SAP is one of the largest enterprise software providers in the world, and its suite of products includes SAP SuccessFactors – a flexible suite of AI-powered tools that’s designed to help you manage teams, grow your headcount, tackle payroll, and scale HR operations.
SuccessFactors promises a broad array of features and use cases in one app, but if there’s one company that could handle the complexity it should be SAP, with global reach and enterprise-level customers on every continent.
Unsurprisingly, this tool places a big emphasis on managing global teams and complex HR operations with plenty of depth and scalability. We've previously reviewed the Core HR and Payroll module (read it here), so this review will look at the wider ecosystem that makes up SuccessFactors.
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With a steep learning curve and a feature set that may prove too much for more modest businesses, though, read on to discover if SAP SuccessFactors is right for you – and if it's a suitable pick from the best HR software we've tested.
SAP SuccessFactors: Plans and pricing
As with most HR providers, SAP doesn’t share much pricing for SuccessFactors because it’s determined on a case-by-case basis. Pricing will depend on a variety of factors, including licensing volume, the number of solutions required, and the length of the contract.
Typically, an SAP SuccessFactors solution is built from several modules: SAP offers Core HR and Payroll, Team Management, Workforce Management, and Sales Performance Management – companies can build a combination of these to create a well-rounded product that suits their needs.
While SAP doesn’t share extensive pricing details, some basic pricing information is available on the SAP website. The cloud-based SuccessFactors system is available on a per-user, per-month basis, with SAP SuccessFactors Core HR available for $6.30 per user. A more extensive Core HR system is listed as costing $18 per user per month.
Further modules will add cost, and pricing will vary on a case-by-case basis – so prices could rise significantly based on the package that you need.
You can see the full Human Capital Software solutions by clicking here.
SAP SuccessFactors: Features
The central SAP SuccessFactors product combines global reach with extensive AI capabilities. It’s designed to simplify people management, improve employee performance, adapt to changing workforce conditions and work easily with systems throughout your organization.
The central HR module supports personalized employee profiles, global benefits administration and easy employee absence management thanks to an extensive self-service option.
It covers time and attendance tracking across desktop, mobile, and integration with third-party time and attendance tools.
Employee documentation is fully searchable, templates can automatically create new documents, and compliance is supported through retention rules and employee completeness checks.
The system supports local regulations, laws, and policies to ensure compliance and integrates with SAP payroll systems to enable easier financial planning and execution. It’s secure, too, thanks to robust encryption and adherence to ISO and GDPR policies, with more details found on the dedicated SAP Trust Center.
Payroll processes are united on a single automated platform, which makes management easier, and the tool offers pre-configured localization frameworks for over 100 countries and payroll support for over 50 countries.
Elsewhere, SuccessFactors provides employees with a central self-service portal, and your HR teams can get the job done more effectively with collaborative workspaces.
It’s a great start, and you get even more capability if you add one of the optional modules to your SuccessFactors package. The Talent Management option includes extensive ATS and candidate management options, AI-enabled customized onboarding, and skills-based career development and learning. The system provides tailored growth opportunities for employees, learning experiences, skills development, and a system to track employee goals and performance, including reviews and evaluations.
The Workforce Management section serves up time and absence administration, external worker tracking and compliance, real-time employee analytics, and worker profile management. And the Sales Performance Management module includes incentive management, territories and quotes, real-time insights, and external agent management.
The mobile app is also impressive, with feature parity between Android and iOS, access to common tasks, a useful to-do list, and extensive options to manage employees, tackle compensation tasks, handle benefit claims, and provide employee self-service.
SAP SuccessFactors lacks little, though its sheer scale and modular architecture may prompt some users to seek alternatives for a different experience.
Tools from competitors like HiBob, BambooHR, or Gusto are easier to navigate and deploy thanks to their all-in-one design, for instance, and you could look towards a tool like Workable if you want an app with a greater focus on recruitment.
SAP SuccessFactors: Ease of use
SAP SuccessFactors uses a functional, enterprise-style UI that provides quick links to common tasks and easy access to those that require immediate attention. At the top-left of the app, you can access a menu to open major modules within the software.
The UI looks plain and businesslike, and it generally does a great job of presenting analytics and data – this is where you’ll find a little more color used, which makes trends and alerts easier to spot. The Recruiting module makes it easy to see your current progress through hiring tasks, and the Career Development section is a highlight thanks to its graphical design and effective presentation of employee information.
SAP SuccessFactors also adds functionality through integrations with SAP Access Control and Concur, as well as payroll tools from companies like Strada and iCIMS.
This isn’t the easiest UI to navigate, though, and it’s not the most attractive either. The design is both plain and complex, so the learning curve will be steeper than with many other HR systems.
During our testing we also spotted some design inconsistencies. Sometimes you’ll open a module, like Goals, Continuous Feedback, or Continuous Performance, and get a list of employees on the left side – but in other modules, like Development, that disappears, and you’ve got to click an employee name to switch to another team member.
We’ve seen reports online of implementations being lengthy and complex, especially if you need to do most of the work yourself or deploy many integrations and customizations. Bear in mind that your implementation may also be supported by a third-party SAP implementation partner rather than by SAP directly.
SAP SuccessFactors: Support
SAP SuccessFactors’ support offerings are collected together in a Portal with an extensive Knowledge Base and product documentation, a busy user community, and a fully-featured dashboard that enables you to log, track, and manage your support tickets.
There are extensive reporting options, a maintenance planner, a KPI catalog, a SAP Readiness Check tool, information about SAP’s product roadmap, and a section filled with alerts and diagnostics.
If you do need to get in touch, 24/7 phone support is available alongside live chat and email support, with the latter only available on weekdays. Also bear in mind that operational hours and support methods may vary by region.
SAP SuccessFactors: Competition
Sage HR’s ease of use and fast implementation are both welcome in the SMB market, but this product faces strong competition from a host of accomplished rivals.
If you’re not keen on payroll being handled by another product, even if it’s from the Sage family, then RUN Powered by ADP and Gusto are both strong choices that include native payroll functionality.
Sage HR’s interface is clean and effective, but HiBob has more modern visuals paired with deeper employee engagement and experience features, and BambooHR is a good choice if you need a clean interface and in-depth onboarding functionality.
For recruitment, we’d recommend Workable with its extensive, dedicated features, and Rippling is an excellent choice if you want to experiment more with automation.
SAP SuccessFactors: Final verdict
SAP SuccessFactors is at its best when managing diverse, global teams with complex structures and HR operations, and it’s got plenty of scalability, depth, and customization. If you’re in a larger organization, that’s ideal, though it means this software may be too much for smaller businesses unless you’re planning rapid growth.
It’s got great analytics, impressive reporting, good talent management features, and robust, secure central data management, too.
Negatively, the depth of SuccessFactors means a steep learning curve, the app’s integrations can be complicated, and the UI isn’t always consistent. We’ve also seen reports of lengthy, complex implementations, especially if your organization requires extensive customization – this tool will work best in businesses that already have dedicated HR teams in place.
SAP SuccessFactors stands out as a robust solution tailored for organizations with global, complex HR requirements thanks to its extensive customization and powerful analytics.