Modern HR tech for modern business
A new report from the Boston Consulting Group states that only 35 percent of HR leaders are using relevant digital technologies. With HR teams busier than ever, HR tech that helps—not hinders—can make all the difference for an HR team and a business to succeed.
As an HR leader, you need to look beyond the “system of record” that SAP SuccessFactors offers and ensure your HR tech keeps you in the driver’s seat—informed, empowered, and flexible as you serve the business and your employees with your HR strategy.
It’s time to compare SAP SuccessFactors vs. Bob.
Use the six sections in this guide to compare HiBob as an SAP SuccessFactors alternative for HR tech. Prioritize the topics according to what you need most, and answer the questions honestly and earnestly to support the big decisions that will affect your whole organization.
When comparing SAP SuccessFactors alternatives, ask these questions to discover which HRIS/HCM best fits your business.
1. Can SAP SuccessFactors empower HR leaders and teams in a modern world of work?
With the demands on HR increasing and changing constantly, your HRIS must serve as a powerful tool that gets things done.
Ensure you have the right technology to serve your needs, facilitating rather than impeding your strategic initiatives and day-to-day workload. Look through the lens of your strategy and see how the solution enhances flexibility when changes arise in ways that will lead to quick wins and business benefits.
Picture yourself reconfiguring the platform to suit your needs to make sure the tech works for you and will support your strategy and future business success.
Check if SAP SuccessFactors can support your unique HR strategy for business success.
- Can the HR team make changes in capabilities whenever and wherever they are needed without relying on help from an implementation partner?
- Does the core HR functionality allow the HR team to apply custom fields to workflows?
- Can you easily opt-in to new features as they become available? Does it support hybrid work policies?
- Is its core HR functionality customizable to your needs now and in the future?
- Can you run all your global HR from a central location and localize specific workflows for different regions or sites?
- Can it adapt to meet your needs as you scale your business from hundreds to thousands of employees?
- Does it offer out-of-the-box holiday calendars and time-off policies for multiple countries to configure yourself?
- Can you change your workflows yourself to accommodate local best practices or customs?
- Can it engage with both in-office and remote employees across the globe?
- Can it take polls and surveys to check in with people and measure employee satisfaction?
- Does it give you a holistic and historical view of peoples’ activities in one place to make better decisions for compensation and promotions?
- Is there an option for multiple workforce plans with many possible scenarios?
- Can HR create workflows and processes that include manager approvals?
Bob does it all – operate your HR strategy and manage more business wins.
Bob, HiBob’s HR platform, keeps all your HR actions, processes, and information in one central place for a holistic view of all HR activities.
Bob offers exceptional flexibility, allowing HR to run HR processes independently with minimal assistance from tech support or professional services. As your organization expands, seamlessly integrate supplementary modules like Performance Management and Payroll Hub with the effortless addition of users and administrators.
Store all your HR docs in a centralized repository where everyone can access policies, their employee contract, and company handbooks. All docs are organized and secured in the cloud so you can easily find what you are looking for. Then, set permissions and restrict access rights so that privacy is guaranteed.
Make better decisions and keep up with the employee sentiment by running polls and surveys on any topic, globally or for a specific location.
Bob supports multiple languages, time zones, and currencies for multi-national companies. Copy and change master workflows in a few clicks to create workflows for different sites and deliver a localized experience for your people.
2. Is SAP SuccessFactors intuitive and easy to use?
Your HR tech must be easy to use and efficient for your HR strategy to succeed. Remember, lots of bells and whistles are nice, but if they take too long to set up and no one can figure out how to use them, you leave time and money on the table.
Look for HR tech that is intuitive, easy to navigate, and propels your team with a UX that doesn’t require a lot of training to get started and maintain. Make sure you can automate time-consuming tasks to help with efficiencies for the HR team and the company.
Also, check that you have a good business partner in the HR tech provider who can support your needs with implementation, integrations, and any questions you may have along the way.
Check if SAP SuccessFactors is easy to use for HR teams.
- Can manual tasks be automated to reduce workloads for repetitive core HR processes?
- Is there a way to set timelines and reminders for the completion of tasks?
- Can you create templates for common people tasks that can be quickly reused?
- Can you create onboarding workflows with tasks assigned to each stakeholder?
- Is there one UI and consistent logic across modules for easy navigation and faster system loading time?
- Are there multiple menus that make navigating and finding what you need hard?
- Is there an automatic workflow that manages the employee journey with reminders and due dates?
- Will the software require extensive training for your HR team to learn?
- Is the platform updated regularly to keep up with the constant changes HR teams have to deal with?
- Is there a product roadmap with features you see your team using and helping enable future needs?
Bob does it all – make HR tasks efficient and effective.
Bob is a breeze to work with—intuitive and easy to use, with a modern interface designed for HR to administer and manage efficiently and effectively. The modern UX/UI makes Bob intuitive and easy to learn, cutting the adoption time of learning new systems and behaviors.
Bob’s design doesn’t just look good; it sets the stage for automating HR tasks and creating reusable workflows for any HR process. Create dedicated workflows and break them down into comprehensive and complete tasks. HR teams can schedule tasks, set reminders, and loop in any stakeholder who needs to approve or be notified of the progress.
Bob is a SaaS platform that allows for frequent and timely updates so HR teams always get the latest and greatest features in the market. Designed with HR in mind, we test new features in our own office and with HR teams that help us make a product that’s fit for purpose with many features initiated by our active customer base and community.
3. Does SAP SuccessFactors allow for ease of configuration from HR teams, not just IT and tech admins?
Waiting for development resources is not an option in today’s dynamic work environment. The demand for quick, tailored responses from HR teams requires HR and their tech to be flexible, customizable, and easily maneuverable.
Look for a system that can be implemented quickly and with a minimum of IT resources. Make sure you can configure the system on a granular level for the business, such as for different sites and time off policies. Verify that you don’t have to bring in a consultant whenever you want to have a change, and there are no hidden fees for services when changes arise.
Ensure you have continuous configurability at your fingertips so that when the time comes to reconfigure (sooner, more often than later), you’ll be prepared with a quick, fast solution.
Check if SAP SuccessFactors is configurable by HR teams, admins, and generalists.
- How easy is the system operation, configuration, and maintenance for HR teams?
- Can you build workflows and make changes in a few clicks?
- As your business grows or changes, can the HR team configure the necessary system adaptations, or will external involvement be required?
- Are daily HR operations dependent on an IT or Information Systems (IS) admin to conduct?
- Is it necessary to involve IT/IS or implementation partners to achieve your desired configurations?
- Which HR processes must be operated by IT or IS admins?
- Do small configurations turn into larger development projects?
- What is the timeline for initial setup and time to launch?
- Can you configure the platform to match the local and regional regulations?
- Can you customize workflows and processes by role, teams, and sites?
- Are there professional services to customize, implement, and launch the platform for all to use?
- Is there good support for continuous system maintenance and configuration?
- Is tech support available in the time zone that meets your regional needs?
- How responsive is the support time?
Bob does it all – easy to configure and maintain.
Bob is highly configurable at its core and easily supports any company structure. HR admins can independently configure Bob to work according to their needs, easily create and customize new flows and processes, and generate any operational and custom report without IT/IS admin or professional services help.
HR teams can set up and match HR processes down to the exact level to match the structure of your company. Create a time off workflow and add each approver, even if the approvers are in different countries. You can even configure automatic notifications for those who need to be notified or add a personal touch by using field attributes such as employee name or team name when assigning tasks.
Customize any workflow for different roles, changing the flow in a few clicks to make a new flow in the local language. Add a new manager, delete a step, change an approver, all with a few clicks and no special training.
4. Can SAP SuccessFactors drive engagement and culture?
According to Trade Press Services, 85 percent of employees are most motivated when management regularly updates company news. Traditional systems of record are not enough to accommodate the new demands of employees and promote the type of employee engagement necessary to boost retention and business results.
Ensure your HR tech goes further than the basic system of resources and provides ways to facilitate employee engagement. For instance, employees should be able to interact inside the system by discovering more about other colleagues, catching up on company information, or meeting new workers.
Look for ways to customize the look and feel to match the company and build spaces for people to understand your company’s values, behaviors, and standards that make up your work environment.
By providing an interactive space for people to discover more each time they enter, you will promote connections that let everyone feel they belong and get the results your HR strategy deserves.
Check if SAP SuccessFactors will be able to drive engagement and culture.
- How easy is the UI for employees to navigate and find colleagues with similar likes and interests?
- Can employees find what they need easily and quickly?
- Does it offer specific news feeds for each office and country?
- Does i leave a good first impression and excite the employee to explore the culture and possibilities to connect with others?
- Does the UX have an engaging social media look and feel?
- Can you give public recognition to employees?
- Does it have tools to drive personal and professional connections with clubs, hobbies, etc?
- What features offer transparency and inclusion to foster employee retention?
- Is there one place where employees can read and comment on all company news, recognition, and achievements?
- Do employees have a way to personalize their profile with name pronunciations and pronouns of choice?
- Does each employee have a timeline of their company history and achievements?
- Is there a dynamic people directory for grouping and sorting people by expertise, hobbies, and more?
- Can each employee receive a personalized onboarding workflow to give a welcoming touch to new joiners?
- Are pre-boarding workflows available to new hires that show company-wide org charts to get to know the team before the start date?
- Does it support using multiple calendars with local, national, and religious holidays?
- Can employees get information about colleagues’ and peers’ work status and location?
- Do employees have a place to feel connected to company goals, participate in the culture, and see that their work matters?
Bob does it all – highlights your culture and helps people interact.
Bob is designed as a place for employees to connect, starting even before day one. HR can create personalized onboarding workflows to greet employees before their first day. New hires can meet colleagues, sign documents, and understand company structure so they feel like part of the team for a great head start.
Create a social media-like homepage in your company’s colors and branding and let employees catch up on all the latest company news. Post Shoutouts and Kudos to recognize achievements, and create polls to get employee feedback on issues and topics that can make a difference.
Bring global sites and dispersed workforces closer using Bob as a centralized communication hub where everyone can see what is happening across the company, read company news, and participate in polls and surveys to ensure every voice is heard.
Discover more about colleagues using Bob’s People Directory, where you can search for employees, view their photos and intro videos, see their interests, and learn how to pronounce their names.
Bob increases employee engagement and boosts culture with a central place to engage and collaborate, creating a warm community and helping your people stay connected.
5. Does SAP SuccessFactors drive collaboration between managers and teams?
Employees say managerial support is the most important aspect of company culture. Throw in multi-national companies, remote workers, dispersed teams, and HR leaders have even more reason to facilitate cooperation between managers and employees.
Choose an HRIS/HCM platform that helps managers connect with their teams, enabling efficient communication, goal alignment, and streamlined workflows.
Look for tools that can help kick-start manager tasks, eliminate the guesswork from the process, and increase manager and employee efficiency around HR processes and tasks.
Giving managers the right tools will result in productive outcomes and help the organization move forward.
Check if SAP SuccessFactors gives managers collaboration tools and enables collaboration among teams.
- Are there out-of-the-box tools to communicate with employees in their flow of work?
- Can you create automatic team introductions to introduce new team members?
- Do managers have access to 1-on-1 meeting templates that ease the burden of routine processes like onboarding, career growth, and performance reviews?
- Do managers have access to employee lifecycle milestones to schedule regular check-ins that will help increase retention?
- Do managers have a central place to track the entire employee journey so 1-on-1s will facilitate meaningful dialogue?
- Are there reminders and alerts for managers to complete processes or remind employees to do so?
- Can managers set departmental goals for their team members that link to company KPIs?
- Do managers have timely information and reports about their team’s time-off status?
- Do managers have attrition indicators to gauge and understand the turnover risk of their direct reports?
Bob does it all – drives collaboration between managers and teams to enable success.
Bob has many tools that help managers manage their people and empower them to succeed at every stage of their employee’s lifecycle.
Start with onboarding and loop managers in for introduction meetings, welcome messages, and showing off team structure. Use Bob’s 1-on-1 sessions to set up regular check-ins and build strong relationships. Use an agenda template to help you plan the meeting, have employees add their points for discussion, and then make notes directly in Bob to reference later.
Managers will appreciate Bob’s tools that help with year-round career growth and development, goal setting, and 360° performance reviews. Keep track of important events in Bob and then reference them when it comes time for performance reviews, pay raises, and bonus allocation.
HR can give managers permission to view data indicators around their team, and this can provide a heads-up about employee happiness or discontent and when they are most likely to leave. This enables managers to step in and take action before critical moments occur. Bob’s People Analytics can also help uncover the decision-makers on the team and point to top talent who may be the next team lead or manager.
Bob integrates with the flow of work, meeting managers and employees where they are. This makes connecting, collaborating, and completing HR tasks convenient and timely. Managers can efficiently handle time-off requests, timesheet approvals, and tasks directly within their everyday chat platform, and employees can access what they need when needed.
6. Can SAP SuccessFactors give you ease of reporting?
Leveraging data analytics has become a vital tool for HR leaders to make informed decisions and foster a more efficient, people-centric workplace.
When selecting an analytics platform, prioritize solutions that offer user-friendly interfaces, integrations with your tech stack, and the ability to produce the reports you need without being a data scientist.
Look for a comprehensive analytics platform that shows insights into your strategic initiatives, can be programmed for your KPIs, and can be created and shared quickly and easily with all the stakeholders in the company.
Good people analytics will enhance decision-making, paving the way for a more agile and responsive human resources strategy.
Check if SAP SuccessFactors delivers data analytics that HR teams can configure, extract, and use without external support.
- Can your HR team build, access, share, and print data reports without the assistance of a technical operator?
- Can you schedule the production of daily, weekly, or monthly customizable reports?
- Is there a lot of manual intervention required for data reporting?
- How easy is it to generate the basic reports your HR team needs or that management and board members request?
- Can reports be generated without the help of an information systems specialist?
- Can your HR team create a report the CEO wants today for how many people we hired in a specific region and department in the past month?
- Can you trust the data that you get from the system? Does it make sense, and is it consistent?
- Is the back-end reporting easy to integrate with other company technologies that hold employee data, like the benefits or payroll tech?
- Does it track vital KPIs like attrition indicators and accurately report HR performance with one source of people data?
- Can you choose different chart types to show leadership a visual story for every KPI?
- Is there a way to measure employee attrition rates?
- Can the data be filtered for specific regions and sites?
- What type, if any, of proactive insights are generated from the data?
- Can you benchmark salaries against the current market rate?
Bob does it all – consolidates people data and brings insights for decision making.
Bob provides customizable reporting and a single source of truth for data. With a click, you have real-time data to inform your headcount, hiring, engagement, and retention decisions.
Leverage pre-built reports with out-of-the-box templates for most of your essential HR KPIs, or if you need something custom, you can create new fields and generate reports in seconds. Then, effortlessly analyze and share data and insights with executive leadership, addressing whatever is on the agenda.
Bob’s Analytics offers HR leaders the flexibility to present and visualize people data with filters, slicing, and dicing for the best visualizations for your essential KPIs. This ensures you’ll track the data to optimize processes and bring insights most relevant to your strategy and the organization’s needs.
Uncover trends and find out more about your company. Proactive Insights from Bob go beyond the data from your KPI dashboards and give you calculated trends and averages. With Bob’s insight engine, you can view interesting observations about your people that might otherwise be overlooked with no extra work on your end.
Why choose Bob over SAP SuccessFactors and other HRIS/HCM solutions?
As a business partner, we continue to invest in our product and our customers, bringing a modern platform to multi-national companies that need to engage employees and be efficient. That’s why HiBob is placed in the top 3 globally for core HR in the 2023 Core HR Grid Report and rates 4.5/5 stars by our customers in the G2 peer reviews.
When comparing Bob vs. SAP SuccessFactors and any other HRIS/HCM, it’s clear that Bob is the modern choice for HR teams working in constantly changing times.
HiBob recognizes that some of the most painful company processes for employees can be related to HR teams’ ease of use and configuration. With Bob’s inherent flexibility, you can:
- Create HR processes in a few clicks and make changes without development or IT
- Empower HR leaders with data-driven tools designed for non-data analysts to use
- Foster company culture by promoting transparency in organizational structure and establishing a secure space for open communication.
- Connect global sites and dispersed workforces through Bob’s Home Page, shared calendars, and company news.
- Facilitate employee conversations through social feeds, kudos, goals, and Slack and MS Teams integrations.
Bob’s culture tools connect employees worldwide, show your culture, and allow employees to instantly understand how to navigate the platform and complete HR processes.
- Bob puts people first with culture tools that connect in-house and remote employees.
- Unique and innovative UI has a distinctly non-technical, fun social media feel.
- More enjoyable and intuitive to use than other HRIS/HCM solutions.
- Bob creates a welcoming environment that inspires people to build excellent working relationships and keeps them connected to the company, whether in a corporate or a home office.
- Unlike other systems, Bob’s implementation and daily HR processes are intuitive and don’t require hard coding or technical knowledge.
Download the PDF here and get started with a checklist of the questions to compare HiBob vs. SAP SuccessFactors.