Choose if: You're a small business looking to automate your HR processes and save time on admin.
Free for 7 days
No credit card needed
Cancel any time
Choose if: You're a small business looking to automate your HR processes and save time on admin.
Choose if: You're mainly looking to automate payroll and hiring.
Choose if: You're above 150 employees and need advanced reporting features.
Choose if: Your priority is not an advanced HR software, but getting 1-1 support from a consultant.
Choose if: Your company is mainly based in the EU and larger than 150 employees.
Choose if: Your team works in shifts.
Choose if: You only need very basic HR support.
Choose if: You want to offer your team an efficient e-learning platform.
Choose if: You have over 200 team members and are based in the US.
Choose if: Most of your team works in shift or irregular hours.
Namely is an HR platform for mid-sized companies with 25 - 1000 employees. Whilst the platform offers a range of core HR features, these can be clunky to configure and not updated as regularly as other alternatives.
HR software built for small businesses should:
Finding the right HR platform is key to growing your small business successfully. If you’ve not been satisfied with Namely, this page will help you assess the best alternatives to run your startup’s HR admin and craft your company culture.
Free for 7 days
No credit card needed
Cancel any time
Namely excels in offering everything a company needs to run its HR across the employee life cycle. From payroll, to benefits administration, to HR analytics — the breadth of Namely’s features means you don’t need to invest in multiple tools to operate your HR department.
Namely includes:
Namely offers plenty of core HR features but these aren’t always intuitive to use compared to alternatives. The platform also falls short when it comes to high-quality support.
These are Namely’s weaknesses:
When new employees first sign up to Namely, the onboarding steps aren’t as clear and automated as other HR software out there. For example, there is no handbook integration to give employees visibility on company policies straight away, and no checklist to keep track of onboarding tasks.
This means some information needs to be manually communicated to new joiners (not ideal if you’re a one-person HR team at a small company!). Alternatives offer onboarding processes designed to ensure new joiners have all the information they need directly from their HR platform.
Namely’s platform has lots of features but these don’t always work as smoothly as expected. User reviews note Namely’s Benefits is difficult to use without much training, and the performance review function (where managers can send customised questions to employees for feedback) is challenging to set up.
Customers have also commented on the lack of regular product improvements. If you’re looking for an HR platform that listens to feedback and makes regular improvements, there may be better alternatives for you.
Namely lacks features that focus on improving employee engagement and building a company culture.
Unlike some alternatives, the platform doesn’t offer any surveys or polls to gather employee feedback. It’s not ideal for companies whereby building a company culture alongside core HR is a focus.
Namely’s HR solution is aimed at mid-sized companies with 50 - 1000 employees.
The product is not designed for smaller companies with unique HR needs like having a one-person (or non-existent!) HR team and needing a solution to work seamlessly out the box. Other HR alternatives are focused specifically on the unique challenges faced by small businesses.
Charlie's HR software helps small businesses and startups automate repetitive tasks like tracking time off and onboarding new hires — so they can save hours on HR admin each week.
For those who need truly bespoke guidance, Charlie also offers an on-demand HR advice add-on.
Focuses on the needs of small businesses: Charlie helps you manage essential HR tasks and to shape your company culture. There are no unnecessary or complex features.
Tools optimised for employee engagement: Reviews, Polls and Perks are designed to help you build the right company culture for your business.
Regular product improvements: The platform is continually adapted and customer feedback is always listened to.
Easy to set up and use: You can get Charlie running within minutes and save yourself setup stress. The platform’s intuitive interface makes it easy for employees to use.
Responsive and personalised support: Trust you’ll have the friendly Charlie team on hand for all your questions. There’s also the option for 1:1 HR Advice as an add on for further support.
CharlieHR is ideal for small businesses wanting to run their HR admin without complexity.
🎯
Charlie focuses on the needs of small businesses
Some HR platforms have lots of features that aren’t necessarily needed or easy to use. Charlie is simple, so small businesses with under 100 employees can operate their HR function easily and compliantly.
From onboarding and offboarding to Perks, Polls, and Reviews, you’ve got everything you need to automate your core HR admin tasks and help your team thrive.
Plus, Charlie is itself a small SaaS startup so the team is familiar and empathises with the core challenges of running a small company.
🧱
With Charlie, you can craft a great company culture, from day one
While smooth HR admin is a must-have, CharlieHR also helps you build the company culture your business needs to succeed through its Reviews, Polls, and Perks.
Charlie's Reviews enable real employee growth through impactful conversations, whilst Polls helps you craft your company culture by getting weekly feedback from your team. With Perks, you can also provide your team 30,000+ benefits at no extra charge.
Charlie’s onboarding flow is also designed so employees feel welcomed from Day 1 and have all the information they need to get started directly from the platform; from tailored checklists for every hire, access to your employee handbook, and new starter forms.
👂
Charlie’s Product team listens to your feedback
Charlie’s platform is continually adapted to best meet the needs of small businesses. Customer feedback is regularly listened to when it comes to both improving current features and shaping future functionality.
In the past few years, for example, Charlie has completely overhauled its performance reviews feature to make it easier for smaller companies to support their team’s growth and progression. We also introduced an HR Advice service to provide small companies with small or no HR teams to make the right decisions when it comes to the People side of the business.
💡
Charlie is user-friendly and easy set up
CharlieHR’s all-in-one software is easy for 1 person to set up in a day (even if you have no HR department). The configuration process is user-friendly and the platform is intuitive for employees to navigate.
🤗
Responsive and personalised support
If you’re a small or one-person team operating your HR function, getting support when you need it is vital. Charlie prides itself on providing responsive and friendly support if you get stuck at any point!
Charlie offers an additional HR Advice service for expert consulting on building your HR function. This includes access to a dedicated HR consultant and your own bespoke company handbook.
The success of any company depends on the team that runs it. Charlie doesn’t just save me time – it gives me the headspace I need to support my team and help them to perform at their best.
Free for 7 days
No credit card needed
Cancel any time
UK and Australian SMEs.
Performance and payroll management as well as rota, time and attendance features at an additional price.
UK companies above 150 employees
Platform features vary across its 3 pricing packages (Professional, Enterprise and Elite). The platform supports workforce management functions including an applicant tracking system and performance reviews.
Simple, efficient and affordable — Charlie was build to help small businesses bring clarity to their HR chaos.
Free for 7 days
No credit card needed
Cancel any time
Medium-size businesses needing an HR consultant.
Time-off management, a self-service portal and a time-off calculator. HR support is offered for an additional price.
Large European companies with over 150 employees.
HCM with core HR admin automation as well as a candidate management system across the employee lifecycle.
Small and medium UK businesses.
Core HR and leave management features alongside shift-scheduling and employee performance management.
SMEs based in the UK and Ireland.
Health and safety management and HR metrics. There’s also a premium setup service (for an additional fee).
Charlie helps you banish manual and repetitive HR tasks, so you can focus on what really matters.
Free for 7 days
No credit card needed
Cancel any time
SMEs, charities and the education sector.
Online HR systems, payroll, learning management, and talent management features.
Small and medium US businesses.
Easy employee onboarding, mobile app and NPS surveys.
Companies with employees working irregular hours.
Extensive range of features including a mobile app, corporate learning management system, employee database and core HR admin. Pricing varies for different modules.
Here are some questions you can ask when assessing Namely’s competitors to ensure you choose the right tool for your small business:
This page should help you choose which HRIS is best for your small business's HR needs.
With Charlie, you have everything you need to manage your team and automate your workflows – no HR experience required.
Free for 7 days
No credit card needed
Cancel any time
