BambooHR Employee Monitoring Software Review and Pricing

Why We Chose BambooHR for Performance Management

Unlike other employee monitoring solutions we reviewed, BambooHR is a complete HRIS that allows companies to manage the many aspects of human resources, including recruiting, hiring, onboarding, performance reviews, employee self-service, time management, and HR reporting. We especially like that businesses can also use BambooHR to monitor employee performance over the long term, which helps managers assess productivity and performance. Instead of user activity monitoring, BambooHR tracks employee performance through goal setting, peer feedback surveys, manager and self-assessments, and employee performance reports.

The BambooHR dashboard helps managers and employees easily track employee performance.
Source: BambooHR

Ease of Use

BambooHR is regularly praised for its highly intuitive platform, and we understand why after experimenting with it ourselves. We love the software’s sleek and modern interface. And because the HRIS platform is designed with small and midsize businesses in mind, it offers easily customizable enhancements supported by solid, helpful customer service. We also like that BambooHR has a global reach, allowing for remote (or dispersed) employee teams, as well as multinational companies, to easily implement the software.

Features

Although BambooHR is different from the other employee monitoring solutions we reviewed, it has several features that make it ideal for companies that want to track and manage employee performance.

Performance Management

One of the reasons we chose BambooHR as the best employee monitoring software for performance management is for the employee management services included in its Pro plan. Users can create and monitor their goals (and sub-goals), for example, and collaborate with others to achieve them. The software has automated reminders to keep employees on track, and we also like that it includes tools for various levels of feedback, which isn’t something we saw in many competitors. Employees can engage in peer feedback to identify strengths and weaknesses, for example, and they can conduct manager and self-assessments for a more in-depth look at their performance. 

Employees can receive 360-degree feedback through a multitude of assessments.
Source: BambooHR

BambooHR simplifies the process with prebuilt assessment templates, although you can also create custom questions. We like that the software allows double-blind assessments, mobile assessments, custom review cycles, and impromptu assessments. 

To further advance your performance management capabilities, BambooHR also offers prebuilt reporting and data segmentation by departments, managers, salary levels, locations, and types of employment.

Employee Experience

One unique aspect we like about BambooHR is its focus on employee experience and culture enhancement. The software includes, for example, employee satisfaction surveys (through eNPS) and employee well-being surveys. Questions can be pulled from BambooHR’s research-validated question bank. These types of surveys allow workers to offer honest and candid responses about how they feel about the organization. 

We like that BambooHR offers heatmap and keyword-analysis features to help employers break down employee data. It also offers an AI-powered tool that can automatically review and categorize eNPS responses into common themes. Employers can use the data to improve company culture, which, in turn, can motivate employees to work harder and improve performance.

Time Tracking

Similar to other employee monitoring platforms we reviewed, BambooHR has the ability to monitor time worked. With the Time Tracking add-on, employees can use the software to clock in and out. It also stores other employee hours, such as overtime and paid time off (PTO). We like that BambooHR has permissions to customize each individual’s access as well. The software has automatic overtime calculations, and it sends reminders to ensure employees review their time sheets for accuracy. With approval workflows, you can rest assured that managers will automatically receive employee time sheets for approval at the end of each pay period.

You can approve employee hours with a single click. Source: BambooHR

Reporting

We like that BambooHR offers a variety of easy-to-read reports. Users can access reports for workforce planning, employee turnover, PTO, Affordable Care Act, and more. With performance reports, employers can get a quick look at employee performance and engagement based on a few employees or the entire organization. The program also has company performance reports, which competitors we reviewed do not offer. The feature gives business owners insight into how their employees feel about the organization and why.

BambooHR offers templated and customizable reports. Source: BambooHR

HR Administration

Since BambooHR is an HR software solution, we would be remiss if we didn’t mention the HR administration functions. The platform has a wealth of features, including employee record and document storage, benefits tracking, workflows and approvals, an applicant tracking system, onboarding and offboarding functionalities, e-signatures, training tracking, and audit trails. These assets separate BambooHR from other employee monitoring solutions. [BambooHR is also one of our selections for the best human resources software.] 

BambooHR allows employers to find, hire, and onboard new employees from one central location.
Source: BambooHR

Pricing

The information below reflects the current pricing for BambooHR’s two primary levels of service: Core and Pro. Custom packages are also available, however, and you can contact the company for specific costs. The vendor also offers a seven-day free trial, which is on par with the industry standard.

*Companies with 25 employees or fewer are charged a flat monthly rate, while companies with more than 25 employees are charged per employee per month.

Implementation and Onboarding

Since BambooHR is considered HR software, unlike the other employee monitoring solutions we reviewed, the implementation process is a little different. Regardless, we appreciate that it is fairly straightforward to implement, because most small and midsize businesses can’t afford to have their HR operations offline for weeks at a time. The setup process is divided into three steps.

1. Importing and migration: This includes importing or migrating all employee data from your old system to BambooHR.
2. Customization: BambooHR is fully customizable, so this stage is when you can program it with your desired notifications, features for self-service, and more.
3. Launch and employee training: This phase includes training and additional customization as your entire team gets comfortable with the platform.

Customer Support

We appreciate that BambooHR has a dedicated and accessible customer-support team at the ready. The company also has onsite pros, dubbed BambooHR support heroes, who can partner with you as needed. Their phone support is solid, but it’s worth noting that their service hours are only between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. MT, whereas some rivals we reviewed offer 24/7 support. Another option is to visit the company’s online help center to reach the support teams. The BambooHR website also has FAQs, a customer knowledge base platform, email support, and chat services.

Limitations

Since BambooHR is not traditional employee monitoring software, it doesn’t contain many of the standard monitoring features, such as application and website monitoring, content filtering and blocking, activity tracking, screenshots, and keystroke logging. If your business needs those tools, check out our Teramind review and our InterGuard review for more suitable options.

Some users have said that BambooHR’s mobile app is somewhat limited and could use improvements in its layout and ease of use to better match the desktop version. The app offers an exhaustive suite of features covering many different needs within the HR tracking platform, which could lead to some confusion or frustration.

Methodology

We examined highly rated employee monitoring software to identify the best solutions on the market. As part of our investigation, we researched and analyzed dozens of platforms with a focus on pricing, usability, customer support, monitoring tools, and security. To find the top option for businesses interested in performance management, our search emphasized features such as time tracking, goal tracking, peer and management feedback, manager and self-assessments, and performance reporting.

Bottom Line

We recommend BambooHR for …

• Businesses that want to manage employee performance and HR functions from one platform.
• Companies that prioritize an intuitive user interface.
• Organizations that need to automate and track their onboarding and offboarding processes.

We don’t recommend BambooHR for …

• Businesses that need activity tracking or keystroke logging.
• Companies that want advanced security features such as content filtering or blocking.