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Bambee is our choice for the best HR software and HR outsourcing solution for risk mitigation. Bambee isn’t a traditional HR software provider. Rather, it’s a top-rated HR outsourcing service that can provide HR guidance, payroll processing and dedicated support.
- Bambee pairs your business with a dedicated HR manager.
- Personalized HR support is available by phone, email and chat.
- The vendor can create HR policies based on your company culture and applicable labor regulations.
- New companies can partner with Bambee before they have employees.
- Bambee doesn't offer employee time tracking or benefits management.
- The company charges a one-time setup fee.
Bambee is a human resources outsourcing (HRO) solution ideal for small businesses that want assistance mitigating HR risks and maintaining HR compliance. When you sign up for a Bambee plan, you’re assigned a dedicated HR professional to audit your HR practices and help create policies and procedures that support HR compliance. Bambee can automate your processes, retain crucial documents, help you onboard and train employees, and even navigate corrective action and employee termination. Bambee can also process payroll. While Bambee is not traditional HR software, we recommend it for businesses interested in HR risk mitigation.
Bambee HR Software Editor's Rating:
9.5 / 10
- Price/value
- 9.4/10
- Features
- 9.1/10
- Customizations, add-ons and integrations
- 9.5/10
- Ease of use
- 9.7/10
- Customer service
- 9.6/10
Why We Chose Bambee for Risk Mitigation
Bambee is a top-rated HR outsourcing service instead of a traditional HR software provider. The vendor specializes in offering HR risk mitigation assistance to small businesses with up to 500 employees. We appreciate that Bambee caters to small businesses specifically because it helps ensure the company’s HR representatives can offer custom assistance based on each employer’s needs. Bambee and its experts can help with the employee onboarding process, training, corrective action and termination.
The service has robust HR management features and can also automate HR processes, store important HR documents in one centralized location, and offer custom support as HR questions arise. This combination of automation and personal HR guidance impressed us — it can play a key role in mitigating HR risks. We also like that Bambee reps can conduct HR audits and create custom HR policies for each business — something many competitors we evaluated don’t offer. For these reasons and more, Bambee is our choice for the best HR solution for risk mitigation.
Bambee can help you create policies that support HR compliance and mitigate HR risks. Source: Bambee
Bambee can help your business create custom disciplinary action policies, sick leave policies, office pet policies, sexual harassment and discrimination policies, and more.
Ease of Use
We were impressed that Bambee is intuitive and easy to work with. Once you partner with the vendor, you gain access to a dedicated HR representative to help you navigate the complicated world of HR regulations. You can reach Bambee HR representatives by phone, email and chat, so you can connect with your support contact in a way that’s convenient for you. This support access is noteworthy — some competitors we reviewed offer support only through select channels.
We really liked Bambee’s HR Autopilot, which automates essential HR practices. This tool simplifies basic HR functions and can be a game changer for minimizing human error-based HR mistakes. We also found Bambee’s HR audits extremely valuable. These audits make it easy to identify the HR functions you need assistance with. Bambee’s audits and automation features are particularly great for small businesses without the financial resources to hire an in-house HR professional or the time to stay on top of ever-changing HR regulations.
During testing, we found the Bambee platform user-friendly and straightforward to navigate. The display has a simple left rail with separate tabs, including a task center, HR requests, HR practices and training, communications, HR policies, staff profiles, employee report cards, and important documents. If you add Bambee’s payroll feature to your plan, you get a guided platform that walks you through the critical steps of processing payroll.
If you’re on the fence about whether you should outsource some HR functions, keep track of the time you’re spending on HR tasks, evaluate your liability exposure, and see if your team is bogged down by HR responsibilities.
Bambee Features
Bambee HR is not a full-service HR software solution. However, it offers many excellent services to help you manage HR responsibilities and mitigate potential risks. Here are a few of the functions available.
Risk Mitigation
Bambee’s primary goal is to help small businesses manage HR while mitigating potential risks. We like the way the company conducts HR audits on small businesses to identify their HR gaps. The team then creates custom plans to help fill those gaps. Like other vendors, Bambee can take care of critical employee training on topics like sexual harassment, workplace safety and business ethics, but the organization takes this a step further by reporting your employees’ progress.
With Bambee’s Smart Cabinet, you can keep important employee HR documents in one place — an essential function for complying with EEOC document retention standards. If you have any questions along the way, Bambee offers one-on-one employer coaching and guidance from designated HR managers.
Bambee’s Smart Cabinet is a great solution for meeting document retention requirements. Source: Bambee
HR Administration
Bambee has automated HR system functions that can improve efficiency. Automation is a great way to prevent crucial HR steps from being missed or forgotten. For example, Bambee HR Autopilot ensures your core HR policies are up to date each year and that they have been acknowledged by each employee. The tool can also help you create custom HR policies and procedures that align with current labor regulations and your business’s unique company culture.
We like that Bambee serves as a central hub for crucial employee information; since it’s cloud-based, you can access it from anywhere. Like other competitors we reviewed, such as BambooHR, Bambee helps onboard employees, train and develop your staff, store essential documents and employee information, and even terminate employees if needed.
Payroll Processing
Although Bambee plans don’t automatically include payroll processing, you can easily add Bambee’s guided payroll option. We found Bambee’s payroll solution somewhat basic compared to competitors. However, it has all the essential functions you need to run payroll and handle federal, state and local payroll taxes. We consider it sufficient for most small businesses with standard payroll needs. If your business needs more robust payroll features, see our review of Gusto to learn about its built-in payroll functionality.
Bambee offers guided payroll through its software platform. Source: Bambee
You must use Bambee’s payroll solution if you want to access employee benefits like medical, dental and vision coverage through its partnership with SimplyInsured. However, Bambee can also integrate other third-party benefits with its payroll service.
Talent Management
How you onboard and train employees can make a difference in your company’s success. Bambee provides guidance on welcoming and developing employees while navigating labor regulations. Bambee Report Cards let you track employee progress against performance goals, and the Employee Voices tool helps workers share open or anonymous feedback — good or bad. We like that Bambee offers training to help employees grow and to ensure you stay HR compliant.
We also like that if employees violate company policies, Bambee can help you take proper corrective action. You can easily walk through the platform’s corrective action workflow to report policy violations; a Bambee HR manager will review the incident to ensure you respond appropriately. Notably, if you must terminate an employee, Bambee can help you navigate that process.
Bambee’s platform has staff folders to help you track employee information and stay HR compliant. Source: Bambee
Bambee Pricing
Bambee has eight HR plans that differ mostly depending on employee numbers. The vendor offers monthly and annual pricing for businesses with up to 500 employees. Unlike rivals that charge a per-employee fee, Bambee charges one flat fee for each employee range. Here’s how its packages compare:
Number of employees | Services | Price |
|---|---|---|
0 | Access to email and chat support, four core HR policies, two custom HR policies, and two job descriptions | $99 per month (billed monthly) or $84 per month (billed annually) |
1-4 | Access to an HR manager with unlimited phone, email and chat support; four core HR policies; two custom HR policies; and three job descriptions | $299 per month (billed monthly) or $254 per month (billed annually), with a one-time setup fee of $500 |
5-19 | Access to an HR manager with unlimited phone, email and chat support; four core HR policies; four custom HR policies; and four job descriptions | $399 per month (billed monthly) or $339 per month (billed annually), with a one-time setup fee of $500 |
20-49 | Access to an HR manager with unlimited phone, email and chat support; four core HR policies; eight custom HR policies; and five job descriptions | $699 per month (billed monthly) or $594 per month (billed annually), with a one-time setup fee of $1,500 |
50-99 | Access to an HR manager with unlimited phone, email and chat support; four core HR policies; 12 custom HR policies; and five job descriptions | $1,299 per month (billed monthly) or $1,104 per month (billed annually), with a one-time setup fee of $2,000 |
100-149 | Access to an HR manager with unlimited phone, email and chat support; four core HR policies; 12 custom HR policies; and five job descriptions | $2,499 per month (billed monthly) or $2,124 per month (billed annually), with a one-time setup fee of $2,500 |
150-249 | Access to an HR manager with unlimited phone, email and chat support; four core HR policies; 12 custom HR policies; and five job descriptions | $3,699 per month (billed monthly) or $3,144 per month (billed annually), with a one-time setup fee of $3,500 |
250-500 | Custom services | Custom pricing |
Bambee also offers its built-in guided payroll solution as an optional add-on feature for a fee.
Bambee specializes in smaller businesses. If you have more than 500 employees, you won’t find a Bambee plan that fits your needs.
Implementation and Onboarding
We like that Bambee’s plans include access to a dedicated HR support person who can help you get started. Once you complete a brief survey about your business, you’ll connect with a specialist who will conduct a comprehensive HR audit of your organization and help you create compliant policies. This representative can help onboard, train and terminate employees; their expert guidance is valuable for maintaining compliance with federal and state employment laws.
Your Bambee HR manager can help you create and implement as many custom and core policies as your plan allows. Since policy numbers differ according to plan, creation and implementation times vary. (When selecting a plan, remember the associated setup fee.)
If you want assistance creating job descriptions or adding the Bambee guided payroll option to your package, you must set up job requirements and employee information with Bambee. This can add time to your overall implementation. In general, however, we found the vendor’s setup and onboarding relatively quick and seamless.
Customer Support
We found Bambee’s customer support features to be competitive with other vendors we evaluated. We like that Bambee provides support by phone, email and chat; some of its peers use only one or two communication channels. Bambee representatives are available Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. PT, which is standard for the sector.
We love that each plan comes with a dedicated HR manager who can give you personal, remote HR support and coaching as needed. When we previously spoke with a Bambee representative, we were told Bambee HR requests have a three-hour response time during business hours and a 24-hour response time after hours. Some plans also give businesses direct access to their HR manager’s work calendar, which can be convenient for arranging assistance.
We were also pleased to see Bambee is accredited with the Better Business Bureau and has a B rating with the agency, though some rivals have A+ scores.
Users can easily submit a request to their Bambee HR representative by navigating to the HR Request tab. Source: Bambee
Limitations
Bambee is an excellent solution for risk mitigation. However, we identified the following potential downsides:
- Bambee isn’t a full-service HR software provider. Bambee operates as an HRO service; it’s not a full-service HR software provider. While it offers payroll platform and employee training tools, it doesn’t provide other HR functions, like employee scheduling or time and attendance tools. This isn’t necessarily a limitation if HR guidance is your primary goal. However, it’s something to keep in mind if you need a platform to handle all your HR needs. For a more complete option, check out our Rippling review.
- Bambee has limited employee capacity. Another potential limitation we noticed is Bambee’s employee capacity. The company is geared toward small and midsize businesses, so it can only support companies with fewer than 500 employees. Companies with more than 500 employees will need another HR solution to help mitigate HR risks. If you’re looking for an HR outsourcing solution to scale as your business grows, check out our review of Paychex. This company can support businesses with over 1,000 employees.
- Bambee doesn’t have a mobile app. Another potential drawback is that Bambee doesn’t have a mobile app. The platform is web-based, so you can access it on a phone. However, the vendor doesn’t offer mobile apps specifically for iOS or Android devices, unlike many competitors we reviewed. Mobile apps are especially useful for employers who must access their HR information on the go. They also help your team access employee self-service features. If having a mobile app is important to you, check out our Zenefits review and our review of Paycor. Both companies offer full-service HR solutions with select platform features available on their mobile apps.
If you want to work with Bambee but need a time and attendance tool, check out our reviews of the best time and attendance services. These standalone solutions have robust scheduling, punch-in, tracking and time-off management features.
Methodology
We researched and analyzed dozens of human resources systems, including HR software and HRO solutions, to identify the best HR software and the best HR outsourcing solutions for small businesses. We evaluated pricing, contracts, recruitment and onboarding capabilities, employee benefits administration, time-tracking features, payroll processing, performance management features, reports, integrations, HR compliance assistance, ease of use, and customer service options. We also watched product videos and conducted demos when possible. When looking for the best HR service for risk mitigation specifically, we prioritized features like federal and state HR compliance assistance, payroll processing and guidance, HR policy guidance, talent management tools, usability, and customer service.
FAQs
As an HRO solution, Bambee helps small businesses mitigate the risks associated with human resources. The vendor can assist your company with functions like creating HR policies; processing payroll; paying wages and payroll taxes according to federal, state and local regulations; creating HR documents; onboarding and training employees; managing employee performance; terminating employees; and conducting HR audits.
Yes. Bambee clients can receive payroll support. However, you must first select one of Bambee’s flexible HR plans and add Bambee’s guided payroll as an additional service. Bambee’s guided payroll is not robust but does cover the essentials, such as employee classification assistance, two-day payroll, wage and compliance guidance, and automatic tax administration.
Bambee does not require an employee minimum. While other HR outsourcing solutions often require companies to have a minimum of five employees to be eligible for their services, Bambee can serve sole proprietors without any employees. This allows users to access Bambee’s HR services as soon as possible and expand coverage once they start the hiring process.
While Bambee doesn’t have a mobile app, the vendor’s web-based app is an online platform that helps small and midsize businesses process payroll. It also includes tools for employees to track and manage their performance.
Bottom Line
We recommend Bambee for …
- Small and midsize businesses with fewer than 500 employees.
- Organizations looking for professional HR guidance on mitigating risk.
- Businesses that need help creating and implementing HR policies.
We don’t recommend Bambee for …
- Companies with more than 500 employees.
- Businesses looking for HR software with time tracking features.
