Top 6 People Management Systems to Consider in 2025

In 2024, the average employee turnover rate in the U.S. was 18%, a slight improvement from previous years but still indicative of ongoing challenges in talent retention. Moreover, over 77% of voluntary turnover is preventable, often stemming from factors like inadequate career development, lack of recognition, and misalignment between employee expectations and organizational culture.

As an HR leader, CFO, or People Manager, you're likely seeking solutions to these persistent issues. The key lies in adopting a comprehensive People Management System (PMS) that not only streamlines HR processes but also enhances employee engagement and aligns with your company's strategic goals.

With 2026 just around the corner, there are several powerful people management systems available. In this blog, we’ll explore the top 6 people management systems to consider for your business in the coming year.

Key Takeaways

• A People Management System (PMS) streamlines HR operations by consolidating multiple functions like recruitment, payroll, performance management, and employee engagement into a centralized platform.
• The right PMS can improve decision-making by providing HR leaders with real-time data and insights on workforce performance, engagement, and compensation.
• When selecting a PMS, it’s essential to consider factors like company size, scalability, integration with existing systems, and the employee experience it offers.
• Platforms like CandorIQ offer a variety of features that can help businesses manage everything from compensation and onboarding to global workforce management and compliance.
• A well-integrated PMS enhances both HR efficiency and employee satisfaction by automating routine tasks, ensuring compliance, and providing a clear view of talent management strategies.

What is a People Management System (PMS)?

A People Management System (PMS) is a software platform designed to help organizations streamline, automate, and optimize various aspects of human resource management. At its core, a PMS consolidates multiple HR functions—such as recruitment, onboarding, performance management, payroll, benefits administration, and employee engagement into one centralized platform.

For HR leaders and managers, a PMS is more than just a tool for tracking hours worked or processing payroll. It’s a comprehensive solution that empowers businesses to manage their most important asset: their people.

Key Benefits of a People Management System:

• Efficiency and Automation: Automates administrative tasks like payroll processing, benefits management, and performance evaluations, freeing up HR teams to focus on strategic priorities.
• Improved Decision-Making: Provides HR leaders with access to real-time data and analytics on employee performance, compensation, and engagement, helping to make data-driven decisions.
• Employee Experience: Enhances the employee journey by offering self-service portals, clear career development paths, and effective recognition programmes.
• Compliance and Security: Ensures that companies remain compliant with labor laws, tax regulations, and industry standards, reducing the risk of legal and financial issues.
• Scalability: Adapts to the growth of your organization, enabling HR teams to efficiently manage an increasing number of employees and diverse HR needs.

In essence, a People Management System helps businesses encourage a more engaged, motivated, and productive workforce, while aligning HR efforts with the organization's long-term goals and values.

Before diving into the features of the top 7 people management systems, it's essential to understand the key factors that guides your decision-making process.

Factors to Consider When Choosing a People Management System

Choosing the right people management system (PMS) is a crucial decision for HR leaders, CFOs, and People Managers. The right system not only streamlines administrative tasks but also enhances the employee experience and drives organizational performance. Here are the key factors to consider when selecting a PMS:

• Company Size and Scalability: Consider the size of your business and its growth potential. Some systems are better suited for small businesses with simple needs, while others are built to scale and manage the complexities of large enterprises. Ensure the platform can grow with your company.
• Integration with Existing Tools: Look for a system that easily integrates with other tools you currently use, such as payroll, time tracking, or learning management systems. Seamless integration helps avoid silos and improves data accuracy.
• Ease of Use and Employee Experience: The system should be user-friendly for HR teams and employees. A complex, unintuitive platform can lead to disengagement and low adoption. Opt for a solution with a useful interface and easy navigation for both HR professionals and employees.
• Customization and Flexibility: Every organization is different, so choose a service that allows for customization of workflows, employee records, performance metrics, and more. This flexibility ensures the system aligns with your specific business needs.
• Analytics and Reporting: A strong PMS should offer powerful analytics tools to track employee performance, engagement, and retention. These insights help HR teams make data-driven decisions that align with company objectives.

Suggested Read: What Is Compensation Analysis? A Guide to Fair and Competitive Salaries

Now that you have a clear understanding of what a People Management System (PMS) is and what to consider when choosing one, let’s explore the top systems that are leading the way in 2025.

Exploring the Top People Management Systems for 2025

With the changing workforce dynamics in 2025, choosing the right PMS can be a game-changer. Below, we’ve curated a list of the top 7 people management systems that are shaping the future of HR and helping organizations build stronger, more engaged teams:

1) CandorIQ

CandorIQ is an AI-powered people management system that empowers HR leaders to streamline HR processes, improve decision-making, and drive employee engagement. It provides an all-in-one solution for managing everything from compensation and benefits to performance reviews and career development. 

With a focus on data-driven insights, CandorIQ enables organizations to move beyond basic administrative tasks and focus on strategic people management.

Features of CandorIQ:

• Compensation & Payband Builder: With location-based salary adjustments and real-time pay distribution visualisation, it helps organizations manage their compensation strategy effectively and ensure equity across the workforce.
• Compensation Cycle: Automating merit and bonus reviews is a key feature of CandorIQ, making compensation cycles shorter and more efficient. HR teams can manage approvals and track budgets and raises in real-time by department or team.
• Candidate Offers: Enables employees to view their total compensation, including salary, equity, bonuses, and benefits, with future-value equity modeling for growth projections. This level of transparency increases employee satisfaction and retention, offering clarity on the entire compensation package from the outset.
• Headcount Scenario Planning: By toggling multiple hiring scenarios, businesses can compare their hiring strategies against budget thresholds and prevent overspending, ensuring alignment between headcount and financial goals.
• Headcount Requests & Approvals: The headcount requests feature simplifies new hire requests by embedding job details, rationale, and budget information. It routes approval dynamically based on team, location, or compensation and syncs directly with ATS and finance systems.
• Workforce Management: Provides HR leaders with strategic visibility into workforce health by tracking open roles, filled seats, attrition, and promotion rates all in one view. The system also allows HR teams to align actual headcount and compensation with plans, helping them make informed decisions and maintain alignment with organizational goals.
• AI Agent: Offers recommendations based on historical benchmarks and peer data, assisting HR teams with compensation analysis and forecasting needs. This AI-powered tool reduces time spent on data collection.

Also Read: How AI Agents are Transforming HR Operations

With CandorIQ, HR leaders have the tools needed to optimize their people management strategy.

2) Workday

Workday was co-founded by Dave Duffield and Aneel Bhusri in 2005 to provide cloud-based solutions for finance and HR management. They aimed to create a system that was intuitive, scalable, and flexible enough to meet the growing needs of businesses around the world.

Workday’s mission is to deliver an enterprise cloud application that connects finance, HR, and planning in a way that enables real-time business insights. The platform’s focus is on creating a seamless experience for organizations to manage their human capital and financial resources.

Features of Workday:

• Human Capital Management (HCM): Seamlessly manages the employee lifecycle from hiring to retirement, ensuring alignment with business objectives.
• Payroll and Benefits: Automates payroll processing and benefits administration, while ensuring compliance with local and global regulations.
• Talent Management: Provides tools for performance reviews, career development, and succession planning.
• Analytics and Reporting: Real-time insights on workforce trends, financial performance, and employee metrics to inform strategic decisions.
• Mobile Access: Allows HR managers and employees to access data and manage workflows from mobile devices.

3) Zoho People

Zoho Corporation was founded by Sridhar Vembu in 1996 as AdventNet. Initially focusing on software for small businesses, Zoho now offers a comprehensive suite of products, including Zoho People, designed to simplify HR processes for small and mid-sized companies.

Zoho’s mission is to make business software accessible and affordable for every organization, with a focus on automation and user-friendly interfaces. Zoho People is built to help small businesses manage HR tasks such as payroll, time tracking, and performance management, all from a centralized platform.

Features of Zoho People:

• Employee Self-Service Portal: Empowers employees with access to their personal data, time-off requests, and performance feedback.
• Leave Management: Simplifies tracking of vacation and sick leave, with automated approval workflows.
• Performance Management: Provides tools for setting goals, giving feedback, and conducting performance reviews.
• Attendance Management: Tracks time worked and integrates with payroll systems to ensure accurate compensation.
• Custom Workflows: Allows organizations to tailor HR processes, such as recruitment and onboarding, to their specific needs.

4) Deel

Deel was founded in 2018 by Alex Bouaziz and Shuo Wang, with the goal of simplifying the complexities of hiring and managing remote teams globally. Deel’s platform is designed to help companies manage contractors and employees in over 150 countries, making it a go-to solution for organizations expanding into new regions or managing distributed teams.

Deel’s mission is to simplify global hiring and compliance, allowing businesses to hire and pay workers anywhere in the world while ensuring they comply with local laws and tax regulations. Deel aims to empower companies with the tools they need to scale internationally without the usual administrative headaches.

Features of Deel:

• Global Hiring & Onboarding: Easily hire and onboard employees or contractors in over 150 countries, managing contracts, compliance, and payments all in one place.
• Payroll & Payments: Automates international payroll processing, allowing companies to pay employees in their local currencies, with tax and compliance handled automatically.
• Compliance Management: Ensures your business stays compliant with local labor laws, tax regulations, and contract requirements across various countries.
• Contracts & Agreements: Offers customizable contracts for employees and contractors, helping businesses stay consistent and legally compliant across borders.
• Time Tracking & Expenses: Provides tools to manage remote workers' time and track expenses, simplifying payroll and billing processes for remote teams.

5) Zenefits

Zenefits was founded in 2013 by Parker Conrad and Laks Srini. It began with a mission to simplify HR and benefits management for small to mid-sized businesses by offering a cloud-based solution that integrates HR functions and benefits.

Zenefits aims to help growing businesses simplify HR management by automating time-consuming processes such as employee benefits administration, compliance, and onboarding. Zenefits provides an integrated platform that reduces administrative overhead and helps companies stay compliant with evolving regulations.

Features of Zenefits:

• Onboarding: Simplifies new hire processes with paperless document signing and easy workflow management.
• Benefits Administration: Offers a range of benefits options for employees, including health insurance, dental, and 401(k) plans.
• Payroll Integration: Direct integration with payroll systems to ensure seamless compensation processing.
• Time & Attendance: Automates tracking of employee hours, overtime, and paid time off, reducing administrative burdens.
• Compliance Management: Helps businesses stay compliant with state and federal HR laws through automatic updates and alerts.

6) Gusto

Gusto was founded in 2011 by Joshua Reeves, Edward Kim, and Tomer London. The company’s focus was to provide small businesses with an easy-to-use platform for payroll processing and employee benefits, helping them streamline complex HR tasks.

Gusto’s mission is to provide small businesses with powerful, simple-to-use HR software that handles everything from payroll and benefits to compliance and employee onboarding. By simplifying these processes, Gusto helps small businesses grow while ensuring employees have access to the benefits they deserve.

Features of Gusto:

• Payroll & Taxes: Automates payroll processing, tax filings, and compliance management.
• Employee Benefits: Offers a variety of health benefits, 401(k) plans, and wellness stipends to support employee wellbeing.
• Hiring & Onboarding: Streamlines the hiring process and simplifies new hire onboarding with digital document signing.
• Time Tracking: Tracks employee hours, vacation days, and sick leave, ensuring accurate payroll and compliance.
• HR Resources: Provides access to HR support and guides for legal compliance, employee relations, and more.

Conclusion

A people management system is a critical tool for HR leaders, CFOs, and People Managers looking to streamline HR operations, improve employee engagement, and drive organizational success. By carefully evaluating your organization’s needs, you can select the right platform that aligns with your company size, employee experience goals, and strategic objectives. With the right people management system in place, you’ll be equipped to manage your workforce effectively, retain top talent, and drive business success.

CandorIQ, with its AI-powered insights and data-driven approach, stands out as the solution for organizations looking to transform their people management strategy. Whether you’re a new startup or an established enterprise, the right people management system will help you align your rewards strategy, strengthen your EVP, and build a more engaged workforce.

Ready to transform your people management strategy? Book your demo to learn how CandorIQ can help streamline HR processes, drive employee engagement, and align your organization’s goals with a data-driven approach.

FAQs

1. What is the difference between a People Management System and a Human Resource Information System (HRIS)?

A PMS focuses more on streamlining people-related processes like recruitment, performance, and talent management, while an HRIS is typically more focused on administrative tasks such as employee records, payroll, and compliance.

2. Can a People Management System help with employee retention?

Yes, by offering tools for performance management, career growth opportunities, and recognition, a PMS helps businesses create a healthy work environment, which can lead to increased employee satisfaction and retention.

3. How do I measure the effectiveness of my People Management System?

Effectiveness must be tracked by key performance indicators like employee engagement scores, retention rates, turnover rates, and the time it takes to fill vacancies, all of which can be enhanced by using a PMS.

4. Are People Management Systems customizable to fit my company's unique needs?

Many PMS platforms offer high levels of customization, allowing you to tailor workflows, employee data fields, and reporting tools according to your company’s specific HR needs and business processes.

5. How can a People Management System assist with managing a remote workforce?

A PMS can centralize communication, performance tracking, and employee engagement for remote teams, making it easier to manage performance, monitor time zones and work hours, and provide necessary tools for a seamless remote working experience.

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