Criterion HCM Review

We have been using CriterionHCM as our HRIS since October 2017. We selected the software for four main reasons:
1. Value for the money. The price fit our budget, but we don't feel we've sacrificed features and value.
2. It is built for HR needs versus what we were using, a payroll system with some HR components.
3. Features such as carrier-connect, ACA reporting, open enrollment, workers' compensation case tracking, and employee job history, to only name a few.
4. User-friendliness. We wanted a system that is user friendly and mostly intuitive. In general, CriterionHCM provides that.

After over three years of using the program, here are some observations on it:
1. It provides one-stop shopping for the information we need on our employees.
2. We can give our organization's leaders ready access to information they should have access to by creating tailored security settings that allow us to create profiles for each leadership level.
3. Criterion is responsive to consumer input. We have made suggestions for improvement, which they have either implemented or have planned for future implementation.
4. They have not "nickeled and dimed" us on special requests we've made. They worked with our payroll provider and us on integrating our PTO request feature with our employees' timesheets. They did so with no charge to us. They also created an Annual Benefits Statement that we send to our employees to show them the true value of their compensation package. We can initiate this statement with the click of a few buttons. When we used to do this manually, it took roughly 80 labor hours to complete. It now takes only minutes to produce it. They charged us a nominal fee to program this for us, but it was less than a quarter of the labor hours' cost to produce the report only once.
5. The Employee Self Service feature works very well for the needs of our employees.
6. Compared to other software programs we use, the support is very good. Their online support request system is easy to use and follow. We have an individual assigned to work with our support requests. That is helpful because the continuity of having someone already familiar with your needs helps with getting it solved sooner.

Challenges
1) It has been three years since we implemented the system, so this may have improved. We didn't always understand what they were looking for in the upload data spreadsheets. Our implementation specialist was very patient with some reworks that had to be done because we didn't understand how it all fit together.
Even though they did not rush implementation, the initial training for our HR staff felt rushed. They did compensate for that by recording each session for us to go back to. The current online knowledge base provided for the different features is a plus and has improved quite a bit since we first started using the program.
2) They have made great strides in the reporting features. Many ready-made reports can be tailored to your needs (e.g., leave off SSN or other columns that don't apply). However, when one has a unique report one wishes to build, he/she can use the Data Grid feature. It works very well for most reporting needs. If one needs to cross information from other modules, the only way to build a report is by using SQL. If you know SQL, it isn't a problem. If you don't, you need to get their support team to build it for you. This is where their support is excellent. Thus far, they have built those reports for me quickly and without charge, but I do not have immediate access because of my lack of SQL writing abilities.

My organization needed a special integration and Criterion was the only vendor who would help us. Mind you, I considered 23 vendors including all the major players and was turned down 22 times. Every time we have an issue we get to call or email with a real person, and we get a prompt response from that real person every time. Their continuous improvement process is wonderful because they actually listen to their customers and respond accordingly. To date they have delivered everything we requested. By the way, the system works well, too, and is rarely down so my end users never have any issues accessing what they need. They are small AND mighty.