# 4 Key Onboarding Software Features | Capterra > Buying onboarding software? Look out for these four software features rated as the most important and top products that offer them. Source: https://www.capterra.com/resources/key-onboarding-software-features --- OnboardingHuman Resources # 4 Key Onboarding Software Features With Top Products That Offer Them Written by: Barkha Bali Barkha BaliAuthor Senior Writer Experience I’ve been writing for Capterra since August 2021, providing expert insights to help small and midsize businesses (SMBs) find the rig... [See bio & all articles](https://www.capterra.com/resources/author/bbali/) Published May 28, 2024 11 min read Table of Contents - [1\. Employee database](#1-employee-database) - [2\. Applicant tracking](#2-applicant-tracking) - [3\. HR management](#3-hr-management) - [4\. Payroll management](#4-payroll-management) As the job market becomes increasingly competitive, recruitment managers must find innovative strategies to attract and retain top talent. Traditional onboarding processes, often filled with manual paperwork and inconsistent experiences, can hinder this goal. One way to eliminate that is by delivering an automated, engaging onboarding experience. And how would they do that? By implementing an [onboarding software](https://www.capterra.com/onboarding-software/) solution that automates, standardizes, and personalizes the onboarding journey, from initial recruitment to full integration into the company culture. However, each organization has unique needs and goals, and selecting the right software hinges on thoroughly understanding its functionalities. To help you with that, we’ve determined four key onboarding software features based on the ratings given by verified software users. We also include the highest-rated employee onboarding software for each feature. ## 1\. Employee database The employee database feature in an onboarding solution is a centralized repository for storing and managing employee information, including personal information, contact details, employment history, and compensation. This feature helps recruitment managers automate employee onboarding tasks, such as collecting and organizing employee information. The feature can send personalized welcome emails or schedule training based on the employee's role. ### What business problems does the employee database solve? The employee database feature helps recruitment managers solve the following challenges: - **Scattered paper documents:** Recruitment teams often struggle with managing paper documents related to employee information, such as resumes, applications, and contracts. These documents can become disorganized and difficult to locate when needed. By digitizing these documents and storing them in a centralized employee database, recruitment managers can standardize document management processes, improve accessibility, and reduce the risk of information loss. - **Inconsistent onboarding experience:** The onboarding process can be inconsistent and time-consuming without a centralized system for managing employee information. Different departments or managers may have different methods for collecting and storing employee data, leading to discrepancies and inefficiencies. An employee database helps standardize the onboarding experience by providing a centralized platform for collecting, storing, and accessing essential employee information. This ensures that each new employee receives an effective onboarding experience. - **Repetitive data entry:** Manually entering employee data into multiple systems or documents can be tedious and prone to errors. This repetitive data entry process wastes valuable time and increases the risk of inaccuracies and inconsistencies in employee records. An employee database streamlines data entry processes by allowing information to be entered once and automatically synced across relevant systems, reducing the likelihood of errors and improving data integrity. This saves time for recruitment managers and ensures that employee records are accurate and up-to-date across the organization. ### How users benefit from employee database Here are some excerpts from the reviewers of employee database features describing how it helps them: > _“All your employee information can be viewed on your dashboard, you can either change or maintain your profile and documents all virtually. You can also view your weekly performance and review logs from the dashboard.”_ > > _“Employee Database features provide easy-to-use and intuitive features for managing employee data, providing appropriate permission-based access levels to different staff and roles in the organization, and greatly assists in maintaining current and former employee information, as well as excellent self-management options for staff.”_ > > _“Employee information is important to keep it safe and accessible to keep the administrative section under control. It allows users to store and manage employees' personal and contact information, as well as their employment information, such as salary, date of hire, job title, and benefits.”_ ### Top 3 products with the highest ratings for the employee database _Analysis performed April 2024_ #### Trial/Free Version - Free Trial - Free Version #### Employee database feature rating 4.86/5 #### Device Compatibilty #### Trial/Free Version - Free Trial - Free Version #### Employee database feature rating 4.86/5 #### Device Compatibilty #### Trial/Free Version - Free Trial - Free Version #### Device Compatibilty ## 2\. Applicant tracking The applicant tracking feature of employee onboarding software helps hiring managers simplify the recruitment process by centralizing and automating the management of job applications and candidates. This feature allows recruiters and hiring managers to create job postings, receive applications, screen candidates, schedule interviews, and make hiring decisions—all within a single platform. By providing a centralized repository for candidate information and communication, applicant tracking software improves collaboration among hiring team members and ensures an organized and efficient recruitment process. Additionally, it often includes features such as resume parsing, candidate scoring, and customizable workflows to tailor the recruitment process to the organization's specific needs. ### What business problems does applicant tracking solve? The applicant tracking feature helps hiring managers solve the following challenges: - **Difficulty sourcing qualified candidates:** The applicant tracking feature automates the sourcing process by allowing recruiters to post job openings across multiple platforms, including job boards, social media, and company websites. It includes candidate sourcing tools, resume databases, and AI-powered search capabilities to help recruiters identify and engage with top talent. By providing access to a larger pool of candidates and automating the initial screening process, this feature helps hiring managers overcome the challenge of sourcing qualified candidates and ensures that they can identify the best fit for each role. - **Ineffective resume screening:** Manually screening resumes can be extremely time-consuming, especially for high-volume positions. The applicant tracking feature can filter resumes based on keywords and criteria specified in the job description. This prioritizes qualified candidates with relevant skills and experience, saving hiring managers significant time. - **Unorganized communication:** Keeping track of communication with multiple candidates can be chaotic. The applicant tracking feature facilitates communication by providing a unified module and self-service candidate portal to schedule interviews, send automated emails with updates on the application process, and manage all candidate interactions in one place. ### How users benefit from applicant tracking Here are some excerpts from the reviewers of the applicant tracking feature describing how it helps them: > _“Applicant Tracking helps recruiter and employee to track the progress happened in the various levels of the recruitment process starting from submitting the "employee/candidate" to the clients, thereafter interviews, background verification, joining of the project.”_ > > _“Applicant Tracking feature is one of the great features. It helps in sourcing, managing, and hiring in one place. It helps in keeping track of applicants and we can spend quality time in building candidate pipeline.”_ > > _“Applicant tracking helps us track the candidate's activity at which stage a candidate is also updating the team about the candidate, whether a candidate is in the interview stage or the offer stage.”_ ### Top 3 products with the highest ratings for applicant tracking _Analysis performed April 2024_ #### Trial/Free Version - Free Trial - Free Version #### Applicant tracking feature rating 4.90/5 #### Device Compatibilty #### Trial/Free Version - Free Trial - Free Version #### Applicant tracking feature rating 4.83/5 #### Device Compatibilty #### Trial/Free Version - Free Trial - Free Version #### Applicant tracking feature rating 4.55/5 #### Device Compatibilty ## 3\. HR management The HR management feature of an employee onboarding tool includes multiple functionalities to standardize and optimize integrating new employees into an organization. It allows HR professionals to automate the onboarding workflow, such as sending pre-filled new hire packets, scheduling background checks, and setting up payroll and benefits enrollment. This feature also facilitates document management, storing signed agreements and completed forms electronically for easy access and future reference. By automating these tasks, HR can free up valuable time to focus on more strategic aspects of onboarding, such as building relationships with new hires and ensuring a smooth integration into the company culture. The HR management feature in most onboarding programs includes analytics and reporting capabilities that enable HR professionals to monitor the progress of onboarding activities, identify bottlenecks, and gather insights to improve the employee onboarding process. ### What business problems does HR management solve? HR management helps HR managers solve the following challenges: - **Manual and error-prone onboarding tasks:** Traditional onboarding processes often involve a lot of manual paperwork, which can be time-consuming and prone to errors. The HR management feature automates HR processes and digital forms that simplify onboarding. By centralizing all onboarding tasks within a digital platform, HR managers can ensure consistency and accuracy while reducing the time and effort required for administrative tasks. - **Lack of visibility into onboarding progress:** Without a centralized system, it is difficult for HR managers to track the progress of onboarding activities for multiple new hires simultaneously. The HR management feature provides real-time visibility into the status of onboarding tasks for each new hire. Managers can easily track which steps have been completed, identify bottlenecks or delays, and take proactive measures to keep the process on track. This increased visibility allows for better coordination among HR team members and ensures new hires receive a consistent and timely onboarding experience. - **Scanty communication with new hires:** Effective communication is essential during onboarding to keep new hires informed and engaged. The HR management feature includes automated email notifications, task reminders, and self-service portals, facilitating communication between HR managers and new hires. This feature enables HR teams to send personalized welcome messages, provide relevant information about company policies and procedures, and answer new hires' questions. By maintaining regular communication throughout the onboarding process, HR managers can foster a sense of belonging and help new employees feel supported as they integrate into the organization. ### How users benefit from HR management Here are some excerpts from the reviewers of the HR management feature describing how it helps them: > _“Automate the recruitment process by customizing the hiring pipeline with different assessments or video interviews at different stages. Easy Integration to job portals and career page in the Website.”_ > > _“Having a spot to keep and store all feedback, time off requests, important documents, and everything else that comes with HR makes it much easier and quick to do. As someone who wears many hats within my role, having something that speeds up HR tasks is awesome.”_ > > _“HR management feature which is of great priority is one of the best features on the platform as it provides a toolkit for handling the process of onboarding and offboarding talents. The whole process is further made seamless via the employee self-service option and the fact that it integrates easily with other HR business applications.”_ ### Top 3 products with the highest ratings for HR management _Analysis performed April 2024_ #### Trial/Free Version - Free Trial - Free Version #### HR management feature rating 4.81/5 #### Device Compatibilty #### Trial/Free Version - Free Trial - Free Version #### HR management feature rating 4.67/5 #### Device Compatibilty #### Trial/Free Version - Free Trial - Free Version #### HR management feature rating 4.65/5 #### Device Compatibilty ## 4\. Payroll management The payroll management feature of an onboarding tool helps payroll managers add new hires to the payroll database, ensuring accurate and timely compensation for their work. Within onboarding software, payroll management functionalities include automated payroll setup, where essential employee information collected during the onboarding process is automatically transferred to the payroll system. It includes tools for configuring pay rates, tax withholdings, and other deductions specific to each employee. By integrating payroll management into the onboarding process, payroll managers can eliminate redundant data entry, minimize errors, and ensure compliance with relevant labor regulations. ### What business problems does payroll management solve? The payroll management feature helps payroll managers solve the following challenges: - **Non-compliance with tax regulations:** Ensuring compliance with tax regulations is fundamental for any business to avoid legal penalties and maintain financial stability. The payroll management feature automates tax calculations and deductions, staying updated with changing tax laws and regulations. By accurately calculating and deducting taxes from employee paychecks, payroll management reduces the risk of non-compliance and associated fines or legal consequences. Additionally, these systems often generate reports and filings required by tax authorities, simplifying the tax compliance process for payroll managers. - **Delayed payroll processing:** Delays in payroll processing can lead to employee dissatisfaction, impacting motivation and employee retention. The payroll management feature standardizes the payroll process, automating tasks such as time tracking, calculating wages, and processing payments. By eliminating manual processes and reducing the likelihood of errors, payroll management ensures that paychecks are processed accurately and delivered on time. This not only improves employee satisfaction but also enhances operational efficiency. - **Manual work and errors:** Manual payroll processes are time-consuming and prone to errors, such as miscalculations or incorrect data entry. These errors can result in inaccurate paychecks, leading to financial discrepancies and employee dissatisfaction. The payroll management feature automates repetitive tasks, such as data entry and calculations, minimizing the need for manual intervention. By standardizing processes and enforcing consistency, payroll management reduces the risk of errors and ensures accuracy in payroll processing. This saves time and improves the reliability of payroll data, enhancing trust among employees and stakeholders. ### How users benefit from payroll management Here are some excerpts from the reviewers of the payroll management feature describing how it helps them: > _“Again the feature is super helpful and critical to the overall functioning of the software. It helps you save time by automating your tasks like calculating, filing, and paying federal and state payroll taxes for every single employee.”_ > > _“All aspects of our Payroll can be managed here, including tax and NI calculations and employer contributions.  The RTI is submitted online so everything is held and actioned in one place.  We can produce PDFs of all payslips and P45 etc.”_ > > _“We can get an ease module for payroll creation and management and enhanced ease reporting to different stakeholders.”_ ### Top 3 products with the highest ratings for payroll management _Analysis performed April 2024_ #### Trial/Free Version - Free Trial - Free Version #### Payroll management feature rating 4.75/5 #### Device Compatibilty #### Trial/Free Version - Free Trial - Free Version #### Payroll management feature rating 4.66/5 #### Device Compatibilty #### Trial/Free Version - Free Trial - Free Version #### Payroll management feature rating 4.65/5 #### Device Compatibilty * * * Looking for Onboarding software?Check out Capterra's list of the [best Onboarding software](https://www.capterra.com/onboarding-software/) solutions. ### Was this article helpful? * * * ## About the Author [### Barkha Bali](https://www.capterra.com/resources/author/bbali/) Barkha Bali is a writer at Capterra. She provides insights to help small and midsize businesses identify the right software for their needs by analyzing more than 550,000 Capterra user reviews and nearly 48,000 interactions between Capterra software advisors and buyers. ### RELATED READING - [How AI Scheduling Software Helps Restaurants Reduce Overtime and Boost Staff Satisfaction](https://www.capterra.com/resources/ai-employee-scheduling-software-for-restaurants/) - [LMS Pricing Models Explained: Hidden Costs, Plans, And Comparisons](https://www.capterra.com/resources/lms-pricing-models-guide/) - [Payroll Pricing Explained: Flat-Rate vs Per-Employee Models](https://www.capterra.com/resources/payroll-pricing-models-guide/) - [Personalizing Recruiting and Onboarding With the Right HR Tools](https://www.capterra.com/resources/how-hr-software-personalizes-recruiting-onboarding/) - [AI vs. HR Software Reviews: What SMBs Should Consider When Selecting HR Tools](https://www.capterra.com/resources/ai-vs-hr-software-reviews/) - [7 Top-Rated AI Applicant Tracking Software](https://www.capterra.com/resources/ai-applicant-tracking-software/) - [Employee Retention Strategy: Practical Steps and Resources for SMB HR Teams](https://www.capterra.com/resources/employee-retention-strategies-smbs/) - [Build Your SMB's HR Tech Stack to Address Growth, Skills, and Retention Challenges](https://www.capterra.com/resources/build-your-smbs-hr-tech-stack/) - [How To Set Up Payroll for a Small Business](https://www.capterra.com/resources/steps-to-setting-up-your-small-business-payroll/) **Key features**: To identify the key features of this article, we asked users to rate, on a scale of “low importance” to “critical,” how important different features are for onboarding software. The features showcased are those that the highest percentage of reviewers rated as “highly important” or “critical” over the past two years (as of April 28, 2024). **Feature eligibility**: To be included in the set of features considered, a given feature had to have at least 200 user ratings within the past two years (as of April 28, 2024), of which at least 20% must indicate the feature is “critical.” Eligible features were determined from two sources:  1. Our research team’s review of public information about onboarding software usage, definitions, and associated features. 2. Reviewers’ indication of the features they use for onboarding. **Product selection**: To identify the top-rated products per feature, we evaluated user ratings for products that offer each feature. For a given product, reviewers rate each feature on a scale of one to five stars. A given product had to have at least 20 user ratings (between April 2022-24) for the feature in question to be considered. **Review excerpts selection**: Review excerpts are passages extracted from longer reviews written by verified reviewers. We obtain these excerpts by applying an algorithm that considers factors including, but not limited to, length, sentiment, topic coverage, and thematic relevance. Excerpts represent user opinion and do not represent the views of, nor constitute, an endorsement by Capterra or its affiliates. Excerpts are not edited for clarity or grammar.