Criterion HCM Review

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Criterion HCM
Criterion
1984
Norwalk, CT

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Private
Unknown
Cloud
Yes

Criterion HCM At A Glance

Good: Self-service portal can be accessed via mobile apps and supports integration with time-management and biometric devices.

Bad: Criterion HCM doesn't focus on large or enterprise-level customers.

Bottom Line: Cloud-based, all-in-one platform targeting mid-sized companies with extensive modules and features.

Product Overview

Criterion HCM meets the needs and challenges of midmarket organizations by combining advanced enterprise functionality and configurability, with a simple and powerful user experience, from a single, unified cloud platform. It delivers critical HR, Payroll, and Talent Engagement capabilities to consolidate, automate, and accelerate critical processes, all at a midmarket price.

The software combines self-service ease of use, powerful features, and an open extensible architecture for rapid configuration in days, not weeks. It features:

Powerful Enterprise-Grade HCM – With a multitude of dashboard and self-service features geared to attract, develop, engage and service employees, Criterion HCM reduces time, costs, and complexity for administrators, while employees enjoy secure, 24/7 access to their personal HR information and assets.
Simplified, Best-in-class User Experience – Criterion’s advanced HTML 5/Java-based technology delivers a sleek, modern, single-page user experience enabling administrators and employees to quickly access and navigate the software from their desktop or mobile devices
Rapid Integration & Configuration Criterion’s open, 100% REST API architecture enables rapid integration with hundreds of internal IT or data systems, as well as cloud ERP, benefits, and payroll carriers, even custom applications. Its platform accomplishes the easy, but “loves complexity” and can be configured, in days not weeks, to accommodate unlimited, often unique payroll, labor, compliance, or industry specific requirements.
Enterprise Scalability & Security With near 100% uptime, the Criterion HCM Platform provides enterprise-class security and scalability, even for large enterprises topping 10,000 employees. HCM client data is securely hosted and protected by Amazon Web Services (AWS) and includes 24/7 monitoring, threat detection, daily back-up, and data recovery services.

Features

In this section, we detail the features of the Payroll module:

Automatic identification of employees to be paid and mass entry of payment information
Ability to post hours by multiple job categories, including job type, job class, department and group
Tax automation and electronic filing on the federal, state and local levels
Integration with time clocks, networked card swipes, key fobs, kiosks and biometric devices

Target Market

Criterion HCM targets mid-sized companies internationally, especially in the finance, legal, technology and government sectors. Several of its customers include:

Bank Hapoalim
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
CHELCO
Delta Constructors
Elevanta

HIV Alliance
Idaho Supreme Court
Lebanese Red Cross
Oregon Research Institute
Pepper Construction Group

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Implementation/Integration

Because Criterion HCM is a cloud-based platform, implementation time is shorter than traditional on-premise solutions. Its modules can be integrated with existing HRMS and payroll management systems and white labeled with a customer’s designs and logos.

The platform can also be integrated with time clocks, networked card swipes, key fobs, kiosks and biometric devices without any additional software to install.

Customer Service & Support

Criterion’s industry-leading Criterion Success System^™ includes a named Client Success Manager, Feature Request Portal complete with client discussion boards and group surveys, complimentary continuous administrator replacement training, and quarterly software updates based on customer feedback. Criterion customers receive 24/7 live monitoring of current software updates, historical release data, and detailed insight into the nearly 100% uptime. Customers can contact their dedicated Client Success Manager directly by email or phone during regular business hours.

Pricing

Criterion HCM doesn’t publicly disclose pricing information. Please contact the vendor directly for a quote.

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Shortcomings

The vendor targets mid-market customers and may not be the best choice for large or enterprise-level customers.

Screenshots

About

Criterion is a global provider of Simply Powerful Human Capital Management software. For midmarket business users and HR professionals, the Criterion HCM cloud platform delivers superior useability first, combined with powerful enterprise functionality to automate hundreds of critical HR, payroll, talent engagement, and workforce management services. Awarded a 95% plus customer satisfaction rating and recipient of Hearst Top Workplaces 2020, Criterion is trusted by hundreds of leading organizations in construction, nonprofit, government, education, franchise, and financial industries. Criterion HCM is available direct to customers and through a global partner network in over 10 countries.

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Features
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Ease of Use
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Add Review

5 /5 stars

Features
User: 100%
Ease of Use
User: 94%
Ease of Implementation
User: 91%
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User: 95%

Excellent Program for HR Teams and Employees

Susan Van Buren on 2020-12-12 09:20:01

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.

5 /5 stars

Features
User: 50%
Ease of Use
User: 50%
Ease of Implementation
User: 50%
Support
User: 50%

Flexible, Accommodating and Responsive and the Software Works, too.

Julie Kellman on 2020-12-07 18:23:30

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.