ADP Workforce Now vs. BambooHR®

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
ADP Workforce Now
Score 7.5 out of 10
Mid-Size Companies (51-1,000 employees)
ADP Workforce Now is a cloud-based HR platform for mid-sized businesses. It features customizable modules of various HR services that businesses can tailor to their specific needs, as well as regulatory monitoring and alerts to help businesses remain compliant.N/A
BambooHR®
Score 8.3 out of 10
N/A
BambooHR is an cloud-based human resources solution that provides onboarding, payroll, and benefits management. It also offers automated time-off management and employee self-service.
$10
per month per user
Pricing
ADP Workforce NowBambooHR®
Editions & Modules
Essential
Contact sales team
Enhanced
Contact sales team
Complete
Contact sales team
HR Pro
Contact sales team
Payroll Essentials
Contact sales team
HR Plus
Contact sales team
Hiring Advantage
Contact sales team
Performance Plus
Contact sales team
Core
$10
per month per user
Pro
Contact Sales
per month
Elite
Contact Sales
per month
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
ADP Workforce NowBambooHR®
Free Trial
NoYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
YesYes
Entry-level Setup FeeRequiredOptional
Additional DetailsPlease contact ADP for a product demo and ask about a hands-on "test drive" of Workforce Now.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
ADP Workforce NowBambooHR®
Considered Both Products
ADP Workforce Now
Chose ADP Workforce Now
I also used UltiPro (way back -- it didn't even appear in dropdown). Recommend ADP Workforce Now above all others. Paycor and Paycom were both very clunky. I even helped implement Paycom and could never get it to work how the business needed it to.
Chose ADP Workforce Now
ADP Workforce Now is quite robust on the payroll side, but my overall favourite is BamooHR.
Chose ADP Workforce Now
We went with ADP because our thousands of per diem nurses were already in the system so we got an extremely substantial discount to utilize ADP as our HRIS for our corporate employees.
Chose ADP Workforce Now
Between the different HRISs and ATSs I have had experience with, ADP is probably the most robust. It is pretty difficult to find a system that incorporates all the essential HR functions (people data, time and attendance, PM, ATS, etc) and does it all seamlessly for large …
Chose ADP Workforce Now
The ease of use for ADP Workforce Now (i.e. setup, integration with benefits offerings, etc.) is second to none. I came into the role as the organization's Executive Director with very little HR and Payroll experience and had minimal difficulty "keeping the trains running on …
Chose ADP Workforce Now
I think e-recruit is a little more difficult than ADP. ADP Workforce Now is more user friendly and has an easier way to find information.
Chose ADP Workforce Now
They are fairly comparable. Bamboo has less features and data is spread across multiple pages instead of a simple employee snapshot like ADP.
Chose ADP Workforce Now
ADP Workforce Now was cheaper and a lot more user-friendly.
Chose ADP Workforce Now
BambooHR is extremely user-friendly and is significantly cheaper than the add-ons available with ADP. The HR functions like getting employees to sign policies and fill out forms are really easy to navigate and track. I also really liked their verbiage in that software--not …
Chose ADP Workforce Now
Namely is a terrible system and they have awful customer service. I would never recommend them. We left them after a few months.
I've evaluated BambooHR because I've heard great things about it as an HRIS, but it doesn't have payroll and I prefer all-in-one systems when it comes …
Chose ADP Workforce Now
We previously used Paychex for payroll only and Bamboo HR for certain employees. We used manual spreadsheets to track vacation and pay. We selected ADP because it was the best tool to fit all of our needs. We were able to consolidate into one system. We no longer use a …
Chose ADP Workforce Now
ADP is so much easier. I don't have to modify my process to work with the system. The system works with my company and when you are subject to multiple compliance checks (banking/finance industry) that is key. The interface is intuitive, streamlined and easy to use.
Chose ADP Workforce Now
We are currently looking at Pressgold as a possible new payroll provider. Comparing price and product.
Chose ADP Workforce Now
ADP Workforce Now is much easier to use than BambooHR. I remember BambooHR was underutilized in the organization I was at previously, and it was difficult to navigate. ADP is much more robust and easy to use in comparison. It is customizable by the administrators to be able to …
Chose ADP Workforce Now
My company chose ADP, probably because they are the leading payroll solution. To re-iterate, if there was another alternative that was as prevalent and established, I'm sure they could make a better end product as far as features and especially usability goes. They need some …
Chose ADP Workforce Now
We used BambooHR and really liked it. Selected ADP because we did not want to find integrations for benefits and payroll - we wanted it to be "all in one," which is what ADP Workforce Now could provide. This was the same with Zenefits.
Chose ADP Workforce Now
ADP Workforce Now falls well short when compared to the other similar players in the cloud HCM space (Bamboo, Ultimate, Dayforce, etc.,), as well as the big three (Workday, Success Factors, Oracle Fusion).
BambooHR®
Chose BambooHR®
We started implementation with ADP Workforce Now and it was a 6 month nightmare of complicated protocols and our company having to bend our processes to fit their platform. It was hard to get assistance and answers from their support team were very vague. We ultimately …
Chose BambooHR®
scalability is an issue with BambooHR (missing lot of competent), integration with other tools (EDI feed, compliance etc)
Chose BambooHR®
Bamboo HR is so so much more user-friendly and easier to navigate on both the admin and employee side of things. This significantly helps reduce headaches and frustration when something needs correction. There is always something that will need to be fixed, so having a platform …
Chose BambooHR®
We switch our clients from the other HRIS platforms to BambooHR, because they do everything better and have amazing customer support.
Chose BambooHR®
Less expensive than ADP and much more up to date and efficient than Heartland
Chose BambooHR®
BambooHR is easier to use and has a more pleasant experience as a user. The dashboards are also easier to comprehend.
Chose BambooHR®
BambooHR is much more user friendly. What it lacks in technical/complexities it is working to improve.
Chose BambooHR®
BambooHR was much more user-friendly.
Chose BambooHR®
BambooHR pricing leaves it a bit harder of a sell than some of the competitors we have used in the past. If it was fully featured rich with an overflow of integrations that might be different, but as it stands, without a pricing change, I think that bridge is a harder sell for …
Chose BambooHR®
I used to use that software but couldn't meet up my demand. But in BambooHR workforce management platform features are really amazing than that. Platforms, content and overall everything of BambooHR is work-worthy.
Chose BambooHR®
Other tools with a more unified platform (including a more mature payroll solution) have been much more robust in terms of their data and reporting capabilities. BambooHR, however, has the edge on having a flashier look that may be more appealing to some up-and-coming …
Chose BambooHR®
Feels more intuitive and easier to use. ADP is working to catch up to the digital transformation while BambooHR was born digital.
Chose BambooHR®
Again, BambooHR is a great choice for companies with contracted or hourly employees to track but there are other, more user friendly tools like ADP.
Chose BambooHR®
I haven't used many products similar to BambooHR. One that is kind of close is SecureDocs, but it doesn't nearly match the depth of BambooHR. They are about the same when it comes to storing documents, but BambooHR is great in that it does so much more! That's where it really …
Features
ADP Workforce NowBambooHR®
Human Resource Management
Comparison of Human Resource Management features of Product A and Product B
ADP Workforce Now
7.8
1072 Ratings
4% below category average
BambooHR®
7.8
256 Ratings
4% below category average
Employee demographic data8.4947 Ratings8.3228 Ratings
Employment history8.2988 Ratings8.1233 Ratings
Job profiles and administration8.2938 Ratings8.0229 Ratings
Workflow for transfers, promotions, pay raises, etc.7.5964 Ratings7.7215 Ratings
Organizational charting7.3676 Ratings7.5235 Ratings
Organization and location management7.6740 Ratings8.1226 Ratings
Compliance data (COBRA, OSHA, etc.)7.0680 Ratings7.2131 Ratings
Payroll Management
Comparison of Payroll Management features of Product A and Product B
ADP Workforce Now
8.0
1085 Ratings
2% below category average
BambooHR®
7.6
172 Ratings
7% below category average
Pay calculation8.91045 Ratings8.3125 Ratings
Support for external payroll vendors7.7414 Ratings6.892 Ratings
Off-cycle/On-Demand payment8.1336 Ratings7.493 Ratings
Benefit plan administration7.5825 Ratings7.0131 Ratings
Direct deposit files8.91032 Ratings8.4128 Ratings
Salary revision and increment management7.3813 Ratings8.0140 Ratings
Reimbursement management7.5498 Ratings7.582 Ratings
Leave and Attendance Management
Comparison of Leave and Attendance Management features of Product A and Product B
ADP Workforce Now
7.9
890 Ratings
3% below category average
BambooHR®
8.7
221 Ratings
6% above category average
Approval workflow7.7810 Ratings8.5215 Ratings
Balance details8.0844 Ratings8.3206 Ratings
Annual carry-forward and encashment8.1686 Ratings9.2129 Ratings
Employee Self Service
Comparison of Employee Self Service features of Product A and Product B
ADP Workforce Now
7.8
1064 Ratings
5% below category average
BambooHR®
8.5
249 Ratings
4% above category average
View and generate pay and benefit information8.41026 Ratings8.6167 Ratings
Update personal information8.41015 Ratings8.9244 Ratings
View company policy documentation8.0819 Ratings8.3217 Ratings
Employee recognition6.5386 Ratings7.9156 Ratings
View job history7.732 Ratings8.8234 Ratings
Asset Management
Comparison of Asset Management features of Product A and Product B
ADP Workforce Now
6.0
12 Ratings
29% below category average
BambooHR®
9.0
74 Ratings
11% above category average
Tracking of all physical assets6.012 Ratings9.074 Ratings
HR Reporting
Comparison of HR Reporting features of Product A and Product B
ADP Workforce Now
6.8
988 Ratings
11% below category average
BambooHR®
7.1
209 Ratings
6% below category average
Report builder7.6971 Ratings7.2202 Ratings
Pre-built reports7.2966 Ratings7.4200 Ratings
Ability to combine HR data with external data5.7575 Ratings6.6144 Ratings
Onboarding
Comparison of Onboarding features of Product A and Product B
ADP Workforce Now
7.3
150 Ratings
9% below category average
BambooHR®
8.1
213 Ratings
2% above category average
New hire portal7.6146 Ratings8.4203 Ratings
Manager tracking tools6.9118 Ratings7.8189 Ratings
Performance and Goals
Comparison of Performance and Goals features of Product A and Product B
ADP Workforce Now
6.9
335 Ratings
15% below category average
BambooHR®
7.9
142 Ratings
2% below category average
Corporate goal setting7.0261 Ratings7.0103 Ratings
Individual goal setting6.7313 Ratings7.9136 Ratings
Line-of sight-visibility6.9258 Ratings9.069 Ratings
Performance tracking7.1308 Ratings7.5130 Ratings
Performance Management
Comparison of Performance Management features of Product A and Product B
ADP Workforce Now
6.5
432 Ratings
19% below category average
BambooHR®
7.8
160 Ratings
1% below category average
Performance plans6.6389 Ratings7.3145 Ratings
Performance improvement plans6.3332 Ratings7.2122 Ratings
Review status tracking6.1392 Ratings8.597 Ratings
Review reminders7.0408 Ratings8.0101 Ratings
Multiple review frequency6.5341 Ratings7.8139 Ratings
Succession Planning
Comparison of Succession Planning features of Product A and Product B
ADP Workforce Now
6.0
7 Ratings
26% below category average
BambooHR®
8.9
81 Ratings
13% above category average
Create succession plans/pools5.86 Ratings8.646 Ratings
Candidate ranking5.86 Ratings8.967 Ratings
Candidate search6.37 Ratings8.968 Ratings
Candidate development6.26 Ratings9.259 Ratings
Recruiting / ATS
Comparison of Recruiting / ATS features of Product A and Product B
ADP Workforce Now
5.8
445 Ratings
29% below category average
BambooHR®
8.0
181 Ratings
3% above category average
Job Requisition Management7.0389 Ratings7.8137 Ratings
Company Website Posting6.7381 Ratings7.7148 Ratings
Publish to Social Media4.8305 Ratings9.291 Ratings
Job Search Site Posting6.0341 Ratings7.4144 Ratings
Duplicate Candidate Prevention2.38 Ratings7.588 Ratings
Applicant Tracking6.8384 Ratings8.1164 Ratings
Notifications and Alerts7.0404 Ratings8.1172 Ratings
Best Alternatives
ADP Workforce NowBambooHR®
Small Businesses
Dayforce Powerpay
Dayforce Powerpay
Score 9.3 out of 10
Dayforce Powerpay
Dayforce Powerpay
Score 9.3 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Paypro Workforce Management
Paypro Workforce Management
Score 9.1 out of 10
Paypro Workforce Management
Paypro Workforce Management
Score 9.1 out of 10
Enterprises
PeopleStrong
PeopleStrong
Score 10.0 out of 10
PeopleStrong
PeopleStrong
Score 10.0 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
ADP Workforce NowBambooHR®
Likelihood to Recommend
7.9
(1123 ratings)
8.2
(245 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
7.8
(83 ratings)
9.8
(17 ratings)
Usability
2.5
(80 ratings)
8.6
(173 ratings)
Availability
7.3
(14 ratings)
9.3
(5 ratings)
Performance
6.4
(13 ratings)
8.7
(5 ratings)
Support Rating
6.5
(494 ratings)
8.0
(137 ratings)
In-Person Training
8.2
(9 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Online Training
5.8
(17 ratings)
9.2
(4 ratings)
Implementation Rating
1.5
(34 ratings)
8.6
(6 ratings)
Configurability
6.4
(10 ratings)
8.7
(4 ratings)
Contract Terms and Pricing Model
-
(0 ratings)
8.4
(3 ratings)
Ease of integration
6.1
(8 ratings)
9.6
(2 ratings)
Product Scalability
7.8
(785 ratings)
8.9
(5 ratings)
Professional Services
-
(0 ratings)
9.2
(2 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
5.2
(8 ratings)
8.9
(4 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
6.1
(8 ratings)
9.1
(4 ratings)
User Testimonials
ADP Workforce NowBambooHR®
Likelihood to Recommend
ADP
The ease in which you can process payroll and year end (T4s). Ability to maintain payroll - enter upcoming changes (e.g. pay raises for a certain date) ahead of time. While we don't use it in my current company, in past ones the time & attendance integration with timesheets is fabulous. Our company uses a 3rd party scheduling & timesheet platform which also integrates with one click but is a little more work to maintain time off balances within ADP Workforce Now. We use the 3rd party platform (Evolia) for scheduling and timesheets as the management here wanted the ability to see salaried employees on site, have a chat feature, and some self-management on the employee side with the ability to swap shifts.
Read full review
BambooHR
Performance management - the prompt questions are really helpful in distilling thoughts! Though it would still be great to have an optional box for additional feedback that might not be directly related to the prompt questions. The clean interface and user friendliness is a definite plus! But some specific features, eg. on TOIL application - it would be helpful to ensure it is intuitive to use, rather than confusing with the input process.
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Pros
ADP
  • HRIS that is personalized for the employee and addresses DE&I needs.
  • Payroll, of course! The system addresses all needs, such as deductions, additional pay, premium OT, and shift differentials.
  • Onboarding is an excellent way to stay in compliance and have all documents completed.
  • Tax and Banking and resolution to any issues.
Read full review
BambooHR
  • Recruiting- communications are easy for both the internal team and candidates
  • Onboarding- the onboarding tasks are great. I love being able to attach documents as well as delay sending out tasks
  • Communication- the employee community is a great tool to keep our communications clean and organized. I love that we now have insight as to who has viewed the comms
Read full review
Cons
ADP
  • Customized pre-process payroll reports (Limited on pre-process payroll reports)
  • Labor Allocation (Allocations make payroll reporting very hard to review and find any errors )
  • Recruiting (ATS is very basic)
  • Geofencing (should be able to change shape rather than a circle)
  • Pay Classes (should be able to change at Practitioner level rather than reach out to support)
  • Cookies and Cache have to be cleared on a regular basis
  • Only able to see employee documents/acknowledgements one at a time in the employee file
  • Timecards can only be managed/viewed by 1 person
  • Timeoff emails do not have a link
  • Cost per payroll - not just monthly fee so cost with off cycle payrolls
  • Separate I9 step not needed - during onboarding - 2nd Everify step
  • ADP Workforce Now does not pull in allowances for Houly employees into payroll ONLY Salaried employees
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BambooHR
  • The biggest issue is on performance assessments. We are not able to customize the reminder dates so the automated reminder dates shown to people and on the email reminders is often misaligned with our actual internal deadlines. This causes a lot of confusion each review cycle.
  • Also on performance management, there is no way to push feedback to a supervisor for their direct report. The only way is if the manager requests the feedback from you. This limits the opportunity for people to give real time feedback throughout the half.
  • I wish we had a way to track notes from employee 1:1s in BambooHR® so when we do our performance reviews we can track. That may be a module we didn't purchase but it would facilitate more continuous and comprehensive evaluation of people at review time.
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Likelihood to Renew
ADP
Due to the lack of support from the sales and service center we are looking at other options outside of ADP. Again it is a good system, it just lacks the support it deserves from the company employees. It is just unimaginable that you will need to reach out to a service provider several times for the same issue and not get it resolved.
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BambooHR
There's nothing wrong with this platform. I would recommend it to any business starting with more than 10 employees. I will continue to use the program for as long as I need to, hoping they continue being tremendous and finding other ways to incorporate more technology.
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Usability
ADP
I would give it a 10 however I do not like when ADP does facelifts in Workforce Now which does not add any value other than having to relearn navigation. I am also not a big fan of being forced to refer to the Bridge. We have Google which gives the same results. If I understood the answer I would not contact our Account Rep.
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BambooHR
Just because there's a little complex with everything that's rolling out and so I have had to walk some people through functionality because there's just so much to click at this point. Another thing is the review process doesn't allow for ratings with a number scale, and I know we're kind of getting away from that as an industry, but with our previous system we have been rating people for their merit percent increase on their wages at the end of the year and it doesn't have the functionality to do that.
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Reliability and Availability
ADP
ADP outages are very rare
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BambooHR
Yes, there is a huge team in the back of the online platform or it looks like it because I have never been left without an answer when I have a question or waiting from a response on my chat .... There must be a huge team, this is so great and I always seem to have someone that is very knowledgeable too. So many times in the past I had to leave with customer service that would connect you with someone else because of the expertise, here everyone seems to be some kind of an expert in the HR function.
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Performance
ADP
Overall, I think the functionality of the program works pretty well. Sometimes, certain browsers do not work well for the policy function of ADP, but that is the only issue thus far
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BambooHR
I love BambooHR. Reports are easy to run and download and it usually covers any types of requests I get from the management team. You get excel or .csv downloads/reports and it is fast and simple, not too crowded so it is easy to read through. We don't integrate the tool yet but again, soon we will. we just did not had the time to utilize it yet but that's the plan.
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Support Rating
ADP
Kelly La Rosa and Brian McLaughlin have been exceptional partners over the last few years and a tremendous source of support in my role. They are consistently solution‑oriented, highly responsive, and proactive in identifying opportunities to improve our processes. Both regularly brought forward thoughtful recommendations, including suggestions for new ADP products that aligned well with our evolving needs. Their expertise, reliability, and genuine commitment to client success have made a meaningful impact on my work and on our overall experience with ADP.
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BambooHR
I use the chat feature most often and the wait times can be long, but often I do get right in. When they promise to follow up, they always do. It seems the "support hero's" are very well training and knowledgeable. There are lots of resources in the form of print or video, too.
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In-Person Training
ADP
In-person training was pretty good - I think this significantly depends on the trainer. Our trainer was really good and showed what ADP can do - but I know that all trainers are not the same - and this truly makes such as difference. Overall, our training went pretty well.
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BambooHR
I didn't have in-person training besides teaching my managers how to use the program. However, I couldn't omit this question (maybe a system glitch).
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Online Training
ADP
At the time training was not as expansive as it is now. If it could go wrong it did for me so the process was difficult and lengthy. I needed to have more in person walkthroughs of things to ensure the transition was done correctly. Not sure what else I can say, we were part of the initial move to Workforce Now when it was introduced.
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BambooHR
Overall this training was great and our implementation specialist was wonderful and very helpful. We felt really prepared once our training was completed, But we could get additional help immediately even when we were live. The continuation Support heros after implementation are wonderful and you can always get a LIVE person each time you call into their office.
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Implementation Rating
ADP
Either assign more than one specialist to the implementation process, or assign less clients to the implementation specialist. The process requires attention to detail and the ability to test and re-test as well as verify the information. It also requires a lot of back and forth between the client ant the implementation specialist, so they need to be readily available during the whole implementation process.
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BambooHR
We implemented bambooHR in Fall, 2023 then implemented Payroll 1/1/24. A vital piece of information was not known or missed in that we are exempt from State Unemployment Tax and have a Reimbursement Set-up, so bambooHR did not send Payroll Reports to the State. Those reports need to be sent regardless if we are exempt or not.
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Alternatives Considered
ADP
I also used UltiPro (way back -- it didn't even appear in dropdown). Recommend ADP Workforce Now above all others. Paycor and Paycom were both very clunky. I even helped implement Paycom and could never get it to work how the business needed it to.
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BambooHR
Lattice is much more oriented towards performance management. It includes many more advanced performance management features from building actual assessments to also performance development planning. BambooHR® for us was a place to centralize our data and build from within as well as connect to external integrations. PerformYard is what we used prior to BambooHR® for onboarding workflows and performance reviews, but BambooHR® is far superior.
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Contract Terms and Pricing Model
ADP
No answers on this topic
BambooHR
Since my organization has dropped with employees, I always find ways to reduce costs. I thought there would be a cheaper option, but I was glad that my package included a lot for the price, and downgrading would cost more. The rep could have let me downgraded and taken me to a higher package. I am thankful that didn't happen.
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Scalability
ADP
We have several departments that utilize the reporting, utilize the timecards and the system. We also have self service that is nice for all of our employees. This system allows us to designate what each group can see, and what employees can change, or who can clock in and out offsite
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BambooHR
There is so much you can do with this platform, it is incredible and so welcoming. We don't utilize it 100% yet just because we are growing and the HR team has not been able to concentrate on other areas offered to us but but we will soon. Which is also why we got the product, specifically because what BambooHR can do to help us meet our growing business needs.
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Professional Services
ADP
No answers on this topic
BambooHR
VERY professional!
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Return on Investment
ADP
  • ADP WorkforceNow has provided a positive ROI for our company. It has saved me countless hours in the time I used to spend preparing reports, managing benefits, and annual enrollment, recruitment tracking, and much more.
  • The integration with Payscale has allowed our company to take every position in our organization and benchmark it to industries and job titles. This has allowed us to be more competitive on recruitment and retention.
  • We have used the new DE&I dashboard to provide valuable information on the landscape of our workforce, as well as areas of our organization that may not be as diverse.
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BambooHR
  • Time Savings: Automating onboarding, payroll, and employee record management has cut HR admin time by up to 30%, allowing teams to focus on strategic initiatives instead of paperwork.
  • Improved Onboarding: Streamlined workflows have cut onboarding time by nearly 50%, ensuring new hires are productive faster, reducing turnover risk in the critical first months.
  • - Enhanced Informational Clarity: Centralized employee data means fewer errors and faster access to essential information, reducing compliance risks and increasing accuracy in reporting.
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ScreenShots

ADP Workforce Now Screenshots

Screenshot of ADP Workforce Now: a simple and complete human capital management solutionScreenshot of Benchmarking by ADP DataCloud: an application with an extensive data set ... available to ADP Workforce Now clientsScreenshot of ADP Workforce Now clients can equip their employees with the ADP Mobile self-service app

BambooHR® Screenshots

Screenshot of the Job Info tabScreenshot of Onboarding TasksScreenshot of a New Hire PacketScreenshot of an Employee Performance ReportScreenshot of Employee Satisfaction (eNPS®)Screenshot of Open Enrollment