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Canadian HR Reporter recognizes the 5-Star HR Software and Technology Providers of 2024 as significant game changers by empowering business leaders, improving efficiency, and driving technological advances in the space.
CHRR conducted interviews with HR professionals and surveyed thousands more within the network over 15 weeks to understand what they think of current market offerings.
Respondents rated their overall satisfaction with the HR technology providers they had dealt with across five categories:
corporate wellness platforms
HRIS solutions
payroll solutions
recruitment software solutions
rewards and recognition
Following an extensive and competitive process, 21 Canadian HR software and technology providers were named as the 2024 winners.
CHRR's data from this year’s report compared with 2023 revealed:
83 percent of companies shortlisted three to five vendors when purchasing HR software, an 8 percent increase from 2023.
83 percent have one to five people in their organization involved in the decision-making process for purchasing HR software, a 30 percent increase.
50 percent now have a timeline of six months or less, an 8.3 percent rise from 2023.
67 percent of respondents have up to 299 employees in their company, a 17 percent increase.
Respondent companies with 500+ employees fell dramatically to 17 percent from 42 percent in 2023.
It was another successful year for the company, recognized as one of Canada’s best HR software providers for the third year running.
Over the last 12 months, Payworks:
built its first-ever office building, which will open in Winnipeg in the summer of 2024
hit the 600-employee mark, with over 100 onboarding in the first half of 2024
onboard 5,000 new clients
When senior marketing manager Amanda Soloway was hired in 2009, Payworks employed 75 people, highlighting its tremendous growth.
“It’s been awesome to see that company growth,” Soloway says. “To see our clients still super excited to work with us and to be giving us feedback.”
Feedback from clients has included:
satisfaction with the HR technology solution
the product is easy to use
clients can learn it quickly
Payworks’ HR technology helps companies onboard clients and bring them through the employee life cycle. All the firm’s products are built on the same database, boosting ease of use.
“You’re not having to re-key information, everything just automatically updates throughout the platform no matter which module you’re using,” Soloway explains.
Payworks’ payroll service is the cornerstone of the business, but it also offers a suite of modules that employers can utilize:
HR technology
applicant tracking
time management
analytics platform
HR advisory services
financial guidance
fill-and-sign feature
The fill-and-sign forms enable employees to complete all their onboarding tasks through their self-service component.
“We’ve had some clients say that it’s an awesome feature. In combination with our HR onboarding checklists, which we also released recently, it is a huge time saver for our clients who are onboarding employees,” comments Soloway.
“Anything that you can do to take some of the admin work out is going to be hugely beneficial. It’s going to be helpful to both the employees in joining a new company, and for the HR professionals who handle all that work and want less paperwork.”
Their time management schedule also makes life easier for both employers and employees when it comes to requesting annual leave.
In the past, employees would request time off, and their employer would note this in their records. However, Payworks makes this more efficient.
“You’re not having to collect sticky notes and just trying to remember things when people want to take time off,” Soloway says. “You’ve got the accuracy of having the employees fill out their requests in an online tool, and then that information feeds directly to the manager to approve or deny the time off request. If approved, it also goes directly into the payroll system, so you’re not having to key in anything.”
Managers can also see who will be out of office on any given day and they can plan accordingly.
Payworks has maintained an upward trajectory for over two decades in a competitive market.
The company operates solely in Canada. Therefore, its entire focus is on the domestic market.
Soloway explains, “We know what it’s like to be a small business that grows into a large business. Our journey is the same and we have the same challenges to other Canadian businesses. It’s advantageous for us in all the products that we create, because we understand the problems of our clients, and we’re able to create solutions that directly speak to them.”
One challenge is keeping up with advancing technology and meeting new clients’ expectations.
For companies who develop their own technology, it can be taxing to meet the demand while ensuring the platform runs smoothly.
“We have great technology, and we back it up with great customer service. As new legislation comes out, employers across Canada are recognizing the need for bringing on technology to help them with their workforce management,” Soloway says.
“There’s a big demand, which is a great problem, but it also means that we’re growing at a fast rate.”
Scroll down to see the list of CHRR's 5-Star HR Software and Technology Providers of 2024.
The Canadian HR Reporter team conducted one-on-one interviews with HR professionals to select the best HR software and technology providers for 2024. The team surveyed thousands more within the CHRR network to understand what these professionals think of current market offerings.
Respondents rated their overall satisfaction with the HR technology providers they had dealt with across five categories:
corporate wellness platforms
HRIS solutions
payroll solutions
recruitment software solutions
rewards and recognition
From there, technology providers were invited to nominate their products, describe their benefits, and explain why they believed their solutions were worthy of a CHRR 5-Star award. At the end of the 15-week research period, 21 companies were named 5-Star award winners.