Choosing the right human resources information system (HRIS) for your business involves carefully considering the many options available. While all the software systems will help automate your HR processes, there is a vast variation in exactly what the different software systems can do to help your business and how they do so. Options such as Breathe, Bright HR, and BambooHR are common choices amongst SMBs; however, these platforms may not fit your business needs. That’s why it’s important to explore other solutions as a Breathe alternative to make a well-informed decision before investing in HR software.
Breathe is a popular UK-based option which is designed specifically to meet the needs of small- and medium-sized organisations. However, as a business solution, it doesn’t necessarily fit everyone’s needs as it has limited capacity for customisation and integration. In this article, we will examine the key features of Breathe and explore 5 alternatives to consider if you aren’t sure Breathe HR is the right system for you.
Breathe Features
Breathe is a cloud-based software system that streamlines many of the functions required to manage a business’s workforce.
Some of the key features Breathe offers are:
- A document management system to centralise employee records.
- Tools for creating rotas and to help teams track their time.
- A staff holiday planner to manage holidays and a system to monitor absences.
- Performance management tools to support continuous feedback, schedule appraisals, and set objectives.
- An online training tool called Breathe Learn for employee development and statutory requirements such as GDPR.
- The ability to use the information in the system to create reports which provide insights for future planning.
- Expenses management tools to log claims, upload receipts, and approve reimbursement of expenses quickly.
- An applicant tracking system (ATS) to handle posting jobs, collecting applications and organising interviews.
- The ‘People Portal’ app so all employees to access the system from their phone wherever they are.
- A secure and robust system to protect employees’ information and ensure compliance with data protection regulations.
According to reviews, users of Breathe’s software like the easy-to-use interface and the self-service elements, which support employees in managing their own information, leave plans, and compulsory training. The system is built around modules, a valuable feature for companies expanding their workforce or developing their HR capabilities.
Why Look For Alternatives To Breathe HR?
Finding the right HRIS for your business can take time, and not every system works for every business. Consider alternatives to Breathe if you are looking for software that can be customised beyond a limited number of options, integrated with various other apps and platforms, and scaled as a business grows.
Some of the limitations of Breathe are:
- Customisation: Breathe is designed to be easy-to-use and straightforward, so it cannot always accommodate complicated workflows and company-specific forms.
- Integration: Similarly, while Breathe does offer integration with some systems such as accounting and payroll tools, its capacity for integrating with other third-party apps and systems can be limited by the lack of appropriate API capabilities.
- Performance management: While Breathe offers a sound basic system for managing the performance review process, it lacks tools to support succession planning, competency frameworks or employee engagement surveys.
- Learning and development: Breathe Learn is a good e-learning platform to use to meet some of the standard training requirements (eg, GDPR) but if you are looking for a rich learning environment with certification and integration with other e-learning portals, another system may be better for you.
- Scalability: Breathe works well if your business has up to 200 employees. However, larger organisations can find that it lacks the advanced features needed to support the more complex HR operations that come with a larger business.
- Cost: Breathe has a transparent pricing framework which works well to help businesses understand precisely what they are getting. Other platforms can work better if your organisation wants to include more features in the base price or needs to scale fast and wants value for money instead of adding lots of new modules.
Top Breathe HR Alternatives
If you’re exploring alternatives to BreatheHR, there are several HR software solutions that offer greater flexibility, automation, and scalability. Our list of top Breathe HR alternatives provide robust features for managing employee data, time tracking, and performance reviews. These platforms can better align with growing business needs, offering a more tailored and efficient HR experience. Let’s take a look at some of the best Breathe HR alternatives on the market.
Factorial: All-in-One Business Management Software
Factorial is a cloud-based business management software system that streamlines your HR processes from documentation management and leave requests to payroll, performance management and recruitment. Their system is comprehensive in its features, offering elements such as integrated payroll processing, 360-degree feedback tools and advanced analytics to create customised reports. There is also a simple pricing structure, with a free tier to cover the basics.
Key Features:
- Performance management
With Factorial, you’ll be able to customize your performance reviews, create an org chart to visualize your team, and use it to plan for the future by building succession plans. Managers and leaders will be able to see how their team’s strengths and weaknesses to identify growth opportunities. By utilizing a performance management tool like Factorial, businesses can align their company goals with their team’s skills. Ultimately, these features help businesses take a proactive, data-informed approach to managing their teams.
- Customisation
Factorial’s customisable features such as custom fields, templates, personalised workflows and tailored reports make it easy for companies to use Factorial to scale. Its platform provides companies support with key HR functions and core business operations without requiring additional tools. In addition, these tools help automate daily tasks, enhance efficiency and maintain compliance with ease. You’re whole business, beyond HR tasks, will be centralized in one easy-to-use platform making it easy to grow your team with Factorial’s custom dashboard.
- Recruitment/ATS
A highlight feature of Factorial is its recruitment software. It simplifies and automates the hiring process, from posting job openings to managing candidate pipelines. The platform offers tools for collaborative recruitment, allowing teams to streamline interviews and evaluations in one place. With customizable workflows and Factorial AI, this platform helps businesses attract top talent efficiently and make data-driven hiring decisions.
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Why Factorial is a Good Alternative to Breathe
Factorial is designed to meet the needs of growing businesses and organisations with complex customisation and integration requirements. It is a good alternative to Breathe, which caters to smaller, simpler operations. Factorial’s international outlook and intuitive interface also mean companies can easily scale operations globally using their system. The system also has more built-in features to support your business so you don’t pay extra for tools such as the applicant tracking system (ATS), shift management and geolocation for time-tracking.
HiBob: Engagement-Focussed HRIS
HiBob is an HRIS that streamlines your HR process with tools specifically designed to support and promote employee engagement while providing analytics to help senior leaders understand more about their workforce. As a company, HiBob prides itself on having a social-media feel to its user interface, encouraging employees to make the most of the platform and all its features. The platform also offers e-signatures for documentation management, an integrated expenses tracking tool and customisation options for employee data, leave management and onboarding.
Why HiBob is a Good Alternative to Breathe
If you are looking for an alternative to Breathe, you might be looking for an HRIS which is more easily scaled as operations grow, can handle international requirements, and offers greater customisation options. HiBob meets those needs. Its comprehensive and robust system will grow with your company and can handle the complexity of the HR needs of a rapidly changing business. Crucially, the social media feel of the interface and the ability to provide real-time engagement metrics make HiBob a good alternative to Breathe if driving employee engagement is one of your business objectives.
BambooHR: Easy-To-Use Software System
BambooHR is a popular HRIS that provides a system to support core HR processes such as employee records, onboarding, e-signatures and attendance tracking, and more advanced tools such as a workflow builder, automated surveys and an intuitive digital dashboard. As with similar systems, BambooHR will offer you a free trial to see if you are happy with what they can offer. Their software also provides advanced performance management and goal-setting tools, the capability to integrate the system with other software applications and a comprehensive package including an ATS and an onboarding programme to support recruitment.
Why BambooHR is a Good Alternative to Breathe
Breathe and BambooHR offer many similar features, with both platforms providing an efficient all-in-one management system to handle daily HR operations. BambooHR is a good alternative to Breathe if you want to customise your performance management programme. It’s also a good adoption if you want to focus on the well-being of your workforce with tools to help you easily gather feedback and respond to requests quickly.
Charlie: Compliance-Focussed HRIS
Charlie’s HRIS automates a number of HR processes, including managing employee records, onboarding and the performance review system. Their intuitive system makes it easy to set up each employee, requiring minimal training, and create reports providing insights into absences, payroll, and other specific areas companies need insights on. Charlie also offers expert guidance from HR experts, providing robust compliance support and assistance in HR matters such as policies, contracts and challenging personnel situations.
Why Charlie is a Good Alternative to Breathe
While Breathe will support your business’s compliance needs, Charlie is a strong Breathe alternative to consider because it puts compliance at the heart of its operation. The system has built-in features such as strict access controls, systems to report data breaches and secure data encryption. It also offers yearly reviews to ensure you stay on top of any issues or changes and provides immediate support when you need HR guidance, including the ability to talk to a real-life person rather than a chatbot during UK office hours.
Zoho People: Intergrated People and Payroll
Zoho People is a comprehensive HRIS offering several features to support HR teams, including time-tracking functionality, documentation management, onboarding workflows and systems to facilitate expenses claims. Additionally, this platform can help the engagement and productivity of your workforce through surveys and a robust and detailed performance management system. They also offer an integrated approach between payroll and HR through their Zoho Payroll application.
Why Zoho People is a Good Alternative to Breathe
If you are looking for a platform that seamlessly integrates your HR data with your payroll process, Zoho People is a good alternative to Breathe. Their system allows you to manage payroll periods, changes to payment amounts, and stay compliant while providing information directly to employees through their app. Zoho People also provides dashboards that can be configured to your requirements, facilitating regular, in-depth reporting on HR analytics.
The Best Breathe Alternative: Factorial
As we have seen throughout this article, Breathe’s HRIS offers many key features which can support your team’s HR needs. We’ve also compared five other platforms to Breathe and seen where they provide different tools, systems, and support. The world of digital systems to support HR is complex, and it’s worth investing time to understand your own business needs and how they align with the many alternatives available. Here at Factorial, we are always happy to discuss your requirements and support your thinking as you decide which business management software is best for you. You can take a free demo and click here to speak to one of our team.
