6 most helpful tools for HR in 2023

HR software not only makes work more manageable, it also gives you the data you need to improve your processes. It can simplify workforce planning, automate recruiting and onboarding, and make candidate interviews more comfortable and productive. 

But what about employees? Team members are more interested in how software can transform their work experience with transparent promotion and compensation processes, unbiased performance reviews, and development opportunities.*

The best tools don’t just make life easier for HR teams — they make work better for everyone. And we’ve put together a selection of platforms that can help you do both.

In our list of the best HR software in 2023, we hope to save you hours of research by comparing and breaking down top solutions based on use case, features, and pros and cons.**

*Leapsome State of People Enablement Report, 2023

6 most helpful tools for HR in 2023

Best HR tools breakdown

Leapsome: For overall employee enablement & engagement

Learnerbly: For personalized, professional development

Rippling: For streamlined HR, IT, and Finance processes

MyInterview: For more efficient candidate interviews

Blueboard: For unique employee rewards

Goosechase: For dynamic onboarding

Why use HR software?

HR software simplifies time-consuming, labor-intensive processes like recruitment, onboarding, and workforce planning for organizations of all sizes. HR platforms are also designed to gather data and insights automatically, allowing you to see exactly where you need to improve and optimize. 

But HR software also plays an important role in employee enablement because it helps develop talent and reduce turnover rates with: 

Performance review tools

Engagement surveys

Skills frameworks

Goal-setting tools

Feedback and praise features

💡Looking for a new HR podcast to motivate and inform you? Check out our list of the 130 best HR podcasts covering a wide variety of topics — from human capital management to leadership and workplace culture.

5 features to look for in an HR tool


There are so many HR solutions on the market. But knowing what features to prioritize in your search will help you narrow down your options:

  • An intuitive interface — An easy-to-navigate platform user interface (UI) is easy to incorporate into your workflow and saves you time and resources. A well-designed UI also makes it simpler for teams to learn and implement a new tool, which boosts adoption rates.
  • Reporting and analytics — Whether you’re measuring employee engagement or updating your performance review processes, reports and analytics help you make more data-guided decisions and save you from sifting through endless spreadsheets.
  • Effortless integrations — The right HR platform for your business should sync seamlessly with the third-party tools you use for communication, engagement, and project management so you don’t have to do any double data entry.
  • Customization — Every organization has a unique way of doing business. So, the more customizable a platform is, the easier it will be for teams to adapt it to their preferences.
  • Scalability — Growing businesses require scalable software to handle the increase in data, users, and workflow updates. And highly scalable platforms also let you add and remove features to accommodate company changes and transitions.
Global usability

Many companies work globally. Software that can handle multiple languages and work across various locations is ideal.

User-friendly

If you want your people to use your tool, it must be user-friendly. Does the software offer a great user experience?

Integrations

Great software integrates with other tools to make everyone’s lives easier (e.g., notifications via Slack or MS Teams).

The 6 most useful tools for HR


The six tools we’ve featured in this list help with various HR processes and initiatives — from team engagement to candidate interviews. Let’s look at the main features, best use cases, and pros and cons that set each apart.

1. Leapsome

image of the survey heatmap within Leapsome
Leapsome turns engagement survey results into easily readable, segmented data for better action planning


Dedicated to making work fulfilling for everyone, Leapsome’s people enablement platform helps you engage, motivate, develop, and align employees with your company’s mission and values

Leapsome offers five modules, all of which  integrate for seamless internal processes:

  • Reviews
  • Goals
  • Surveys
  • Learning
  • Compensation

Although they work best together, customers can use one or two modules on their on, which is great for organizations that are just starting to invest in people enablement. And all five products come with Leapsome’s Instant Feedback and Meetings modules to help build a more collaborative and encouraging work culture.  

Main features

A screenshot of a Leapsome customer review from G2.
Leapsome users appreciate how the platform enables them to build a culture of feedback

Pros & cons

Pros

👍 Intuitive user interface (UI)

👍 Features and modules integrate with each other

👍 Award-winning support team

👍 Great for goals and key performance indicator (KPI) tracking

👍 Makes meetings more productive

👍 Helps build a positive work culture

👍 Scalable and customizable

Cons

👎 No mobile app yet

👎 Due to the variety of features, some training may be required at first

Pricing

You can explore Leapsome’s platform with a free demo. If you decide it’s right for you, our modular pricing starts at US$8 per user per month. Your plan's total cost depends on your organization’s size and the features you need.

The best places to work trust Leapsome

We have customers all over the world.
See what some of them have to say:

Testimonial Image

Leapsome is saving us lots of time during our performance appraisals and helps us build an open, value-oriented feedback culture. We’ve compared several platforms, and Leapsome stood out convincingly — it’s user-friendly, intuitive, and highly customizable. As a manager, I love how fast and openly the team at Leapsome reacts to our feedback and suggestions.

Dr. Christian Grobe

CEO
Testimonial Image

Leapsome enhances meaningful feedback and employee engagement. It’s a must-have for every company at any stage. We are growing toward 750 employees, but the rollout was easy, fast, and successful nonetheless. The great customer support helped us through the whole onboarding process.

Thore Schӓck, Head of HR & Recruiting.

Thore Schӓck

Head of HR & Recruiting
Testimonial Image

With the help of the people analytics, you can quickly understand the significance of the results. We also frequently use the 1:1 function, which, although very simple, is extremely useful.

Erica Ancobia, Head of People Operations

Erica Ancobia

Head of People Operations
Testimonial Image

We see the People team as a partner team rather than an admin team. We want to focus on our employees and not on processes. With Leapsome, we have automated the manual work around feedback and career development so that we can spend our time with our people: understanding their needs, guiding them through their very own DCMN lifecycle, and helping them find purpose in what they do.

Theresa Jasaraj, Senior Manager, Personal Relations

Theresa Jasaraj

Senior Manager, People Relations
5 star icon purple transparent
Don't just take our word forit. We're proud that our product and exceptional service have been recognized as best-in-class by the independent software review platform G2.
‍💙 Put your people at the heart of everything you do

Leapsome helps you engage, motivate, and reward employees with tools for engagement surveys, performance reviews, and data-driven compensation decisions.

Book a demo today

2. Learnerbly

Screenshot of Learnerbly interface


Employee development and professional learning are essential topics to discuss in any organization and are oftentimes part of a people ops team’s responsibility. 

Learnerbly is a professional development and employee training platform designed to help companies support the growth and development of their employees. As a curated learning marketplace for professionals, Learnerbly offers books, courses, podcasts, and elearning resources. A Learnerbly account lets you allocate a personal learning budget to all your employees, allows them to check how much they have left to spend, and provides tailored learning recommendations to you based on preferences.

One of the main benefits of using Learnerbly is that it provides employees with personalized learning experiences tailored to their specific needs and career goals. The platform uses different data-driven tools and assessments to identify areas for development and recommends learning resources that are most relevant to the individual.

Main features

  • Personalized learning paths
  • Access to expert coaches
  • Curated library of learning resources
  • Skill assessment and feedback tool
  • Progress tracking
  • Integration with a wide range of HR tools
  • Analytics and reporting

Pros & cons

Pros

👍 Offers a wide range of personalized learning content

👍 Constantly expanding their library of content

👍 Offers knowledge exchange and feedback between users 

Cons

👎 UI can be hard to navigate

👎 Learning content offered on the platform can be more costly compared to other providers

Pricing

Learnerbly offers different pricing plans depending on the size of your organization. A detailed breakdown of cost is not readily available.

💡HR conferences can help you expand your professional network and keep you updated about what’s new in the world of people operations. That’s why we’ve put together this comprehensive list of HR conferences for 2023.

3. Rippling

Screenshot of the Rippling UI.


Rippling lets you easily manage your employees’ payroll, benefits, expenses, devices, apps & more—in one place.

Rippling is a cloud-based HR management platform designed to streamline and automate employee data and processes. The tool can be classified as an HRIS (human resources information system) and offers a range of features to help businesses manage their HR functions in one place, including payroll, benefits, onboarding, offboarding, time and attendance tracking, and more.

Main features

  • Payroll and benefits administration
  • Onboarding and offboarding automation
  • Time and attendance tracking
  • Employee directory and data management
  • Compliance management
  • Employee directory and data management
  • Compliance management
  • Employee self-service portal
  • Customizable workflows and approvals
  • Third-party integrations (e.g., G-Suite, Slack, Zoom)

Pros & Cons

Pros

👍 easy to use due to very intuitive UI 

👍 has a phone application

👍 supported onboarding 

Cons

👎 customer support can be slow to respond at times

👎 some customers need more customizability and automations

Pricing

Ripling’s pricing starts at $US8 per User per month + if you use Rippling in combination with Leapsome, you may be eligible for a partner discount.

4. MyInterview

A screenshot of MyInterview's interface.


MyInterview takes the tedium out of the recruitment process with candidate videos, also known as “one-way interviews.”
 

When you post a job opening through MyInterview’s platform, applicants answer questions via video, so you don’t have to comb through CVs and resumes to ensure they have the skills and experience you’re looking for. It also removes an extra stage from the interview process, as candidates have to provide key information before moving on to the next step.

Main features

  • Job posting
  • Automated candidate shortlisting
  • One-way interview videos
  • Text or SMS interview invitations
  • Candidate management Kanban board
  • Customizable workflows

Pros & cons

Pros

👍 Saves time during the interview process

👍 Simple to use

👍 Easy-to-reach customer support

Cons

👎 Lacks integrations with popular HR tools

👎 No custom tags for easier candidate sorting

Pricing

MyInterview has a free Starter plan that gives you access to ten one-way interviews per month. Its paid plans include:

  • Growth — For 30 candidate interviews at US$59 per month.
  • Individual — For unlimited one-way interviews for businesses with up to 49 employees at US$129 per month (billed monthly).
  • Professional — For unlimited one-way interviews and live interview scheduling, with custom pricing.

5. Blueboard

A screenshot of Blueboard's activity feed.


Employees often feel disappointed with lackluster rewards programs, which defeats their purpose as motivational tools. But with Blueboard, companies can amp up their rewards and offer exciting experiences to celebrate every type of achievement. 

When you send a reward with Blueboard, staff can choose from a selection of hand-picked experiences, ranging from VIP tickets to see their favorite band to a family trip to Disney World. 

And the best part? Blueboard’s concierge team handles the logistics and planning, so you don’t have to. 

Main features

  • Hand-curated rewards experiences
  • Integrates with Slack and Microsoft Teams for easier communication
  • Automated surveys to get feedback on rewards 
  • Real-time insights and updates about rewards completion
  • Dedicated concierge team

Pros & cons

Pros

👍 People love Blueboard-curated experiences

👍 Easy-to-use platform

👍 Concierge team handles planning

Cons

👎 Some rewards recipients may prefer cash bonuses

👎 Requires some work on the employee end to coordinate plans

Pricing

Blueboard pricing isn’t readily available.

6. Goosechase

A screenshot of Goosechase's product interface.

Goosechase is an interactive experience platform that helps gamify team-building and onboarding processes. Rather than asking new hires to work through a checklist on their first day, Goosechase lets users design interactive “Missions” and collect points as they complete each orientation task.

Using Goosechase also means you’ll have access to detailed insights to easily determine what new team members enjoy and what onboarding tasks need to be updated. 

Main features

  • Interactive experiences
  • Customizable templates
  • Live participant leaderboard
  • User insights and dashboards

Pros & cons

Pros

👍 Boosts morale and engagement

👍 Quick to set up and implement

👍 Exceptional customer service

Cons

👎 An expensive option

👎 Users occasionally experience issues with the app crashing

Pricing

Goosechase has a free plan for up to three teams in Team mode and up to three participants in Solo mode. Otherwise, the pricing plans include:

  • Department-wide — US$850 per month for up to 250 creator accounts and unlimited live simultaneous experiences.
  • Enterprise — This plan offers access to unlimited creator accounts with custom pricing.
  • Non-profit — Goosechase has special pricing for nonprofit groups.

Choosing the best HR software for your company


Your company will have different software needs at every stage of growth, so the platform you’re eager to use today may not have the tools you require in a few years. That’s why there’s no one catch-all solution when it comes to HR.

We designed Leapsome to handle your most critical people enablement and engagement processes — and to scale with you as you grow. But you may still need a platform like MyInterview to simplify the recruitment process for your hiring managers. Or you may be looking for a platform like Blueboard to liven up your rewards program.  

As you find a combination of software that works for you, remember: It takes people working together — not just tools — to make work better for everyone.

**The information above is based on our research on tools for HR. All user feedback referenced in the text has been sourced from independent software review platforms such as G2 and Capterra in February and March 2023**

FAQs about tools for HR

How can HR departments use technology to streamline their processes and improve efficiency?
What are some popular HR software options for small & medium-sized businesses?
How can HR teams use analytics & data visualization tools to make better decisions?
Are there any tools for HR professionals to efficiently conduct & track employee performance evaluations?