Talent Management Software
Top Rated Talent Management Products
These products won a Top Rated award for having excellent customer satisfaction ratings. The list is based purely on reviews; there is no paid placement, and analyst opinions do not influence the rankings. Read more about the Top Rated criteria.
Talent Management Software TrustMap
TrustMaps are two-dimensional charts that compare products based on trScore and research frequency by prospective buyers. Products must have 10 or more ratings to appear on this TrustMap.
Talent Management Software Overview
What are Talent Management Systems?
Talent management is a set of capabilities that are considered strategically important to the organization’s labor or workforce. Talent management systems are designed to manage talent through the entire lifecycle from talent acquisition through development to reward and measurement. Talent management systems help ensure that the best people are being hired, developed, trained, and compensated to maximize value for the organization. HCM suites will often include talent management capabilities as well.
Talent Management System Processes
Talent management systems form a continuum of activities and processes revolving around the most important resource in any organization--its people. The primary talent concerns of most organizations include:
Talent acquisition, especially improving the quality and strategic planning of hires
Speeding up the time to competency
Improving performance and development
Making sure that everyone is working on projects with the highest potential for impact
Ensuring that talent is rewarded and compensated
Finding a new generation of leaders
Continuously developing staff to meet the fast-changing needs of the modern corporation
A talent management system is designed specifically to help organizations solve common people-related HR pain points and meet these highly strategic goals. These systems can be broadly applicable to a range of industries and talent pools. Some talent management systems focus on specialized talent pools with unique needs, such as healthcare talent management software.
Talent Management Software Features & Capabilities
Most talent management systems cover these core capabilities:
Recruitment/ATS: Recruiting is offered either as a component of talent management suites or as standalone products. Features include job posting, candidate management, and applicant tracking.
Onboarding: Onboarding is the process of orienting and integrating new hires into the cultural and performance aspects of their job. The goal of onboarding is to speed up new hires' time-to-value and includes features like training tracking, assessments, and new hire portals.
Cascading Goal Alignment: Goal alignment features help coordinate employee's personal performance and career goals with specific, higher-level business goals and objectives. They include hierarchical goal setting, line-of-sight visibility, and performance tracking.
Performance Management: Performance management is the process of tracking employees' accomplishment of predetermined goals. It is measured via performance plans, status tracking, and reporting.
Employee Engagement: Employee engagement entails surveying employees to track engagement with culture, job satisfaction, and competency levels to target future employee development. It is a relatively new facet of talent management.
Learning Management: Learning management focuses on post-onboarding employee skills development and competencies, as well as customer training in some cases. The market for e-content and learning management systems offers general-use products and industry-focused offerings.
Compensation Management: Compensation management entails setting employee pay grades and incentive structures based on performance criteria.
Succession Planning: Succession planning is the identification and preparation of top talent within the company for professional growth and leadership positions. It includes the creation of succession plans themselves, as well as candidate tracking and ranking.
Talent Management Systems Comparison
To compare different talent management systems, consider these aspects of each software offering:
Talent management suite vs HCM suite: Talent management capabilities exist both in standalone suites and as modules of more comprehensive Human Capital Management suites. If you already have an HR management suite and just need an external talent management product, a standalone offering may be more efficient and cost-effective. However, if you’re looking for additional HR software beyond talent management, a more comprehensive suite can pose substantial integration and data centralization benefits.
Integrations: Integration and data flow within your HR environment is an increasingly important aspect of talent management, according to our study of talent management professionals and external research. In response to this need, many vendors are improving their ability to integrate with various 3rd party software. To get the most out of your own data, make sure that every product you’re considering can demonstrably integrate with the other software you’re using.
User base demographics: Most talent management users skew towards larger businesses and enterprises. As businesses grow in size, they often need talent management functions that are more complex, in-depth, and varied than smaller organizations. In addition to exploring the specific features offered, look at the size of each products’ users to get a preliminary gauge of how well the product would be able to scale to fit your needs.
Start a Talent Management comparison
Pricing Information
Talent management systems’ pricing varies depending on whether or not it's housed within a larger HR Management or HCM suite. Standalone talent management solution prices can range from $10-20/month/user. Talent management features are frequent components of full HCM suites, which rarely advertise set pricing plans and can vary widely. However, pricing for HCMs and standalone talent management solutions both generally scale by the number of users.
More Resources
Talent Management Products
(1-25 of 85) Sorted by Most Reviews
UKG Pro
Ultimate Software delivers cloud-based HCM solutions that help businesses simplify payroll computations, accelerate talent acquisition, manage time and attendance, and support proactive, strategic talent management on a global level.
Key Features
- Update personal information (676)90%9.0
- View and generate pay and benefit information (673)88%8.8
- Employment history (664)78%7.8
ADP Workforce Now
ADP Workforce Now is a cloud-based HR platform for mid-sized businesses. It features customizable modules of various HR services that businesses can tailor to their specific needs, as well as regulatory monitoring and alerts to help businesses remain compliant.
Key Features
- Direct deposit files (648)89%8.9
- View and generate pay and benefit information (640)88%8.8
- Pay calculation (652)86%8.6
Ceridian Dayforce HCM
Ceridian Dayforce HCM is a cloud-based platform encompassing HR, payroll, benefits, and talent and workforce management. It provides companies with a scalable framework and real-time data, such as continual pay calculations, to enable efficient decision-making.
Key Features
- Update personal information (481)87%8.7
- Pre-built reports (480)73%7.3
- Report builder (480)69%6.9
Cornerstone OnDemand
Cornerstone OnDemand is a cloud-based application for talent management. Cornerstone offers suites for recruiting, training, performance monitoring and planning, learning, and HR data management. It is scaled for enterprises.
Key Features
- Course catalog or library (136)86%8.6
- Learning administration (135)85%8.5
- Learning reporting & analytics (134)83%8.3
Oracle Cloud HCM combines various human resources operations, such as Core HR functions, talent management, and workforce management, within one platform. The Cloud program provides global scaling and prioritizes mobile accessibility and integration.
Key Features
- Employment history (159)82%8.2
- Employee demographic data (152)82%8.2
- Job profiles and administration (152)81%8.1
Ascentis
Ascentis HR uses web-based management programs to help automate complex HR processes. It's fully integrated with Ascentis’ other services including customizable payroll, time and attendance and recruiting modules.
Key Features
- Update personal information (151)87%8.7
- Pre-built reports (142)70%7.0
- Report builder (144)62%6.2
Paycom
Paycom is a core HR management software solution. It includes features such as talent acquisition and management, time tracking, and payroll management. It offers some automation capacities, particularly regarding payroll.
Key Features
- View and generate pay and benefit information (149)90%9.0
- Update personal information (150)89%8.9
- Pay calculation (145)85%8.5
Workday HCM
Workday Human Capital Management is built as a cloud-based system with global consistency in user experience. Workday HCM is part of a broader system with other Workday products.
Key Features
- Update personal information (74)86%8.6
- Employment history (72)83%8.3
- Job profiles and administration (74)83%8.3
Halogen Software offers a cloud-based talent management suite that includes recruiting, performance management, learning and development, succession planning and compensation programs. It is optimized for mid-sized businesses.
Key Features
- Individual goal setting (32)75%7.5
- Performance tracking (32)70%7.0
- Review reminders (32)67%6.7
SAP SuccessFactors is a suite of HR/HCM products covering these capability areas: core HR and payroll, recruiting and onboarding, learning and development, performance and compensation management, workforce analytics and planning, and employee experience management.
Key Features
- Individual goal setting (34)86%8.6
- Performance tracking (32)84%8.4
- Performance plans (32)82%8.2
Saba Cloud is a talent management suite which includes performance management, succession planning, learning management, planning, and recruiting. The vendor intends the cloud-based platform to be highly scalable to enable continuous corporate employee development.
Key Features
- Progress tracking & certifications (23)93%9.3
- Course catalog or library (23)93%9.3
- Compliance management (23)92%9.2
PeopleFluent includes modules for recruiting, performance management, compensation, learning, succession, and vendor management, as well as workforce planning and diversity. These modules can be purchased separately or bundled, and integrate with other HR systems.
Key Features
- Manager tracking tools (10)78%7.8
ClearCompany offers an applicant tracking system with core features, including batch or mass communication, job board posting, centralized internal communications, and background checking features. It also provides onboarding automation and performance management.
Key Features
- Company Website Posting (14)93%9.3
- Job Search Site Posting (14)92%9.2
- Job Requisition Management (14)91%9.1
talentReef is a recruitment and talent management system optimized for service-sector workforces. talentReef emphasizes its support for regulatory compliance, automated workflows, and mobile accessibility across its functions for recruiting, onboarding, training, and performance…
Key Features
- Candidate Search (15)86%8.6
- Job Search Site Posting (15)78%7.8
- Customized Application Form (15)70%7.0
Lattice is employee performance management software for mid-sized companies, offered by a San Fransisco-based startup of the same name. It includes four modules: Reviews, Goals (objectives and key results, or OKR), Feedback, and Check-ins (weekly one-to-one meetings). Early customers…
Key Features
- Corporate goal setting (10)81%8.1
- Subordinate goal setting (10)80%8.0
- Manager note taking (11)76%7.6
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the core functions of talent management?
There are 6 core areas in talent management. Modern talent management suites should support most or all of these functions:
- Recruiting
- Onboarding
- Performance management, including goal management
- Compensation management
- Learning management
- Succession planning