HR managers are no longer just administrative experts; they are tasked with a multitude of responsibilities, from talent management and onboarding to training and benefits administration. It’s critical to have a structured approach to managing these tasks, and that’s where an HR-specific project management system becomes a strategic necessity.
But how do you identify which project tool is suitable for your unique HR processes? To help choose, this article highlights the top seven HR project management software, in alphabetical order, based on verified software reviews. Read more.
All the products featured in this article are dedicated project management platforms that offer HR-specific features such as project tracking, time tracking, task assignment, and collaboration.
1. Asana
Asana is a project management solution with a centralized dashboard for HR teams to monitor project progress and track the status of tasks assigned to their team members. HR teams can choose between different project views—list, board, calendar, chart, or timeline—and create custom rules to automate manual workflows. Additionally, they can break down large tasks into smaller subtasks to outline work with multiple steps or stakeholders.
Product features of interestKanban and Gantt chart: Visualize and manage tasks with Kanban boards, and track project timelines, dependencies, and critical paths with Gantt charts.
Shareable dashboards: Use customizable charts, such as bar, donut, and burnup charts, to create shareable dashboards that showcase project data, including task and project progress and backlog status.
Workload rebalancing: View what each team member is working on and the next projects they have in their queue. Drag and drop tasks on the project timeline to adjust owners or due dates.
Customer support options: Live chat, help center, and FAQs
Who should consider Asana?
Asana’s time tracking and workload rebalancing capabilities make it a viable option for HR teams seeking a project management tool to increase productivity. The software allows HR staff to enter their task hours manually or use an automated timer to track time. HR managers can then compare the tracked time against the estimated time to assess productivity and ensure the project schedule is on track. Additionally, Asana helps monitor staff capacity by keeping a tab on what’s on each employee’s plate, ensuring nobody is over- or underworked. Managers can assign a value (hours or points) to tasks to calculate the relative effort of different assignments. They can also use a drag-and-drop editor to adjust due dates or reassign tasks.
To present the most up-to-date information, the product information below shows the latest real-time ratings, which may differ from the ratings values at the time this report's analysis was conducted, since new reviews may have been left in the meantime.
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Device compatibility
2. Hive
As an HR project management solution, Hive enables users to assign tasks, share files, and collaborate on projects. Its time tracking functionality allows HR staff to record the hours they spent on tasks such as creating job postings, running background checks, or completing new hire documentation. The software offers customizable templates that HR teams can use for recruiting plans, content calendars, and onboarding, among others. HR managers can create action cards to assign tasks to team members, set task dependencies, create sub-actions, and view the status of assigned tasks.
Product features of interestFlexible project hierarchies: Create dedicated projects for individual HR initiatives or group related projects under a larger parent project. This hierarchical structure helps organize the tasks and subtasks within each project so everyone is aware of their roles, priorities, and deadlines.
HiveMind: Use HiveMind, an AI-powered project planner that leverages collective knowledge from previous successful projects and project management best practices to help plan future projects.
Feedback management: Upload files and media, such as resumes and cover letters, directly to your tasks or projects, and allow your team to mark up and annotate the files. They can highlight specific areas, add comments, suggest changes, or provide feedback.
Customer support options: Live chat, FAQs, videos, and email
Who should consider Hive?
HR teams that work on multiple projects and want to save time on project planning can consider Hive. Its AI-powered project planner, HiveMind, creates an automated project plan by analyzing the historical project data stored in Hive's database. It identifies successful projects and captures best practices to generate an optimized project cycle, including details on tasks, dependencies, resource utilization, and timelines. This not only saves time but also improves productivity for HR teams.
To present the most up-to-date information, the product information below shows the latest real-time ratings, which may differ from the ratings values at the time this report's analysis was conducted, since new reviews may have been left in the meantime.
Trial/Free Version
- Free Trial
- Free Version
Starting price
Device compatibility
/ Pro tip
Evaluate your HR department's workflows and project management needs to identify critical tasks, processes, and daily challenges. This might include onboarding, performance management reviews, or payroll processing. Outlining these requirements will help prioritize features essential for standardizing HR operations. For example, if enhancing employee training and development is a priority, you may want a system with a learning management module to track training progress and certifications.
3. Jira
HR teams can use the Jira project and issue tracking tool to detect, record, and track issues such as background check delays or communication gaps in the onboarding process. The software lets users create project tasks and subtasks, set due dates, and track their completion status. Users can add relevant task details, including their description, assignee name, and priority level. Jira also offers project dashboards to help HR teams compile and display the current status of various projects, such as recruitment, employee training, and performance reviews.
Product features of interestKanban boards: Use Kanban boards to visualize project tasks and timelines. These boards track the cycle time (the time taken to complete a task) and lead time (the time taken from task creation to completion) to help identify bottlenecks and optimize project workflows.
Project reports: Generate project reports to analyze progress, issues, and timelines. These may include recruitment pipeline, onboarding progress, compliance, and employee engagement reports. HR managers can use cumulative flow diagrams, pie charts, bar graphs, and other visualization tools to transform raw data into readable reports.
Real-time notifications: Receive instant status updates when certain events or actions occur within a project, such as new applications received, interviews scheduled, or compliance alerts. HR staff can customize their notification settings to decide which types of events they want to be notified about.
Customer support options: Community forum, FAQS, and help center
Who should consider Jira?
HR managers who want a project tool that can proactively identify issues in specific HR processes can consider Jira. For example, an HR manager overseeing the employee onboarding process can use Jira to track and resolve issues such as documentation discrepancies, training challenges, or IT setup problems. The software helps categorize issues by user, issue type, or priority and assign them to relevant team members. This process standardizes task distribution and improves accountability.
To present the most up-to-date information, the product information below shows the latest real-time ratings, which may differ from the ratings values at the time this report's analysis was conducted, since new reviews may have been left in the meantime.
Trial/Free Version
- Free Trial
- Free Version
Starting price
Device compatibility
4. monday.com
As a project management platform, monday.com enables HR teams to visualize project tasks, milestones, and dependencies within a defined timeline. It lets them generate real-time reports on project progress and team bandwidth to decide project timelines and resource allocation. Its requirements mapping functionality allows HR managers to outline the project timeline, budget, and required resources in a unified dashboard. It also includes a time tracking tool that monitors how long it takes to complete a specific task and records it for future project planning.
Product features of interestTask management: Create tasks, assign them to team members, and track their status. This feature promotes collaboration by assigning ownership, setting priorities, and providing real-time updates on task progress.
Portfolio management: Access a detailed view of all HR projects and their current statuses for resource allocation, priority monitoring, and project health management. This feature helps prioritize projects based on strategic goals and business impact, ensuring critical projects receive appropriate attention and resources.
Scrum boards: Manage complex projects by breaking them into manageable tasks and organizing them within a sprint framework. Scrum boards visually represent the progress of each task, enabling HR teams to collaborate effectively and adapt to changing requirements.
Customer support options: Help center, live chat, call, and email
Who should consider monday.com?
HR teams that work on multiple projects simultaneously and want to save time on requirements mapping can consider monday.com. The software offers a dedicated requirements traceability template that outlines essential project elements, such as the timeline, budget, requested resources, and critical features. This template enables HR teams to capture and organize project needs and deliverables in one place, simplifying the requirements mapping process. It ensures all project requirements are well documented, tracked, and easily accessible.
To present the most up-to-date information, the product information below shows the latest real-time ratings, which may differ from the ratings values at the time this report's analysis was conducted, since new reviews may have been left in the meantime.
Trial/Free Version
- Free Trial
- Free Version
Starting price
Device compatibility
/ Pro tip
Assess the different project visualization options, such as Kanban boards, Scrum boards, Gantt charts, and custom dashboards, that align with your HR team’s workflow and requirements. Visualization tools provide a clear and interactive representation of project data, progress, and tasks. Besides collaboration, these tools also enhance decision-making throughout the project lifecycle.
5. Notion
Notion offers task lists, dashboards, and customizable templates to design and plan project workflows. HR managers can use the software to create and outline project tasks, set deadlines, assign responsibilities, and track progress. They can access a project database and task manager to centralize project data and track employee productivity. They can also create templates for performance evaluations, onboarding, and capacity planning, among other HR processes.
Product features of interestNotion AI: Leverage artificial intelligence (AI) to automate routine workflows, such as assigning tasks, scheduling meetings, and generating employee engagement reports. AI can also assist in optimizing resource allocation by analyzing team members' availability and skills.
Priority labels: Customize priority labels to identify high-priority tasks within HR projects. This feature allows users to categorize tasks and designate their importance or urgency within the larger projects.
Team workflow automation: Set rules that define how specific tasks, such as screening resumes or completing documentation, should be automated. For instance, when a new job application is received, automation can route it to the appropriate team manager for evaluation.
Customer support options: Help center and community
Who should consider Notion?
Notion is worth considering for HR project managers looking for a tool to automate resource allocation and other routine tasks. The software uses artificial intelligence (AI) to analyze team members’ availability and skills, ensuring tasks are assigned to the right individuals based on their bandwidth and expertise. This feature can also automate other routine HR tasks, such as sending reminders for performance reviews or tracking employee leaves, reducing administrative overhead for HR professionals and allowing them to focus on strategic initiatives.
To present the most up-to-date information, the product information below shows the latest real-time ratings, which may differ from the ratings values at the time this report's analysis was conducted, since new reviews may have been left in the meantime.
Trial/Free Version
- Free Trial
- Free Version
Starting price
Device compatibility
6. Smartsheet
Smartsheet is a project management platform that can automate repetitive HR workflows, such as processing onboarding approvals, monitoring performance reviews, sending benefits enrollment updates, and setting training reminders. It allows HR managers to break down large complex projects into smaller subtasks, define critical dependencies, and track milestones using Gantt charts and Kanban boards. HR teams can also create standard workflow templates for similar projects, eliminating the need to create new templates for each project.
Product features of interestResource planning: Track the availability and utilization of resources such as staff, equipment, and materials. Use heatmaps to oversee resource utilization across HR projects and reoptimize resource allocation to prevent overallocation or underutilization.
Budget management: Create and monitor HR project budgets by categorizing expenditures into three types: time, currency, and expense. Users can also create a new category to track specific project expenses.
Workflow automation: Set up recurring or condition-based workflows that run automatically at regular intervals. This process saves time on repetitive tasks such as sending welcome emails, collecting new hire documents, and sharing employee surveys.
Customer support options: Live chat, call, email, FAQs, and knowledge base
Who should consider Smartsheet?
HR teams that want a project platform with resource planning as the core feature can consider Smartsheet. The tool includes color-coded heatmaps to indicate resource utilization across projects and tasks. The darker or more intense the color, the more resources are allocated, and vice versa. These heatmaps help determine team capacity utilization and allow HR managers to make real-time adjustments to balance workloads. The software also offers project-specific and cross-project resource views to monitor and allocate resources across tasks and projects.
To present the most up-to-date information, the product information below shows the latest real-time ratings, which may differ from the ratings values at the time this report's analysis was conducted, since new reviews may have been left in the meantime.
Trial/Free Version
- Free Trial
- Free Version
Starting price
Device compatibility
7. Trello
Trello is another project management solution that HR teams can use to organize tasks and projects on a visual board. They can create boards for different projects and add lists to represent the various project stages. These lists can be populated with cards representing tasks or action items. Each card can be customized with details such as task description, due date, checklists, and attachments. Trello also supports collaboration by allowing users to add comments and have discussions within the cards.
Product features of interestAutomation builder: Use a built-in automation tool to set up rules and commands on Trello boards to automate recurring HR tasks, such as sending training reminders and collecting documents from new hires.
Advanced checklists: Organize all projects, tasks, and subtasks in one place. This feature helps set due dates for individual items, assign tasks, and track the progress of tasks over time.
Power-ups: Customize Trello boards by adding extra integrations, such as Google Drive, Slack, and Jira. This functionality also allows additional features such as custom employee information fields and project time tracking.
Customer support options: Chat, email, and knowledge base
Who should consider Trello?
HR teams looking for a project management solution that can extend its capabilities with add-on features or customizations can consider Trello. The software includes power-ups—add-on features that enhance the functionality of Trello boards and cards. Power-ups are installed and enabled on a per-board basis. Each Trello board can have its own set of power-ups, and HR users can choose which power-ups to enable for each board. For example, HR teams can use the Butler power-up to create custom automation rules that trigger actions such as assigning onboarding tasks and sending documentation reminders to candidates.
To present the most up-to-date information, the product information below shows the latest real-time ratings, which may differ from the ratings values at the time this report's analysis was conducted, since new reviews may have been left in the meantime.
Trial/Free Version
- Free Trial
- Free Version
Starting price
Device compatibility
/ Pro tip
Opt for project management software that provides performance analytics and reporting related to time tracking and workflow rebalancing. Insights into the time spent on different HR tasks and projects can help you identify bottlenecks, allocate resources more efficiently, and optimize your HR processes.
How much does HR project management software cost?
Human resource project management software can cost as low as $5 per user, per month, or more than $149 per month, depending on various factors—features, number of users, number of projects, process requirements, business size/type, integrations, and storage. Most HR project management tools typically offer the following pricing plans:
Free trials: No-cost trial plans range from a week to a month and offer access to all or limited software features. These are ideal for businesses that want to try a tool before investing.
Free versions: Free plans offer limited access to basic software features. These are ideal for small-business owners on a budget.
Entry-level plans: Start at $5 per month and offer limited features. These are suitable for HR project managers who need basic features such as project tracking, performance management, and task management.
Mid-tier plans: Range from $10 to $30 per month and offer advanced features such as multiple visualization options, unlimited dashboards, workforce management, and advanced resource management. These are suitable for HR teams that have outgrown entry-level project software but don’t require the full range of functionality offered by enterprise-level tools.
High-end plans: Can cost more than $149 per month and offer a range of additional advanced features, including custom training sessions, priority support, and advanced reporting. These plans are suitable for HR teams with cross-functional project management needs.
Hidden costs associated with HR project management software
Besides the software license price, additional costs associated with HR project management tools may include
Implementation and setup fees: Some software providers charge an additional fee for data migration, customization, and configuration to align with your HR processes.
Integration costs: If you want to integrate the project management software with your existing HR tools or systems, such as recruitment or payroll software, integration costs may be involved.
Support and maintenance: Ongoing support and maintenance fees are necessary to ensure the software remains up to date, secure, and functional. These costs can vary depending on the software provider.
Frequently asked questions when selecting HR project management software
Here are some questions to ask HR software vendors before making a final purchase:
What project automation tools are available?
When evaluating project management software for HR, consider automation for daily workflows such as tracking recruitment and onboarding workflows, setting training reminders, sending new policy updates, and logging employee hours. With automation, your HR team can save time and focus more on productive work, ensuring smoother project execution and better resource management.
What are the collaboration options?
Most HR project management tools include features to promote collaboration between teams. Features such as real-time updates for recruitment and onboarding processes, collaborative dashboards to track employee performance and feedback, and notifications for active and upcoming training sessions allow HR staff to remain updated. Your selected software should also integrate with communication tools such as Microsoft Teams and Slack to help team members stay connected.
What are the security features?
Your chosen software should include robust data encryption, access controls, user authentication, and compliance with data protection regulations such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Also, look for auditing and logging features that capture user activities and changes made to HR or employee data. This is crucial for monitoring and investigating any unauthorized access or employee data modifications.