What Is SAP SuccessFactors?

SAP SuccessFactors is the flagship human capital management (HCM) cloud-based suite from SAP, which provides a host of HR modules suitable for hiring managers, recruiters and talent management. It’s also an HR information system (HRIS) that allows organizations to manage HR tasks from a centralized hub. SAP SuccessFactors is ranked as one of our Best HR Software.

Pros

SAP SuccessFactors allows integrations with existing HR systems, including payroll and benefits administration. It allows you to manage:

  • Recruitment, onboarding and retention
  • Performance management
  • Compensation and rewards
  • Time and attendance
  • Talent management, including hiring
  • Learning and development

With its analytic feature, SAP SuccessFactors helps HR teams improve engagement at work by collecting real-time updates on key metrics such as workforce productivity and team performance.

Cons

The software can be quite complex as locating the right features in this comprehensive all-in-one tool can be a challenging task. Another downside of SAP SuccessFactors is its limited customization capabilities and reporting functionalities. Some users complain about the slow and outdated interface and having to deal with occasional bugs and system crashes.

Lastly, the lack of a free trial and nontransparent pricing is a major drawback of SAP SuccessFactors. Interested prospects only have access to prerecorded demo videos and are unable to get a feel of the software unless they purchase it.


SAP SuccessFactors Core Features

Core HR and Payroll

SAP SuccessFactors help companies streamline processes such as payroll processing, benefits administration, time and attendance tracking and self-service HR. This strengthens compliance, automates key HR processes and improves overall employee experience.

Talent Management

SAP SuccessFactors is a comprehensive solution for talent management that includes performance management, recruiting, onboarding, compensation, learning, succession and development. This allows you to draw in, nurture and retain great talent. With access to this platform, employees, managers and HR professionals can get all the support they need to advance their careers.

HR Analytics & Workforce Planning

This feature allows you to get data-driven insights into your workforce for the purpose of analyzing existing employees and fixing the talent gap. It drives your business choices, allows you to respond swiftly to inquiries and highlights untapped workforce trends.

Employee Experience Management

With this feature, organizations are sure to deliver great employee experience with improved engagement at work. For example, managers and HR leaders can use this solution to continuously listen to employees and take insight-based actions. This includes a wide range of employee surveys, feedback analysis and guided action. Utilizing this solution can turn employees into ambassadors and provide them with a better understanding of their roles in the organization.


SuccessFactors Pricing & Plans

The cost of SAP SuccessFactors depends on how many employees you have and what solutions you require. For example, If you need a recruiting platform, the talent management solution is your best bet. The same goes for other important features, such as payroll, analytics, time tracking and learning management system (LMS). This explains the nontransparent pricing on the site since pricing and plans are completely customizable.

To get an accurate range of SAP SuccessFactors pricing, you’ll need to directly contact the team via email or chat for a custom quote.


SAP SuccessFactors Ease Of Use

SuccessFactors is an all-in-one platform and, as such, it can get clunky. In some cases, the user interface is not so friendly and this can make navigation within the program a hard task. Loading time is another slight issue noted by users.


SAP SuccessFactors Security

SuccessFactors offers network protection in general as well as data encryption and physical and application security. They also offer security at every tier—physical, database, middleware, application, network and communication so that no layer is left uncovered.


SAP SuccessFactors Customer Service & Support

SAP SuccessFactors offers 24/7 customer support for all products. You can contact their Contact Customer Interaction Center via chat, email and calls for technical assistance or incident submission. There are also helpful additional resources such as the SAP support knowledge base and the SAP community.


SAP SuccessFactors Additional Features

SAP Performance Management and Goals

With this feature, you can align your strategy and goals, enhance employee performance through ongoing coaching and feedback and recognize top talent. This helps you keep track of what’s working best within your company so that there’s no guesswork involved when making decisions related to hiring new employees or promoting existing ones.

SAP SuccessFactors Learning

This LMS can be used by employees at every stage throughout their career path. This aids in preparing individuals for the future and helps to drive skills management, learning and development.

SAP SuccessFactors Compensation

This helps in building and managing strategic compensation programs that align with the needs of your employees, business and budget. It also provides flexibility around how these rates are calculated based on factors, such as experience or education level and helps to improve individual and business performance with personalized, timely rewards and recognition programs.

SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central

SAP’s HRIS software is called SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central. With this software, you can streamline essential HR procedures, manage your whole workforce, enhance employee experiences, control user profiles and organizational charts and satisfy both the needs of your company and the expectations of your employees.


SAP SuccessFactors Alternatives & How They Compare

SAP SuccessFactors Rippling BambooHR Workday HCM
Forbes Advisor Rating

Starting Price Not transparent. Reach out for a custom quote Starts at $35 plus $8 per user, per month Custom quote $99 per user, per month
Best For Midsized to large organizations looking for an all-in-one HR management platform Companies with 75 or more employees that need a comprehensive software solution to manage every aspect of their HR function Small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) Medium- to large-sized businesses, particularly those with many locations
Available Tools Payroll, workforce planning, HR analytics, talent management and employee experience management Payroll, applicant tracking system (ATS) and HRIS ATS, time tracking, payroll processing, employee engagement and employee satisfaction tools Real-time reporting, analytics, integrated workforce scheduling and a centralized HR database, including payroll, compensation, benefits, learning management, talent management, recruiting and talent retention
Learn More -- On Rippling's Website On BambooHR's Website --
Read Reviews -- Read Rippling Review Read BambooHR Review Read Workday HCM Review

SAP SuccessFactors vs. Rippling

Rippling is another all-in-one HR software that includes services, such as full payroll and benefits management system, time and attendance tracking, learning management and professional employer organization (PEO).

Rippling is known to be extremely customizable for businesses of all sizes with great functionality, unlike SuccessFactors, which has limited customization options and an outdated-looking interface. However, SAP SuccessFactors pack more features than Rippling and takes individualized experiences to a whole new level.

SAP SuccessFactors vs. BambooHR

BambooHR is a human resources information system (HRIS) that combines a wide range of HR features into one system, including an applicant tracking system (ATS), time tracking, payroll processing, employee engagement and employee satisfaction tools. BambooHR offers HR features, such as payroll compensation, time-off tracking and employee management procedures in addition to recruiting and onboarding options.

This cloud-based software is ideal for SMBs. Unlike SAP SuccessFactors, it is simple to use, has a ton of built-in templates and offers workflows that are neatly organized and visually appealing. It even offers a unique offboarding feature to help employers acquire insightful information from the outgoing employee. However, as with SAP SuccessFactors, pricing is not clear and you need to request a custom quote.

SAP SuccessFactors vs. Workday HCM

Workday is a provider of cloud-based software that specializes in programs for financial management, enterprise resource planning (ERP) and HCM.

Workday HCM is primarily made for midsized to large businesses with numerous locations. While large organizations frequently have multiple applications and teams working on various projects at once, mid-sized organizations typically have fewer employees but may still need advanced features.

Meanwhile, SuccessFactors specializes in employee experience management with its HXM suite that includes multiple HR management solutions.


Is SAP SuccessFactors Right for You or Your Business?

SAP SuccessFactors is a good fit for midsize to large businesses that require sophisticated HR management solutions. For smaller firms on a tight budget, SAP SuccessFactors can be quite costly.


Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Is SAP SuccessFactors any good?

SAP SuccessFactors is a very robust cloud-based solution that offers a single platform for complete HR functionality. It allows you to manage your employees and their work processes in one place.

Is SAP SuccessFactors expensive?

Unfortunately SAP SuccessFactors does not advertise pricing and all pricing is quote-based, meaning it varies from business to business. However, in general, it is a premium-priced solution that can be expensive, especially for small companies on a tight budget.

What is SAP SuccessFactors used for?

SAP SuccessFactors is a complete software suite that offers HR managers an all-in-one solution for recruitment and onboarding, performance management, learning and development, compensation management and employee self-service portals. It provides a 360-degree view of every employee’s performance.

What is the difference between SAP HCM and SuccessFactors?

SAP HCM, also known as SAP HR, is an important module touted as SAP’s initial on-premise HR solution. SAP SuccessFactors on the other hand is a cloud-based SaaS platform and component of the newly rebranded SAP HXMsuite.

What are the disadvantages of SAP SuccessFactors?

Some users find the software to be complex, with an outdated interface that is slow. Customization capabilities and reporting functionalities are limited. Pricing is not transparent, along with the lack of a free trial period.