, and breathe comp. We built SimplyMerit with the singular goal of filling in all the gaps you’re missing out on with other compensation management solutions.
SimplyMerit allows you to effortlessly manage the following areas that other systems typically don’t cover:
- Bonuses
- Equity grants
- Prorations
- Multicurrency situations
- Compensation recommendations
One of the most popular user opinions about SimplyMerit is that it’s intuitive.
Most HR employees say they spend only 20% of their time during comp planning season actually executing actions using our comp tools; that frees up 80% of their time to focus on making strategic comp-related decisions and dealing with other important aspects of the job.
Oh, and did we mention how easy it is to get up and running? We can have you live in five days or less! Plus, our team members will be there to guide you every step of the way.
“All-around great software and service!”
—Landon C., Senior Manager, Total Rewards and HR Operations
Pros
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Cons
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- Extremely fast implementation
- Top-notch customer service
- Highly collaborative
- Simple to learn and use
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- Lacks other HR features outside of compensation management
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2. Paycom
from G2 reviewers
The Paycom platform handles payroll, talent acquisition, labor management, and some HR management tasks. It has tools to manage aspects of the entire employee lifecycle, which could be a good thing or a bad thing depending on your needs.
If you want a comprehensive tool that acts as a jack-of-all-trades, Paycom could be your answer. However, it might fall short if you’re looking for a tool that specializes purely in compensation management.
Pros
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Cons
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- Provides features that streamline HR and labor management tasks
- Covers the entire employee lifecycle
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- Does not specialize in compensation management, so important comp functionality might be missing
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3. Payfactors
from G2 reviewers
Payfactors advertises its robust data sets and built-in methods for keeping pay equitable across the entire organization. Users can access market data that allows them to make educated decisions based around each position’s typical pay, so HR professionals can keep transparency and fairness at the forefront of all decisions.
It’s worth noting that some G2 reviewers experienced difficulty when trying to find datasets for specific industries. Depending on the job titles you’ll be searching, you might have great luck or need to find another option.
Pros
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Cons
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- Specializes in pay equity and transparency
- Provides large datasets for easy market research in most industries
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- Lacks complete data for some industries and job titles
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4. UKG Pro
from G2 reviewers
Geared toward diverse, international workforces, UKG Pro is an overall human capital management program that boasts an impressive list of supported languages.
If your organization spans many borders or crosses an ocean or two, UKG Pro could be a good fit for your needs. Its strong points include great customization, security, and reporting on things like time tracking and salary changes, and it’s capable of handling most HR tasks from payroll to talent management.
However, customers on G2 did note that the software is not robust when it comes to compensation management in particular. It also may be difficult to set up, as implementation and customer service were sore spots for many reviewers.
Pros
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Cons
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- Highly customizable
- Easy to manage workforces around the world
- Most HR tasks can be accomplished with built-in features
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- Software lacks crucial compensation management tools
- Customer service, including implementation support, is a weak point
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5. Pave
from G2 reviewers
Pave’s stated goal is to integrate seamlessly with your HRIS, ATS, and Cap Table so you never have to look at a spreadsheet again (at least for comp reasons). It seems like an all-around good tool according to its customers, though a handful of users noted that some manual work is still needed, especially toward the end of comp planning cycles.
It also lacks a strong budgeting feature, which means you might need to use a separate tool (or a dreaded spreadsheet) to plan budgets outside of Pave. Note that this may change in the future, as the Pave team appears to be in the process of fleshing out some of its features.
Pros
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Cons
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- Integrates with many HR software systems
- Great support for compensation management tasks
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- May still require some manual work, including spreadsheets
- Lacks budgeting features
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6. HRSoft Compensation Management
from G2 reviewers
Unlike the comprehensive HR tools that feature elsewhere on this list, HRSoft is a dedicated compensation management platform. Reviewers are happy with HRSoft’s flexibility, customer service, and features, and they note that the HRSoft team does their best to improve the system based on user feedback.
At this time, however, the platform has difficulty integrating with some HR system APIs, making manual uploads necessary for some customers. Be sure to double-check compatibility with your HRIS before making a commitment.
Pros
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Cons
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- Targeted specifically to compensation management
- Great customer service and responsive updates based on user feedback
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- Lacks compatibility with some major HR systems (though this may change with future updates)
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Know your goals before you select your ideal software solution.
Ask yourself:
- Do you want to eradicate spreadsheets from your life entirely, or are you okay with performing some tasks manually?
- Would you prefer a dedicated compensation management platform designed for maximum efficiency and ease of use, or would you rather have a broader platform with additional HR bells and whistles?
- How quickly do you need to have your new system up and running?
- Which compensation-related goals would you most like to have covered by the software solution? You can often eliminate a number of platforms off the bat that don’t support your top priorities.
- Do you have an IT team willing to set up, integrate, and configure your new software, or would you prefer smooth and quick implementation with the vendor’s help?
- Is your team remote, global, and made up of 50,000 employees, or are you a small team from the U.S. that just needs some extra help—or anything in between?
- How important is ongoing customer support to your success?
- Would you find it helpful to have compensation consultation services that combine seamlessly with your chosen software, or do you prefer to figure everything out on your own?
Once you answer these questions and take a look at the options on the table, it should be much easier to narrow down your ideal choice. If you schedule some demos before you buy, you can also use the above list of questions to outline your must-haves and structure a productive conversation with each vendor.
Not sure yet whether to take the leap on compensation management software?
Perhaps purchasing dedicated comp software seems like an extravagance—especially if your organization is on the smaller side. If you’re scraping by using spreadsheets, you might try to convince yourself you don’t really need to spring for a software solution. After all, spreadsheets get the job done, even if you’re pulling out your hair and slamming down cups of coffee during every comp cycle.
If you’re on the fence, we’d urge you to reach out to us for a conversation!
One personalized demo will only take up about 45 minutes of your time. You’ll either walk away knowing that comp software isn’t what you need right now, or you’ll gain confidence in your decision to partner with one of the most knowledgeable and reliable compensation management software vendors around. We guarantee SimplyMerit will completely revolutionize the way you handle comp planning cycles for the better!
See what SimplyMerit can do for you by scheduling a free demo here.
