Human Resources (HR) teams play an important role in managing business operations and handle a wide range of administrative tasks. Yet, they often face challenges in doing that. Modern HR software tackles these challenges by automating routing tasks such as attendance, payroll, and benefits administration. BambooHR and Zoho People are two prominent solutions designed to provide HR teams with the resources they need to streamline HR processes.
In this BambooHR Vs Zoho People comparison, we’ll compare both software’s features to help you decide which platform best aligns with your organization’s needs. Let’s get started!
BambooHR Vs Zoho People: At A Glance
Feature
BambooHR
Zoho People
User-Interface
Intuitive interface with easy navigation
Visually appealing and modern interface
Payroll
US-based payroll with tax filings and self-service capabilities
Integrated with Zoho Payroll to offer payroll capabilities
AI-Assistant
‘Ask BambooHR’ to answer employees' inquiries
‘Zia’ to answer HR-related questions
Benefits Administration
Streamlined benefits enrollment with onboarding elections and an ‘Enrollment Wizard’
Customized benefits plan with multi-loan types
Pricing
Two paid plans with customized pricing
Five paid plans. Starting from $1.50/user/month
What Is BambooHR?
BambooHR is a top choice for small-to-mid-sized businesses looking to simplify their HR operations. It is a comprehensive HR platform that brings together payroll management, time tracking, and employee benefits information all in one centralized place. The software enables organizations to seamlessly manage the entire employee lifecycle, from recruitment to retirement, ensuring the entire process runs smoothly and efficiently.
Standout Features
Employee Database: Offers a secure platform to manage employee records, including personal details and payment information. Customizable fields allow organizations to track data tailored to their specific needs
Ask BambooHR AI: Enables HR teams to instantly answer common employee questions about company policies, benefits, and personal information, helping save time and reduce administrative tasks
Paid Time Off (PTO): Checking and approving employees' vacation requests is even faster than ever with this feature. Employees can easily access and manage their information
Total Rewards: Delivers automated and detailed compensation statements, giving employees a clear view of their full compensation package—including salary, benefits, and equity
Pros And Cons
Pros
Efficiently manages a global database of employees
Maintains compliance with GDPR for secure data storage
Allows customization of country-specific employee policies, such as leaves
Cons
Customer service is not very helpful and often gives scripted answers
No dedicated accounts manager is available to simplify the setup process
What Is Zoho People?
Zoho People is a cloud-based Human Resource Management System (HRMS) designed to simplify HR operations for businesses of all sizes. It provides a wide range of features, including employee database management, time tracking, leave management, and an employee self-service portal. The software excels in workflow automation, enabling organizations to improve their overall productivity.
Standout Features
Employee Shift Scheduling: This allows businesses to define both standard and custom shifts, assign employees, and automate shift rotations accordingly. It also offers real-time notifications to employees, keeping them updated
Learning Management System: This enables the creation of tailored courses for effective employee training. It includes various content formats such as videos, virtual sessions, assignments, downloadable content, and tests
Employee Engagement Surveys: The platform allows the creation of annual engagement and eNPS surveys with a variety of question types. Users can also utilize survey templates that the platform offers
HR Chatbots: The software offers an AI assistant named ‘Zia’ to assist employees with daily HR tasks such as clocking in and out, generating pending tasks lists, and applying for leaves
Customizable forms available for better data collection
Tracks training modules to ensure organized employee development
Cons
Lacks payroll functionality for UK users
Occasional glitches occur when using mobile devices
BambooHR Vs Zoho People: Key Features Comparison
Payroll
BambooHR offers an extensive payroll solution designed for US-based employees. It features federal, state, and local tax filing and streamlines payroll operations. The software combines time-tracking, time off management, and benefits information
into one single platform. Additionally, it includes employee self-service, enabling employees to edit information and access pay stubs directly through their mobile app or profile.
Zoho People is a payroll solution integrated with ‘Zoho Payroll’ for managing pay hikes, reimbursements, personalized pay runs, and allowances, helping teams comply with the laws. It automatically syncs employees' profiles, keeping payroll
records up to date without the need for manual data entry. The platform also offers customized salary components, allowing organizations to adjust allowances, reimbursements, and deductions according to their policies.
Winner: It's a tie as both platforms offer a diverse range of payroll capabilities, making it easy for teams to manage their payroll processes.
Time And Attendance
BambooHR time tracking features allow employees to clock in and out from their home screens or mobile apps. The company also offers geolocation features that track employees' accurate locations. Managers can benefit from this efficient
approval workflow with automatic reminders to help teams stay updated on their schedules.
Zoho People offer various time management features, including timesheets, attendance management, and shift management. Employees can check in and check out via mobile application or web. It also includes features like facial recognition
for tracking accurate attendance and people kiosks for tracking on-site attendance.
Winner: Zoho People win this section due to its mobile and web attendance management features, which can be customized to fit various business requirements.
Reporting And Analytics
BambooHR offers a reporting module that allows organizations to generate reports instantly, along with some pre-built reports. This report library includes headcount, workforce metrics, and EEO-1 reports. The platform's dynamic dashboards
offer personalized insights for administrators, executives, managers, and employees, ensuring that critical information is accessible for strategic planning.
Zoho People provide advanced reporting functionalities, allowing HR professionals to analyze employee performance, attendance trends, and generate detailed analyses of HR tasks. The platform features an intuitive drag-and-drop interface
for creating custom reports, allowing organizations to tailor analytics to their specific needs.
Winner: Zoho People stand out in this section due to its advanced analytical capabilities. It offers built-in reports on project status, appraisal ratings, and time off.
AI-Assistant
BambooHR offers an AI assistant named ‘Ask BambooHR’ that delivers instant and precise answers to employees' common HR inquiries. This can include information about companies' policies, benefits, employee information, and more. Employees
can chat anytime and from anywhere from their laptop or mobile.
Zoho People offer an AI assistant named ‘Zia’ that simplifies various HR tasks to improve the employee experience. Employees can use ‘Zia’ to clock in and out, apply for leave by specifying dates and reasons, and access information on holidays
and their leave balances.
Winner: This section ends with a tie, as both platforms offer a comprehensive set of AI-powered capabilities that go beyond answering routine questions.
Benefits Administration
BambooHR benefits administration feature simplifies managing employee benefits for US-based businesses. It handles the entire benefits process, which can include employee onboarding elections and annual open enrollment, within one platform.
HR administrators can create enrollment windows for new hires, open enrollment periods, or qualifying life events, with all data seamlessly saved to employee records.
Zoho People integrate with ‘Zoho Payroll’ to provide benefits administration capabilities, allowing organizations to create customized benefit plans, including medical, term, and vehicle insurance policies. The platform also offers multiple
loan types, such as car, house, or personal loans, with configurable perquisite rates to meet employees' needs.
Winner: Zoho People win this section as it offers a wide range of benefits administration capabilities, which also include automatic accounting to track expenses, creating reimbursement categories, and setting limits on them.
Final Verdict: Which Software Should You Choose?
BambooHR and Zoho People are both excellent HR platforms. Each offers a unique set of features to meet a variety of organizational needs. Deciding between them depends on the size of your business and your unique HR needs.
BambooHR is perfect for small to medium-sized businesses in the U.S. It offers features for payroll management, AI assistance, and benefits administration. It is designed to improve HR operations, employee performance, and database management.
Zoho People, on the other hand, is ideal for businesses of all sizes, from startups to enterprises. The platform stands out for its advanced tools, such as time tracking, attendance management, and AI-powered assistance.
