The Best Talent Management Software Shortlist
Here’s my shortlist of the best talent management software I’ll discuss in this article, with detailed summaries below:
- 5. ClearCompany — Best talent management software for analytics covering the full employee lifecycle
As all HR professionals know, talent management is a crucial component of achieving organizational success. Talent management software is designed to help you manage your best talent—your current and future employees—to ensure they remain happy and engaged in their roles.
The best talent management solutions support the entire workforce management process. That includes finding the right talent, identifying top performers, providing internal development and upward mobility opportunities, and assisting with succession planning.
This article will help you quickly compare and evaluate the best talent management software to help you recruit, retain, and develop your team members successfully.
Overviews of the Best Talent Management Software Systems
Here’s a brief description of each talent management platform that made my top 10 list. I've included their key features, best use cases, and screenshots to show you their user interface too.
Trakstar
Best talent management software for identifying high performers
Trakstar is a talent management system that can help you create and track the metrics and goals of employees. Properly communicating these goals to employees can help them understand their goals and what they need to achieve them. You can use Trakstar to create company pulse surveys to understand better what motivates them so you can improve employee engagement. Trakstar can also help you identify promising talent among employees so you can plan your company’s future by developing them as leaders.
Employees who deliver exemplary performance deserve recognition not just to reward them for their work but to inspire others, and Trakstar is an excellent talent management system if you want one that can help you identify high performers. Trakstar can help you create customized rating scales and competencies to effectively gauge employees using the metrics that matter to your company. The software also lets you involve managers, peers, and clients in the performance assessment process by gathering their feedback. Trakstar also has self-evaluations to encourage self-reflection and gain insights on how employees perceive themselves and the impact of their contributions to your company.
Deel
Best for managing global talent in over 150 countries
Deel is a comprehensive global workforce management software that provides local expertise in over 150 countries. It gives admins a complete overview of their entire workforce no matter where in the world they’re located, and can be used to manage both employees and contractors.
The company can be the employer of record for international employees, and handles both payroll and benefits on your behalf so you don’t need to open up a foreign entity. When you work with contractors, it helps you avoid misclassification and provides legally-reviewed contracts you can use. The company also offers a global mobility service, which can help you with visa sponsorships to bring in candidates from abroad.
The software includes features like contract management, expense reimbursements, and off-cycle adjustments. It integrates with other HR and accounting tools like Ashby, BambooHR, Expensify, Greenhouse, Hibob, Netsuite, Okta, OneLogin, Quickbooks, SCIM, Xero, Workday, and Workable. It also has an Open API that you can use to build custom integrations.
Insperity
Comprehensive HR software for talent management
Insperity is a cloud-based HR software that offers an integrated suite of tools for managing talent and HR functions. It offers various features such as performance management, compensation management, onboarding, and offboarding, compliance management, and more.
As an HR manager, I have found Insperity to be one of the most comprehensive HR software solutions for managing talent. It is user-friendly and has a wide range of features that have made my job much easier.
One standout feature of Insperity is the performance management module that allows me to set goals, track progress, and provide feedback to employees. Another great feature is the compensation management module, which helps me manage employee compensation and benefits.
Insperity integrates with various HR tools such as Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) and Payroll software, which allows me to streamline my HR processes and manage everything from one platform. The integration with various HR systems has made it much easier for me to manage all HR tasks efficiently and effectively.
PerformYard
Best for linking talent management and performance management processes
PerformYard is a performance management software that provides flexible features for HR teams to foster an effective talent management system. It gives you the tools you need to build out your talent management strategies, while employees get a streamlined experience so they can focus on quality feedback and effective performance discussions.
With PerformYard, you can customize the software to fit the talent management strategy that’s right for your organization, including 360-degree reviews, project-based reviews, rating scales, continuous feedback, or cascading goals.
PerformYard provides a simple employee experience that facilitates feedback and quality conversations. They provide dedicated customer success managers for every customer to manage their implementation from onboarding to employee training, to ongoing support.
PerformYard integrates with most major HRIS/Payroll systems including ADP, BambooHR, Gusto, Rippling, UKG, Paycom, Workday, and Paylocity.
ClearCompany
Best talent management software for analytics covering the full employee lifecycle
ClearCompany is a talent management system for better hiring experiences, seamless onboarding, and company-wide goal alignment and performance management. They boast all the features you need to source, onboard, train, and retain the best talent.
Quickly set up 1:1s, including custom scoring tables, weighted sections, and free-form responses; access candidate sourcing, automated screening, grading, and interview scheduling; easily build talent pools compliant with EEO/OFCCP; and more. The ATS, Onboarding, Engagement, Performance Management, and reporting tools can improve HR efficiency and the employee experience
ClearCompany is best for companies based in the U.S. and Canada.
ClearCompany integrates with tools for assessment tests, background checks, calendars, job postings, payroll and benefits, and SSO.
Remofirst
Best for managing global and remote workforces
Remofirst is a complete human resources information system (HRIS) that can be used for payroll management and employer of record (EOR) purposes. It's a cloud-based solution that can be used by businesses of all sizes, particularly those that employ remote or global employees and contractors. The software's talent management module provides you with an employee database, performance tracking features, regulatory compliance, and candidate hiring and onboarding tools.
Managers have a complete view of their entire team in the platform, including specific details like people's title or role, location, and salary. All this information is gated according to access permissions set by admins. Payroll can be administered in multiple currencies and employee benefits can be managed, including health insurance and financial benefits. Time-off requests can also be made through the system.
The software can help you maintain compliance with international regulatory standards, tax, and labor laws, and the company's team of support staff can help you uphold employment regulations in over 150 countries. This is especially useful for organizations that want to hire employees and contractors in countries or regions where they have no physical presence or legal entities of their own.
Pricing starts at $199/person/month for EOR and $19/person/month for contractors. A free demo is available.
Cegid
Best talent management software for collaborative recruitment
Cegid’s Talentsoft platform (formerly Hello Talent) combines the functionality of an employee engagement platform with a talent acquisition and management platform.
Beginning with recruiting, the system encourages collaboration between managers and employees throughout the search for new talent. By using their co-option app, employees can recommend candidate profiles from their personal networks in just a few clicks. To help facilitate recommendations, you can even embed a point system for employee referrals that is customized for your business.
To bolster employee retention, Cegrid designed an intuitive internal mobility tool to help existing employees identify new career opportunities within their organization. Other features also allow teams to promote cross-disciplinary projects to help employees remain proactive in their own skill development.
SAP SuccessFactors
Best for enterprise-level talent management
SAP stands for “Systems, Applications, and Products in Data Processing” and was founded in 1972 in Walldorf, Germany. Originally specializing in enterprise resource planning, they now do TMS as well, including robust features for global talent sourcing and team goal management.
SAP supports talent management success at the enterprise level by tapping into the four pillars of talent management: recruiting and onboarding, performance management, learning and development, and compensation management. They also have a variety of tools that can integrate with their talent solutions. For example, they have connections for common document authoring, document management, and identity management systems. This scored them well in the Integrations segment of the evaluation.
A few cons to note are A) the cost of the software can really add up if you need various services/packages and B) reporting could be more intuitive and automated and, as it stands currently, requires significant manual intervention.
Bullseye Engagement
Best low cost talent management software
Recognized by Insights Success Magazine as a “Disruptor of the Year,” Bullseye Engagement provides solutions for a 360 employee review and evaluation, engagement and pulse surveys, goals management, compensation planning, and talent matching.
The feedback loop of this tool is easy and satisfying, engaging users with notifications, role-based appraisals, comments and notes, employee history access, an organizational chart, a social media wall, direct reports coaching, and communication tracking.
With a dated and clunky user interface, Bullseye Engagement lost some marks in the UX category of the evaluation criteria section. The software looks much older than it is and does nothing to create a seamless, clean experience.
MightyRecruiter
Best free talent management software
MightyRecruiter lets you start sourcing immediately by posting your jobs to 29+ job boards for free. Additionally, they offer automated candidate delivery, easy applicant tracking, and candidate ranking and matching with the ability to integrate with your existing ATS.
Obviously, with a price tag of zero, MightyRecruiter takes the cake for Value for Cost per our evaluation criteria. They scored very well in this regard, making it a great option for small businesses or startups.
Because this is a free tool, they are limited in what job boards they can connect to when it comes to posting and distributing a listing. Additionally, it can take a while for a job posting to start circulating—up to 48 hours.
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10 Best Talent Management Software Comparison Chart
Here’s a comparison chart that summarizes basic details about each of my top talent management software selections. You can view pricing details and the availability of free trials or demos side-by-side to help you find the best software for your budget and business needs.
Tool | Free Option | Price | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Trakstar Best talent management software for identifying high performers | Free demo available | Pricing upon request | Visit Website |
2 | Deel Best for managing global talent in over 150 countries | Free demo available | Flat rate user pricing, with a free version for businesses with up to 200 people | Visit Website |
3 | Insperity Comprehensive HR software for talent management | Not available | Pricing upon request | Visit Website |
4 | PerformYard Best for linking talent management and performance management processes | Free demo available | From $5-$10/user/month | Visit Website |
5 | ClearCompany Best talent management software for analytics covering the full employee lifecycle | Free demo available | Pricing upon request | Visit Website |
6 | Remofirst Best for managing global and remote workforces | Free forever plan with limited features | From $199/employee/month or $19/contractor/month | Visit Website |
7 | Cegid Best talent management software for collaborative recruitment | Not available | Pricing available upon request | Visit Website |
8 | SAP SuccessFactors Best for enterprise-level talent management | Free trial available | From $2.18/user and has software packages starting from $1000+/package | Visit Website |
9 | Bullseye Engagement Best low cost talent management software | Free demo available | From $3-4/user/month | Visit Website |
10 | MightyRecruiter Best free talent management software | Free to use | Visit Website |
Other Talent Management Software
Here are a few more worthwhile options that didn’t make the top list. If you need additional suggestions for talent management systems, check these out too:
- Ascender PeopleStreme
Best talent management software for compensation management
- Oleeo
Best talent management software for redeployment and internal mobility
- Lattice
Best for performance management & 360-degree feedback
- hireEZ
Best talent management software for diversity and inclusion initiatives
- Recruitee
Best talent management software for android and iOS mobile apps
- Zoho Recruit
Best executive talent management software
- Peoplebox
Best talent management software for feature-rich OKR-centric performance management
- Eddy
Best all-in-one HR software for small businesses needing talent management tools
- ADP Workforce Now
Best talent management software for tracking and rewarding high performers
- Inspire
Best talent management software for continuous performance management
Selection Criteria for Talent Management Software
Wondering how I selected the best talent management software for this list? To start off, I drew on my previous experience using an HCM system to manage talent management processes myself. This allowed me to pinpoint features in other software systems that simplify typical HR processes.
In addition, I used the following core functionalities and key features to compare each talent management tool to the next to identify the clear winners in the pack.
Core Functionalities
A good talent management system should address the full employee lifecycle from end to end. To start off my assessment, I made sure that every system on my long list satisfied these basic components of the talent management process:
- A digital framework for collecting all relevant employee data, including document management and storage capabilities
- Data dashboards that track key metrics in a user-friendly format, as well as built-in reports and analytics capabilities
- Tools to assist in the recruitment process, including applicant tracking, and employee onboarding workflows
Key Features
In addition to the basic features above, I also assessed these additional key features that will help you get the best ROI out of your talent management software too:
- Hiring process automations: Automations will help you streamline common tasks to ultimately save you and your HR team time. For talent management software, automations may also incorporate artificial intelligence (AI) or machine learning (ML) into their workflows as well.
- Talent pool searchability: Hiring managers should be able to quickly, thoroughly, and reliably search their talent pool according to relevant candidate data like experience, skills, education, and so on.
- Employee onboarding tools: These features will help you make a good first impression on your new hires by simplifying the onboarding process. Your HR management team will also be able to free up a lot of time by creating repeatable onboarding workflows for new hires that provide them with accessible documentation, resources, and training to get them started.
- Learning management tools: Talent management is more than just sourcing talented new employees. Once they're onboard, you also need to put effort into developing their skills over time. That's why the best talent management software also include tools to support learning & development and skill building too.
User Interface
The user interface (UI) of your talent management software is important since it will have a big impact on how your candidates (and eventually employees) react to it. I always look for systems with clean and uncluttered user interfaces that create a positive user experience (UX) for all types of users — internal and external.
Usability
Even though usability does go hand-in-hand with UI and UX, I prefer to evaluate it separately. To ensure ease of use, I selected systems that are straightforward with clearly designed menus and functions. I also considered whether a system offered good customer service, tech support, tutorials, or training materials too.
Software Integrations
It's important to ensure that the talent management software you choose integrates with the other key software systems your organization is already using. That includes core HR management systems, learning management systems, performance management systems, and workforce planning systems. Some systems also offer API's to help you set up custom integrations if a native integration you were hoping for doesn't exist already.
Value for Price
The truth is, sometimes it all comes down to price. Before you get too far into your search for the best talent management software, it's important that you have a realistic budget for the software already in mind. While I always try to source accurate pricing details, some SaaS vendors only offer pricing details upon request. That's often because their systems are modular, allowing you to only pay for the modules you actually need.
Talent Management Software: Frequently Asked Questions
Do you have questions about what talent management software is and why it’s important? These answers to FAQ are a great place to start:
What is talent management software?
Why is talent management important to HR?
What Do You Think About The Above Talent Database Software?
Have you tried out a talent management system listed above? Is there any training management system you would add to this list? In your opinion, what is the best talent management software? Let us know in the comments.
Only need software to help with recruiting? Take a look at our suggestions for the best online recruiting software.
Looking to overhaul your performance management profess? We've compiled a list of the best performance management tools to save you time.
Looking for even more software to better suit your needs? Find out what an HRMS System can do for your organization, here.
Check This Out: Why And How To Create A Proper Talent Management Strategy