An effective onboarding program has many advantages for new hires. It provides the information, tools, and education to be productive from the start ,while building strong connections among employees and managers. In addition, encouraging open communication or a method for new hires to find answers about their new workplace without feeling pressure increases their engagement. Let’s look at six software options that can help streamline and standardize the onboarding process for your company.

1. BambooHR

One of the most popular options on the market, BambooHR features include e-signatures and application tracking to help streamline the onboarding process. Benefits, bonuses, raises, and other job-related information can be tracked with this comprehensive, easy-to-use software.

Other highlights include custom workflows, open API to allow integration with other HR software services, and a 7-day free trial. All of your employee information can be in one secure database with the necessary tools and editing capabilities.

2. Sage HR (formerly CakeHR)

This HR product, recently acquired by the Sage Group, claims outstanding employee onboarding functionality with innovative and user-friendly tools. Each employee can be viewed in the onboarding flow and the workflow builder can help you create and automate onboarding tasks according to your company’s standards.

Recruitment solutions, expense trackers, and leave management tools round out Sage HR. The software supports Microsoft Office templates (Excel, Word) and integrates with GSuite and Slack. If you want to integrate with other systems, they can build out custom integration.

3. Click Boarding

With its simple design, Click Boarding software provides pre-designed templates and content to easily set up onboarding and manage employee progress every step of the way. This comprehensive program provides everything from document management to e-verifying forms, electronic signatures, an employee handbook, job description management, orientation workflow management, a self-service portal, and task management.

The drag and drop builder helps you create your unique flow. Additional features include the ability to track employee progress through the onboarding flow and seamless integration with many of the major HR software platforms.

4. Eddy

With Eddy’s onboarding process, all of your HR documents can be created, sent, signed, and stored digitally with the goal of helping streamline the onboarding process. New employees can create their own profiles and sign documents digitally to save time. The onboarding process is easy and smooth for all involved parties. Eddy prides itself on specializing in remote workers, offering first-day messaging, and providing a trackable task list.

5. Kin

Kin’s software is a great fit for small businesses that don’t have designated HR departments. Some of Kin’s features include extensive onboarding checklists, personalized welcome pages with linked tasks, and secure digital signatures. Other highlights are co-worker bios, third-party integration, and an overall clean design.

6. Talmundo

Talmundo is quick to implement, scalable and cutting edge when it comes to onboarding software. Created in Amsterdam, it’s meant to revolutionize the onboarding process to inspire new hires from the moment they start with your company.

The interactive to-do lists and fun quizzes are unique features to complement the onboarding process in a creative way. The software offers helpful feedback and detailed analytics so you can remedy any problem(s) as quickly as possible.

Considerations for Implementing Onboarding Software Programs

There are many factors to consider when choosing what onboarding software to commit to. Some of these include:

Company objectives

It is important to know what your company is hoping to get out of the software. Is is about digitizing everything? Increasing engagement? Being innovative? Knowing this will help you choose software that aligns with your company goals.

Integration

Think about how your onboarding solution needs to integrate into your current HR software. If they won’t work together, it’s going to be a choppy and unenjoyable experience for everyone. Look for an option that offers seamless integration to ensure a quality onboarding experience.

Time

The time it’ll take to implement and get comfortable with the software is also an important factor.

User-friendliness

Opt for software that provides a user-friendly interface and experience over one that is complex and may end up being frustrating. Inquire about free trials, read reviews, and request a demo of at least a couple of software options before you make your final decision.

Get Started

Throughout the process of implementing, gather feedback from existing and new employees to continue to improve the onboarding process.

The importance of onboarding cannot be overlooked. With the help of some digital tools – of which we’ve discussed six – you can make the process easier and more efficient. In the end, your HR processes will be streamlined and you’ll have a better shot at retaining your best people longer. Overall, a win-win situation.

Over 150,000 companies are using Salesforce to grow their businesses making Salesforce the fifth largest software company in the world. Started in 1999, Salesforce offers cloud-based CRM solutions, which free up a company’s server. Salesforce continues to evolve with new products and services to meet the needs of businesses worldwide. This article addresses some common questions to offer a clearer understanding of Salesforce, helping you make an educated decision about what Salesforce can do for your team.

What is Salesforce? 

Headquartered in San Francisco, California, Salesforce is an American cloud-based software company. The company offers customer relationship management (CRM) services and several enterprise applications.

The software’s vast capabilities are suited for businesses of all sizes from startups and small businesses to medium-sized and large businesses. The applications help to support customer service, marketing automation, analytics, and application development.

What does it do?

Salesforce provides original “classic” services centered around four clouds: the sales cloud designed to help with client management, the marketing cloud to create one-to-one marketing campaigns, the service cloud to support online customer service on any device, and the commerce cloud to help companies build online shopping experiences.

Salesforce has a variety of other services including a development platform for building Salesforce-powered apps, online forums connected to CRM data, and more. The company continues to innovate products and services. For example, the newer Salesforce Lightning software offers an improved interface with additional features that make it easier and more engaging for users. As of 2020, Salesforce has added multiple additional cloud platforms: the health cloud, app cloud, community cloud, analytics cloud, IoT cloud, Chatter cloud, and Heroku engagement cloud. 

Lightning vs. Classic Versions

Both versions, Lightning and Classic, offer Events, Calendars, and customizable dashboards. However, Lightning includes news, key deals, and a performance chart on the homepage.

Lightning also has a timeline to help users track their activity history for each account or for each lead. In addition, Lightning allows users to design new types of pages (the App Page, Home Page, and Record Page) while Classic offers one basic type of page. A comparison chart explains the features of each version in more detail.

Pros

• Easy to use – integrates with third-party apps and can be used anywhere provided you have internet.
• Effective – customized to meet business and customer needs.
• Fast implementation – deploy the software in a short time (in a matter of weeks and months) rather than taking years with traditional CRM software.
• Saves time and money – concentrate on building your app using Salesforce tools instead of building the infrastructure and tools yourself at an affordable price.
• Scalable – freely add and change services as your company needs change.

Cons

• 100% dependent on a reliable internet connection.
• Must use Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Internet Explorer, or Apple Safari.
• Data storage limits.
• The variety of additional products often cost more in comparison with other advanced CRMs.
• With the demand of Salesforce, there’s a squeeze on customer service so live support is limited.
• New Salesforce releases often change the layout.

Pricing

The upfront costs of Salesforce vary depending on the plan selected and the number of users. You can get a direct quote from the company that best meets the needs of your business. Plans range from $25 to $400+ per user monthly depending on the services purchased.

Is Salesforce a good fit for your company?

Without a doubt, Salesforce can help support complex business processes. Specifically, the software has the potential to play a significant role in increasing the productivity of sales, customer service, and marketing teams.

However, spend some time thinking about you company needs and budget. Consider directly contacting Salesforce to request a demo and discuss what products they offer that might answer a problem your team is having.

Who is using Salesforce?

Tech giants like Facebook and Google, Amazon, Adidas, American Express, as well as your nearby call centers use Salesforce services and products. Instead of fussing over technology, they can concentrate on innovation and providing exemplary customer experiences. Companies that use the software report a 27% increase in sales revenues, 32% increase in lead conversion, 34% increase in customer satisfaction, and 56% faster deployment.

What is the difference between Salesforce and its competitors?

Salesforce CRM is not a unique concept. Many of their competitors offer similar services and products in sales, marketing, and customer service solutions. The most notable difference is that Salesforce is entirely cloud-based. This makes it easier to navigate remotely, use on mobile, and integrate with third-party products.

Another distinguishing feature is the market for independent software vendors with available Salesforce integrations. With increased popularity and performance, training is in high demand for Salesforce app builders, architects, consultants, developers, marketing, and specialists.

Learn More Today!

Salesforce is the one-stop shop for businesses to manage, maintain, communicate with, and grow their customer base and revenue streams. More and more companies are developing their applications on the Salesforce platform, as the company continues to innovate and release new features and products. It is well worth the time to research Salesforce products and services to see how they can meet your current business needs and those you anticipate the future.   

Did you know that it’s projected that there will be 300 million online shoppers in the U.S. by 2023? As of today, 69% of all Americans have shopped online and 25% shop online at least once a month. With such a massive online shopping market, it’s important to consider e-commerce when starting a business. Selling you product online doesn’t have to be overly complicated. This article will help inform you about the top websites to help you make online sales a viable business option—all from the comfort of your home.

Shopify

Shopify is a popular e-commerce platform offering services for online retailers to market products, engage customers, collect payments, and handle the shipping process. In May 2021, Shopify reported more than 1.7 million businesses in nearly 175 countries.

Pros:

• Highly flexible and easy to use
• Expert customer service, 24/7
• Customized user experience with 6,000+ apps on the Shopify App Store and 100+ themes to help build your e-commerce store
• Ability to create discount codes, offer gift cards, and link products to different social media platforms
• Free two-week trial

Cons:

• Monthly subscription cost
• Added fees for some themes and apps; transaction fee selling online unless using Shopify payments

Bonanza

Bonanza boasts 35 million different items with over 50,000 sellers. It’s built for entrepreneurs to take the technical expertise out of selling online.

Pros:

• Easy to set up
• Google Ads credit included
• Two-week trial
• Every listing automatically sent to Google and Bing Shopping
• Easy-to-use import features for eBay, Etsy, and Amazon listings

Cons:

• Limited reviews on site
• Lack of brand name recognition
• Options for customizing layout can be limiting

Amazon

Amazon, the world’s largest online marketplace, sells over 400 products a minute and is a trusted, well-known website. Originally, an online marketplace for books, it has expanded to include jewelry, toys, food, furniture, apparel, video games, software, electronics and more.

While you’re likely familiar with purchasing on Amazon, you can also get set up as a seller.

Pros:

• Verified sellers to keep counterfeit products off the marketplace
• Established reputation for delivering items on time
• Exposure to large audience
• Special promotion options and bonuses for startups, female, minority, or veteran-owned businesses

Cons:

• High competition
• Difficulty to break into the market because of huge number of products
• Fees paid to Amazon may add up

eBay

eBay is described as “the original online selling platform,” originating in 1995. It currently has 1.3 billion listings and 182 million users worldwide.

Pros:

• Large customer base (160 million active buyers monthly)
• Auction listing format with potential to generate more revenue
• Easy to set up listings
• 5 different options available for storefronts from starter tier to enterprise accounts
• Seller protection if consumer doesn’t pay for purchased item
• Offers healthcare insurance solutions for yourself/your company

Cons:

• Steep seller fees
• Additional cost assessed if you don’t meet minimum sales or for high number of returns
• Limited control over listings: restrictions on what’s said about your items and their right to cancel listings
• Strong competition
• Must ship within 24 hours or you will have less visibility on the site

Etsy

Etsy is considered a lucrative platform for online selling of handmade or vintage items (20+ years old) and craft supplies. With sales of nearly $5 billion yearly, the site gives sellers personal storefronts where they list their goods for fees. There are over 2 million sellers with 40 million+ items.

Pros:

• Well-known and highly respected
• Ease in creating a store
• Sellers can add tags to their products to help buyers find them
• Large customer base
• Encourages sales to new stores with Etsy’s algorithms

Cons:

• Sellers with annual revenue of $10,000+ are required to participate in a product advertising program with a 15% cut of revenue from the total of any orders sold
• Keen competition within categories and similar products
• Limited branding opportunities outside of listing images and banner
• Nearly impossible to do SEO

Chairish

Chairish is a growing online store primarily for high-quality furniture and home décor.

Pros:

• Chairish reviews your items to meet standards and helps make photos and descriptions more professional
• Takes care of shipping logistics if needed
• Buyers and collectors are attracted to their high standards

Cons:

• Besides the seller fee, a buyer fee of 3% is imposed
• Some difficulty getting through to customer service

Facebook Marketplace

Facebook Marketplace was introduced in October of 2016 by Facebook. The goal is bringing people in communities/areas together to discover, buy, and sell items.

Pros:

• Opportunity to chat with the other party over Facebook messenger and access their Facebook profile
• Easily accessed through Facebook
• Extremely simple to post and renew items for sale

Cons:

• Doesn’t facilitate payment or shipping
• No comment or review feature
• Limited to items in the targeted community/area
• Buyers are often looking to get a deal, so they may try to negotiate on price

Craigslist

Craigslist was originally started to provide information about local happenings in the San Francisco Bay Area and has morphed into a popular online selling site for individuals and businesses. The site is best suited to selling locally and making deals in person.

Pros:

• Some sites cover large regions instead of individual metro areas; large cities allow the user to focus on specific areas of the city
• Has a user flagging system to quickly spot illegal and inappropriate postings
• Includes a barter option in its “for sale” section
• Limitless opportunity to post items
• No shipping charges; exchanges are done in person
• Simple to create an account and post listings

Cons:

• Some reports of online scams
• Must deal with fraud and disputes yourself
• Can be unsafe; best to arrange for exchange in a public location

Nextdoor

Nextdoor shares with individual communities and neighbors. There is a free forum to sell online. Users are required to submit their real names and addresses to the website; posts to the website are available only to other Nextdoor members living in the same neighborhood.

Pros:

• The sign-up process allows for fewer scams and more privacy
• Ease of posting and selling

Cons:

• Must meet buyer and make exchange in person
• Limited to specific neighborhoods

Find the Right Fit Today! 

There are many online sites where you can sell your products without having to make your business website be able to handle eccomerce. Every platform has particular strengths and drawbacks, and the sites listed above are only a small subset of what’s out there.