Best HR automation software
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Written by:
Ben Gateley
If there’s one thing we’ve learnt working with small businesses over the past 7 years, it’s that there’s never enough time to tackle everything on your to-do list.
Lack of time is a major obstacle to growth, and manual HR tasks are usually the cause — boring, repetitive processes that suck up all of your time and attention, distracting you from taking care of your team and your business.
That’s why we founded Charlie: to help CEOs and leaders automate their HR tasks and get the time, headspace, and tools they need to build high-performing teams.
We know that HR software isn’t one-size-fits-all, though. While we think Charlie is the best option for small businesses, we wanted to introduce you to other options in case your needs are slightly different. In this guide, we’re sharing our favourite HR automation software tools by company size.
Compare features, pros, cons, and pricing to build your own shortlist of tools to try out — or decide that Charlie is the right option for you and hop into a free trial.
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Skip to the best HR automation software tools by company size
Don’t have time to read our full guide? Here’s a quick look at our top picks for small, mid-size, and large organisations.
What is HR automation and what are the benefits?
HR automation is the use of software to reduce unnecessary admin through workflows that trigger automatically when a specific action is taken.
These tools cut down on repetitive tasks and automate them, helping HR teams to switch their attention to areas of greater importance.The main benefits of HR automation include:
- Consistent experience for all team members
- Transparency on decision making and processes
- Less time spent on admin
- Data-led decision making
- Securely stored employee and company information
Once you’ve set up your processes and workflows, there’s little to do — you simply adjust your automations as your business needs or goals change.
Download our Best HR Automation Tools table
All the information you need about our favourite HR tools — all in one handy guide.
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How to choose the right HR automation tool
We’ve been in the software space for 7+ years now, and are familiar with not just Charlie but other human resources automation tools too. We’re obviously big fans of our own software, but know that it’s not right for everyone — which is why we think it’s so important to consider your needs before you start to compare or trial different tools.
As you’re considering different options, think about:
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Type of software — do you need an all-in-one software or a specific tool?
- Company size — does the software work for your small business, or do you need a big HR department to run it?
- Business needs and goals — does the HR automation tool meet your needs?
- Features — does it have the features you need? Are these all included, or paid add-ons?
- Budget — is the pricing transparent? Is the tool within your budget?
- Ease of use — is the software easy to use? How is the user experience?
- Scalability — can the software scale as your small business or startup grows?
- Security and compliance — does the software meet requirements? Can it help you be compliant?
- Integrations — does the tool integrate with others that you already use?
- User reviews — what are real users’ experience of the HR automation tool?
- Customer support — is it easy to get help from the support team if you need it?
Have a clear idea of what you’re looking for and what you’re not, as this will help narrow down your choices and give you a better shortlist. From there, compare features, pricing, and user experience to find your best-match HR automation tool.
Now that we’ve covered what to look for, let’s dive in and explore our recommendations for the best HR automation software by company size — starting with small businesses.
The best HR automation tools for small businesses
As a small business or startup, your focus is on making your core HR processes more efficient without having to hire a HR representative or build a team. The goal is to stop wasting time on manual admin and time-consuming tasks, so you can focus on growing or managing your company.
The tool you choose also needs to be sustainable and scale with you, rather than something you’ll outgrow just as you’ve started to get comfortable with it. Pricing is important too — the software you choose should be affordable with no hidden costs.
After lots of research and speaking to customers, here’s our shortlist for the best HR process automation tools for small businesses and startups.
Best all-in-one HR automation software
Charlie is an all-inclusive HR software designed for small businesses and startups. As a small business we know what’s on your to-do list and how hard it is to manage HR tasks when that’s not your main role, so we’ve built software that’s not just functional but easy to use too.
With Charlie, you can start automating HR tasks and building workflows to streamline every part of the employee lifecycle. Create customisable onboarding flows for new hires, set up a smart performance management system, and simplify the way you manage time off. Charlie takes care of the small tasks so you can focus on what matters the most.
Charlie’s key features:
Core HR — one location for your employee data, documents, policies, and people information
Employee onboarding — onboard new employees with automated yet personalised onboarding flows
Time-off management — streamlined, automated leave and time-off management
Employee performance management — a more engaging and less time-intensive way to run performance reviews
Engagement surveys — get feedback and insights from your employees
Perks and benefits — offer employees top-tier perks and discounts
Integrations — use Charlie as your HR hub and integrate seamlessly with other apps and services
Optional add-ons — add Charlie Recruit or Charlie Advice as your business grows and your needs change
James Gill, GoSquared
“From day one, we got access to a safe place to keep all employee information. We had a smooth time-off process that literally ran by itself. We’ve never forgotten a team member’s birthday since. Charlie makes it harder to forget or ignore important issues, which helps reduce a lot of anxiety. It has helped us avoid making a lot of silly mistakes.”
👍
HR tool that gets rid of admin overflow
Everything your small business needs to save time and eliminate manual tasks, all in one platform.
❌
Not suitable for big companies
Charlie is focused on small businesses, so it doesn’t cater well for complex organisations with multiple international offices and in-depth finance requirements.
👍
Transparent pricing
Clear and simple pricing tiers based on your team size, so you know exactly how much to budget every month.
❌
Limited reporting
If you’re looking to report on sickness, absences, DE&I as well as other aspects, Charlie’s there for you, but there are limitations to what it can do.
👍
Time-saving integrations
Sync your other tools (like payroll) with Charlie, removing the need for manual copy-pasting.
👍
Option to add recruitment or HR advice
Enhance the functionality of your HR system with an ATS (applicant tracking system) or expert HR advice.
Alice L. CEO & co-founder – G2 review
“We couldn't have asked for better HR partners than CharlieHR. Their portal has everything you need to manage HR in a small company and more, and their advice line has been invaluable to us when managing tricky situations.”
Pricing
Starting at just £5 per month for teams of 1-4 people. Charlie Recruit and Charlie Advice are available as optional extras.
Automate your HR, all of it
Charlie helps you banish manual and repetitive HR tasks, so you can focus on what really matters.
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Best standalone small business ATS
Teamtailor is a modern and simple-to-use ATS designed to make it easier for small businesses to attract and hire top talent.Thanks to its automation features, Teamtailor can reduce the time-to-hire and make it easier for startups to scale.
👍
Automate hiring with a customised recruitment funnel
Create your funnel and move candidates across stages as they progress.
❌
ATS only
Teamtailor covers recruitment automation only, but can be integrated with other HR software like CharlieHR. For a more seamless recruitment-to-hire experience, sign up for Charlie and add Charlie Recruit to your plan.
👍
Simultaneous posting
Post job ads on multiple job boards at the same time, so you can reach more candidates.
❌
Unclear pricing
Teamtailor doesn’t publicly list their pricing plans, so you need to get in touch with them to see if the software is within your budget.
👍
Employer branding
Create a careers page and promote your brand via social media.
👍
Candidate sourcing
Use smart filters and keywords to screen for the right candidates.
Silvia C, Lead Talent Acquisition, G2 Review
“I like how user-friendly the system is, which made it easy over the years to integrate more employees who are involved in the hiring process without having to go through extensive training.”
Pricing
Pricing available on request.
Best for payroll automation
Xero is a popular accounting and payroll software solution for small businesses, and it uses automation to streamline processes. Businesses can use Xero for automatic calculations, pension contributions, and employee leave — saving time and effort on manual processes.
👍
Eliminate manual calculations
Reduce human errors and speed up your payroll workflows.
❌
Accounting and payroll only
Xero is focused on payroll, so it’s not a replacement for a HR management system (HRMS) or HR information system (HRIS). For this, we recommend using Charlie alongside our Xero integration to get the best of both.
👍
Automated RTI submissions
No need to manually manage real-time information submissions, as Xero does this automatically.
👍
Employee self-service
Give your team members access to their payslips, timesheets, and employee leave requests.
Verified user – G2 review
“We are a SME with 10 admin staff using it on a daily basis. Live bank feeds for daily reconciliation, uploading credit card expenses, attaching documents to relevant transactions are all very helpful for us.”
Pricing
Xero’s pricing plans for small businesses start at £16 per month.
The best HR automation software for medium-sized businesses
Once you reach the 200 people mark, your HR needs will start to become more complex. You’re now looking for comprehensive reporting, support for a wide range of working patterns or locations, and compliance across different regions. You might also need a tool with recruitment built in, rather than as a standalone or optional feature.
Here’s our pick for the best HR automation tools for medium-sized businesses.
Best for US-based companies
BambooHR is a comprehensive HR automation software tool that’s ideal for businesses with more than 200 employees. Some features, like payroll, only work in the US, so it’s best-suited to companies that are solely or mostly based in the US.
👍
Optimised for US teams
Get customer support during US working hours, with software settings, date formats, and holidays tailored to your location.
❌
Limited basic package
The basic package doesn’t include customer support by telephone and some important features (onboarding, ATS, electronic signatures and reporting).
👍
Advanced onboarding functionality
Customise your onboarding workflows even more, with esignatures and custom checklists.
❌
Not ideal for UK teams
BambooHR’s support and functionalities are designed to meet the needs of US companies.
👍
ATS included
Use the applicant tracking system to automate your hiring.
❌
Plenty of add-on costs
Payroll, employee time sheets and performance management come at an extra cost.
👍
In-depth reporting
From workforce planning to length of service, there are plenty of metrics to help you make more strategic decisions.
Katherine D, HR Assistant, G2 Review
“I like that everything is available in one place, such as documents, emplyee information, easy to send documents signature requests. The notifications we receive from Bamboo are great with keeping us organised on when we need to update employees’ profiles.”
Pricing
Pricing available on request.
Best for goal setting
Sage HR is tailored to the needs of medium-size companies, covering everything from core HR to annual leave management and shift-scheduling. They’re particularly strong at performance management, making it a good choice for companies that want to build highly productive teams.
👍
Objectives and OKRs setting
Set objectives for each team and track progress in your dashboard.
❌
Full package can be costly
In order to get access to all the features, including goal setting and shift scheduling, a 200-people company would need to spend £2,000+ per month.
👍
Engagement surveys
Send automated employee surveys to regularly collect feedback.
❌
Basic mobile app
Apart from shift scheduling, the app is not developed enough to manage your HR admin on the go.
👍
Shift scheduling
Give your people access to an interactive shift scheduling platform that shows everyone’s availability.
Verified User – G2 review
“I really like Sage HR's user-friendly design. It makes managing HR tasks super simple. The holiday booking system is really handy, allowing me and my colleagues to request time off with just a few clicks.”
Pricing
Starting at £4.40 per employee per month.
Best for part-time workers
Zoho People is one of the best choices for teams that work on shifts, or companies that have lots of part-time workers. The software is ideal for timesheet creation and management, and tracking hours worked to aid in accurate payroll information.
👍
Automated timesheets
Get back control of your timesheets on one centralised platform.
❌
Confusing range of features and plans
Zoho offers a lot of different packages and apps, so it can be difficult to find the right tool for what you’re trying to do.
👍
Custom access and permissions
Create your own approval process for managers to sign off hours worked and overtime.
❌
Not always user-friendly
It can take some time and a few demos for everyone to understand how to make the most of the platform.
👍
Mobile app
Employees can clock in and out using the Zoho app.
Tauny B, Office Manager – G2 Review
“I like that it allows me to manage my different work needs without much conflict: sick leave, leave, vacations, maternity days, etc. It is a straightforward way to manage even financial matters, such as refunds and payments, as well as my work hours, without conflicts or confusion.”
Pricing
Starting at £1 per user per month, or there’s a discount for switching to annual billing.
Best for hiring automation
Access People HR is a good choice for midsize businesses that need to automate their recruitment processes. On top of onboarding, data storage, and performance management, this platform offers an easy-to-use ATS to streamline hiring tasks.
👍
Job add creator
Design and personalise your job ads so they stand out to candidates for the right reasons.
❌
Clunky interface
The user experience is not very intuitive and the UX can feel quite outdated compared to other software.
👍
Video interview app
Talk to candidates face-to-face with the built-in video call feature.
❌
Complex onboarding process
It can take a lot of time and effort to upload data and get set up on the platform.
👍
Mobile-friendly
Give candidates a good experience from the moment they decide to apply.
Harriet J, Recruitment Officer – G2 Review
“Easy to use, efficient and time saving. Easy to train my colleagues on as well, as it is not overcomplicated.”
Pricing
Starting at £3 per employee per month.
The best HR automation software for large organisations
Big corporations with thousands of employees have different needs when it comes to HR automation software. You need all-inclusive platforms that integrate with finance and reporting databases. The software also needs to be able to ensure consistency and compliance across various locations.
With this in mind, here are our recommendations for the best HR automation tools for large businesses.
Best all-in-one tool for corporates
Workday integrates HR, finance, and operations data from every area of your company. This allows HR and leadership teams to make the right decisions and keep everything under control, with the right information, reports, and functionality at scale.
👍
Skillset analysis
Identify gaps in your team’s skills to inform hiring and internal promotions decisions.
❌
Lower-than-expected ATS user experience
The ATS can be difficult to use and not the best experience for candidates.
👍
Financial insights
Get a complete overview of the financial health of your business.
❌
Requires extensive training
The complex (and sometimes unintuitive) interface and features mean you need to account for a long onboarding period when first rolling out the software with your team.
👍
Large-scale expense reports
Let the system process your team’s receipts and calculate budgets for you.
Wendy C, Corporate Recruiting Coordinator – G2 Review
“I’ve been using Workday for the past five years. The platform is very user-friendly, and there are a ton of features that Workday can offer. I currently use Workday for recruiting and HR functions. I also use it to review my personal details, including time off and payroll.”
Pricing
Pricing available on request.
Best for multinational companies
With Oracle Cloud HCM, you can handle all your HR operations in one place. Their comprehensive package includes document storage, analytics, employee self service, and many other ways to automate your HR processes.
👍
Sync employee data seamlessly
Oracle’s cloud system allows companies with multiple offices around the world to sync all their employee data in one place.
❌
Highly expensive
The cost of Oracle can be quite steep, so only big companies can afford it, especially in the long term.
👍
Useful analytics
Oracle’s reports provide a single and scalable HR solution to sourcing and presenting data.
❌
Disruptive changes —
The interface changes almost quarterly, making user experience more difficult.
👍
Integrated AI
AI-powered tools help you spot areas of improvement and help you make data-driven decisions.
Brandi H – G2 Review
“What I like the best about Oracle Fusion HCM Cloud Capital Management is the transparency the system offers. We implemented every module in HCM Cloud and it has been a very pleasant and easy transition.”
Pricing
Pricing available on request.
Best for large, EU companies
Personio is one of the most popular HRMS software for UK and European companies with over 200 employees. It has all the features you need, with a particular focus on reporting — but it’s best suited to larger companies than smaller ones.
👍
User-friendly ATS
Oversee your hiring funnel and see which job boards bring the most candidates.
❌
Not ideal for international companies
Personio’s features meet the needs and legal requirements of EU and UK companies, but some adjustments may be needed for companies based elsewhere.
👍
Data & reporting
Track important HR metrics and use them to drive your business forward.
❌
Long onboarding process
When you start, you are assigned an implementation manager to help you with the software roll out. There’s no DIY option, like there is with Charlie.
👍
Integrations
Use Personio’s marketplace to integrate with the rest of your tech stack.
Joe R, Program Manager, Training – G2 Review
“Personio makes it easy to do all of the things that I need to do as a people manager (and as an employee). Personio enables us to easily perform our most common tasks, including tracking working hours, submitting documents, requesting leave, referencing the Org Chart, checking payroll, and more.”
Pricing
Pricing available on request.
Best hiring automation platform for large companies
Workable is a recruitment software tool that’s popular with large companies that want to scale and automate their hiring. It streamlines time-consuming recruitment tasks and combines this with a better user experience for candidates.
👍
Built-in candidate sourcing
Talk to candidates face-to-face with the built-in video call feature.
❌
No other HR functionality
Companies using Workable for their hiring need to integrate with other systems (like Charlie!) to manage the rest of their HR.
👍
Automated hiring steps
Send automated emails and create bespoke triggers to automate repetitive recruiting tasks.
👍
Chrome extension
Found a suitable candidate on LinkedIn or Twitter? Use the Chrome extension to save their profile.
Renan B, General Manager – G2 Review
“The Workable hiring system has completely transformed our recruitment process, and I cannot recommend it enough! It’s an intuitive, all-in-one platform that makes managing job postings, candidate pipelines, and hiring workflows seamless and efficient. The user-friendly interface ensures that even team members who aren’t tech-savvy can navigate and utilize its features without any hassle.”
Pricing
Starting at $149 per month for up to 20 employees.
Streamline your business with the best HR automation tool for small businesses
It’s clear that there’s a wide range of HR automation software tools out there, and that they’re all designed for different companies, needs, and budgets. Whatever your goal is, there’s a tool out there to make the process easier. But if you’re looking for HR automation for small businesses, our top pick is Charlie.
Charlie has everything that CEOs, leaders, and managing directors need to make HR feel effortless. Remove those repetitive, time-consuming HR tasks and replace them with the space to focus on your most valuable work. Introduce better workflows for onboarding, time-off management, performance reviews, and more to save time and improve the employee experience.
If you’re ready for a world where HR doesn’t feel so challenging all the time, take a free trial of Charlie. We’ll introduce you to a better way to manage every step of the employee journey.
Manage your small business HR today
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HR automation tools – FAQs
There are plenty of HR processes that you could automate to save time and energy, including:
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Onboarding and
offboarding
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PTO and attendance tracking
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Time tracking and timesheets
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Payroll processing
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Employee benefits administration
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Recruitment
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Employee engagement
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Performance management
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Talent management
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Learning management
Within each of these areas, there are many individual processes and HR workflows that would benefit from automation — like automatic payroll enrollment, background checks, or invitations to performance reviews.
We hope this guide will help you pick the right platform for your type of company, but before making a decision always ask yourself:
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Does this platform cover the HR processes I want to automate?
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Are their current
customers similar to my business?
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Are any of the features offered not a good fit for my needs or culture?
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Will I continue to be able to afford this platform as I scale?
Check out these real life HR automation examples for some ideas on how you can supercharge your processes with the right tool.
While we’re a big fan of automating HR tasks where you can, there’s no way to automate HR fully — and that’s a good thing. HR automation can remove repetitive admin tasks, but it’s not a replacement for strong leadership and thoughtful decision-making.
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