Whether it’s because of perceived budgetary constraints or misguided notions related to internal capacity and expertise, far too many small businesses make the mistake of overlooking the talent management tools that could help vault their organization to new levels of success.

But if your small business is serious about talent management and you’ve formed a solid strategy, are willing to make the investments needed, and are ready to embrace data analytics, then it’s time to take that final step and make sure you’ve got the right tools supporting your efforts.

The good news is that any small business can adopt modern, cloud-hosted web-based systems with all the functionality needed at surprisingly affordable prices. Here are a few to consider in a variety of categories, noting their user rating scores on several different software evaluation websites:

Core HR (payroll, benefits, compliance)

Gusto. 4.8/5 on SoftwareAdvice, 5/5 on Capterra, 5/5 on GetApp. Gusto provides payroll, health benefits, workers compensation insurance and automated tax processing functionalities accessible from any web-enabled device. Gusto’s base monthly subscription fee is $39/month plus $6 per employee, which is a pretty inexpensive solution for managing all your core HR needs.

Recruiting and Applicant Tracking

• Recruiterbox. 4.4/5 on SoftwareAdvice, 4.5/5 on Capterra, 4.84/5 on GetApp. These are high marks that are worth checking out with a free 14-day trial to see if it’s the right recruitment and applicant tracking software for your small business. It really offers all the functionality you need, and their lowest-tier pricing is just $20 per opening per month, which isn’t going to break anyone’s bank.
• Workable. 4.5/5 on SoftwareAdvice, 4.65/5 on GetApp, 5/5 on Capterra. This Web-based system is a standalone app for advertising jobs, receiving applications, filtering them, setting up interviews, and ultimately making better hires. A monthly subscription fee is based on the number of active jobs per month (1=$39/month; 3=$89/month; 5=$129/month; and so on). A free trial for 15 days will help you decide if it’s the right choice for your small business.

Learning and Training

• Capabiliti. 4.79/5 rating on GetApp. Capabiliti is a mobile-first training, assessment and engagement platform that is used by companies of all sizes to deliver trainings across geography, at any scale and complexity, on any device, using any format of content. And the pricing is good as well, with monthly subscription fees ranging from $3-$9 per active user.

Performance Management and Appraisal

• Halogen TalentSpace. 4.3/5 on G2 Crowd, 4.5/5 on SoftwareAdvice, 4.77/5 on GetApp, 5/5 on Capterra. Halogen TalentSpace offers a wide range of HR tools, including a talent management suite of apps for performance reviews, 360 feedback, succession planning and compensation management, learning management, and more. The Halogen website doesn’t provide any kind of information on pricing, which means you probably have to get them to quote you price, but you can take advantage of a free trial to see if it’s something your want to pursue further.

Attendance and Time-Off

• Calamari Leave Management. 4.86/5 on GetApp, 5/5 on Capterra. Calamari makes tracking any kind of leave easy, whether it’s vacation, sick leave, pad time off, etc. It can handle teams that are dispersed around the planet, and also integrates with project management tools like JIRA, Slack, Office 365, Toggl, and Google Apps. Monthly subscription fees are based on number of employees (1-10=$10/month; 11-20=$25/month; 21-35=$40/month; and so on).

HRIS (HR Information System)

• BambooHR. 4.5/5 on Software Advice, 4.65/5 on GetApp, 5/5 on Capterra. BambooHR is a great for choice for small businesses who are ready to transition from their old-school spreadsheets and paper files to a web-based online HR information system. It also comes with an applicant tracking module. BambooHR gives excellent visibility into any number of key HR metrics and his highly customizable. You have to get in touch with the company to get your custom pricing, but you can try it for free.

With awesome, affordable, high-tech tools like the ones mentioned here, there’s no reason why your small business can’t be on the cutting edge of talent management practices that make a real difference.

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