Navigating Human Capital Management (HCM) providers can be tough, especially when striving to find the perfect fit for your unique business management needs. The market has options, from corporations boasting sophisticated software platforms to more software-centric solutions. Then, some blend cutting-edge HCM software with personalized customer service and support.
At PaydayHCM, we understand the pain businesses face in this evolving sector. Over the past 30+ years, we've crafted our services, combining the capabilities of the isolved platform with the asset of live, expert guidance.
This approach was born from a need in the market: large providers, despite their advanced software, were often falling short in delivering the customer service that businesses desperately needed. On the other hand, small businesses attempting to navigate HCM software or similar programs on their own found themselves overwhelmed by the volume and complexity of the tasks.
Our solution? A powerful synergy of high-tech HCM software and a human touch is designed to ease the burden on our clients significantly. We've seen the struggles and frustrations firsthand, and our mission has been to alleviate these challenges, making HCM a smoother, more manageable aspect of business operations.
Choosing between a local or national HCM provider ultimately hinges on your specific business requirements. This article is written to compare local and national HCM companies, and it will help you make an informed decision.
By aligning this information with your business needs, you'll be better positioned to determine which HCM provider aligns best with your company's goals and ethos.
The Basics of National HCM Providers
ADP (Automatic Data Processing)
- Founded in 1949 and began as a payroll provider. Over the years, they’ve become a worldwide provider of HCM solutions.
- Serves businesses of all sizes, from small businesses with one employee to large corporations with 1000+ employees.
- Their size and resources are part of their strength.
Best for: They are considered an excellent option for mid-market companies with 50-500 employees.
Reviews: Their weakness is their customer service. Because it is such a large company, its customer service is a department that you call rather than a dedicated single representative.
Customer service Options: Service wait times can be lengthy due to the volume of calls they receive.
The Bottom Line: Their pricing is $79 per month, plus $4 per employee for a small business.
Paychex
- Founded in 1971 with more than 700,000 customers in the US and Europe.
- One in twelve US private sector employees gets paid through Paychex.
- They use a proprietary software system known as Paychex Flex.
Best for: Small to medium-sized businesses.
Reviews: They have received high performance, implementation, and scalability scores on TrustRadius.
Customer Service Options: Their customer service is similar to ADP's with a help page and call-in option.
The Bottom Line: The most basic option for a small business will cost $39 a month, plus $5 per employee.
Workday
- Founded in 2005 by former PeopleSoft executives.
- Incorporates HCM services as well as ERP (enterprise resource planning).
- Cloud-based system
Best for: Medium to large-sized businesses because of their many capabilities.
Reviews: Those same capabilities are the reason it will be overwhelming and unnecessary for a small business. It’s especially good for companies with many locations.
Customer Service Options: An online-based customer service system with community help or direct help options.
The Bottom Line: Pricing is based on a custom quote system, so there is not much information readily available, but the typical price per employee per month is $99.
Rippling
- Founded in 2016 by Parker Conrad, former CEO of Zenefits.
- They offer comprehensive HCM services and are great for medium-sized businesses.
- Rippling offers mobile-friendly HCM solutions that are customizable and can be set up to address the specific needs of your business.
Best for: Medium to Large businesses. Because Rippling has so many features and capabilities, they are not recommended for small businesses or businesses that only need a single functionality.
Reviews: Rippling's strength can also be a weakness, though. Because their solutions are so customizable, navigating can be challenging if you are unsure of what you need or are unfamiliar with these systems.
Customer Service Options: They offer customer support via chat for administrators but need direct support for employees.
The Bottom Line: Their pricing is also somewhat tricky to determine. They charge $8 per employee plus a base fee. To determine the base fee for your business, you have to speak with a representative.
The Basics of Local HCM Providers
The Payroll Company
- Founded in 2005 by Nestor Romero, CPA.
- “The Payroll Company utilizes state-of-the-art technology that accurately and efficiently integrates payroll and human resource services via a secure automated solution.”
- Utilizes iSolved software.
Best for: Businesses with 2 - 550 employees.
Reviews: “Words cannot express how much headache and heartache is saved by hiring the payroll company. If you are a small business owner struggling with weekly payroll, taxes, or accounting, here is your solution.”
Customer Service Options: Personally assigned payroll team.
The Bottom Line: No pricing information is available online, so we recommend contacting them directly to find more information about pricing and services.
PaydayHCM
- Founded in 1985 by Andrew Siegel.
- Specialize in offering HCM services that simplify business, combined with personalized customer service by dedicated representatives.
- Utilizes iSolved software
Best for: Small and medium-sized businesses.
Reviews: “Payday HCM is the best payroll service I have ever worked with. Unlike other payroll services, I truly believe their support team cares about every client they represent. We are a very small company, but you would think we are among their top 10 with the response time and customer service we receive.”
Customer Service Options: Dedicated customer service representative backed by a support team.
The Bottom Line: A small business looking to utilize Payday’s services can expect to pay an average of $1200 annually.
Choosing an HCM Provider Begins with Understanding Your Own Needs
We tell potential clients that determining your business needs is the most critical first step. You can determine the HCM provider you choose by the size of your business, which services you need, how much customer support you need, and your budget.
Here are some questions to ask yourself before choosing an HCM provider:
- What’s my primary need, payroll, HR, onboarding, or all of the above?
- What’s my budget?
- How tech-savvy is my team?
- Do I want a local solution or a national provider?
- How much customer support will we need?
PaydayHCM is ready and able to help you with any questions you might have. If you are looking for an HCM solution and prefer simplicity and a human touch, we would love to hear from you.
Learn how you can save your own precious time by simplifying your payroll process. It may surprise you how much easier it can be.
Keith Edwards is a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point and a former U.S. Army Captain. He has over 34 years of leadership experience in government, financial services, manufacturing, retail, and non-profit organizations. He assists businesses in improving the bottom line through increased efficiency in payroll processing, time and attendance, employee benefits, and human resources. His goal is to allow your business to focus on revenue-producing activities instead of non-revenue-producing activities to allow business leaders to sleep better at night knowing they are protected from threats related to compliance and tax/financial issues in the areas of payroll and HR.
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