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BambooHR is a well-known HRIS system that streamlines HR functions for small and medium-sized businesses. It helps teams manage employee data, hiring, onboarding, time-off tracking, and performance management. While it's certainly a worthwhile solution, you may want to consider other BambooHR competitors that better fit your needs.

In this article, I'll walk you through my recommendations for the best BambooHR alternatives to simplify your HR functions. I'll draw on my personal experience as an HR specialist to help you understand the value of each system, and find the best fit for your needs.

What is BambooHR? 

BambooHR is a cloud-based Human Resources Information System (HRIS) designed primarily for small to medium-sized businesses. It offers a range of HR functions including employee information management, recruitment and onboarding, performance management, time-off tracking, and payroll processing.

BambooHR focuses on simplifying HR processes, improving data organization, and enhancing employee management. BambooHR's flexible pricing, user-friendly interface and customizable features allow businesses to tailor the system to their specific needs, facilitating efficient HR management and helping to streamline administrative tasks, thereby improving overall HR efficiency and employee experience.

Best BambooHR Competitor Reviews

Below you’ll find a brief description of the top 10 BambooHR competitors in the HRIS market. To help you find the best option for you, I’ve summarized their key features and analyzed what they have to offer that BambooHR doesn’t.

Best BambooHR alternative for global payroll and compliance

  • Free demo available
  • Flat rate user pricing, with a free version for businesses with up to 200 people
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Rating: 4.8/5

Deel is a global payroll and compliance platform designed to simplify the complexities of hiring international talent. By providing a comprehensive suite of tools for managing contracts, payments, and compliance, Deel enables companies to hire, pay, and support workers in over 150 countries.

One of the primary reasons Deel stands out as a good alternative to BambooHR is its focus on international payroll and compliance. While BambooHR is a versatile HR management system with a range of features for handling employee data, performance management, and time tracking, it lacks the specialized tools needed for managing a global workforce. Deel excels in this area by offering localized compliance solutions and automated tax filings, which are essential for companies with international employees and contractors. 

Additionally, Deel simplifies the process of creating, managing, and storing contracts for both employees and contractors, with customizable templates that ensure compliance with local labor laws. Its payment platform supports multiple currencies and payment methods, offering more flexibility and convenience than BambooHR. By integrating contract management and payroll into a single platform, Deel eliminates the need for multiple systems and reduces administrative overhead. 

Deel integrates with Greenhouse, HiBob, Lever, NetSuite, Ashby, BambooHR, QuickBooks, Slack, Workday, Xero, and others.

Best BambooHR alternative for AI-powered applicant tracking

  • Free demo available
  • Pricing upon request
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Rating: 4.6/5

ClearCompany is a comprehensive talent management system designed to support talent acquisition, employee engagement, and performance management. By leveraging AI and automation, it aims to improve recruitment and hiring processes. The platform is widely used by companies to enhance HR operations, reduce time-to-hire, and gain valuable insights into employee development.

One of the key features of ClearCompany is its AI-powered ATS, which significantly simplifies recruiting workflows. The ATS includes advanced tools such as the ClearText Suite, which enables recruiters to communicate with candidates via text. This suite also includes Text-to-Apply, allowing candidates to apply for jobs through text messages.

The AI candidate match recommendations feature uses machine learning to identify high-potential candidates, reducing the time spent on manual resume screening. Additionally, ClearCompany’s recruiting campaign automation helps nurture passive talent through personalized email and text campaigns, ensuring that recruiters can maintain a steady pipeline of qualified candidates. These automation tools not only save time but also enhance the overall efficiency of the recruitment process.

Integrations include Slack, Gmail, Google Workspace, Dropbox Business, Microsoft 365, Microsoft Teams, Indeed, Google Calendar, ADP Workforce Now, ZipRecruiter, BambooHR, and Microsoft Outlook.

Best for scalable recruitment workflows

  • Free demo available
  • Pricing upon request
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Rating: 4.3/5

Greenhouse is a comprehensive hiring platform designed to centralize your recruitment process from sourcing candidates to onboarding new hires. It offers tools to create structured hiring practices, ensuring fair and efficient recruitment. By consolidating your hiring activities, Greenhouse helps your team make more informed decisions.

Greenhouse stands out as a strong competitor to BambooHR by concentrating on recruitment-specific features that are essential for companies seeking an effective applicant tracking system. The platform supports scalable workflows and aims to improve candidate experiences, catering to businesses of all sizes. Unlike BambooHR, which offers broader HR management functions, Greenhouse is designed to manage the entire hiring process from talent sourcing to onboarding.

The platform also emphasizes a consistent and fair hiring approach, enabling your team to make data-driven decisions throughout the recruitment process. This system ensures that every candidate is assessed using the same criteria, reducing bias and improving the quality of hires. With its focus on structured hiring, you'll find that your team can create detailed job scorecards and interview kits, which help in standardizing interviews and evaluations. 

Integrations include LinkedIn Recruiter System Connect, BambooHR, DocuSign, Calendly, Slack, HackerRank, Spark Hire, HireRight, Namely, Microsoft Teams, Appcast, and Sterling.

Best for an easy-to-use interface with responsive customer support

  • Free demo available
  • From $5/employee/month
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Rating: 4.8/5

GoCo is an HR management solution designed to simplify and streamline various HR processes for small to mid-sized businesses. The platform integrates essential HR tasks such as onboarding, payroll, benefits administration, and performance management into a single, cohesive system.

GoCo offers several features that make HR management intuitive and efficient. One of GoCo’s significant strengths lies in its user-friendly interface, which simplifies navigation and enhances the overall user experience. The platform includes easy-to-understand reports and a drag-and-drop workflow automation builder, allowing users to customize workflows easily and streamline HR processes without extensive training or technical expertise. This intuitive design helps HR teams manage tasks such as onboarding, time tracking, and benefits administration more effectively.

Additionally, GoCo excels in providing built-in compliance tracking features, which are essential for maintaining adherence to HR regulations. The platform offers tools for ACA, FMLA, and OSHA compliance, along with a robust library of compliance materials and law alerts. This comprehensive compliance support ensures that businesses can navigate complex HR regulations confidently. Furthermore, GoCo places a strong emphasis on customer support, assigning each customer a dedicated Client Success Team that provides personalized guidance. 

Integrations are available with over 100 apps, including QuickBooks, Xero, Gusto, ADP, BambooHR, Namely, Zenefits, Workday, Rippling, Paychex, TriNet, Justworks, Greenhouse, Lever, JazzHR, Indeed, and ZipRecruiter.

Best for company-wide goal alignment

  • Free demo available
  • Pricing upon request
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Rating: 4.3/5

Mitratech Trakstar is a comprehensive performance management solution designed to help organizations align employee goals with business objectives, assess performance, and foster development.

I like its goal-setting functionality that lets you align individual goals with your company's objectives, ensuring everyone is on the same page. You can track progress in real-time, which gives you valuable insights into how your team is performing and allows for timely adjustments. Plus, Trakstar's flexible appraisal forms mean you can tailor performance reviews to suit your organization’s specific needs, ensuring feedback is always relevant and constructive, boosting a culture of continuous improvement.

Another notable feature is Trakstar's 360-degree feedback system. This tool enhances communication by gathering feedback from peers, subordinates, and managers, giving a well-rounded view of an employee's performance. This comprehensive perspective helps you make informed decisions on promotions, raises, or training needs. Trakstar also has strong reporting capabilities, enabling you to spot trends and development areas across your organization. 

Integrations include ADP Workforce Now, Paylocity, BambooHR, Namely, Ramco, UKG Pro, Syntrio, SFTP, Azure, Okta, Salesforce, Zoom, GoToWebinar, and DocuSign.

Best BambooHR alternative for mobile-first onboarding

  • Free demo available
  • Pricing upon request
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Rating: 4.7/5

WorkBright is a comprehensive HR software solution designed to streamline the hiring and onboarding process for businesses. It offers a range of features including remote I-9 verification, automated E-Verify, digital onboarding forms, and an applicant tracking system (ATS). 

One of the key differentiators is WorkBright’s mobile-friendly onboarding platform, which allows new hires to complete paperwork on their smartphones without the need for apps or downloads. This feature is particularly beneficial for companies with remote or field-based employees, as it eliminates the logistical challenges often associated with traditional onboarding methods.

Another standout feature of WorkBright is its compliance management, particularly the way it handles form I-9 and E-Verify processes. WorkBright offers photo-upload functionality, allowing new hires to submit documents directly through their devices, which not only accelerates the verification process but also helps organizations maintain compliance with federal regulations seamlessly. BambooHR, although equipped with compliance tools, doesn’t offer the same level of specialization in onboarding-specific compliance needs.

Integrations include ADP Workforce Now, E-Verify, iSolved, Netchex, ApplicantPRO, and Universal Background Screening.

Best free BambooHR alternative for candidate sourcing and applicant tracking

  • 21-day free trial
  • From $1.20/user/month + $71/month base fee
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Rating: 4.6/5

Freshteam is a SaaS HRMS (human resource management system) designed to support hiring, onboarding, time-off tracking, employee data management, and other HR workflows like building custom reports. It’s a great choice for businesses with a heavy sales and marketing focus since Freshteam works seamlessly with other Freshworks products such as Freshdesk (customer support software), Freshsales (sales/lead generation software), Freshmarketer (multichannel marketing software), and Freshservice (IT service management software).

When stacked up against BambooHR, Freshteam scores higher in their candidate sourcing and applicant tracking tools. While BambooHR does have an ATS (in their highest paid service level), Freshteam’s recruitment tools are available even in their freemium package. Their software supports candidate sourcing from multiple sources (job boards, employee referrals, emails and social media), plus the ability to schedule interviews and roll out offers right from within the platform. As well, they’ve built in helpful automations for key tasks like thank you emails or reference check reminders. On top of all that, they also support candidate skills assessments and kanban-style boards for applicant tracking, plus detailed talent pool analytics so you can see where your recruitment efforts are hitting the mark, or falling short.

Freshteam integrates with Adzuna, LinkedIn, Indeed, ZipRecruiter, Office 365 Calendar, Google Calendar, Google Meet, Google Hangouts, HackerRank, HackerEarth, Codility and ClassMarker.

Freshteam’s affordable pricing also stands out against BambooHR since the software is free to use for startups with up to 50 employees. For organizations with more staff, Freshteam’s pricing starts at $1.20/employee/month plus a $71 USD flat fee per month. You can also request a free demo or a 21-day free trial through their website too.

Best BambooHR alternative for managing compliance and advanced data analysis

  • Free demo available
  • From $4.50-$11.70/employee/month
Visit Website
Rating: 4.8/5

intelliHR’s strategic and sophisticated HR management software covers core HR data processes, performance management, employee engagement and wellbeing, HR analytics, compliance, employee retention, team management and talent management. To facilitate a positive employee experience, their platform offers dynamic employee profiles, a useful staff directory, and an org chart that updates in real-time as employees come and go. Their self-service employee dashboard also allows employees to read policies, fill out forms, or request feedback in just a click.

While intelliHR is quite similar to BambooHR in many of their features, intelliHR has more to offer in terms of their strategic HR tools for compliance and advanced data analysis. intelliHR is a great choice for industries with a heavy focus on training and compliance, and I say that knowing how much work goes into an audit prep process after participating in 9 years of audits under an ISO 9001 designation.

intelliHR’s dashboard provides a quick overview of who is or isn’t compliant at any given time, to help your organization address any gaps and become audit-proof as soon as possible. Their system can track compliance-related items such as mandatory training certifications, qualifications or licenses and automate follow-up emails to ensure no items expire unexpectedly. You can also run audit reports on all your data at any time, making it easy to prove your compliance status on short notice.

The data visualization tools within intelliHR are also deeper than with BambooHR. Their advanced employee analytics include feedback tools to measure team sentiment, employee satisfaction, eNPS (employee net promoter score), and keyword trends in a visual word cloud format. Beyond that, intelliHR also tracks business performance analytics and workforce management analytics like business sentiment, attrition analysis, survival analysis, recruitment spend, training investment and many other items.

intelliHR integrates with 45+ other software tools including Google Suite, Microsoft Outlook, Slack, DocuSign, etrainu, Gol, ADP, WorkJam, DataPay, Xero, Zapier, and others.

Pricing for intelliHR starts at $3.25 USD/employee/month. You can also request a free demo and a 30-day free trial through their website too.

Best BambooHR alternative for creating customizable workflows and automating processes

  • Free demo available
  • Pricing upon request
Visit Website
Rating: 4.3/5

Since Sapling is technically an HCM (human capital management) platform, their main focus is on improving people-centric processes like onboarding and offboarding, and enhancing internal communication through features like intranet services, shared calendars, and mobile app accessibility. Their HR platform also includes add-ons for other core HR functions such as dynamic org charts, track & approve chains, time off tracking, and employee surveys to monitor your level of employee engagement.

Since user reviews of BambooHR point to a lack of flexibility and customization options throughout their platform, Sapling is a better fit for companies looking to automate and customize their routine processes. Sapling allows users to simplify common tasks through auto-assigned workflows, email scheduling, and customizable alerts, to standardize the employee experience while maximizing efficiency. This is a valuable feature for organizations with distributed teams, as it helps HR both regulate and customize processes across locations, departments or types of employees, as needed. Using the onboarding process as an example, the onboarding requirements for a frontline sales associate will look very different than the requirements for a senior manager or a lead engineer. Rather than reinventing the wheel for each new hire, you can build up your automated processes for each segment of your workforce, then let them roll out automatically.

Some additional aspects that may lead you to choose Sapling over BambooHR include Sapling’s extensive forms library, their ability to incorporate background checks into the hiring process, and their deep integration with Google Suite—all of which are missing in BambooHR. As well, Sapling’s support team is available 24/7 to assist you, whereas BambooHR’s email support has restricted hours and their telephone support is only available in their highest paid service level.

Sapling integrates with 50+ leading HR, IT and productivity systems including 15Five, ADP, ChartHop, Greenhouse, JazzHR, Jira, Kallidus, Lattice, Lessonly, Lever, LinkedIn, Okta, OneLogin, Paylocity, Slack, Workday, Zapier, and many others.

To take advantage of their full range of HRIS features, pricing for Sapling starts at $6.99 USD/employee/month for their People Ops Platform. However, they do offer a cheaper alternative if all you need to access are their onboarding features. You can also request a free demo through their website too.

Best BambooHR alternative for expense management and unlimited recruiting

  • 30-day free trial
  • From $6/employee/month
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Rating: 4.3/5

Like all the other HRIS systems in this list, Sage HR is well-designed to take care of all your core HR needs, including onboarding, employee record management, leave management, performance reviews, shift scheduling, timesheets, and reporting HR analytics. Their performance management module also includes modern features such as goals and OKRs (objectives and key results), 360 degree feedback, 1:1 meeting templates, employee surveys, and other feedback tools.

One area where Sage HR excels over BambooHR is their expense management module. Expense management is traditionally a very time-consuming process for both employees and accounting staff as it requires itemizing receipts, submitting expense claim reports, and requesting approval, often from multiple sources. Sage HR simplifies this process by automating the workflow via their mobile app. Employees who have business expenses can snap a photo of their receipt on their phone, then fill out a simple approval form and submit it directly to their designated expense manager. This saves a lot of time, and paper, since the entire approval process is digitized. In contrast, BambooHR does not currently include any expense tracking or management functionality to date.

Sage HR’s recruitment module also includes a more robust set of features than those available through BambooHR. With Sage HR, you can customize your pipeline stages and triggers, process an unlimited number of applicants through an unlimited number of pipelines, and also incorporate employee referrals. While BambooHR does offer an applicant tracking system in their highest price level, consumer research suggests that the design is rather clunky, with a major shortcoming in how the system sorts and saves applicants, resulting in cluttered pipelines full of disqualified candidates.

Sage HR integrates with G Suite and Slack, as well as Zapier, which opens the door to many additional custom software integrations. Sage HR also has an API and supports single sign-on.

Pricing for Sage HR is transparent and modular, ensuring you only spend money on the features you actually need. Pricing starts at $7 USD/employee/month for their core HR package, with many additional add-ons available for an extra monthly fee. A 30-day free trial can also be requested through their website too.

BambooHR Competitors: Pricing Comparison Chart

This comparison chart summarizes pricing details for my top BambooHR competitor selections to help you find the best software for your budget and business needs.

Tool Best For Trial Info Price
1
Deel

Deel offers a comprehensive platform for hiring remotely around the globe, from full-time employees to contractors.

Best BambooHR alternative for global payroll and compliance

Free demo available

Flat rate user pricing, with a free version for businesses with up to 200 people Website
2
ClearCompany

ClearCompany's AI-powered ATS offers a centralized place for candidate tracking and management.

Best BambooHR alternative for AI-powered applicant tracking

Free demo available

Pricing upon request Website
3
Greenhouse

Greenhouse centralizes your recruitment pipeline and allows for collaborative approaches to hiring.

Best for scalable recruitment workflows

Free demo available

Pricing upon request Website
4
GoCo

Among its many capabilities, GoCo allows users to create automated HR workflows with a simple drag-and-drop builder.

Best for an easy-to-use interface with responsive customer support

Free demo available

From $5/employee/month Website
5
Mitratech Trakstar

Mitratech Trakstar's performance check-in and survey features allow for regular communication between managers and employees.

Best for company-wide goal alignment

Free demo available

Pricing upon request Website
6
WorkBright

WorkBright offers a mobile-friendly platform with robust onboarding and compliance features.

Best BambooHR alternative for mobile-first onboarding

Free demo available

Pricing upon request Website
7
Freshteam

Freshteam allows you to analyze your talent pool to further hone your recruitment efforts.

Best free BambooHR alternative for candidate sourcing and applicant tracking

21-day free trial

From $1.20/user/month + $71/month base fee Website
8
IntelliHR

intelliHR makes it easy to dive deeply into your workforce management data with their advanced data analysis tools.

Best BambooHR alternative for managing compliance and advanced data analysis

Free demo available

From $4.50-$11.70/employee/month Website
9
Kallidus Sapling

Sapling organizes HR processes by enabling customized workflows for different employee types, teams or locations.

Best BambooHR alternative for creating customizable workflows and automating processes

Free demo available

Pricing upon request Website
10
Sage HR

The dashboard within Sage HR makes it easy to track tasks, important dates, team member availability, and vacation balances, all in one place.

Best BambooHR alternative for expense management and unlimited recruiting

30-day free trial

From $6/employee/month Website

Other BambooHR Competitors

Here are some additional BambooHR competitors that didn’t make it into my top 10 list, but are still worth considering:

  1. Zenefits

    BambooHR alternative for benefits management and mobile access

  2. Workday

    For streamlining HR processes with user-friendly, comprehensive solutions

  3. Namely

    Performance management in an all-in-one HR tool

  4. bob

    BambooHR alternative for deepening company culture and employee engagement

  5. UKG Pro

    BambooHR alternative for learning management and high-volume recruiting

  6. Paylocity

    For comprehensive HR management

  7. Rise

    BambooHR alternative for Canadian organizations

  8. TimeTrex

    For time and attendance management with customizable payroll options

  9. Zoho People

    BambooHR alternative for organizations with variable workforces

  10. Gusto

    BambooHR alternative for full-service payroll and device management

If you still haven't found what you're looking for here, check out these other related tools that we've tested and evaluated:

Why Choose a BambooHR Alternative?

Even though BambooHR is a solid choice when it comes to HRIS systems, there are several reasons why you might want to go with a BambooHR alternative, including:

You need more robust candidate sourcing and recruiting tools

BambooHR does have an applicant tracking system (ATS) in its top-tier Advantage price level. But, user reviews describe their ATS as clunky, inflexible, and lacking a key ability to archive candidates once they’ve been disqualified for a role.

This means BambooHR ATS users end up scrolling through cluttered and confusing pipelines, wasting time, and getting frustrated. BambooHR also lacks designated candidate sourcing tools, and its mobile app for hiring is separate from its employee self-service app.

You’re looking for specific features that BambooHR doesn’t include

Every HRIS system has its niche, and while BambooHR is not a bad choice by any means, there are specific features that may benefit your organization greatly, which are not included in their platform. Here’s a list of additional features you may want to look elsewhere for:

  • Culture building tools
  • A learning management system
  • Employee shift scheduling, shift management, and shift swapping tools
  • Advanced recruiting tools (e.g., candidate sourcing, background checks, etc.)
  • Advanced benefits management integration
  • Advanced payroll management features (e.g., for international teams or contractors)
  • Travel management and expense management features
  • Compliance tracking features
  • Device management and asset tracking features
  • Advanced data analysis and reporting functionalities 

If you find BambooHR's features limiting and are looking for more customization options, our in-depth analysis of HR software might offer you the alternatives you need

You need more customizations and automations

While the simplicity of BambooHR’s software may work well for some, other organizations may get frustrated by the inability to customize and automate processes beyond the system’s pre-designed configuration options.

Customer reviews from BambooHR users mention disappointment with the inability to customize reports, and a lack of response when requesting new platform features or advancements. For complex companies, it may just be too simple for its own good.  

You need software that’s scalable to the enterprise level

BambooHR is designed to serve startups, and small-to-medium businesses, so it’s not an ideal choice for organizations with more than 100 staff or those with anticipated high growth. It is also primarily designed for the US market, which makes it a poor choice for multinational organizations, or those headquartered abroad. 

Related Read: Enterprise Performance Management: Everything You Need To Know

Features of BambooHR Competitors

To help you narrow in on the best BambooHR alternative for you, keep an eye out for the following key features:

Employee data management as a single source of truth

This is so obvious, it almost goes without saying, but any good HRIS must make it easy to manage employee data efficiently, as a single source of truth. Not sure what that means? Here’s an example. 

Say an employee has a new manager. A good HRIS system will allow you to update their manager in one place, which will carry the change forward to all other related areas of the system. A poorly designed HRIS system may require you to update an employee’s manager in their profile, on the org chart, in their performance management module, in the timesheet system, expense approval module, etc.  

Attendance and time-off management tools and calendars 

Attendance and paid time off (PTO) tracking are crucial components of HR employee data management. The best systems have direct integrations with payroll modules (or other payroll systems) to simplify the tracking and payment process.

Plus, it’s always handy to have access to a company-wide or team-specific vacation calendar, so you can tell who’s away on any given date. 

Employee onboarding tools

Onboarding new employees to your company is one area where the best HRIS systems shine. The top BambooHR competitors all have tools to automate the process by collecting employees’ personal information and preferences and directing them to key corporate policies or training documents they need to review.

In this area, the more flexibility you have to customize your onboarding process for different types of employees (e.g., based on job role, department, location, technical level, etc.), the better. 

HR analytics and reports

What’s the point of building a database of information, if you can’t run useful reports on the data? All the BambooHR competitors in this list have the ability to run reports and produce HR analytics - some with more sophisticated capabilities than others. 

Employee self-service features

Employee self-service is important as it empowers employees to keep their own personal information up-to-date without relying heavily on HR staff. Self-service capabilities are typically limited to contact information, spouse and dependent details, direct deposit, and ideally, professional qualifications and training-related information too.  

Other Resources

I hope these software comparisons helped you gain some clarity on the best HRIS system for you—whether it turns out to be BambooHR or not. 

Still interested in additional options? Check out our list of the best HRIS systems on the market, plus our best HCM software list and our best HRMS software list too.

Looking for something specifically designed for a startup or small business? We also have lists covering the best HRIS systems for small businesses as well as the best HRMS software for small businesses too. 

Wondering what the difference is between an HRIS, HRMS and HCM system? Read our summary on HR software costs, which includes detailed explanations for each system type. 

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Kim Behnke
By Kim Behnke

Kim Behnke is an HR Tool Expert & Writer for People Managing People. She draws on her 9 years of human resources experience and her keen eye for systematic processes to support her analyses of the top HR tools on the market. She is passionate about maximizing efficiencies and streamlining workflows to ensure internal systems run smoothly. Kim's HR experience includes recruitment, onboarding, performance management, training and development, policy development and enforcement, and HR analytics. She also has degrees in psychology, writing, publishing, and technical communication, and recently completed a Certified Digital HR Specialist program through the Academy to Innovate HR. When away from her desk, she can usually be found outside tending to her ever-expanding garden.